Finding Your Stage Name: A Kids Entertainer’s Dilemma
“I’m starting out in children’s entertaining and I need to work out what my stage name or performing name is going to be. Please help.”
This question comes up in forums and groups all the time.
I asked myself this question over and over again. The result: Julian and His Big RED Box of Magic. That name was not my first choice. Many ideas came before that.
My performing name came to me after I had settled upon the idea of making my shows modular, which made them easier to develop into new shows. The starting point for me was I always wanted my name, Julian, as part of my performing name. This was to be able to build up a brand using my name. My name would be the backbone to all my shows. It is not a necessity to use your own name though.
Right at the moment, I want to give you the benefit of my many years of searching for the right name for myself. Beside me, as I type this, I have a dog-eared folder that has scribbled on the cover “WHAT DO I CALL MYSELF?” It has a mess of photos, torn-out pictures and handwritten and printed lists. This was my brainstorming file built up over many years. I’m going to give it to you now.
I’m not saying you will find your name in here. It’s just more to give you some ideas to throw around that may just stimulate your creative thinking. I do this sort of stuff all the time, this type of brainstorming sessions.
So do the same yourself. Get a pen and a sheet of paper, put this list in front of you, and start getting ideas that will be YOUR list that you will build on. The important thing is to not self-edit yourself as you go. Any thought that comes along, write it down. The editing comes later. When you look at your sheet after the brainstorming sessions, just seeing two words together side by side on the paper may trigger another idea. So NO editing at this stage.
I have always been drawn to things that are slightly quirky and this list reflects that. Have fun going through these. I use this list to get ideas for routines and special magic words I might need, too.
And remember, nothing is ever written in stone … It can be changed.
These are in no particular order:
- Dr/Mr Upton O’Good
– magic that’s a crime to miss
– naughty tricks for a good cause
– bad jokes for a good cause
– he’s not a naughty magician, he’s just misunderstood
– people see me and say you’re up to no good
- Dr/Mr Sum Ting Wong
- Dr Lance A. Boyle (mending broken bones as if by magic)
- Woody DuWitt
- Dr Aikenhead
- Flynn Willie Woozie
- Zack Lee Wright
- Phil Lynne-Goode
- Walter Warkarparting
- Bob Uppendown
- Brighton Early
– never late for a show
– don’t sleep in or you’ll miss a great show
– it’s magic time
– people always say I’m bright and early
- C. Howlett Fields
- Justin D. Nickotime
- Colin Ambulance
- Sid Down and Chad Up
- Carla Spadeaspade
- Sigfried Denroy
- Dilbert Pickle
- Eaton A. Pickle
- Evan Elpuss (only divine intervention will save you from his bad jokes)
- Felix Cited
- Scott Shawn DeRocks (the bar magic of …)
- Chris P. Bacon
- Foster Dennis Speeding-Bullet
- Mrs Madge Hick
- Mr Manny Trix
- Wack E. Trix
- Mr Doosum Trix
- Seymour Madge-Hick
- Mr R.M. Pitts
- Will U. Doosum-Trix
Names I used when making up my Secret Agent Show
- Crimson Mole
- Black Hawk
- Herman Menderchuck
- Merkin Muffley
- Tricky Dixon
- Half Cocked Jack Shaftoe
- Lucy Underalls
- Lucky Day
- Dusty Bottoms
- John BigBooty
- Doctor Prune Squallor
- Pudd’nhead Wilson
- Pippi Longstocking
- Stump Hardcheese
- Gristle McThornbody
- Mr ThrottleBottom
- Clarence Boddiker
- Zap Brannigan
- Gyro Gearloose
- Ace Doodlesack
- Stilton Cheesewright
- Filthy McNasty
- Billy Sol Hurock
- Big Jim McBob
- Snidely Whiplash
- Wyoming Knott
- Pondew Stibbons
- Rustrum McCully
- Turin Hydrate
- Alvin Trivelpiece
- Turtlelake Camp
- Rufus Firefly
- Chinkio Kinkanelli
- Honey
- Eva
- Felicity
- Kissy
- Fluffy
- Dixie
- Clover
- Tootsie
- Kitty
- Dipsy
- Tickrty Boo
- Misty
A mishmash of words
- cheese doodle
- bumdoozle
- ee wah woo wah
- weird and wonderful
- eccentric
- nincompoop
- gobbledygook
- out of the ordinary
- peculiar
- anything but ordinary
- commit an absurdity
- funster
- fuddy duddy
- lilliputian
- elfin
- pocket size
- curious
- astonishing
- perplexing
- flummox
- planet struck
- unimaginable
- can such things be?
- who would have thought?
- hippodrome
- front of house
- curtain raiser
- footlights
- leading lady
- leading man
- tread the boards
- international cast
- a tun of fun
- learn a lot, laugh a lot
- theatre of the absurd
- bamboozlement
- stealth and subterfuge
- roll up your sleeves
- jeez louise
- liar liar pants on fire
- I don’t lie, I’ve just got a gift for fiction
- babble blah blather
- collywobbles
- fiddle faddle
- hokum and hooey
- flummery
- pack of nonsense
- what a load of old cobblers
- mystery tour
- tip top
- tickety boo
- strength of mind – the ability to eat just one salted peanut
- gild the lily
- true lies
- polite exaggeration
- if I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes
- modicum of truth
- one grain of truth in that
- hold the humility
- speechless with amazement
- bah humbug
- quirk of fate
- worldwide wackiness
- grump-free zone
- happily ever laughter show
- the laughing zone
- zippity doo dah doo dads
- gizmo
- gadget
- widget
- doo dad
- doohickey
- kooky
- wacky
- derring-do
- canoodle
- hootenanny
- la-di-da
- skedaddle
- storefront of your imagination
- wizzo gizmo
- teeny weeny
- fickle finger
- put the zing back into amazing
- flip your lid
- hilarity
- mirth
- lost property announcement
- it’s party time
- magiceeny
- magimania
Add words to these (eg. trick o rama)
- -vison
- -a- rama
- -matic
- -a lot
- -mart
- -r-us
- -land
- -ville
- -ware
- -ette
- insta-
- rapid-
Do you have ideas of your own that can help other kids entertainers that are looking for the perfect stage name? Feel free to share them in the comments below.
