M.U.M. Magazine Reviews Seriously Silly

By David Goodsell

In the preface to his book, SERI- OUSLY SILLY, How to Entertain Children with Magic and Comedy, David Kave writes, "It is time for a new book on children's magic that teaches the art form the way it should be performed for today's children- with today's urban, hip sensibilities for today's urban, hip kids.... It is time for us to perform for children like they were born in the twenty-first, not the nineteenth century." Some of you are likely saying to yourselves, "Huh? Not me. I am doing great. The kids love me." While they probably do, the sad reality is that they may or they may not love you... or even like you. So how do you know? Before getting into the meat of David's book, we have to realize that we can't and shouldn't all try to be Silly Billy. I'm an old guy. Even Captain Kangaroo began to look a little goofy in his coat with the oversize pockets. Fred Rogers started Mr. Roger's Neighbor- hood looking old. Smart guy! 1 guar- antee that I will not wear patchwork pants and giant sun glasses. But I do perform for kids (and, naturally, they love me)! But, I learned a lot from David's book, which covers the philosophy, psychology and theory of how to entertain children with magic in this high-tech, rapid-paced society. And I believe that every kid show magician will benefit from reading this book. As David savs, "You will learn in one reading what it took [him] fifteen years to understand about children." (Better said, what it took him 7000 shows to understand. Manv of can surpass him in years, but 7000 shows = great experience.) What do your props look like? Does it make a difference? Of course it does, as David explains in the chapter titled "What is Magic to a Child." In order for something to appear magical it must first be recognized as ordinary. Therefore, props should be just that - ordinary. That's why the coloring books works so well. It is why a Dove Pan doesn't work so well. Is the same trick that is magical to a four-y ear-old magical to an eleven-year-old? Depends on title presentation, and David explains and demonstrates how that same trick can be reworked for ages 3-6, ages 7-9, and ages 10 - 13. If you have performed for those different age groups you will agree. Handled properly, an eleven-ycar-old helping you with a trick will enjoy the experience along with the audience. A four-year-old helper believes he does the magic himself. Just ask him! A big section of the book is devoted to "How to Routine Magical Effects for Children." The fact is that today's kids have often seen the tricks we do, and may even have them. The kid who calls out "I know how that trick is done" may really know how it is done. But David points out a pro- found principle that is often over- looked. If you have prepared a truly entertaining routine, those kids for- get they know the secret and will en- joy the routine - and often be fooled again as well! If your routine is filled with laughter success is almost guar- anteed, and David covers a number of ways to add comedy to your routines, quite often by involving your audience in your presentation. This can be either specific to "helpers" or to the audience as a whole by your approach to them. Quite often funny situations arise during your performances. The natural response is an ad-lib appropriate to the moment. Maybe you are a natural wit, and respond easily and humorously. On the other hand, if you give some thought as to what might come up, and think about what you might say, you have an opportunity to capitalize on the situation. David includes an excellent chapter on adding ad-libs to your routines. In this section David also discusses several of his own routines in detail, "The Crystal Silk Tube," "The Presidential Mis-Made Flag," "Milk Pitcher Plus," to name just three. Tips on performing other routines and tricks are peppered throughout the text, and a constant theme is adjusting presentations to fit age groups. What do you do when a kid continuously interrupts the show? How do you get the adults in the back of the room to stop talking? How do you deal with, "I know that one?" How do you work an audience of mixed ages? What kind of balloon animal do you make for Madonna? (Yep , that is one of the half-dozen stories David shares with us in anecdotal essays spread throughout the book - fun and interesting.) David has proven himself a highly success- ful performer, with some 7000 shows as Silly Billy and a stable of other magicians working out of hiy com- pany. His full-day workshop at the S.A.M. Convention in St. Louis was extremely popular. Now he shows a fine talent for writing and teaching the rest of us the elements of performing magic for today's kids- This is a wonderful book. Hardbound with color dust jacket. Large format, 163 pages filled with photo-illustrations.