STREET TOLERANCE

Since I have been exploring the forums and the internet, I have been exposed to some thing that has just reached it’s boiling point with me.

I have been attacked for smoking, bad spelling, bad font, bad grammar, being tolerant for dumpster diving, have photos of me unshaved, posting to much, not posting enough, HAVING A CRASS SENSE OF HUMUR, being to opinionated, and on and on and on!

These people are not regal or civilized they are tyrants!

This is inhuman intolerant behavior.

When I go on the pitch I meet weekend warrior buskers who are experimenting with the idea of going full time.

they complain about the same and more about me and other full timers. they call the cops on other performers and want permits and zones and venue directors, and on and on and on it goes.


THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT REGAL!

THEY ARE TYRANTS!!!!!!!!





IF YOU WANT TO BE A BUSKER YOU ARE GOING TO NEED TOLERANTS!



IF YOU WANT TO BE A BUSKER YOU ARE GOING TO NEED TOLERANTS!




IF YOU ARE THINKING RIGHT NOW IN YOUR HEAD THAT, “HEY I AM JUST AGAINST THIS ONE THING OR THAT THING” YOU’RE THE INTOLERANT ASS I’M TALKING TO!

The street is the street! It is not the Ritz Carlton gig. IT IS NOT YOUR HOME.

IT IS THE PUBLIC STREET STUPID!

Busking is hard enough with all it’s intricate hurdles, why in gads name would you be wasting your time complaining and trying to fix the area so it feels like your special private place at home.

A REAL BUSKER IS AT HOME ON THE STREET….ANY STREET, ANY WHERE.

YOU DO NOT CHANGE THE PITCH,

YOU CHANGE FOR THE PITCH!


If you want people to like you and watch you and pay you and if you want to appear as a fun person YOU WILL NEED TO LOOSIN UP AND ALOW PEOPLE TO BE THEM SELVES EVEN IF YOU DON’T LIKE THEIR HABITS, FORM OF DRESS, WHAT EVER….DON’T BE AN ASS.


One thing I don’t like is vulgar shows but I DO NOT TELL A SEASONED PRO HOW TO DO HIS SHOW, THAT MAY CAUSE CONFLICT AND SHOWS A LACK OF RESPECT.

NOW IF YOU THINK RUNNING OUT THE BAD ELEMENT IS GONNA HELP JUST REMEMBER NO MATTER WHAT, THE POWERS THAT BE CONSIDER YOU THE BAD ELEMENT ALSO…..NO MATTER HOW NICE A MANICURE YOU HAVE.


IF YOUR UPTIGHT, WHEN YOU COME TO THE STREET LEAVE YOUR PURSE AT HOME, CUZ EVEN THE BUSKER CHICKS ARE TUFF OUT HERE.


STOP WHINING AND COMPLAINING.

OR STAY INDOORS BECAUSE THERE IS A LOT MORE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT OUT THERE THEN IF YOUR FRIEND SHAVED TODAY.

THERE’S CRACK HEADS AND WHORES AND BUMS PISSING ON THEM SELVES BEGGING FOR MONEY FROM YOUR AUDIENCE IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR SHOW.

AND WHEN YOU SEE ONE OF US FULL TIME BUSKERS DON’T EXPECT US TO PUT OUT OUR CIGERETTES OR NOT SAY WORDS THAT OFFEND YOU OR WHAT EVER BECAUSE WE ARE THERE TO WORK, MAKE MONEY AND HAVE A GOOD TIME.

WE ARE NOT THERE TO HOLD YOUR HAND BE YOUR MOMMY AND PET YOUR HEAD AND TELL YOU EVERYTHING IS GONNA BE THE WAY YOU WANT IT.


IF THIS IS BOTHERING YOU REMEMBER THERE ARE PEOPLE WAY WORSE THEN ME OUT THERE.

….AND YOU CAN’T FIGHT THE WORLD AND STREET PERFORM AT THE SAME TIME.

AND REMEMBER YOU DO NOT WANT TO BE A MARKED MAN OUT THERE...BAD THINGS CAN HAPPEN ON THE STREET.

you can be a gentleman out there,

but not a gentle castrated emasculated neurotic bundle of nerves, because they smell fear, your audience, the bad guys, the cops, everybody.

and you wont make money and you will be marked.

the audience will mark you boring or a hack.

the bad guys will see fresh meat,

the cops will see a hassle that they have to put up with instead of chasing bad guys or eating donuts....and that pisses them off!

this uptight attitude may work for you at the corporate gigs or the back yard show, but this is exactly what you don't want to do busking!

THE SET SHOW

IF YOU’RE A BEGINNER THE FIRST THING YOU'LL NEED IS A “SET SHOW”!

You need to create a set show and I’ll explain why and what it is, in a minute.

But,

If you’re gonna go out there for the first time there are 3 huge mistakes you wanna avoid.

#1 don’t ask people if they want to see a trick! - just tell them to watch and begin your trick…DON’T ASK!

#2 don’t plan to do a new trick, no matter how good it is! -only begin with tricks that are tried and true, the one you can do in your sleep and have been doing for ever. And do it the old way. NO NEW ADDITIONS TO IT!

#3 only do “improv” after you have a SET SHOW! that’s the real secret to “improv“!



A SET SHOW, is a show that is scripted, memorized, has a beginning, middle, and an end.

It is the same show every time except for the occasional “improv” that seasons it.

I once saw a film of a show done by Gazzo 20 years ago and it was the same show pretty much that he does today.

I’ve talked to old timers who saw Cellini’s show 20 years ago and they described the same show I saw recently.

The list goes on, even and especially to T.V. and stage shows….you think David Blain or Chris Angel aren’t doin a set show?

think again! They are!



For most of my life I did improv magic. I’d look at the people and judge what I thought they should see then I’d reach into my bag pull out the props and do that trick when I was done I’d look at em again and decide which trick was next and on and on…..

I got away with it for a lot of years and made plenty of money, but that’s not gonna work here if you want to make a living or a career or get any better…..

If you want people to watch and pitch like some of those statue guys who don’t do any thing this might work for you but if you want to be any good at this you need a set show. Even the good statues have a set show they do in between standing still.


The way to create this set show is put it together and practice it out on the pitch over and over wether or not somebody stops and watches….you’re like an infomercial.

ONCE YOU HAVE THIS “SET SHOW” YOU HAVE A PERSONAL BELONGING, THAT TAKES CARE OF YOU AND YOU CAN TAKE IT ANYWHERE AND SURVIVE…IT’S YOUR SHOW.

After you have made this set show you will start to see how much it is capable of paying and you’ll we begin making adjustments for it to pay more.

IF YOU LEARN NOTHING FROM ME OR ANY STREET PERFORMER PLEASE UNDERSTAND THAT THIS IS THE MOST IMOPRTANT FOR BEING A PROFFESSIONAL BUSKER!

costuming

YOU HAVE TO KNOW THE RULES BEFORE YOU CAN BREAK THEM.

I’m not suggesting that you have to or even should wear a suit please read this whole post before you start bitching.

when i first became a magician and was learning the rules, the first of course, is always keep it a secret.

and there seemed to be many after that.

one of these is that "as a magician you should always be dressed just a little more formal then your audience."

in the beginning even David Blain was wearing the suit until he created his character to what it is now.

one of the most practical reasons for this, for the -BEGINNER-, is to add credibility to himself so

#1 the people stop

and

#2 they don't give him such a hard time when he sucks.

And

#3 maybe the most important is when you tell them your gonna do magic, do you look like a magician or some body that knows magic? Because if you don’t look like that to them you might have trouble.

Well a suit is a nice generic costume that also gives off a little authority.

My suggestion here is if you havn’t “found” your character you might want to think about this.

Now the most common opinion about this is that you want to look nice, but not so nice they don’t pay you…..ya get it?

Now I’ve seen guys in wizard costumes complete with pointy hats and david copperfield or eve david blain stlye of costumes but the point is YOU GOTTA KNOW THE RULES BEFORE YOU CAN BREAK EM.

Heres some suggestions;

IT SHOULD LOOK PROFFESSIONAL.

The costume should match the character.

It should attract attention. A friend of mine bought a bright yellow suit at one of those suit shops for the distinguished black man down town.

Make sure it’s comfortable and portable.

If you’re a traveller you might want a costume that you wear all the time as your regular clothes even sleep in it till it’s comfortable.

street tuff, child like, and a royal touch.

when your on the street your on stage and every ones watching.

every ones looking for a chink in your armor.

"THE BAD GUYS" are looking to take your spot, your money, and maybe your life, so you want to have a danger element in your persona and you don't want to dress too extravigantly. you need to give off the impression that you could be somewhat dangerous if pushed the wrong way.

a good example of this is of course; Gazzo or Sonny Holliday

THE GOOD AND DESENT TYPE PEOPLE who are probaly gonna tip you are looking at you to see if your a con or a threat in some way, so you need to have a child like disarming side to your persona. it should be saying "i'm a harmless and a good man to harmless and good people, but i don't like bad people."

mimes are a good example of this.


AND EVERYONE is looking at you to see if you truly are what you claim to be...a magician, so you need that royal touch that something that says your of a higher class, a wiseman, a man who could hold himself with proper breeding even when he's wearing rags. a man capable of being a gentleman even if he's not always behaving like one.

a few good examples of this royal touch are of course; Cellini, Eric Evans, Tom Frank, Doc andrews, and Paul Nathan.

you need to have all three of these to some extent, some have more of one then the other but they all have all three at some point.

strangley i've noticed that Danny Hustle has almost all equal parts to this. i think it may be his heavy entertainment background.


stranger yet theres a guy in london named "Pepe" who pushes "child like" and "street tuff" to an extreme that can only be explained as ominous in a clown car wreck sort of way and it's no wonder why he would get the largest crowds of all.

yet he holds himself like a dignitary even in rags. Pepe has been to the best schools of theater and recieved many awards from the hoity toity theater powers that be, but he chose the street as his venue, and rejected the high institution. every now and then they come and give him awards and recognition and he throws them in the trash and says,

"when are you gonna bring money i can't eat these."


here's a tiny clip of him;



a true genius but don't push him the wrong way. it's also no wonder that him and Sonny Holliday hit it off big when they met this last summer in london.

of the three of these i think the royal touch is the most ignored by the performer in the u.s.

when infact it should be on top of the list. this is where we need it most, people think we're bums and cons here.

you can go out there in shorts and a "t" shirt and without a costume,

you can go out there and be loud mouthed rude and demanding money over and over,

and you can disregard the importants or value of our art,

you can do all these things and make alot of money, they'll pay you good, and you'll make big fat hats,

BUT THEY'LL STILL THINK YOUR A BUM WITH A GIMMICK. DON'T FOOL YOURSELF.

so many buskers out there are fooling themselves into thinking they are greats because their hats are always big.

and sure they figured out how to hustle, big deal, so what. they should go into time share sales because theres way more money there for a good hustler.

ask yourself if you made a bigger hat then Cellini,Tom Frank, Eric Evans or Sonny Holliday, would that make you a better magician or even a better busker?

of course not. because these guys have been doin it for years they have forgot more then most people know on the subject.

but there are actually fat heads out there who think their better because of their hats and i'm sure you'll be hearing responces from them here.

MAKING ALOT OF MONEY DOESN'T GIVE YOU CLASS, IT GIVES YOU ALOT OF MONEY.

YOU CAN'T BUY CLASS.

and the people watching you know this, they maybe watching you like they watch a white trash t.v. show every nite at 7pm.

but that doesn't mean they think you or that t.v. show is important to our american community. THEY STILL SEE TRASH. and americans buy alot of trash.

i've seen it go so far that some guys who can't even tie a tie and who look like junkies will call other buskers "bums" because they arn't making hats as big as theirs.

money is important, but you can make money doing any thing.

it's about dignity.

and it's saturday, so if you'll exuse me i gotta put on my clown shoes and grab my horn and go to work.

chasing a pitch

chasing a pitch is where you work a spot for a short time become impatient and move to another spot in the hopes of the grass being greener.

generally this is a bad idea, usually the best thing to do is to find a pitch you know has been reliable in the past and do your work day there, the money might be a trickle, but slow and sure is still sure.

while your chasing a pitch, your losing money.


NOW i began this with "usually" because usually this is the rule, but i assure you not always the rule.

"toot" said, a pitch can make you or break you.

when i work new orleans, i got an old grandma bike i ride around following the movement of the tourists.

the tourists have their own schedule they start out by "cafe du monde" and the river in the morning and work their way into the quarter until nite time they end up on bourban street.

different attractions at different times and i show up before they are letting in or letting out depending.

but i still lose money, so why do i do it? cuz i don't like fighting with the other buskers for time on a pitch or dealing with cops about upstruction because they got familiar with me in one spot. some times i even make more then i would if i secured a spot....alot of times i don't.

if you have a small 5 min. doorway act, {like a one trick sandy} moving every show up and down the sidewalk could be the best.

in a situation like this you can work any where and the cops will have an impossible time catching you in the act and they probably wont get any complaints anyway because your in and out so quick.

but you know if your in a town that sucks it matters little, it would be best to work a reliable spot all day practising if nothing else. but definately keep your ears open for a spot you may not know about and maybe do a little exploring now and then.

busking indoors

you learn a SET SHOW, so it's yours, so where ever you go you have it as a tool to provide for you.

what do you do when you can't street perform as a busker?

what if it's snowing or busking is illegal where you're at or what ever, what do you do?

i worked for years in doors all venues from walk around to stage and was paid.

but busking indoors?

i saw an old street performer's video called "doing magic all the time and anywhere people will watch it."

great tape, sorry the name of the guy escapes me.

this guy's tape really had an impact on me.

you can busk any where you go, heck look at amway....ok maybe a bad example but it's true if you want it, you can make the money and and make the dream happen where ever you are, you just need alot of drive.

cellini told me a story;

him and his wife had got to the hotel she told him they were out of money it was late and snowing, so he told her,"i'll be right back" and he headed to the restaurant in the lobby.

he walked in picked up a glass and a butter knife clanged the glass got everyones attention and began his show. he hatted em at the end went back up to the room and dumped the money on the bed infront of his wife.

they had enough money for thye room and the rest of their needs......that's another reason why he's the master.

remember it's your show it's there to take care of you when you believe in it.

i asked cellini how he gets permission to work and he says he just tells the guy in charge, "hey i'm a travelling magician and i'm gonna entertain your guests" and when the guy asks how much, cellini tells him "nothin!"

after he does his show or shows the guy in charge might ask him to do this on a regular basis on certain nites, thats when cellini would hit him with a fee and stips.

you see it's like a paid audition.

cellini would also keep a book or a log with all of the places that would alow him to busk them and also the places that would pay him.

my friend peter at http://www.buskerscafe.com wrote this;

-Bro. Paul West in his DVD "X Marks the Spot" talks about working indoors. He tells the story of a guitar player that walked into the bar and passed around a half page flyer stateing he was going to play 3 songs and ended with the phrase "No Drinks Just Tips." He did his 10 minute show, passed the hat and walked out to the next bar.

Bro Paul then describes how he did the same thing with just 3 quick magic effects and supported himself just doing several guick 10 to 15 minute shows in different bars per night.-

your lifes work must be sacred

your lifes work must be sacred
as a sidewalk performer i gotta code i live by and even though i fall short in so much of my life i try very hard to stick to this code.

below is an excerpt of an article i found on the internet i'm a huge fan of dashiel hammit the writer of the "Maltese Falcon"

below is a picture of humphrey bogart he played sam spade in the movie version.






This code of behavior — which harks back to the credo of the post-World War I Hemingway code hero — would become part of the standard equipment of later hard-boiled detectives in film. But while later detectives such as Philip Marlowe were capable of feeling compassion and a certain amount of empathy for other human beings, it is Sam Spade's personal code alone that makes him a hero and is, in the end, the source of his redemption. Indeed, the negative aspects of Spade's character make his ultimate sacrifice all the more affecting — despite his cynicism and his somewhat cruel nature, despite his negative feelings toward Archer, and despite his love for Brigid, he is determined to see that Brigid pays the price for murdering his partner, because his personal code demands it.

"When a man's partner is killed, he's supposed to do something about it. It doesn't make any difference what you thought of him. He was your partner and you're supposed to do something about it. And it happens we're in the detective business. Well, when one of your organization gets killed it's bad business to let the killer get away with it. Bad all around. Bad for every detective, everywhere."

It should be noted that factors originating outside of the film itself also contributed to the effectiveness of Bogart's portrayal of Spade and the audience's appreciation of Spade's ambiguity as a hero. At this point in his career, Bogart had yet to play a genuine hero. He had been a star of the second tier for years, but he was best known for his portrayals of cold- blooded killers and gangsters, often being gunned down in the last reel by the star, such as James Cagney or Edward G. Robinson.

magi in spain, using a silent crowd build, no table. clips and tips

this is typical of european street acts and works wonderfully in the states if you know the tactics. theres alot to learn here in all different aspects of street performing.

when you're watching it, notice none of them are using a table, cups and balls, and little or no cards, and it's all parlor.

heres a buddy of mine named Istvan doin his finale, he has a full length act totally silent even when he hats em. notice the size of his crowd.






heres a guy doin a silent act no table and twards the end they pan the camara over his audience and you should notice how big it is. theres a lot to learn from this clip.




here's that magician i was talking about that made all the girls in the audience cry, but here he's just doin a sidewalk show.



heres another of him doin a more sidewalk work. this one has got a the most beautiful trick done with a book.



but understand i saw his huge circle show when i was there normally he didn't do sidewalk work.


i never used sound equipment till recently with my silent acts but it's made all the difference in the world.

notice with each one of these guys they gotta small amp HIDDEN from view yet they change music as they need for each routine it doesn't hafta be preset.

notice the type of music they are using, notice the simplisity of the tricks mostly stuff common to all of us, BUT DONE ORIGINALLY.

i've also seen guys just bring a small boom box for smaller shows.

heres another guy in spain, notice the music he's playing in the back ground.

notice he can do the routine with the belongings on his person no table no nothin.just his skill. the people appreciate this and will show it by paying.

he never says a word he lets his skill speak or itself.





heres one last one of my friend Istvan rememeber he does all this silent.




here's another

where's our community on the web

well if you're interested in reading the blogs i've posted here in a forum where they have been commented and critisized by real life performers i would suggest you go to the buskerscafe american here's the link

http://buskerscafe.com/

also try

performers.net

or

buskercentral.com

or try

themagiccafe.com go to the sidewalk shuffle section.

your first time busking, what to say to the people?

when you finally decide to go and do it,what to say to the people?

the big question.

cellini discusses this in length.

i would suggest this;

you have 3 tricks you always do already,

i would start here because you already have the patter and you have memorized the moves which is crucial to creating and delivering patter.

need something to say just start saying the patter and dive into the tricks.

also talk about where you learned the trick, where it was begun originally and its place through history. the beauty, mystery and or upsurdity of it.

tell the people your name the name of your show what tricks you'll be doing and how long it is.

tell the people where you learned it or if you put it together yourself and what it was designed for.

but most of all relax and mentally record what hecklers have said and either use it for future material or try and think of it as constructive critism if you can find the patience.

in the u.s. what size show do i need to survive?

first of all, i will say in europe it didn't seem to matter. it was so good there, a close up card act could feed you.

i heard in other places it similar.

but here in the u.s. different story fellahs.

the sidewalk show or door way act is perfect for the single guy butif you live in the u.s. and got a family to support the sidewalk doorway show ain't gonna work for you, get it out of your head...we've all tryed.

don't get me wrong you can make money but not enough.

your gonna need to do a circle show or at the very least a half circle show...sorry.

i know i call myself a sidewalk magician, thats because i love the doorway act, the sidewalk all of it, i do.

but in this country you can't support a family with it, the side walk ain't big enough and people arn't cultured enough to tip that high consistantly.

if somebody tells you different it's because they're still in the mode of thinking they can make it work i know cuz i was that guy for many years on the sidewalk. but it's simply not true.

the argument that you bang out 2 or 3 shows and make the same as 1 circle show is a myth, it don't work that way.

first of all your puttin out more energy then he is and you can only do so much inna day and the numbers have alot of different ways of not workin out money wise.

now if you book yourself in festivals you might be able to pull it off but it's gonna be up hill all the way.

if you wanna barely scrape by get bigger into a half cirlce or parlor show.

but,

IF YOU WANNA MAKE THE BIG MONEY LEARN A CIRCLE SHOW.

IF YOU WANNA GET EVERYBODY OFF YOUR BACK ABOUT A REAL JOB LEARN A CIRCLE SHOW

bright and shiny vs. bright and shiny

your props should be big bright and colorful, like red, yellow, white, etc.

for instance your silk vanish should be one of these colors instead of lets say a black silk. and you should use the biggest silk and t.t. you can and if your doing the color change at the end you should use a much large silk then the silk vanish and it should be a brighter color for impact.

when you produce, a good judge is wether a bad video camera can pick it up from a distance.

now of course this is going to make it harder to manipulate and thats the point the audience realizes this.


NOW THE VERSUS IS IMPORTANT,

alot of guys going on the street for the first time think they are museum curators and keep all their props clean and unscratched....this is upsurd.


you are a street performer your tools should be durable AND SHOULD BE USED TO DEATH BY YOU.

when ever i see a guy with a set of cups that are clean undented and emaculate and he is afraid to hit them, i know he just came outdoors.

if your gonna be a street guy be a street guy!

don't get me wrong you don't wanna be a bum but you wanna have a perfect feel for your props....how do you treat your tooth brush?

by the time you wear out one of these props you should be well versed with it and its capabilities.

you should always have back up or replacement props for when you've distroyed them, through use or lost them.

look at a constuction guy's tools they look used, he takes care of them but they look used......this adds credability on the street to the audience.

you look like a worker.

but not clean and shiny, not on the street.

clean and shiny might indicate failed indoors and forced to go on the street.

so bang that wand on those cups and make a noise, a loud noise and don't be an uptight freak because thats not fun entertainment.


but try not to look like a bum or a rich guy because people don't like getting close to bums and crack heads would love the opportunity to rob a rich guy. there's a wierd balance there and i'll write about it later.

we need to have faith in our trade!

I think art is expression, further if done properly it is the expression of a community.

and I think it is our obligation as artists to try and do the best job we can to express ourselves.

and think I in the u.s. street performer's scene we are lacking in the quantity of street performers and the quality that a nation with the reputation we have in the world should have.

when I have travelled around I was amazed at what the world was offering in street entertainment...then I came home and reality hit me in the face.

what was the difference?


they had commitment to their art as an expression of their nation.


ironically we americans are known for our gumption, so what happened here?

as entertainers we lost faith in our trade.


evertime a person blindly follows the way of street performing and has complete faith in the way of street performing they have made a living.

the beauty is you sink or swim

like any other business if you do your home work and keep giving it your best shot it can and will work.

"YOU GOTTA BELIEVE IN WHAT YOUR'RE DOIN"

here's one cellini gave me he got it from slydini.

"YOU GOTTA BELIEVE IN WHAT YOUR'RE DOIN"

i believe we're the real thing .

magicians are real and we're it.

merlin was of the same stock.

you see i believe we've always been here only in the beginning, we were royalty.

when the people watch us, in the back of their heads they know this!

and they wait for the confirmation......that is, wether you're good or not!

and if you suck they are upset they fell for an imposter.

we have keyed in on the "secrets" and the BELIEF.

you must believe in what your doing when you do it. if you fail to do this, you're gonna leave a "TELL" for the whole world to see.

being a skeptic is an admiral cause, but their is no room for it during the presentation.

not while the magic is happenning.

you see, "IF YOU BELIEVE IT, THEY HAVE LITTLE OTHER CHOICE, BUT TO BELIEVE IT TOO."

a good mime could demonstrate this more transparently.

playing poker could give you a good feel for it.

here's a good beginners exercise;


when you palm a coin try and believe that you really put it in the hand.

let your subconcious take over concealing the secret moves. let the subconsious understand that's how the mechanic's of real magic works.

and pretty soon if you practice enough over and over you will be doing it with out thinking about it and you could even start moving impromptu and the subconsience will be covering for you.


i think this goes for anything you're doin.

if you believe you could be the best street performer it's possible but if you're just faking it you got no chance.

you see "fake it till you make it" is different than believing you could be the best.

do you wanna settle for just makin it?

the sidewalk or doorway,the half circle,and the circle show definitions.

o.k. here i go stickin my hand in the trick bag.

these definitions are argued and what makes it worse is when some amatuer starts talkin out his ass about it and making a confusing but important discussion even more confusing.

i have alot of experience with the sidewalk and the half circle shows, but not alot with the circle show, but i'll try not to talk out my ass any way.


any way;

IN THE U.S.




A SIDEWALK OR DOORWAY ACT,

a close up act scripted and played up big.

it usually runs @8-10 mins but some run as long as 15 mins.

the act is done in a small area holding a crowd from @ 1-20 people it's repeated over and over.

hats are generally @ $10 but could be from $1 - $30 depending on the day and the pitch. in a festival of course these numbers would be alot higher.


of course none of this is etched in stone.

the cups and balls by it self alone is ideal but many have had success doing more tricks usually small hand magic tricks.

a sterio typical act would be;

silk vanish, coin routine, card routine [ambitious], rope routine[professors nitemare] and finale w/ cups and balls.

the pace is almost hectic with small bursts of dramatic pauses until the hat is passed the audience is barraged with patter and tricks so they can't think almost hypnotized. usually manic.



A HALF CIRCLE SHOW,

a parlor act scripted and done up big.

it runs from @ 15 - 25 mins.

done in an area holding @ 20-100 people in a half circle edge in front of the performer.

hats are usually @ $35 but run from $15 - $80 depending on the day and the pitch. in a festival of course these numbers would be alot higher.


of course none of this is etched in stone.

typical act could be;

silk vanish, multiple selection card routine, linking rings routine, cut and restored rope routine, cups and balls.

the pace is slowed down from the hectic pace of the sidewalk show but has NO dead time and alot more disscussions about money.




A CIRCLE SHOW;

a stage act scripted and dragged out and done up big.

act runs @ 30mins - 60 mins but is typically 45mins.

done in an area large enough to hold 100- 400 people [i've seen spots that hold a 1000]

the people create an edge around the performer in a large circle...hence the name.


hats are around $100 but can be more then $300 depending on the spot and the day. in a festival of course these numbers would be alot higher.

a typical act could be;

silk vanish, multiple selection card routine, signed bill in lemon/cups and balls routine.

the thing that should be really understood here is that a circle show is very different then the others in that the pace of the show is a much more relaxed and almost dragged out stall for time kinda thing.

theres interaction and getting the people to clap and cheer to help build the crowd bigger.....because you see that is the whole point it's a game to get as many people there to watch and pay you as you can.

the more people, the more money.

the circle show is usually, but not always, a commercial for you to get money in the hat.

the best money making circle show is that in which 35 mins has been spent building a crowd and 10 mins doing a trick at the end to prove your worth.

i have seen circle shows that were pure entertainment for 45mins but saddly they are few and far between.