Simple question... do you think a magic walk-by act can play, or do you think walk-bys are best suited for musicians and other artists? I'm thinking of having a table, a "magic show" sign, a tip jar, and skipping the formal start/ formal end bit. Its a stretch for my personality, its too gregarious. No ballyhoo if I can avoid it.
...
Or, do magic acts play best if they build a crowd and end up passing a hat?
I'm just new to starting to think about working the streets, and am saving some coin to buy a reference (probably a Cellini book, he seems to be the Man).

Never having done one, I can only give my baseless opinion; but it seems to me that you cannot have a very successful "walk by" magic act.

A potential, money contributing, audience member cannot form any emotional reason to give money to a magician outside of the context of a rising, building act with a climax. Magic is just too visual an art.

One of the main reasons a walk by act even can work for a musician is that his audience hears, identifies, and can appreciate the music long before s/he approaches the open instrument case. Most people have already decided to give long before they get to the "man behind the music".

As people approach a magician doing magic in any given performance, they are quite likely to come in at the middle of a routine. You'd have to be some sort of magical savant to be able to "hook" someone merely passing by, enthrall them enough to stop and watch something you're already half way done with, and bring it to a strong enough conclusion to get them to throw down coin -and you'd have to do this with EVERY SINGLE PERSON walking by.

Good luck.

What gaddy is saying makes a lot of sense.

Bob Phillips

I've no idea whether it would work... why not try it and find out?

I do know that it will work quite well if you do baloon animals that way. Maybe if you aren't confident enough to do a magic show on the street, learn a dozen animals, and off you go...

Thanks for the advice. I'm just starting out, and money isn't my motivation... honing my budding chops is. I'm just hoping for a steady stream of spectators, mainly onesies and twosies to watch my antics with cards and coins and such.
I'll have to give it a shot I suppose.

G'day Adrian

This topic has been discussed here from time to time - in the context of a "trickle" show where the audience is moving on and paying when they leave. The opinions have been mixed.

However it has been noted that some buskers have presented this type of continuous performance for usually small groups of people where they work through a set series of effects and then start again. I am pretty sure that Jimmy Talks A Lot discusses this type of performance in his book and also touches on it in his blog in regard to building confidence when starting out or when performing new material.

I make use of this method from time to time when people are on a mission with no time to stop for long.

I hope you enjoy the experience and perhaps you could let us know how it went (and even if you made your first hat).

Bob Latta (aka Troppo Bob)

What you are referring to is a "trickle" show.
Discussed at length here-
http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......rum=6&24
Best of luck!
Gwyd

In my opinion it st just not the way to go, not for a magic act. One thing is for sure with this nothing is in stone. Try several things and find what works for you.

It can work well if you find yourself on a narrow sidewalk or where space is tight. Performing close-up in a very intimate way, you won't make as many tips but they tend to be considerably higher. A big show = bigger hats for sure but this is a nice laid back way to work as long as there's plenty of traffic.

Don't work in narrow spaces. When traffic gets blocked that's a sure way to get cops to stop you from working.

Very true. They're probably more tolerant of that in Key West but you don't want to let the crowd get too large. All depends on the location. There was a couple of cool doorways I could work in and a recessed storefront (closed) that had great acoustics. That could hold 20 or so without blocking anything.

by all means, do tell...

Well first, I'm talking about a tourist town here so you can't generalize for other places. Establishing a personal interaction with folks who visit a strange place with plenty of disposable income can be extremely rewarding for the performer. If I'm having fun, then they are having fun. Usually they are very grateful for that. After working there a year or two, you can almost predict how much you'll make, - depending on the month. Different nationalities tend to vacation at different times of the year. In addition, they respond to different types of acts. It doesn't take long to learn the little things like; don't work near a chalk artist, they always get the crowds. And don't bother going out during spring break, stuff like that. A certain spot can make all the difference over another location. Understanding your clientele, whether they arrived on a yacht or a mini van will maximize your returns. I was hired for many boat parties and weddings right off the street. Folks would come back several nights in a row, dropping a hundred each time, then take me to dinner. Often I'd get hired as a personal tour guide for the evening, so it pays to know the area well.

Of course it's not always like that. The very next person could try to bop you on the head and rob you. It all balances out on the plus side however. Much more intimate than a big show, that's why I like it.
It doesn't work everywhere though.

Word is key west cracked down a lot on street performers. they are now only limited to certain spots, and those spots are run by locals, the traveler doesn't have much of a shot to work.

I haven't been there since '93 and the times were a changin' at that point. Snowbirds usually worked Mallory Square only at sunset. Others would work Duval Street as late as they wanted with never a problem. Before he got famous, Gazzo would work a certain corner. It was darker there and not close to anything, a bit out of the way. When he went out of town, I tried the spot and it was amazing. It must have been a good place to entertain people on that loooong stretch to the next bar. Go figure.

Tomterm has given the best advice.. Just do it and find out if it works for you..

Different characters allow people to work in different ways.. and different ways of working work differently in different venues (wow. does this make sense?)

I didn't read this whole thread but I saw somebody mention Key West... I think everyone should try do to Key West atleast once just to say that you did it.. Of course, your chance of actually working and making any kind of money aren't great at all... I work in florida a lot, and I know a lot of good performers in KW so I'm always getting the skinny, and it's never great..

KW runs on a seniority system like none other, and the seniority performers are on the committee board so they play favs of course... You have to be a regular there for years before you get in the good draw.. The chairman of the board now happens to be one of the most hated and for good reasons...

Performers smoke crack and shoot heroin on the pitch... get drunk, pass out, sleep in their own urine.., etc.,....

Key west will never get rid of street performers though, because the city has a "law" that you cant banstreet performing bec buskers are a historic value of key west.. The problem is all of the politics innvolved , the way the venue is run,etc.. it's the most political pitch in america

There are homeless people who attempt busking and that does get out of control from time to time. A guy with a long beard thought he could eat fire one night and made an ash of himself.

Mallory is tightly controlled like G.Gilbert says. You might get lucky if you go in the Summer. Problem is there are way fewer people then. Mostly folks from other parts of Florida.
You definitely need to be there year round to get any seniority.
Just before I left, a human statue went berzerk and attacked one of the vendors with a samurai sword. It got more difficult after that.
The best time to have been there was around 1980 IMO
I often miss it, but it was a good career move in the long run.

I find the thought of a human statue losing his mind at a heckler very entertaining. I would have given him a big hat! :-O

No one was hurt but they weren't laughing about it either.
There's a story every day. You can see why many writers frequent the place.

That was just one example to illustrate why the tourism people attempt to control the situation. With an unending parade of whackos crossing the bridge every day, it is understandable that the locals will take their time to acknowledge you.

Those on the committee that runs the sunset celebration have been there for decades, so they've pretty much seen it all. They just want to protect their livelihood. With such limited space, turf wars are common. Newcomers should understand that respect is earned over time. If you can manage to stay out of jail in the first 72 hours, you're halfway there.