Need Advice - Performing For The Aged

[Gulliamo]

I have a gig May 8th performing at a retirement home. They have a stage, mic, sound, etc. One problem, I generally perform close-up magic or for small audiences like birthday parties. I don't think they would have a problem with me "taking the act to them" and walking around a bit but I am concerned about two things.

First: How do the elderly generally react to magic? With kids and young adults it is easy to tell if they are into it and adjust the act accordingly. What kind of magic would the elderly most appreciate?

Second: I am concerned that they won't be able to see much of my magic. Not necessarily because of the distance but because they might not have very good vision.

Thoughts? Advice?

[Bob Klase]

Mostly the elderly react to magic the same way younger people do although some may fall asleep, have short attention spans or perhaps not be fully aware of what's happening around them. Generally treat them like anyone else, but be aware that they're not all capable of doing everything- like walking up to the stage area to assist.

If you're going to perform close up magic then many of them won't be able to see it even if they do have good vision. If you working on a stage for a large group then don't do close up magic. If you can't do a larger show then inform them that you'll do walk-around / close up magic- if that's not what they want then you should do a larger show or recommend another magician to them.

[zombiebex]

I just would say infuse a lot of patter, humor, and audience participation. If it's like most retirement homes, these folks sit around all day watching TV, not doing much. Get them involved. They want someone to talk to, who will talk to them and listen to them.

With magic they won't see, explain what's going on. A card trick where you're up close with a participant for instance, ask the person to tell everyone else what he/she sees, repeat what they say in a loud, clear voice.

Some elderly folks might be hard to read, so watch the audience for those who seem to be the most aware to pick as your volunteers. If it's more of a nursing home than a retirement home, you might have people who have dementia, Alzheimers, so on, so forth. You can also always ask the staff for advice.

It would be nice if you stuck around after the show to spend some time with the blue hairs. I know they'd appreciate that most of all and ask you back.

[Brown]

Personally, I don't think I'd hire any nubile models to dance provocatively in scanty costumes.

My first reaction is to plan a magic show for the senior set much like you'd plan a magic show for kids. The effects shouldn't be complicated.

A good stage illusion might be nice. A vanish of an assistant might be well received, or a production of a big bouquet of flowers. I'd avoid subtle magic in favor of the flashier in-your-face type.

I'd be sensative to the "old school" of entertainment: no sex, no crudity, no sexual innuendo, no fake gore (e.g., no chopping-off-the-hand illusion or sticking a big needle through the arm, that type of thing). Jack Benny and Milton Berle didn't need blue lines or shock in their material, so stay away from that stuff.

In fact, see if you can get a copy of Milton Berle's "Joke File" books at the local library. This will give you an idea of the kind of humor these folks would appreciate. Yeah, a lot of it is tired and cornball, but Uncle Miltie actually stole some pretty good material. Between tricks, you can tell an Uncle Miltie joke, as a segue from one trick to another.

If you have an oversize deck of cards, use it where you can.

[Smidge]

Here's some not very serious exmaples of entertaining the elderly... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29le85Vp8vI

[Bob Klase]

but Uncle Miltie actually stole some pretty good material.

Uncle Miltie didn't steal some pretty good material- he stole nothing but the best.

[Gulliamo]

Got it. No cutting edge humor, no cutting edge magic, no cutting edge effects and no lovely assistants. Nothing too long, intricate or requiring mobility. Only "cornball" magic and humor. Got it. Time to buy some "turn something into fake flowers" gimmicks.

[Azrael 5]

Shout a lot. :D

[Senex]

This is terrible to admit -- but when I read the title of this thread I thought about my experience with magic and the aged and remembered I did magic for the aged when I was a child. A moment later I realized I was doing magic for adults the age I am now :boggled:

I have nothing to offer you but my belief that a retirement home is a good audience. I remember in the 8th grade my class went to retirement homes to sing some songs. I was the MC and I did a comic routine before and between the songs that were entirely stolen off a Bob Hope record and the retirees laughed at the right places. I'm thinking of doing my mentalism act for a retirement home besides the senior center before Beltraine.

Good luck -- doing magic for a retirement home is good karma. It's funny but I don't believe in heaven or hell --- but I do believe that if you are nice then nice things will happen to you. It's probably baloney but it helps me get through the day. I hope this belief doesn't tarnish my skeptic standing on this site.

[deBergerac]

Good luck -- doing magic for a retirement home is good karma. It's funny but I don't believe in heaven or hell --- but I do believe that if you are nice then nice things will happen to you. It's probably baloney but it helps me get through the day. I hope this belief doesn't tarnish my skeptic standing on this site.

You are probably still a sceptic, at least acording to my standards. Though my standards are not that high.
If you are nice to people they will like you. (At least most of the time, you can't please everyone.) If people like you the probablility that they will be nice to you increases. So if you are nice, nice things will happen. :)

[Gulliamo]

Right, one of them will be a retired talent agent and insist he book me for large sums of cash. [/End Dream Session]

[De_Bunk]

Hey...

RE: Old people...

Why not just hold it in your hand and tell them it's not there...

"See this card...It is the card you chose"...they can't see it...

"Look...I have made this walking frame vanish.." and then just put it behind you...

Shout out..."Look its Paul Anka" and point out the window...it will be at least a minute before they look at you again...

Easy...

Old people..they're great...driving at 15mph in a 60 zone...

I love 'em...

DB

[Jeff Corey]

Hey, DB, these people are probably driving nothin but a motorized wheelchair.
I would never do a card trick where they had to remember the card they picked.

[Peter S.]

Having worked at a number of retirement homes I should warn you not to expect a big reaction from your audience. The lack of reaction does not mean they don't like the show. After I did my first old folks show I thought I bombed, but while I was packing up a large number of them came up to me and told me how much they had enjoyed the show. One old gentleman, who was unable to speak, brought a scrap book of pictures of himself in his younger days doing magic shows.

[Gulliamo]

Hmmm. That's really interesting Peter. Thanks for the warning - otherwise I might have caught myself saying, "Uh, hello. This is the part where you are supposed to clap!"

[De_Bunk]

How about anything thats big...

Big magic...big cards...big illusions...Things that make a load of sound and vision...

Thinking about it...this might be an unexploited niche in the magic market...

Hey...Old people need and want entertaining too...Maybe throw in a few old songs whilst doing the magic...double whammy...

There must be a s***load of old peoples homes that would love to have someone come and entertain...

Word of mouth...The home managers paying...etc..etc...

Just a thought...

DB

[Gulliamo]

Very true DB. Maybe I can get a good reference and some good leads for future shows. (So that's why Randi moved to Florida! To exploit the "entertainment for the aged market".)
:)