Kids Entertainer Podcast

The 21st century affords kids entertainers thousands of opportunities for personal, professional, and financial growth. We just have to know where to look and be willing to commit time on these areas.

If you're the type who is yearning for change—good change—or just thinking about what to do to improve yourself and get further than where you are, this episode is for you. Here we point you to the direction, resources, and ideas that can help take your business, your finances, and your life to the next level.

Out from our Vault of Wisdom this week is a talk with the incredible and hilarious Michael Finney. In our chat, he generously shares a wealth of stories and knowledge on how to listen to audiences, where to find (and why find) mentors, and what routines he does for his kids and family acts.

In this episode we discuss:

The importance of listening to the audience when performing

Michael's routines for children and family audiences

Engaging children

The importance of having—and being—mentors (and where to find them)

The "shelf life" for magicians

In this episode we discuss:

• Where Ken and his daughter Kristen got the idea for a magic tricks for kids book
• How they chose the tricks that are included in the book
• Features of the book: interactive - video demonstrations included; perfect not only for children, but for kids entertainers and people curious about magic as well; awesome presentation for each trick included
• How kids entertainers like face painters, balloon twisters, costume characters, and storytellers who haven't tried magic can use and benefit from the materials in the book (earning from teaching magic, building rapport, creating school holiday programs, etc.)
• How the Abracadabra magic tricks book is the perfect gift for children
• Leave a review for Abracadabra and get quality free training videos that you can use on your website or shows

Out from our Vault of Wisdom this week is a conversation filled to the brim with tips on how to entertain different audiences and how to grow from failure.

In this episode, we talk with well-known family and corporate entertainer and lecturer for magicians Joe Monti. Joe generously shares the things he has learned from his vast experience of performing for clients in 40 different countries for over 25 years. Learn from one of the bests by listening to this interview.

In this episode we discuss:

The importance of showmanship over props and how John realized this

A common mistake John often sees starting magicians and children's entertainers commit

How often he gets "bad" shows

How he gets honest criticism or feedback on his shows

How long he expects to keep on entertaining and what future he sees for kids entertaining

Performing for technology-savvy children

Effective techniques he uses to build rapport with his audience

How he deals with chatty adults during his shows

His racing game

His weakness: strolling magic

The age groups he loves performing for

Why he specializes in children's and family entertaining

In this episode in the Vault of Wisdom series, we share lessons that a long-time kids entertainer has learned from years of performing.

Greg McMahan, an all-around professional entertainer who uses magic, comedy, balloon twisting, juggling, and clowning in his shows, has been a featured speaker in a number of children's entertainer conventions and is the author of the terrific book Kids Think It's Funny. He is also the magic program director of the Circus Camp. From his wealth of experience, he shares in this episode not just how to handle audiences, parents, and agents, but also how to improve yourself as an entertainer—and many more besides.

In this episode we discuss:

• Greg's work experience as an "advanced clown"
• His material and approach for different age groups
• How Greg builds rapport before performing
• His one audience control technique
• How he deals with parents and adults during his shows
• How he deals with his "bad shows"
• How he uses music and sound effects in his performances
• Tips on working with agents
• How much new material do his shows have
• Tips for kids entertainers who are afraid to screw up
• Technical skills vs. performing skills
• Tips on how to hone your performing and improvisational skills
• The performers who influenced him
• Lessons he learned along the way
• How he makes his balloon twisting gigs entertaining for his audience
• The importance of being yourself as a performer
• Some of his performance "horror stories"

From the vault of wisdom series this week is a guy I really respect.

Robert Baxt is from California where he has been performing family comedy and magic for decades. He is a consummate performer and a very critical thinker about that performing.

I love my discussions with Robert because he opens my mind.

In todays episode we talk about

paths into entertaining

family shows

taking bookings

what you wear

bonding with your audience

we started off talking about getting into entertaining and setting goals to achieve this …

Hospital entertaining is rewarding—there's no doubt about it—but it isn't as simple as it sounds. From the condition of the child and his/her parents, to the almost constant coming and going of medical personnel, to the culture of the different wards, to sanitary precautions and hospital regulations, there's actually a lot of things to consider before you go in and entertain.

To help you navigate the ins and outs of hospital entertaining, we rummaged through our vault to bring you this insightful talk we've had with experienced clown doctor and professional kids entertainer Wayne Van Wyck. Listen in and pick up a wealth of tips that will serve you well next time you go out and perform a show—even if it's not at a hospital.

• How Wayne got into kids entertaining

• The magic of connection and audience interaction and how Wayne built his show around this

• Exceedingly useful tips that a kids entertainer has to remember when performing for kids at hospitals (dos and don'ts and many more)

• How hospital entertaining made Wayne a better children's and family entertainer (Learn about the importance of being aware of your pace, working slowly, and listening to the audience.)

• The difference between being a master showman/kids entertainer vs. being a magician/juggler/ventriloquist/balloon artist and how this can affect how you run your show

• The importance of having variety in your show

• How Wayne deals with audiences (Audiences are not as scary as many kids entertainers think they are.)