|
|
Go to page [Previous] 1~2 | ||||||||||
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
It is ghreat that you did something so many others have not even attempted to do. YOU TOOK IMMEDIATE ACTION AND WENT OUT THERE AND DID IT. That is so much more then what most do. Most dream of success but sit by and wait for it to hit them. It simply will not.
To be successful in anything, you have to be willing to take direct action and have the ability to learn through failure. Sounds funny doesn't it? Learn through failure? It has often been said that a successful person is one who realizes that failure is really just a stepping stone to success. They are so true. If you learn to go out there and to learn even when you fail, then you are doing yourself a world of good. You are learning by the art of doing. The real failure is to shurg it off and never really evaluate why something did not work. By you posting here, it is very clear to me that you want to learn, have the ambition to learn and to grow from each experience. I commend you a lot for doing so. So your first time out was not as prosperous as you may have wanted it to be. However, I bet you learned more in those few hours then you would have reading from books for a month? Am I right? You learned by doing and can now go back and change and test something new or a new approach the next time out. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
|||||||||
Carrie Sue Veteran user Auburn, MI 332 Posts |
I was *not* wearing my Starfleet uniform.
Paddy, since I didn't have a set, per se, I couldn't exactly *finish* with anything, even cups and balls. I am capable of performing a C&B routine as well as the other things, but as you may have read, I was competing with loud music most of the time as people were strolling by around me. Noticeably not stopping much. Not gonna get Gazzo's material right now. It doesn't appeal to me, because I'm not him. I've got my own C&B routine assembled from things I learned from Michael Ammar's book, and I work it with the Ickle Pickle mini set. My final loads are day-glo balls, pink. Nothing major, kind of like my act. Well, I have another "on purpose" show this weekend, so that should go better. CSR |
|||||||||
Dave V Inner circle Las Vegas, NV 4824 Posts |
Carrie Sue,
You don't have to be Gazzo to learn from his material. The Krowd Keeping book uses him as an example, but it is in no way teaching you how to be like him. It sounds like for now you're mainly a "trickle" show, performing small tricks for a few people at a time. I understand the venue pretty much forced that on you, but there's nothing at all wrong with it. Owen Lean sells (well, he used to, I can't find it on his site any more) a PDF download called "Hit and Run Magic" that covers how your kind of show can work. You can find info on it at http://www.roadmage.com It's more of a "walk around" show, but the theories are the same. Five minute show, one or two effects, get the money and move on.
No trees were killed in the making of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
|
|||||||||
Danny Hustle Inner circle Boston, MA USA 2393 Posts |
Hi Carrie Sue,
First off congratulations! You took the most important step, you got out there and did it! Close up magic can work great. Smaller audiences and shorter shows can work. In my opinion the money is not as good as a working a larger show for a longer period but it can still be pretty good. Not to mention a great way to polish your material! From your post it sounds like you were doing just a couple of tricks and then asking for money, and if they were giving you money there is nothing wrong with that . I do have a couple of suggestions that might make it more lucrative for you not to mention more fun! The first thing I would suggest is to develop a show. A show has a beginning a middle and an end. In the beginning they are getting to know you a little bit. They are deciding weather or not they like you. The middle is the time to connect with the audience by interacting with them. Learn their names in the beginning and use their names when connecting with them in the middle. By the time you get to the end they should like you and feel connected to the show. It should not be "you" and "them" but "us". Then when you lay down that "WOW" finish they will be more than happy to give you the fiver. Also almost any trick can be a closer and a "WOW" it is what YOU bring to it that sells it. You really need to build it up to the audience first. Remember, it is the sizzle not the steak. The tricks you do really do not matter as long as you can do them well. The difference between ones and fives is 1. how much they like you, and 2. you need to find a way to not only make them want to give you that five but make them walk away feeling good about giving it to you. I think in order to rate a five people need to see at least a 15 minute show. That is different than 15 minutes of tricks stacked back to back. In a 15 minute show you might only do two or three tricks but you will have connected with them. That is the key, that connection. That connection can only be achieved by having a show with a beginning a middle and an end. But as I said in the beginning, the hard part is behind you. You got off the couch and did it! Congratulations! And KEEP DOING IT! Best, Dan- P.S. I know your pain about the music. On my main pitch I have to compete with live musicians all the time. Amplification is the key to solving that problem. You may not be able to drown out the background "noise" all together but you can make yourself loud enough to be heard by the five people standing in front of you. You could also approach the management and ask them politely if it would be possible for them to please turn down the music just a bit. Or ask to be moved to a less noisy spot. "MT is one of the reasons we started this board! I’m so sick of posts being deleted without any reason given, and by unknown people at that." - Steve Brooks Sep 7, 2001 8:38pm ©1999-2014 Daniel Denney all rights reserved. |
|||||||||
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Absolutely AWESOME advice from Danny. As usual.
One things he said that made a HUGE difference for me when I did my first busking this past month is the generalized statement of, "It is not so important that they like the effects you do as it is that they just plain like YOU in general." That is so true. They have to feel and connect with you and have had a good time with you. When I do my street style magic, I learned very quickly that I can not just be upo there doing my stuff and just having them watch me. It just does not work. You have to engage the audience, connect with them, speak to them and constantly interact with them more then you would in any other form of magic. Once I started doing this, I saw a world of difference. People stayed longer and brought their friends over. I was asking the audience questions, getting laughs from others and engaging them throughout my 15 min show. The more I did so, the more they smiled, laughed and felt a part of the show. In the end I got them not to say.. oh that TRICK was cool I got them to say man that Magician was a great guy. I had fun. Big difference there for me. Once they like ME they feel more compelled to stay longer or to even give up money because they WANT to and not because they feel that they have to. I also agree with Danny on amplification. My first time out I had a amplification device and music but decided not to set it up for the first show. I found that I lost the crowd becaue people in the back could not hear me, or I was being drowned out by music near me. The second show I amplified myself and used music. It made a HUGE difference. Now people could hear my clearly and I learned a very powerful thing. MUSIC and SOUND can attract a crowd very easily. Just the noise and the sound of my voice and the music, brought people over and peaked their own curiosity, Once I got them over watching, I then could go into my routine to keep them there and to grows the crowd. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
|||||||||
The Mighty Fool Inner circle I feel like a big-top tent having 2140 Posts |
You mentioned that you used misled but that it didn't go over very well. I'd suggest trying the stealth pen or 'B2 bomber'. In my experience this effect KILLS and it's much easier and smoother to perform than misled. Also, you could have the pencil sitting on the table, and after performing pen-thru, some wiseguy will often say "let's see you do it with that pencil!" and you can shut him up with misled!
Everybody wants to beleive.....we just help them along.
|
|||||||||
magic4u02 Eternal Order Philadelphia, PA 15110 Posts |
Nice idea by having a backup set in for the event of someone saying something like that. That way you can immediately go into something else as a plan B course of action if you needed to.
However, I think if you have and are performing more of a show, then you engage your audience in such a way that I think you can have much more control over what people do, how they react and such. You might not find yourself in situations like that. I know that when I switched to porforming my busking style magic for a small group of 5 or so at my table, to really branching out and establishing a 15 min street show, that things changed dramatically for me. Soon I was able to have much more control over a crowd and the interaction was greater as well. There was less of a problem of people saying or doing anything wrong, because of the sheer numbers of people watching. They simply did not have the chance to heckle or cause problems, cause I gained complete control over the situation. Just has worked for me. Kyle
Kyle Peron
http://www.kylekellymagic.com Entertainers Product Site http://kpmagicproducts.com Join Our Facebook Fan Page at http://facebook.com/perondesign |
|||||||||
Dave V Inner circle Las Vegas, NV 4824 Posts |
Quote:
On 2005-09-05 01:26, Dave VanVranken wrote: I found it! It wasn't on Owen's site it was from www.magictricks.co.uk where it can be bought as an "instant download"
No trees were killed in the making of this message, but a large number of electrons were terribly inconvenienced.
|
|||||||||
twistedace Inner circle philadelphia 3772 Posts |
I do regular events like this. I work at Commerce Bank grand openings. I DO get paid to work these events BUT it's very similar to street magic. I set up a spot with my rolling table (as opposed to strolling, which I used to do). I stop crowds and gather people then do a 15-20 minute show sometimes a bit longer depending on the reactions. I don't pass the hat because I'm paid to be at these events, but am very confident that if I did, I would be well paid. I can gather big crowds, keep them laughing, and keep them entertained. BEING HEARD IS EVERYTHING!!!! I also agree that doing a show is the way to go with a beginning, middle, and end. I like using bigger tricks such as the Linking Rings with 10 in. rings or a vanishing silk is the best way to gather a crowd. Also, another GREAT way to gather a crowd is with the 3 shell game. Everyone knows what it is as soon as you pull it out, everyone thinks they can follow it, and everyone screams when they cannot. It REALLY draws in a crowd.
I've been asked by many store owners in center city phila., to do street magic in front of their stores on South Street but I'm just too busy doing shows on the weekend. A few of the well known "street" magicians have told me I should. I am considering doing it as soon as I have a free weekend! |
|||||||||
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » The side walk shuffle » » Busking for the very first time ... Part II (0 Likes) | ||||||||||
Go to page [Previous] 1~2 |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.05 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |