Handling Rough Crowds

“No, the teachers won’t be here.”

I burst out laughing. I just couldn’t help it.

I had just been informed that my assembly for 350 kids would be monitored by two gym teachers and the principal.

As part of Teacher Appreciation Week, it was my job to keep the kids occupied while the teachers had a break for 45 minutes.

Having performed at this school four times before, I knew I was in for a rough ride.

These were good kids, but they had difficulty paying attention to anything for longer than a few minutes.

Sure enough, as classes were filing in for the assembly, some of the younger kids were rolling around on the gym floor. Many were making ‘snow angels’ while other classes were seated.

And when introducing me, the principal compounded the problem by introducing me as someone who was going to do magic.

‘Cept they booked my science show, which has zero magic in it.

“Well,” I thought as I started my intro music, “at least I have something to write about for this week’s newsletter.”

You know what? The show was okay. It wasn’t great, but it was good.

I’ve performed plenty of shows where adults are (mostly) absent, so this problem permeates all areas of kids show performing.

In libraries, many adults drop their kids off for a show and wander off for a little R&R. So now you have kids completely unsupervised.

Same with birthday parties. When I was performing birthday parties, I lost count of how many times I’d be directed to the ‘play area’ to entertain the kids while the adults sipped wine on the deck.

So you run into this everywhere.

Over the years I’ve learned a few techniques to handle tough kids shows where the ‘main’ adults are not in the room.

These techniques will help you regardless of the audience or situation.

If I know I have a tough group where holding their attention will be tough, I first mentally edit my scripts.

I make certain parts shorter. Short sentences.

Short.

Less time setting a routine up.

Then, if I feel I’m losing the kids, I’ll change my speed of delivery.

Maybe I’ll slow down for parts.

Other times I speed up.

I do this most of the time anyway, but for these tough shows, I exaggerate it.

The change in delivery will often grab their attention again.

I may make my volume louder.

I may make my volume softer.

Anything I can do to change the tempo. This serves as a ‘pattern interrupt’ which often grabs the attention of the kids.

If I’m really struggling, I may freeze.

Then I wait.

Within a few minutes, the kids start to realize something is wrong. Then they start perking up and looking at me.

One thing I never do? Threaten the kids.

I’ve seen some performers do it.

“Oh, if you don’t settle down, I’ll have to cut a trick.”

I’m not saying there are situations that don’t call for it. It’s just a technique I choose not to use.,

If you do, and it works, great.

The closest thing I will come to that technique is to say, “Oh I hear talking. I’ll wait.”

That usually works like gangbusters.

If I’m performing an educational show, which is most of the time, I’ll often chop out some of the educational exposition.

This gets me to the climax of the routine faster.

Yes, this may shorten my show by a few minutes. But I’d rather end the show on a relatively high note than drag the chaos out longer.

I usually advertise my shows as 40-45 minutes.

That gives me a certain amount of wiggle room.

If I’m really struggling to hold the kids, which thankfully only rarely happens, I can end the show around the 38–39-minute mark and no one notices.

Most shows never start on time anyway.

Time gets muddled and by the time the kids are filing out, no one notices if the show is a little short.

This is only a last resort and is something I may use once or twice a year.

Above are a few ways to handle tough crowds.

But structuring your show the right way can help.

My advice is to have plenty of routines with audience volunteers.

Kids like nothing better than to watch their friends onstage. It instantly draws interest.

This might sound like obvious advice.

But I once saw a magician perform a theme show where he broke this rule.

His show was focused on one educational topic.

And this guy had mad skills. Bird productions, an incredible Zombie routine, you name it. World class skills.

But audience interaction? Very little.

My recollection is he used one volunteer. That volunteer was instructed to sit on a chair while the magician did some of his manipulation up close.

No banter. No comedy. The kid just sat there.

His show was in a public place, so there were families watching.

Admittedly everyone loved his show.

But I wondered what his show was like in a room full of rowdy unsupervised kids?

I’ll likely never know.

I’ve got a lot to say on this topic. Check it out, you’ll find something in it to think about whether you’re a long-time pro or just starting out.

Have a great week!

--Cris

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