General Advice On Acts
Twisting at Parties Without an Act
Developing a Character
Developing Your Balloon Act
Entertaining and Showmanship: Keeping Your Audience Amused
Entertaining the "not thrilled" Customer
Storytelling with Balloons
Balloons and Comedy
Kid Language, Adult Language
Balloons and Magic
If you do shows, remember: FIRST, you are an entertainer. Second, you are a balloonist. If you are going to do different things in your act (juggling, magic, etc.) and balloons, save handing out the balloons for last. In my experience, once I started handing out balloons it was almost impossible to stop. There always seems to be a constant stream of people wanting balloons once you start making them. Also, balloons are toys. You have to expect people who have them to play with them. I've learned that I can't give out balloons during my shows. I twist balloons during the show, and I give out balloons at the end sometimes, but if I give them out in the middle, I know they're going to make noise.
A good show is like a novel. It has a beginning, a middle, and an end. There is a very good book out called 'Magic and Showmanship' which deals with setting up your routine and presenting it in a show. It is rather long reading and best taken in small chunks but there are some real gems of thought in there for the performer. If I were to perform magic, do a few tricks, then pick up the violin and start playing, I would lose people just because there was no consistency in the show. The same would be true of someone performing magic and then saying 'Okay, now I'll twist animals for everyone'.
Start thinking like a good skit; Beginning - Middle - End (a kicker something to leave them smiling and wanting to have you back). Try making one last "special thing for the birthday child" and announce it is your finale. Or you might make a balloon ball and start them in a game of "Keep it in the Air" (as you sneak out to do your business with the parent).
Performing magic really makes me the star. However when I'm twisting, the balloons are often the stars. So I set up my entertaining to include both balloons and magic. For parties I would throw in some games which involve balloons. I do a magic show with balloon animals between each of the four routines. Doing magic, then doing balloons, you lose them. The act must be routined and not just lots of bits. If I do a trick with rabbit cards, I then, flash of inspiration... why don't I make a balloon rabbit. And so it goes. Then I remember that I forgot the birthday card so we make a magic one - then, of course, I forgot the present, so I make a super-duper balloon animal. And so on.
Your act should be an ever-evolving entity. It should be in constant change, little by little. If you pay attention to stand-up comedians while they do their acts, and then you see the same guy a few years - or even months - later, you'll notice that the routines have changed a little, and maybe entirely new ones had entered as well. It's just the evolution of the show. It keeps it all fresh. Sometimes a routine just needs a little maintenance and at other times it'll need a complete overhaul. You'll be able to tell from audience reaction, and from your own reactions, as well. Change should be done for your audience, and to keep the material fresh for you. Slow evolution of material, with occasional influxes of totally new stuff still keeps that air of familiarity. Kids like repetition with a twist (change), because they can sing along, talk along, or anticipate what comes next, but still be surprised from time to time with something new.
Make every twist an interesting experience. Pay attention to what you are doing as you twist and really keep an eye out for things you do that gets the attention from everyone in line... remember that 'thing' and use it often.. soon you'll build a tool kit of bits and pieces (besides balloons) and find yourself in more and more demand.
It is a good idea to throw in a few other things that make the show well rounded. Magic is not my strong suit so I do it as Clown Magic and tell the kids that clowns don't have any magic. I have to get my magic from them and they make up the magic word (my favorite is Pickles in your Pudding!) I also tell them that I do an educational juggling act - I tell them that when I say Ta Da! or anything hits the floor then that is when they should clap! Then I drop something to see how well they learned that lesson. They really get into it. Especially when I do a few drops at the end and then say "I just loovvve applause!"
When I first started performing as a juggler one of the most important things that I learnt was not to take my inspiration solely from other jugglers. To get an original act one should have a look at different art forms, music, dance, poetry, origami, gardening, stand up comedy, cooking whatever. Sure we need to learn a certain amount of technical stuff from those better at our particular field but the source of good performance is much deeper than that.
If you ever have the opportunity to do shows from a stage or anytime you are back from your audience you need to be able to do larger figures so that they can be seen. I have worked elementary schools where you are on stage. If you do single 260 animals they are real difficult for the kids to see.
Before you go in front of an audience to keep them amused for an hour, KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING! Don't take this personally but just because you know "how" to make balloon animals doesn't necessarily mean that you should accept doing birthday shows. Since you are going to be charging for this service. Be as professional as you can be. Hundreds of kids play the piano but they don't all go on stage.
Don't accept a job that you can't handle. Birthday parties are looking for ACTS. Either develop an act or don't accept the job.
Some college students around here are advertising themselves as balloon twisters and jugglers for birthday parties and they have no act. I see this type too. Their whole show can be described just like their price, cheap. On the plus side is that because of their very nature, they don't last long. Unfortunatly, they can give entertainers a bad name. A person hires them and then they are disappointed. They have a bad taste in their mouths about hiring balloon artists or magicians. Another metaphor I could use: just because you can play neighborhood basketball doesn't mean that you should play with the Bulls.
I don't see the problem. I got my start by going to a couple parties that a friend did and taking part in a few things to get the feel for it. Then, with his help, I put together my own show. So, I've never done a party without an act ready to go. But, for the person that advertises as a balloon sculptor, that's fine as long as the prospective client realizes that's all this person does. When people tell me on the phone that I charge too much, I suggest they look for someone with less experience that might be in a better position to help them out. I don't tell them to find someone cheaper. They get the idea that they have to pay a higher price for a better show. If they really can't afford me, they'll probably be happy with whoever they get, just because it's better than nothing. If they're not happy, they've been warned. Several of the people that I've sent elsewhere have called me back later, and thanked me for being polite and giving referrals, and then hired me or passed my name on to some community group they're part of that has a larger budget. If you've got a show to sell, you should be able to sell it no matter what sort of competition is out there.
You have to develop a character first. Then develop a routine around it. I know amateur magicians who just dabble in tricks and their friends hire them to entertain the kiddies. They flop and don't know what they're doing.
Develop a character: When my wife doesn't want to put on her clown make-up for walk around restaurant work, she becomes Arlene the Balloon Artist. She wears a painter's smock with brushes and balloons and crayons decorating it. She wears a beret painter's hat and takes on that personna.
I feel that the most important part of any pitch is that it is natural and a part of your character, or amplification of your own personality. If you don't feel comfortable with your own pitch; change it.
Make your twisting easier; define your character as yourself. If you are trying to be someone/thing else all day you are using a lot of energy. Make your character bigger by finding the things people like about you and emphasising that part of yourself. Your dress can be clean and comfortable and you can still create visual interest with a balloon hat and decorating the area. If you have a good place to work, you will have a line for balloons whether you look like yourself or like Barney.
For me, the pitch is what makes you a performer and not just a balloon factory. I'm not talking about tip pitching; what I really mean is the ability to chat up the line while you twist. Joking about your balloons, kidding and playing with the crowd, that sort of thing. If I could sum it up it would be, having FUN and showing that you are having fun with it. A few good lines for when the balloon pops, or when you get a crazy request or comment about what you are doing. That is your pitch (in magic we usually call this patter, what you say as you do the effect - the thing that gets them to come to you and to hang around long enough to be entertained and feel that you are worth some of their hard earned cash). There are times when there are so many kids and so little time that you don't have time for a lot of interaction but you can still be a "personality" that is fun to be around and look like you are enjoying your work.
Frankly, I get a kick out of twisting, and I get a kick out of making kids smile and laugh. I let that show when I perform and that makes it special for me and them. (I do have several "bits" that I like to do: poofing up the last bubble on a poodle tail, taking a bubble off a balloon, tickling a kid with the end of a balloon as I inflate it, forgetting to tie the knot or tying the knot on the wrong end, tearing the balloon in half and giving away free samples (that fly away when they try to hold them) etc.). This makes it more than just twisting for me.
Ideas for a balloon act:
I take the kids on a trip to the balloon zoo or to the woods in balloon world and they can see all the animals there. Sometimes to the balloon circus, where balloons do all kinds of tricks.
Look for a "Gag Bag" in your magic stores, catalogs, whatever. It is a bag similar to an egg bag, but it turns in on itself four or five times and each section is a different color. Put a balloon in the last section, and in the other sections put a bone, leash, etc. Then you can produce a "doggie" from your "doggie bag": 'I keep my doggie in this blue bag with red inside;' no dog, turn bag inside out; 'Oh, this is Tuesday (whatever), on Tuesday I keep him in my red bag with yellow inside;' no dog, find leash or bone in bag; 'but we are getting closer;' turn bag inside out, 'this is afternoon'... continue with similar patter until you get to the last section and find the balloon. You can then inflate the balloon and make the dog, or continue with the trained dog routine (sit up, speak, roll over, play dead).
Here's more:
When I do a Clown show I always make my assistant a "Super-Duper, Really Spectacular, Very Colorful, and Extremely Silly Looking, Helpers Hat.
I have giant bubble wands to make bubbles and so that the kids can help me make them. Two year olds LOVE BUBBLES. Older kids love bubbles, but they like to play with them.
Other: Face painting, magic, juggling, puppets, singing, crafts, games, jokes, running gags, skits and stories, music.
One of my favourite pitches is to sing (badly) kids songs about the figure that I am busy making. I have songs for most of my animals (How much is that doggy, Teddy bears picnic, Butterfly Flutterby, Six little ducks, Never play cards with a cheetah, Don't shake hands with an Octopus etc.)The kids will often join in with the more well known songs. If your singing is as bad as mine you can even use nursery rhymes or just use the lyrics of the songs as a poem.
One routine I sometimes use on stage is to get six kids and give them each a balloon which I have half twisted into various animals but that are still not recognisable. We then sing 'I knew an old lady who swallowed a fly' and I finish the fly, spider, bird, cat, dog, horse as they fit into the song.
Here are some routines that have been posted to the mailing list (what a terrible word for an act... would you pay to see somethine that was "routine" ?
Having balloons makes you colorful and interesting, it gets the people to come over to you: whether they stay or not depends on what you do when they are there.
Don't ever give the impression that you are trying to hurry the people through the line. Be casual and easy when speaking. No matter how long the line is, I always interact with everyone that I am doing balloons for. It's a real part of the experience for them. I usually have the person I'm making the sculpture for help me. It involves them in the performance and makes the wait seem shorter. If I can't do that, I put the balloons under one arm or hold them between my ring finger and little finger. Be outgoing and energetic. To be a wonderful entertainer, attitude is everything.
Most importantly, talk to anyone that wants to talk to you. You can talk while you twist. If you need a break, take it while talking to them. They're your audience and they want to meet the entertainer. You never know which of those people is going to hire you for something later. The biggest problem with street entertainment is that you don't get breaks. As long as people see you, you're working. You may take a break from twisting for a few minutes, but you're still under the spotlight. In fact, a lot of people came to me and asked how I got started in balloons, how did I learn, etc. They enjoy finding out about what you do. When someone asks how they can get started I direct them to the books by Aaron Hsu-Flanders (for now anyway) since they're easy to come by. This is also a good time to point out that you can be available to do workshops if they know of a group that might be interested and have a space you can work in.
When doing animals for others I try to avoid dogs/giraffes/etc, simply because that's what people expect. Swans are a favorite of mine. But beware of the trap that beginning magicians frequently fall into; perhaps the ballooning meets are fostering their own version of it; in magic it is known as: "Performing Magic for Magicians." I will label our version as: "Ballooning for Ballooners." In magic, an altogether sad truism is that the simplest self-working (read basically no skill required) tricks often TOTALLY AMAZE AND 'BLOW-AWAY' the lay audience, whereas the incredibly difficult and subtle sleight-of-hand move that takes years to perfect will often barely register a nod of interest from a crowd of spectators. Of course, any magicians present will be 'drooling' over the flawless execution and novel technique. Folks, it is DEATH to fall in this trap....death, that is, if you want to ENTERTAIN and amaze and amuse the average audience member!!! Stay in touch with your audience. If you are in a contest with other ballooners to outdo each other, that is fine. Just do not assume that the very latest and greatest creation is what it will take to please the toddler with the outstretched hand and a bulging diaper, whose mother has been patiently smiling at you for forty minutes!!!
Until this last weekend I would have said that too. People waited all day for an hour or more to have a 3 braid hat made for them. When they got to the table I heard comments like "long wait, but it was worth it", "I've never seen balloons made like this before, this is great". Being remembered as a performer is a real good objective. People that remember will book you in the future.
I used to be happy making just a "plain dog," then I started working for tips. Believe me, the customers do know and appreciate the complexity of the balloon sculptures. As my sculptures became more elaborate, the tips got larger. You must use some common sense in the number of balloons and the time frame to make a sculpture. I wouldn't do the sixteen balloon Roger Rabbit at a table. I enjoy taking some time at a table, entertaining and telling my dumb jokes. A three to five balloon sculpture is about right, time-wise, and it allows me to feel creative, have fun and enjoy what I do. When performing at a festival or large event, it is back to the fast one balloon figures, slap 'em on a leash or hat and go on to the next. So it is not a matter of what figures you do, but using the appropriate ones for the situation. And what is wrong with being a balloonist's balloonist. Hey if it makes you happy! I enjoy the challenge of learning the fifty balloon power rangers.
Good vs. bad entertainers?
There are many okay sculptors, which is what you are when you first start out. Your patter isn't polished, your repertoire is limited, but we all started there. With practice, anybody can become a good sculptor.
What's a bad sculptor? I saw a clown in Sacramento last fall who made nothing but helmets (with three-twist poodles on them) and swords. He charged a buck apiece. No patter. No smiles. Slapped a kid's hand for grabbing at a balloon. I'd call that a bad sculptor.
I was recently able to watch and talk with several street performers doing balloons (all clowns). Here are a few thoughts, as an observer of street performers:
As I was told by the Amazing Jody Baran, the difference between a good magician and a great magician is well-shined shoes. Appearance makes the first impression. In our profession, that's important, because you get about 10 seconds to surprise and delight people enough to stop and watch you (and tip you).
I learned a great lesson about the relative values of skill and presentation. Twisting for the multitudes at IBAC, one of the IBAC delegates (Brad) came up to me, and asked if he could help me. Since I had a line clear across the room, I wasn't going to turn him down. He had never twisted before, so I had him ask the child what they wanted and inflate the balloons while I twisted. Problem was, he didn't know how to say, "No, I don't know how to make that". One child asked for an alligator on an airplane. Brad looks at me, I say "no way" (We were limited to quick two and three balloon sculptures) But Brad decided to try it anyway. The resulting mess looked just like you would expect it to; lumps of green and white everywhere. But, the kid loved it. After that, Brad decided to just make anything he could think of - he just twisted balloons together into abstract forms and named them - "Nuclear reaction at dawn", "Cherry inside a lemon merangue pie", "Elephant eating a hubcap" It didn't matter what the sculpture looked like (and it never looked like it's name)- it was his personality and presentation that made the kids want his sculptures. It was a real eye opener for me.
I approach each animal in an artistic way and NOT as a churn-em-out quick balloon. Each animal is made in a very showy way and always decorated with a sharpie (not quickly but rather with extra special care) making sure that both eyes look alike and the mouth makes sense. When I make 3+ balloon creations I put on a real "street show" so everyone pays attention to all the hard work I'm doing. Anyone can pick up a balloon kit and make dogs or cats. You have to show the staff that you are not only a balloon twister, but an entertainer.
Advice to those who only make one-balloon animals: make them slowly and look as if there is some effort to your work. You'll get bigger tips.
Sometimes you get hired by a jerk (let's call him the instigator) to entertain a recipient. It's like guys who get strippers for strait-laced friends for the bachelor parties: it's a chance to get a cheap laugh at the expense of the recipient. Remember that you're there only to entertain the birthday person, not the instigator. If the birthday person doesn't enjoy it, no one in the crowd will ever hire you for their spouse's (kid's, boss's, etc.) birthday (they don't need the grief).
What do you do, when you're dragged into the middle of a situation like this....?... First off, IMHO, it's a no-win, stand-off situation...no matter what happens, someone is almost certainly going to be unhappy about it... If you 'embarass' her, then he's happy...If you don't, than she's happy. (unfortunately, I think that's their 'goal' here, to embarass the other person...)...and if you refuse to do it, least in restaurant work, then you run the risk of upsetting the person making the request (usually 1 of 3, the management, the wait staff, or the customer...all 3 of which I want on my side..especially the management/wait staff)...
I've tried to set guidlines for handling it....1st) I want total control.. I don't want someone else telling me what to do... I have to be able to 'read' the situation and act accordingly.... If the person is not 'into it' which is the way the lady in Arla's case sounded, then I have to be able to soft-pedal and retreat if necessary.... 2nd)..while I'll try to stick to suggestions, I pick the moment to do it..and the place if possible. 3rd) I can/will refuse it if it doesn't feel right, but how do you really 'know' that it isn't right......?... I try to go with 'gut-feeling', but that's certainly not 100% right either.....
I was a waiter at Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour in Tustin (when Farrell's was still a chain). We'd blow the whistles and bang the drums for any reason you can think of, and people were always trying to embarrass others at their table. The problem was, you never really knew how people were going to react. So, you have to be prepared to turn the situation around.
When it's a person's birthday, they are expected to go along. Encourage that right from the beginning. "Wow, you're really a good sport to put up with this!" "Man, they try to throw you a curve and you hit it out of the park!" "Look here everybody, here's a lady with _style_."
One time I was reaching over some people in a large group to serve someone in the corner, and a banana split boat on my tray poured ice cream and chocolate syrup down the neck of the unfortunate gentleman over whom I was leaning. The table erupted in laughter, and I quickly said "Oh thank God this happened to someone with a sense of humor! I'd hate to lose my job over this!" Got him a warm, clean towel, comp'ed his ice cream. Got a huge tip, and he'll always have a story to tell. They even came back the next week. When you give people a chance to be heroic, they'll usually take it.
"Yeah! What in the hell did you think you were doing, hiring someone who could twist something stupid like this?" (Twist something very cool, very fast.) "Or this?" (twist twist twist) "Your idea of a good time is watching someone do this?" (twist twist twist twist twist) "I mean, grow up! This is a person of high culture, who would never be amused by something like this." (twist twist twist)
"I mean, a woman lives to be (insert age 10 years younger than actual age -- it's cheesy, but always goes over well) and all you get her is the most popular clown in the tri-state area?" (Bay Area, Wichita, United States, you pick it.)
"You know, you really owe her a huge present now. Or maybe something small and precious." (Twist earrings, a ring, whatever, and put them on the person instigator.) "Hint, hint." A variation might be to make the instigator a bow tie and tell him to take her out to a fancy meal.
Make a sword and say to the birthday person, "You hold him down, and I'll thrash him."
If it's all adults, make the dirty dog and tell the instigator that he can keep it if it "likes" him. (If you don't know the dirty dog, e-mail me privately -- it's simple and embarrassing.)
Engage the crowd, and take the attention completely away from the birthday person.
"I know, you're asking, how can an adult make a living by crashing people's parties in oversized polka-dotted clothes. The fact is, I always dress like this. I learned balloons to keep people from staring at me...."
Get them all to sing: [nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuhhhh-nuh-nu'] They say it's your birth-dayy! [nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuhhhh-nuh-nu'] Happy Birthday to you! [nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuhhhh-nuh-nu'] They say it's your birth-dayy! [nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuh-nuhhhh-nuh-nu'] Gonna have a good time! (etc.)
To end your routine, go the sincere route. Make a bouquet or a teddy-bear or something so unutterably cute that it has to be accepted, then say:
"(Instigator's name) wanted me to come here today because he loves you, and he wanted to do something extra special to show it. Thank you, (birthday person) for being such a good sport. Everybody! Happy Birthday to you! Happy Birthday to you...."
Remember that the instigator is not likely to hire you again (been there, done that). You want the birthday person to appear to enjoy your performance so that others in the crowd will want to hire you. And, if all else fails, you already know the important lesson: payment in advance!
I tell interesting facts about the figure or animal I'm making in a way that reveals the recognizable shape just as I finish the story. People are so used to hearing tall tales that they expect it. With the truth as your resource, you'll have a library of material at your disposal and they'll fall for it every time!
I was watching my Mike Decker twisting video last week during which he mentioned that Shari Lewis had produced an audio cassette tape of 1 minute bedtime stories that could be adapted to tell while twisting.
storytelling with balloons. kids give you the major hero. (twist him) and major obstacles of the story (twist them, or pop the corresponding parts of you hero, if it's a gory story), and together you, the balloons, and input from the kids creates your 5-minute epic.
I've heard of twisters with 'morph' balloons, they twist a balloon, and retwist it, as the sortie evolves into recognizable other things in the story.
Harvey Potter's Balloon Farm is a good book to use for story telling. A lot of action where you can use the balloons as you tell it.
My main gig is storytelling, and I use balloons as a prop/giveaway. It has been very sucessful for me!
My younger daughter Michelle (age 9) performed in the school talent show last spring in her clown costume & make-up and made a balloon sculpture (she's been inflating them by mouth since she was 4 1/2 ) as she told the story of the Ugly Duckling. The sculpture: Michelle starts off with an un-inflated balloon, casually displayed as she starts the story. First a small puff of air, to make a 2 inch bubble near the center of the balloon. Cupping the oblong bubble in her hands, with the ends threaded through her fingers and hidden behind the hands, she talks about, "Once there was a nest with a single white egg..." adding more air she proceeds with the sculpture as she tells the story (short version), timing it so that it is completed as she finishes the story and holds it up for display with the final words "...but was really a beautiful white swan all the time." (A single balloon swan with two loop body).
Why not write your own story? When mom or dad seem unsure as to the price of $100.00 for an hour, I suggest the balloon story at $75.00 for 1/2 an hour. They give me all the names of the kids that are going to be there & I formulate a tale using their names for all the balloons I make. I limit it to 10. Extra kids are $5.00 each. If they have 5 more, you've just made your $100.00, and in less than an hour. You should see the kid's faces when I say "Susie the swan". "Your name's Susie? No! What are the chances of that happening?" It really gets going about the third or forth kid. By then I'll be pouting while I say,"You just don't want to wait for a balloon. That's not really your name, is it?". "Uh huh! My name is too Tommy!" You can time the story by putting the long narrative parts where you need to spend a lot of time twisting the critter.
A fun variation would be to twist balloon costumes for the kids, and have them act out their role. This would quickly devolve into chaos, particularly when the characters on stage outnumber the audience, but if you roll with it, everybody can have a great time. I would have a story in mind, but I wouldn't be married to it. If one of the kids comes up with a clever line or suggests a different direction for the story, I'd go with it (especially if I knew a twist to go with it!)
For another twist, there's a routine I like to do verbally, but would work well with balloons. It's a sort of "mad-libs" routine where I tell the story, but let the audience fill in the details. (I stole this from Kevin Nealon, who was one of the headliners in a comedy show I was in 13 years ago, before he went to Saturday Night Live. I...didn't go on to Saturday Night Live.) It goes kinda like this:
"Something weird happened to me on the way to the party today. I was walking up...um...what's the name of this street?"
Audience: "Maple."
"Yeah, I was walking up Maple street, and right there in front of me was a little barking dog...what do you call them...the little dogs with the long bodies...wiener dog thing...."
Audience: "Dachshund!"
"Yeah, a dachshund! It had a long nose, two little ears, short legs, lonnnnnng body, short hind legs and a frantically wagging tail. So I tried to get around him, but I had to go into the street and I was almost hit by a...a...um..."
Audience: "Car? Motorcycle? Elephant?"
"Yeah, an elephant! He had a long trunk like this, two big ears like this, two big legs with piano keys on them, a big fat body, two more legs and a tail! He was rampaging down the center of the street because he was being chased by a...a..."
Audience: "Tank? Zulu warrior? Power Ranger?"
"Yeah, a Power Ranger!"
You get the idea. After a while, they get into the swing of things, and start suggesting stranger and stranger items. If you want to make something specific, give them more clues ("it had a long neck, spots, rhymes with carafe..."), but if they name something you know, you can make what they say, and give it to the child who suggested it, and let the story grow organically.
Not for the faint of heart, but it's a lot of fun, and it guarantees that the kids will get a unique story because they're part of the process.
I would question the wisdom of doing balloons in a comedy routine. Only for the reason that whenever I think of balloons and comedy, Steve Martin comes to mind. If I were to stand up in front of a bunch of people and perform I wouldn't want them saying I was a Steve Martin wannabe. Comedy uses few props. The props that are used are usually unique to a performer and hardly ever repeated. (Who else is smashing fruit with a mallet like Gallagher?) I'm just curious as to how you could do a routine using the same props as Steve Martin and keep it fresh and unique to you.
I identify Steve Martin with a banjo, an arrow thru the head, and balloons to a lesser degree. I don't think that because it's been done, that it can't be done again... It shouldn't be re-done, re-hashed, or copied....but I can see a lot of directions that balloons can go in, and it would mostly depend on the personality/character of the performer which one (s) to choose.. Anyways, the point is that I think you can do/redo anything you like if you put yourself into it...it has to be you, or at least major components of you. I love Steve Martin, but I would never try to do his stuff, it's not me. but balloons is/was only a part of the whole package, why can't other folks take balloons as an ingredient in their package.
Adding hats, earrings, flowers, etc. to the space you are working in, as you present your stand-up would be a great addition to your act. Having twisted for people in many different bars. (local country bar, in the bar at an academic conference, in a ballroom, out west for coal miners and hunters, and hangin with old college buddies) I can say that balloons liven up any bar-scene.
Working in comedy clubs I found that a balloon act is no good unless you also do COMEDY. That's what the club is for. Of course the funny look when you look at an odd shaped balloon will present itself to a funny bit. I found that making odd hats, clothes, handcuffs, etc to someone that joins you onstage will create some great bits. The few times that I did a set with balloons, I was telling story jokes while I was twisting.
Here's the best advice I can give about comedy clubs and novelty acts: I was the only magician hired at a comedy club in Rhode Island. When I asked the club booker why he liked to book me at the club he explained that I had more laughs per minute than any other magician he ever saw. "Most magicians take 3 minutes worth of set up time and then the climax of the trick has a laugh. Too late for me." As Bozo the Clown always said....KEEP EM LAUGHING!
Country and western singer Mel Tellis had (has?) a genuine stutter and like any great performer he used adversity to his advantage. Anyone who has a stutter would be well advised to take advantage of the comedy possibilities. But.... if your stutter is not genuine I believe that it would be in very bad taste to use it for comedy. Mel Tellis made stuttering famous. He pauses or stutters at a moment in a joke or story that leaves you hanging. It really makes him special and people love it. I heard he went to speach therapy and conquered it but returned to it for his audiences' sake. Play it up instead of down - it could be great. Another good example of this is WC Fields. He was terribly sensitive about his nose in private company but used it frequently in his comedy.
Throw-away lines: You say them so fast that most people don't realize what you've said until you've moved on (there's usually a two-beat delay before the laugh). It's something you say as you're arranging the kid onstage, getting set up to do the stunt.
Don't take a throw-away joke and extend it into part of the act. It's not funny when it's given too much of the spotlight. It's obnoxious. That's why so many people hate clowns - they've seen too many of these hacks who don't know the difference between a bit of business and an act.
A lot of magic tricks and clown skits that use an audience assistant are some sort of a "sucker trick". Personally, I think a "sucker trick" is OK once in a while as long as the whole act isn't just "sucker tricks" and that there's no hard feelings. After all, we are there to entertain others, not use others as entertainment.
I don't do "sucker tricks" in my magic show because I want my helper, child or adult, to get the applause for making magic, not being the butt of the joke.
one of my fun items was to have the swinging end of the animal bop the kid on the head as I completed the rear legs, which usually makes them laugh, but yesterday I started doing it to myself, which was even more fun!
There is an underlying flaw in some children's performers. Some clowns think that when you perform for children you have to be very broad in your mannerisms, wait for them to get the joke, explain it if they don't laugh, etc. Kids are too sophisticated for that (not just now, they always have been). Mr. Rogers doesn't talk down to kids, Beakman and Bill Nye don't talk down to kids, Soupy Sales never talked down to kids. If your act is not entertaining to adults, then the kids won't like it either (that does not mean doing so-called "adult" humor - look at Winnie-the-Pooh, Animaniacs, Rocky and Bullwinkle, and Beany and Cecil for humor that appeals to both adults and children). So when you do a bit of business, deliver it with respect for the wit and intelligence of the audience. Don't draw it out and overplay it to be sure that they all "understand." Expect them to stay with you. You'll be shocked at how much they'll catch and how little you can get away with.
Watch Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood with a three-year-old sometime. They are absolutely transfixed. Mr. Rogers knows how to talk to pre-schoolers with respect for their minds. He uses words they can understand without talking down to them (as opposed to a certain large purple tyrannosaur). I wish I were half as good with children as he is.
Do a Kids birthday party well and you'll learn an awful lot about yourself, your act, your timing, your abilities. Hell, I do alot of my kid show stuff when working at the bar and get VERY good results. Yea, I'll use some blue language with the adults that I would not dare do for the kids, but the comedy/entertainment is not a result of the language, it's there only to be able to fit with the environment... it works just as well regardless of the language.
If one is looking for repeat dates, etc, follow the route of the big names in the business... Do not use "adult material". Youn will severely limit your potential horizons for future engagements in the entertainment business. Why grovel in the dirt as others do... Those who stay around in this business do not need to stoop to this level. Look at Red Skelton, who is the King in the clown business! If you follow his lead, you have nothing to be concerned about!
I was a singing waiter in Newport Beach (CA) for a couple of years, whipping out my ukulele during slow times and entertaining with a wide range of novelty tunes. Most of them were Tom Lehrer, Homer and Jethro, Dr. Demento kinds of things, but we always did a set of sing-along limericks in the bar at least once a night. I adjusted my content for the current group, and if there were children in the bar area, we saved the limerick song for later.
The key here is to use *funny* material. Blue material is not inherently funny. In fact, it is inherently a low form of humor. Look at Eddie Murphy's "Raw" for an example of a truly gifted, funny comic wasting his talent.
On the other hand, I've seen several ventriloquists who slide very easily between G and X ratings. In both cases, though, they do essentially the same routine, with appropriate twists for the current audience. Their core schtick is funny.
Since balloons are identified with children, it's usually most effective to use double-entendre rather than 4-letter words, and play an ingenuous character who doesn't realize that others might "misconstrue" what's been said. That doesn't work for everybody, but if you can pull it off you can get away with a lot of material that's entertaining for both children and adults (see the Simpsons, Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, and Rocky and Bullwinkle for examples of humor that works on several levels at once).
I would encourage anyone thinking of working for adult groups to work on being funny first, and only introduce blue material if it enhances the performance. In most cases, it won't help, and will reduce you to the level of the drunken hecklers we all love so much (keep in mind that if they feel you're on their level, they'll act as if they're superior to you and will probably create situations that will escalate into shouting matches and fist fights).
Most associate "adult" with "not appropriate for children under 17, 18, 21, whatever." This is not necessarily the case. You may simply be looking for ideas that would appeal to and hold the attention of audiences who are not children. To use an example: If I'm playing music for a group of people, I'll usually play any of a variety of my usual repertoire (traditional), but if a wee one comes up and is enraptured, then I'll very often (in a blatant display of enlisting the child as a co-performer) play "Mary had a little Lamb" or "Twinkle, Twinkle" little star. The kids love them (usually). Now, I think of those tunes as "kids tunes," and by extension the others as "grown up (or "adult")" tunes. That's only because of the fact that few adults like to sit and listen to "Mary had..." and the little ones like hearing a tune they know. Neither is "inappropriate" for the other, just more accessible. I've a feeling it's similar for balloons. I know it's similar for, say, cartoons: to wit, Animaniacs. Kids enjoy it, but there are some lines, cultural references and the like, that'll go over their heads. *That's* "adult" material, isn't it? But hardly something "inappropriate" for young, shell-like ears (If you don't know the show, just remember the original WB cartoons. Aren't there bits in them that you find funny now, that whizzed past in ages past?). Similarly for stand-up comedians. Kids like jokes, adults like jokes (even clean ones), but often different tastes. How often do you hear Jerry Seinfeld telling knock-knock jokes for a whole set (even particularly funny ones), how often does Steven Wright appear on Mr. Rogers Neighborhood?(and if he did, how did I miss it)
Short summary of a too-long diatribe: Adults and kids have different tastes in entertainment. Some things overlap, some don't. Some things may be "inappropriate" for little ones (can't think of an example of an inappropriate for adults but not children), some may be OK, but not appeal to one group or another (Power Rangers Movie Marathon, anyone?).
I've always felt (very strongly) that you are not worth much in comedy until you can make people laugh with a routine that's 'clean'. (and I say this with over two-years of street theatre/ improv experience, with many of my old troupe members taking classes... and doing quite well with The Second City)
I think the clowns, magicians, and family-oriented twisters will agree; anyone can stand up in front of a crowd of frat boys and yell cuss-words to make them laugh.
My advice would be to keep it clean and fun, and build a reputation on solid, good comedy. But that's just my choice. I do know there is at least one balloon book out there with adult material in it. If T. Myers doesn't offer it, I'd guess he could give you the reference.
I read this in "Laughmaker's" a while ago and regret that the issue in question is not at hand that I can give proper credit for this idea.... The trick requires Don Alan's "Comedy Egg Can" (your favourite dealer or Mak Magic... wholesale). The effect has the performer cracking an egg into a can, covering and inverting the can on a volunteer's head, whipping the cover out (it being the instructions), discovering that was the wrong thing to do (the instructions say "Do Not Remove") and (with magic) whipping the can off the volunteer's head to reveal no mess but a load (in the usual performance of this trick, candy). I put (on the suggestion of the anonymous wise magician) 260's in the load chamber. This trick comes after the magical birthday present production and leads into the balloon animal conclusion of my birthday party show (or some daycares). NOTE: Through trial and error, I discovered boys from 5-7 years work best for this trick... the volunteer MUST hold the can still while it's on his head (pre-schoolers fidgit) and the way I build up the (imagined) mess factor in this trick, girls often panic... would you want YOUR party dress drizzled with egg goop?
When I do the egg can routine I like to spruce it up a bit and add some funny glasses, ofcourse they are to protect the eyes of the volunteer from all the egg mush. I also pull out a bib with ketchup, mustard, etc stains and place on the volunteer. I say that this trick usually works all the time..... but just in case (as I put the bib on).
I also use the EZ hat loader. Same principal as egg can but are secretly loading your balloons into the hat as you sprinkle magic dust. I did this routine today and produced all the balloon which led into the balloon portion of my show. Went over well. Depending on how many balloons you load you can load streamers, eggs, what ever will fit. However, I do have once question. Does anybody have any ideas/suggestions for a noisless load as you drop the laod from can to hat? Also, what kinda hat do you use? Some hats which have a plastic bottom make a "kerplunk" when the load lands and if the hat bottom is to soft then the load will show an indent when the load lands. ANY IDEAS???