The David Kaye (aka Silly Billy) Interview

 

"David and I sat down in Union Square Park in New York City to discuss his unique style and approach to magic, performing and kids shows. We talk about chasing pigeons, interactions per minute in a show, his criteria for performance material, scripting, openers & closers and one of the top secret ideas to his success. If you do magic of ANY kind, you need to listen to David's advice and suggestions. You will go away inspired and excited to make changes to your work. I know I did." -Bill Abbott

David Kaye

David Kaye has performed magic and comedy for children for more than twenty years. Known to the lay public as Silly Billy, he is one of the best known children’s entertainers in the United States, performing for the families of celebrities like Madonna and Bruce Springsteen, with appearances at the White House and Lincoln Center.

In New York, where he performs more than 200 shows each year, he has been recognized as New York’s top children’s entertainer by five different New York publications. In addition, he received a six-page profile in the New Yorker. His television credits include appearances on Late Show with David Letterman, as well as multiple appearances on Comedy Central. He was also in the reality magic show Celebracadabra on Vh1.

David is also well known within the magic community as a leader in the children’s magic world. For eight years David wrote a monthly column about performing magic for children in MAGIC magazine. He is the only children’s magician in the world to appear on the covers of six different magic magazines.  (Very few magicians, of any kind, have achieved that recognition!) He is currently a regular columnist for Genii magazine and the DVD magic magazine Reel Magic and is a frequent contributor to the podcast The Magic Newswire.

David was the only kid show magician to be selected as a coach on the TV series Celebracadabra, and the only kid show magician to be hand picked to appear at the prestigious EMC. And David is the only magician to appear at both recent IBM/SAM Combined Conventions. And he has performed at the White House, Lincoln Center, and on the David Letterman Show.

In April of 2014 David was recognized by the Academy of Magical Arts with the Performing Fellowship Award. Other recipients of this award include Cardini, Slydini, Penn and Teller, and Doug Henning. David is the first children’s magician in history to receive this award.

He may be best known for his groundbreaking book, Seriously Silly – How to Perform Magic and Comedy for Children, considered by many to be the best book on children’s magic. He has also created many products for professional children’s magicians including the Silly Wand which has become a staple of children’s magic shows around the world, selling more than 10,000 pieces.

Besides performing locally for the children of New York City, David travels around the world performing magic and speaking at magic conventions.

 

See more about David Kaye here:

https://www.sillymagic.com


2 comments

  • The voice of thousands of shows. Rare. Thanks

    Gregg Lancaster
    Magic and Merlot

    Gregg Lancaster
  • David’s interview is refreshing. Thank you

    Bill Irwin

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