Recently, a performer colleague told me that a mother complained about his rude behavior during a magic show at a children’s birthday party. His offense was telling a talkative child to “shhh” so the others could hear.
The magician was simply trying to control the behavior of his audience by using a simple and common “shhh” directed at a child, but according to mom, singling out a child was inappropriate and rude. At first glance, this criticism seems extreme, but digging deeper, one should wonder if this woman is correct in her assessment.
That doesn’t mean kids can’t have fun during a show, but extremely distracting or repeated rude behavior by one or two kids needs to be gently and quickly stopped. This birthday party magician used a gentle “shhh” to do just that. And why? Because children mimic what they see, and if one overly talkative child isn’t put in check, others could join in and create a mob mentality with noise and disrespect. The last thing any performer wants is an “us against him” situation. This can be disastrous.
As a school show performer with over 35 years of experience in front of thousands of teachers and hundreds of thousands of school children, there is little I’ve not seen. Dealing properly and effectively with disruptive behavior from a few children in the audience is an ever-changing challenge. But disruptions are becoming more common than ever. Elementary school counselors point to the impact of Covid lockdowns as a likely cause of an increase in disruptive behavior. Teachers also observe noncooperative behavior in interpersonal relationships on the playground and in large groups, such as in school assembly performances. Sometimes an occasional outburst happens when a performer is doing a fantastic job and a child simply can’t contain their excitement, so they yell out. This can be expected and it’s not a reason for concern. However, disruptive behavior may also mask deeper issues that this blog will not address. The reader is encouraged to visit this link to learn more.
No performer wants to be a disciplinarian for fear of bringing a show to a halt or being perceived as the ‘mean’ guy. But if kids aren’t encouraged to behave properly, a show can quickly get out of hand leaving little hope for recovery.
At the birthday party where my colleague told one child to “shhh,” he did his best to manage the distraction quickly. Other kids wanted to enjoy the show without being bothered. On one hand, singling a child out in front of the group can be an effective tool, but it can also cause the child to become embarrassed. This isn’t an optimal outcome. Likely that was the reason the mother was upset. Perhaps the child was hers and mom was embarrassed too. We don’t know.
In an elementary school, children behave best when they hear a proper introduction before the assembly show performance begins. Ground rules need to be set in place before a performer takes the stage. A simple pre-show reminder of proper audience etiquette goes a long way toward keeping kids respectful. This can also be done in a birthday party setting, not by a busy parent, but by the performer himself with a fun and engaging routine that starts the show while also laying down the ground rules.
But in a school, a proper introduction is common. When students hear an authority figure, such as a principal or teacher, lay down ground rules, they realize that the performance is important and the performer deserves attention. Often, a simple introduction is the only control method needed to remind children to be respectfully attentive during an elementary assembly performance.
But sometimes students need to be reminded again and again of how they are expected to behave throughout the assembly show, and in that case an experienced performer can draw on a whole range of techniques, from the subtle and nearly invisible to the more obvious and direct.
If you have a particularly boisterous audience and students are chatting a lot during the performance, you should say, “I love how excited everyone is about what we’re doing today. I see a lot of energy in this room, but I have a lot more to show you, and we’re running out of time. I don’t want to have to interrupt the show anymore because you might miss something cool. Show me now that you’re ready and I promise you that the next thing you see will be awesome.” This is a positive and non-adversarial statement that demonstrates that you want everyone to get the most out of the show. You aren’t the “mean guy” Instead, you’re guiding the kids to get the most out of the program.
A clever way to get chattering students to change their behavior is to give the kids a quick group activity. One technique is a simple countdown. Say over the chatter, “In five seconds I’m going to show you something great. Let’s do this together. Count with me: five, four, three, two, one.” That should bring the attention back to you. A performer can also say, “everybody on their bottom, hands in laps, eyes on me, ears open, mouths closed, big smile.”
Sometimes the kids can settle down quickly and don’t need more than a simple sentence. One quick sentence that works for me is, “Okay, now it’s time to think.” I say this instead of “Okay, now is a time to listen,” because by telling the kids to listen, they know you are basically saying “stop talking” and that’s, a demand the adversarial kids will hear as a challenge. Saying, “Okay, now it’s time to think” achieves the same goal in a more encouraging tone.
Almost all elementary schools have a universal signal to remind students to be quiet and to pay attention. Usually it’s a simple gesture like two fingers in the air. It’s best to learn about this signal before the show starts. It’s a silent symbol that requires no comment from the performer. Find out what the school’s symbol is before the show. It may prove useful.
There may be two reasons for this. The first is obvious. It is because the children simply cannot see anything from the back. This could be because the props are not big enough or the action is too close to the floor. If kids can not see anything, they might get loud. A good rule of thumb for presentations to large audiences is to keep props at chest height or higher. However, if smaller, younger children are invited to volunteer and given props to hold, it will be very difficult for some children to see what is going on. Perhaps performers need to reevaluate the way they have blocked their shows. A simple solution is to have younger children hold objects high in the air to improve visibility. In some schools, it is also possible to move the performance to a school stage or have the children sit on bleachers. I know an assembly show performer who insists on working with the children on the floor, but he brings a large wooden box for the children to stand on while they help him. This is a good way to solve the visibility problem, and it also keeps the volunteers stationary during the routine.
The second reason children get up on their knees during a school performance is simply for comfort. Children can be very restless, and sitting criss cross applesauce style is only comfortable for so long. If you have to keep interrupting the performance to remind kids to stay on their bottoms, it can disrupt the pace of the performance. That’s why I say this:
I tell the kids to follow me as I mime the actions. I say, “Take out your imaginary glue stick. Pull off the tip. Throw it to away. Twist up some glue. Now rub the glue on your booty. Glue your booty to the floor. Throw the glue stick over your shoulder. Now you are stuck.” This gets the message across without making demands. Students play along without feeling scolded. Best of all, when the kids are back on their knees, all the presenter needs to do is call out “glue stick” and they know exactly what to do. It’s a funny bit and works wonderfully because you have turned your prompt into a silly activity.
Although there are a number of tricks that assembly show performers use to keep their audiences in check, it is important to remember that every audience is different. Not all children respond in the same way. And that’s what makes it fun and exciting for performers. Performers need to be flexible. They need to be able to think on their feet and adapt to ever-changing challenges. Most importantly, performers must be easy to work with. The goal is to be invited back in the future, and flexibility, patience and professionalism are the keys to success in the school show market.
The next blog in this series will address what a performer should do if a child refuses to be cooperative while helping out on stage.
If you’re a principal or assembly coordinator looking for the best assembly show to bring to your school, check out our offerings: