Birthday Party Crash Course

I probably get more questions about birthday party shows, than any other subject. Here's a crash course on how I have survived doing birthday shows since 1976.

When I designed my birthday party show, I had several conditions that had to be met. I wanted a show that would need only one trip to carry in, and one trip out. The show had to set up in ten minutes or less. The tricks would require little or no setup and minimal reset. I wanted a bunny rabbit production in the show. Finally, the birthday child had to be the star.

I accomplished all of the above, by coming up with one principle. This principle is important in all shows, but especially birthday party shows. This is the principle of having a personality driven show, not a prop-driven show.

Many performers, especially those just starting out, think that having lots of props will give them a good show. Or, they may think a nice backdrop is the secret to having a good show. They might think that the performer with the best sound system will have the best show.  In reality, the performer with the best personality has the best show.

Recently, a client called asking me to fill in at her five-year old son’s birthday party. Another magician had to cancel at the last minute. She asked me what I was going to do that would be “spectacular.” I told her probably when her child helped make the live rabbit appear. She sounded somewhat disappointed, because the act I was replacing was going to saw one of the children in half with an electric saw! Then she asked how long my setup time would be. When I said ten minutes, she sounded worried, because the other magician was going to bring enough tricks that he needed 45 minutes to set up. I had to provide references to convince her I would do a good job.

I hung up the phone, shocked at how this other magician worked birthday parties. He obviously was a prop driven act, not a personality driven act. I couldn’t believe anyone would do the electric sawing in half for a birthday party show. First of all, these kids were only five years old, so the electric sawing would frighten them. Second, it would require another trip out to the car, to lug in the equipment. The set up would take more precious minutes, and at many birthday parties, there would not be enough room to present the illusion.

The other big problem with the “unnamed magician” was the setup time of 45 minutes. When you arrive at a birthday party, the adults will usually be anxious and want you to start immediately. Plus, the kids are so excited, once they see you, they’ll gather around, expecting magic NOW! When you arrive, you can’t keep the kids or adults waiting for long. The longer they wait, the more restless they’ll become, and your show will suffer.

In the birthday business, you will often do two or three shows on a Saturday. You don’t want to make several trips back and forth to your car. A long set up time is tiring and stressful for yourself, and you won’t have enough time to be able to do more than two shows in an afternoon.

How can we be a personality driven act? First, and most important, is energy. You need to project energy to the audience. Before I start a show, I take a few deep breaths, and fill my lungs with air. It’s important to breathe properly, using the diaphragm, instead of raising your shoulders when you inhale. Good posture helps project energy. A smile and eye contact with everyone around the room goes a long way to helping you connect with your audience. Projecting your voice, and varying the speed and pitch of your delivery is important. Also, bright, smart costumes help project energy.

Along with energy, you must also like kids, and they must like you. Kids can instinctively tell if you’re glad to be there, or you’re just doing it for the money. I find kids will immediately talk to me, even if I’m not doing magic. If kids aren’t naturally glad to see you, or don’t talk to you before or after the show, you may want to work in another market.

Even though your show will be personality driven, you will be using props, so let’s make sure we’re using appropriate props. Look for colorful items that children find fun and interesting. Along with the props, you need good routines, with lots of kid-appropriate bits of business.

So, to review, a personality driven kid-show performer has energy, good costumes, likes children and uses colorful props and routines with lots of funny business. I’m not going to tell you which tricks to do, but I thought it might be helpful to share my current birthday show line up. This is a sample show for children in the four to seven year age bracket.

 First, in one hand, I carry a suitcase table, which is a wheeled case containing all the props for my show. By unlocking two latches, the case turns into a table in about five seconds. This way, I don’t have to carry a separate table and a prop case. In my other hand, I carry a rabbit production. Just before I get out of the car, the rabbit is loaded into the production apparatus. Usually I use the Circus Wagon, turning a balloon into a bunny. It is angle-proof, easy to do, and colorful.

I select from two openers. For six and under, I use the Silver Scepter, performed much like the routine by Terry Herbert on both of his kid’s magic DVD’s. For older than six, or a mixed-age audience, I will use a routine with a thumbtip, a streamer and an appearing cane. These are both fast, high-energy ways to start the show

Second is usually the Color Changing Ball to Square. Sometimes I'll substitute the well-known Strat-O-Spheres. The first two routines are performed solo, so I can establish my personality. Both of these effects allow the audience to work together as a group, and they get the kids reacting and blowing off some energy.

I call the birthday child up to help with the third routine, which is a simple sponge ball  routine effect, using lots of comedy wands and bits of business.

I produce the bunny as my fourth routine. Many performers close with a rabbit production, but I placed it in the number four spot, so the rabbit isn’t loaded so long. Also, I close my show with a routine using the birthday child, so the child is the star. If you close with the rabbit, the rabbit is the star. When I do the rabbit production, I start out trying to produce the rabbit by myself. I can’t seem to make the rabbit appear, so I call the birthday child up to help. I have the child wave a wand, we all say the magic words, and the rabbit appears. At the end of the show, I let the kids come up one at a time to see and pet the rabbit.

It’s now time to call another child up to help, so in the fifth spot in the show I’ll do the linking rings. My routine has lots of laughs for the kids, and the adults appreciate the skill involved in manipulating the rings.

In the sixth spot in the show, I do a routine to get all of the kids involved. My two favorites are either Bakery Bear or Peanut Butter and Jelly. Both of these require no setup, play big, and get a really huge reaction from the kids.

In the seventh spot, I like to do a routine involving two kids. If the birthday child has a brother or sister, I may use the sibling as one of the two assistants. I most often perform a routine using a set of Happy Birthday silks. One silk spells out “Happy Birthday,” with a cake and bunnies, in black and white. Four colored silks are produced from a repeat change bag. Then they are replaced in the bag, along with the black and white birthday silk. Add a few comedy wands, and the black and white silk comes out in full color.

The eighth, and final number is a routine with the birthday child assisting. Often I'll do an effect combining the Paper Hat Tear with a  Mouth Coil (which I produce from my hand). Other times I will do silk production routine from a Handkerchief Box with the birthday child assisting.

Sometimes you will get calls for birthday parties involving older children, say 10 years old.  And for whatever reason, most of these parties for older kids will be all or mostly boys. I  will follow the same eight trick formula, but change the tricks somewhat. Kids grow up so quickly, that I will often present some effects that are geared more towards adults. 

The Professors Nightmare rope effect is a good opener. A jumbo card effect called The McCombical Predction plays well for this age group. One sucker trick, strategically placed in the show, can be a big help with crowd control. I like a simple effect called "Jump Ropes." Fraidy Cat Rabbit also works well. And, as a closer, I will often use a two-hole wrist chopper with the birthday child and a friend. 

The bottom line with working for older kids is that the show must be more sophisticated, and not seem too "babyish." 

I hope you'll find these tips helpful. I've outlined my approach to doing birthday parties, and of course it's not the only way. But my eight trick formula has served me well for 30 years, and I'm still doing parties today. Many magicians seem to think birthday party shows are just a stepping stone to other shows. But I enjoy bringing entertainment into people's homes, and working close to the audience. Personally I see no reason why I should stop doing birthday party shows, and I hope you'll continue bringing quality entertainment to children on their big day.

Just remember to bring lots of personality to your show. If a client wants to see magic tricks, they can call many people. But there is only one YOU. If you’re a personality driven act, the entertainment buyer can only get your personality from one place--YOU!

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