In order to understand the construction of the story we call The Sidewalk Show, one must first know the nuts, bolts, and strings, that hold it together.
Today we are going to be talking about the skeleton and the body of a show and how it is a story. I feel this maybe one of the most important articles I have written in many years and may solve some very big problems for a lot of people.
I'll begin with terms and definitions, and then move on to how they work together.
Some basic terms are;
Bits, Routines, Transitions, Finales, The Body Of The Show, and The Grand Finale.
And here's my best definitions for them;
A Bit, is a single magic effect, or a sight gag, or a one liner, or a small piece.
A Routine, is Bits that are strung together to make a short story with a plot. This short story has a beginning, a middle, and an end (Finale).
A Finale, is a Bit at the end of a Routine, that brings the whole routine together, gives it closure, proves it's worth, and ends any arguments or questions that maybe in the minds of the audience, or the performer. It competes the statement of the Routine.
The Body Of The Show, is Routines that are strung together to make a longer story with a plot. This longer story also has a beginning, a middle, and an end (Grand Finale).
A Grand Finale, is a Routine at the end of a Show, that brings the whole show together, gives it closure, proves it's worth, and ends any arguments or questions that maybe in the minds of the audience or the performer. It completes the statement of the show.
A Transition, is how a show is strung together. A Transition, is the thing that leads one routine into the next routine, keeping the show on it's path to the Grand Finale.
This last one is the most important of them all, because in a sidewalk show the audience will walk away if there is any unnecessary pause, or dead time in a show. The thing that prevents this catastrophe is called a Transition.
If the performer fails to use a Transition, he will always have some difficulty in the show. If your having problems in your show it's almost always, because of a transitional situation.
Most magicians have smooth memorized Routines, even flawless at times, but usually only professional Sidewalk Magicians have smooth flawless Transitions. This is, because once they have recognized it as being the most crucial thing to hold a crowd together, they will spend the same amount of time on Transitions as they do on their regular Routines.
Bad transitions are more obvious to the audience then to the performer, I know this, because they have told me after my shows, they told me where it lagged and where people walked off, and why.
OK enough about Transitions.
Now that we have a better idea of how to put a show together, let's talk about the show being a story.
The Magic Show, is a story that the Magician is telling, as a story teller, sometimes even using special effects to better illustrate, that what he is saying is true. You have to admit Magicians say the craziest things sometimes, somethings that are even hard to believe, so he may feel obligated sometimes to demonstrate that what he is saying is true, sometimes even with an impressive display of impossibility, right?
If a Magician concentrates on the show being a story, and the story being more important than a display of tricks, so will the audience. The Audience will automatically suspend their disbelief to understand the story, just like they do when they watch a Play or Movie, or even read a Fantasy Novel.
Stop and read that again.
Remember your tricks are only The Special Effects of your Movie. They are never more important than the Movie. Every Magician has an arsenal of special effects, but sometimes they don't understand how to string them together to paint a picture. They don't know how to tell a story which gives them problems with their audiences. You see, when a magic show is a good story, that runs smooth, and is interesting to watch, it turns skeptics into cheer leaders.
A cold display of puzzles is a negative challenge to the audience, but a good story is an invitation to participate. And don't get me wrong, the audience wants to be challenged sometimes, sure, but first, shouldn't they feel like they are a part of something?
Something they like?
A story builds rapport, credibility, and interest.
So when you string Bits together, into a Routine, to make The Body Of The Show, keep in mind the whole time, what your story is.
What is the story, that you are trying to tell.
In theory, you could just get up there and tell a story without doing any tricks and have no problem holding them and then Hatting them. In fact there are plenty of street performers who are not Magicians at all, who do this all the time. This is the key to The Sidewalk Show, if the operator understands this, he is free.
He is free.
In upcoming articles I will be writing more on this subject, to help those that are interested.
I hope you enjoyed this.
If you want to tip me, drop a donation in the HAT HERE.
Your Pal.
Jimmy
P.S. This article was brought to you by the gracious donation of my good friend Mr. Pitts a fellow busker.
