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Frequently Asked Questions |
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How Much is Your
Show?
If you are looking for the cheapest magician,
I am not him.
My shows are a full hour of solid
entertainment and I even arrive early to help greet
guests and provide additional entertainment until
everyone arrives. Also, before judging on price, be sure
to look over my Checklist of questions to ask when booking any type
of entertainment. Check testimonials and references.
My fee is $300 and unlike some other businesses,
I do NOT charge mileage or travel fees.
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Do You Perform
Outside?
No.
For the past decade I have gotten virtually ALL of my
work from word of mouth. 96% of my business comes from
repeats and referrals with only a trickle for people who
stumble across this website on the internet. The reason
I am so popular is because I have performed more than
3,000 birthday parties and I KNOW what works. Outdoor
parties do NOT work consistently.
Sometimes you get lucky, but most times you have to deal
with rain or the risk of rain, sunlight in the eyes of
the audience or in the eyes of the performer, the
inability to control the temperature (what seems like a
nice day to someone sitting down in the shade drinking
iced lemonade is quite different from a performer who
has to dynamically and energetically perform in the sun
while wearing a costume and sporting a puppet on his
arm), airplanes that fly over during punch lines of
jokes, neighbors who decide to mow their lawns, gusts of
wind that blow props over and prevent some of the better
routines from being performed, insects that annoy adults
(flies, gnats, mosquitoes, etc.), insects that frighten
children (spiders, bees, wasps, etc), all sorts of
interesting distractions that can steal the attention of
the audience for no valid reason (a drifting balloon, a
low flying airplane, a squirrel, a bird, a neighbors
ball coming over the fence, etc.)
I could go on and on as I have experience all of these
situations. Several years ago I realized that part of
the reason that you are willing to pay a premium price
for having me attend your event is the experience that I
bring to the table. My job is to ensure that you have
the best event possible and this can only happen in an
environment where we have some control over the
elements.
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What ages do you
perform for?
My birthday party show is ideal for children
ages 4-11. If your children, or the majority of the
young guests will be younger than four, I can recommend
some fantastic party ideas that your kids will enjoy and
benefit from much more than a magic puppet show. Don't get me
wrong, I want your business, but only if it is going to
be the best possible party for your child. Call me at
(281) 481-5439 if you have young children and I will
gladly help you develop, at no charge, the perfect party
to fit whatever your budget.
If you have children older than eleven, or even a very
interested ten-year-old, I have a great party package
that I call "The Magic Workshop". This is 60-90 minutes
where your child and his or her guests will learn real,
audience fooling magic. These are not silly stunts. I
teach some of the actual effects I use when I perform
strolling magic for adults. All the guests get their own
mini-magic set with everything they need to perform the
tricks I teach. I perform a trick then teach them all
how to do it. Then we go on to the next trick in the
same way. We continue this way through the workshop in a
very hands-on manner.
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How far in advance
do I need to book?
I recommend two months in advance. I have had
people book me a year and a half in advance, but that is
generally unnecessary. I've also had people call me on a
Thursday and get me for that following Saturday, but
that is very rare as well. Most times, my Saturdays and
Sundays are gone three weeks before the date, but you
never know until you call.
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What
tricks do you do? What puppets do you use?
Usually when people ask this they want to
make sure that they are getting a performance that
everyone will enjoy. The puppets I use are
professional grade creations (similar to The
Muppets). But that's not what makes the show a
winner.
I think most of the people who hire me before
they've seen me perform somewhere want to be assured
that no one will be made fun of. There will be
non-stop laughter but it will come at the expense of
NO ONE. I work full-time performing anti-bullying
and motivational shows in schools, there is NO WAY
that I would spend my weekends embarrassing children
at parties. I can assure you that the humor is
"Church pew clean" while still being uproariously
funny for children and adults of all ages.
The tricks I do are specifically chosen for the
reaction they consistently get from audiences. Some
of what I do is very difficult sleight-of-hand that
has taken years to master, and other tricks are
virtually self-working. The truth is that the
audience should never be able to tell the difference
anyway. My goal is not to impress you with my skill,
but to make sure that everyone is amazed and
entertained.
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Why is your show
so expensive? I know a guy at my church who will do
magic shows for $125.
As an active member of the Houston
Association of Magicians as well as the Houston Puppetry
Guild I also know many local performers who will work for less. If budget
constraints are a very legitimate concern, please call
me and I can refer a competent, trustworthy magician or
puppeteer who
will work for a lesser fee, rather than leaving it up to
chance and hoping that the person you hire is actually
entertaining.
Be warned that to hire someone based solely on price
might be asking for disaster. Children's
entertainment is a service, not a product. You can't
compare by price alone the way you can with gasoline
and milk. I'm fortunate to be able to perform almost
every day of the year in schools and public
libraries. My clients hire me back year after year
for a reason.
Your child will only have one birthday this year, and
before you know it, they'll be teenagers and won't let
you plan any of their parties. Whether you book with me
or with someone else, please look over my
Checklist of questions to ask when calling about
entertainment
so you know what to look for in an entertainer.
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My child is very
shy. What if he/she doesn't want to be the star of the
show?
I've done more than three thousand birthday party
shows and I have encountered this question scores of
times. However, I have NEVER had a child not want to
help me on stage. Part of this is because I take the
time to make the child feel comfortable with me well in
advance of the party. I send out a postcard with my
picture on it so the child can see what I look like and
begin mentally preparing for my arrival. I arrive 30-45
minutes before the party starts and can have the
birthday child help me set up, or just watch me set up
from a "safe" distance. Regardless, it won't take long
for even the most reclusive child to open up as we begin
doing close-up magic (magic that happens right in your
child's hands).
Even though I haven't yet encountered a child so shy
that they didn't want to help, if I ever do, I would
respond in the way that I've always believed was
appropriate in a situation like that. I would allow the
child to simply watch the show and enjoy the party,
knowing that if he changed his mind at any time he can
get up and help me.
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Copyright 2011 Funny Magic Puppet Guy. All rights reserved
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