| Q. What should I look for when hiring an entertainer for my child's party?
A. This may sound obvious, but make sure the entertainer you hire has a lot of experience entertaining for children. There are a lot of magicians out there who perform for kids because they think it's easy money, when in actuality, performing for children is extremely challenging. Keeping the kids attention and keeping the peace while simultaneously doing magic and comedy takes years of practice, and even then some magician's just aren't cut out for it. In fact, some magician's don't even like children! Always check references to ensure the performer you hire is right for you.
Another aspect to check out is whether the magician does age-appropriate routines and tricks for the specific age group of your party. A whiz-bang sleight-of-hand artist that works the Magic Castle may not be the most appropriate choice for Jimmy's 7th birthday party.
Q. Is it okay to ask the performer for references?
A. Not only is it okay, but you're taking a pretty big risk if you don't. If the performer balks at this request, you might want to keep looking.
Q. Do you do dangerous or messy routines in your act?
A. Personally, I try to make sure the performance location is left just as I found it. That means no glitter, confetti or other messes that my clients are left to deal with. Also, I stay away from fire, knives, chainsaws and so forth because I find most folks resent having their living room look like a scene from "Apoalypse Now" when my show is over.
Q. How are your audience volunteers treated?
A. While I goof around and have a good time with my volunteers, I make sure to treat them all with respect and dignity. Some magician's think it's funny to humiliate and embarrass children, I think it's a really bad idea.
Q. Do you look like a magician?
A. I like to think so. I still remember what it was like to have a magician perform at my birthday party many years ago and one of the things that is still vivid in my mind is that he looked like a 'real' magician. I'm not sure if some guy showing up in a leisure suit would have had the same impact. There is a trend among modern magicians to try to look 'cool' for their own egos than giving the kids what they want.
Q. Do you offer a guarantee?
A. Boy do I. I am so sure you and the birthday guests will be pleased with my show that I offer a 100% money-back guarantee if you're not satisfied with the show. It doesn't get any easier than that does it?
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