The following article first appeared in the January/February 1997 issue of the Magic Menu. The Magic Menu is a bi-monthly magazine for restaurant entertainers. For subscription info, contact jsisti@ibm.net.
``Are those special balloons?'' ``They are when I'm through with them.''
Before I did my first paying birthday party, a standard introduction to the magic business, a friend of mine who had been performing for a number of years insisted that I learn to make balloon animals. He informed me that making balloons for kids at a party is a great way to get more business. He assured me that it wasn't going to take long to learn since every four-legged animal looks kind of like a dog. To encourage me, he handed me a few of the old Ashland 260E balloons, supposedly the only balloons worth my time, and told me to get back to him when I learned to inflate them. If I was to be taken seriously by anyone, I had to learn how to inflate them by mouth. From that one discussion, I extracted a set of rules about balloon twisting that I mistakenly lived with for a long time. It's funny how your thinking on something can change so drastically. I no longer agree with most of what I learned about balloons back then.
Probably the single biggest rule of all that I used to live with, and one that most of the magicians I've encountered follow, is that each sculpture (read: dog) uses one, and only one balloon. There are countless reasons to use more than one balloon in a figure. Balloons with fewer twists in them break less often. Therefore, using more balloons for a sculpture will distribute the stress across several balloons, hence fewer pops. (Admittedly this means fewer opportunities to use cool pop-lines, like the one about the mentalist that could pop balloons without ever touching them. She had a really sharp mind.) It's also often faster to make a sculpture with multiple balloons than to make the same sculpture with only one. Larger sculptures with more balloons are more visible at a distance. Which would you rather have, a family of four leaving a restaurant with two balloons (since the parents don't usually want balloons for themselves) or a large sculpture that can be seen from anywhere in the parking lot. Remember, one of your goals as an entertainer is to be noticed. I'm not saying you should never make single balloon sculptures. I do it all the time. I just wanted to point out the value of the big stuff. If you don't know any multiple balloon figures right now, go for an outlandish hat that connects the heads of everyone at the table. As long as there's a headband that fits on each person's head, it doesn't have to look like anything in particular. Just make it big.
I also leared that I must inflate a balloon to the right length for my sculpture, and once inflated, I have to use the whole balloon. I know now just how silly that is. Balloons break. Sometimes it's when you don't want them to, but why not break them when you do want to. Why is it necessary for a dog to have a long tail if you don't think it should? It's not like the balloons are steel belted and resistant to us tearing them. Break off the piece you don't want and tie the remainder. If you've never tried to break off part of an inflated 260, try it. You'll be surprised at how easy it is.
Another rule is that only skinny balloons get twisted. I was recently teaching basic balloon twisting to a bunch of balloon decorators. I seemed to be getting a fairly good reaction until one mumbled, ``but let's see what he can do with round balloons.'' To a shocked audience, I proceded to take out round balloons and twist them. I've met numerous people that are fairly twisted, so why should we think that a balloon, just because it's round can't be. The round balloon is made of rubber. The person isn't. The only thing to keep in mind when twisting balloons is that there must be enough room in the balloon for the displaced air to go. Balloons come in so many shapes and sizes for you to use. I'd personally jump at an opportunity to twist the jumbo balloons at the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. An underinflated round or heart balloon can be twisted in half to form two eyes. Tie a large round balloon to a small round balloon at the nozzles and you have a head and nose. Attaching the eyes to the head at the nose should be fairly obvious. Since I've started using round balloons, I've discovered how easy it is to get my name into their hands. I don't give out business cards unless there's a reason. If my business card (or the restaurant's name) is on the balloon that I need for a sculpture, I have a reason to give it out. I don't draw any extra attention to the writing on the balloon. It's just there. I've even had people tell me that they saved the balloon after it deflated so that they'd have my phone number.
Probably because people enjoy pain, most balloon twisters feel that you must inflate balloons by mouth. Mouth inflation can hurt. People have seriously injured themselves by inflating balloons. Once you learn good technique, you'll probably be able to blow up many without having trouble, but you never know. I used to mouth inflate upwards of four gross of balloons a day at festivals before I wised up. I had gotten quite good at it. But I've also had days that for whatever reason I was unable to inflate one balloon. If it hurts, don't worry about blowing them by mouth. People want to see you make things, not pass out on the floor in front of them. (Something that some bar magicians I've seen should keep in mind.) There are so many pumps on the market these days that you should be able to find something you're comfortable with.
Lastly, I learned from my friend that people will love you if you make balloons, but don't spend too much time on them. They also want to see you do stuff that demonstrates your real talents as an artist. I'm glad I threw out this rule. I demonstrate my talents as an artist by using balloons. Art requires that you be creative. It shouldn't matter how you express your creativity as long as it's done well. Balloons should be treated the same way as anything else in your act. They aren't just some throw-away that will keep the kids quiet, as many people seem to think.