I caught this workshop already in progress, but I loved the collaborative speed of it.
Silly Billy and the clowns of Northwest Fest were brainstorming how to extend a single trick into a whole routine. They chose the Professor’s Nightmare rope trick. In it, three pieces of rope keep changing lengths. Their main goal is to increase the interactions per minute until they had a five-minute routine with interactions at least every 15 seconds. They start the routine before the start of the trick and end after the end of the trick.
They found an umbrella theme (fishing) and added props, jokes, costumes.
Here are the “Six Most Important Principles Used in Performing for Children”
(according to Silly Billy www.sillymagic.com)
- Comedy [see list of 15 types he means below]
- Interaction [see list of 6 types]
- Empowerment [5 types]
- Storytelling [3 parts to remember]
- Entertain the Adults [2 tips]
- Scripted Ad-Libs [2 ways]
Comedy
- Verbal incongruity
- Physical incongruity
- Clumsiness
- Physical Injury
- Something goes wrong
- Saying funny words
- Using silly names
- Saying silly magic words
- Using unusual props
- Oversized props
- Funny wands
- Costumes
- Noisemakers
- Repetition
- Getting 3 laughs from one
Interaction
- Laughing
- Saying magic words
- Physical actions saying the magic words
- Physical action with specific routine
- Pointing/ “Look”
- Correcting verbal mistakes
Empowerment
- “Look, don’t see”
- Asking for information
- Misnaming items
- Mispronouncing words
- Empowering with skill
Storytelling
- Establishing a plot
- Ending – Resolution
- Ending – “Waa, waa, waa” ending
Entertaining the Adults
- Fool the adults with magic
- Make the adults laugh
Scripted Ad-Libs
- Don’t Do That! (Action)
- Don’t Say That! (Verbal)
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