HAT'UM.

Mr. Hunley, Listen to Kozmo & Danny Hustle. They both have been full time buskers a long time now and support thier families very well. Listen to those 2 and youi will be successful. If you get a chance work with either one or go to a boot camp with Kozmo ore Gazzo and Bobby Maverick. The camps last 3 days and when you're done you'll be surprized how much you are making after the boot camp. I will change your life

One suggestion that I can offer is once you have your edge established, tell them what you're about to do.

For example, my wife and I have 3 pieces in our street act, and some of this can vary from time to time.
This isn't our act, but will give you an idea of what we say.

Ladies and gentleman we're just about to start our show. Colleen will start off by displaying her amazing juggling skills. Next I will show you what is known as the world's greatest card trick. And for our grand finale I am going to blindfold Colleen and she will attempt to read your minds.

What this does is set a timeline into the people's heads. Some of the people that stopped to see you didn't plan on stopping to see you. Those people may have an agenda and a schedule that they have to keep. By knowing what you plan to do, they can plan to stay for a while, stay for the whole show, or just leave. This also allows you to "sell the sizzle." If you have a good closer you can whet their appetite with the sizzle about what your final piece will be. Something that will make them WANT to stay until the end.

When we have the performing space, we also put out a 5 gal bucket and say something to the effect, "We know that some of you won't be able to stay for the whole show. But if you have to leave and enjoyed what you saw, please feel free to drop some money in the bucket before you go." This was a tip a friend of ours gave us. She came out to see us, saw that some people had to go, had money in their hands to tip us, but no place to put the cash. They pocketed it and left.

Great stuff, EvilDan....I do the same thing once I have my five. I usually
stop my first one or two, but when I have an edge, I start announcing what
I am going to do...just as you noted above. It helps as you noted. Sometimes,
I throw in a reminder; one left two go...(I learned this from Mario).

I also ran into the situation; especially, in the fast pace area I work in...
Chris Capehart mentioned this to me...as I too kept having some people walk
in the middle of the show and hand me money....it kinda disrupts the show.
It's easier and implied when you have some receptacle for them to drop it
in...then you can give them nod or thank you...without having to really
stop what your doing....

The reason a dug up this post was for additonal comments like this...this
is good stuff that workers are actually doing on the streets.

The fact is that most folks don't plan to see a street show to begin with.
The trickle hat out or a bucket out front is a bad idea (unless you're working a trickle show). There are many reasons but I will say that one is because once one person throws a frog in the bucket and walks there will be more "pay their way out"...Then because youre making a little bit of money off the walkers, you wont realize that the most important thing you're missing is the ability to get them to WANT to stay. It takes work and time. Do your show over and over again. Learn from your audience. Watch them and listen to them. The fellas that said structure your show with a beginning middle and end are right. The only thing is you have to know what those effects are. The only way to find out is by doing it and analyzing the outcomes.

Then again, I see so many terrible performers giving advice and selling garbage that they are poster children for the "don't work hard, just use a gimmick" mentality. Instead of learning how to actually build a crowd and learn the skillset of being a good performer they resort to gimmicks(i.e. the balloon swallow, fire, etc. etc.) to build a half-ass crowd. This is crap. There is no skillset here. Its crap. They would rather not learn how to actually build a crowd. Unfortunately, they wanna be famous or known or whatever, and they don't care what the cost is. Too bad for they poor guys buying their drivel that the price is being paid by them not the fella releasing the garbage.

Just my opinion,

Best,

Bobby

I get so many folks that come to my performance area, who mock the balloon swallowing magician.
Questions about his sexual preference is the number one comment that I hear.

They aren't laughing with you, they are laughing at you!

NEWSFLASH
Balloon swallowing is NOT magic!

I have one question for you?
Do You Swallow?

As I have said in a different post, I will be busking at Summerfest, the world’s largest Music festival next week. However, two weeks ago at the same park was Milwaukee's annual Pride Fest. With me being straight, but very open to the LGBT community, I considered trying to get hired to busk Pride fest as well, and Balloon swallowing would have been my closing act. I have a feeling I would had made a fortune if I followed through with the idea... maybe next year

Good point!!! My bag happens to be there as it is the bag that holds the props.
It also occured to me that it's a great recepticle for those "paying their way out...".

Anything you do to handle those that want to give you money in the middle of your show
and gots to go?

I always have a tip jar out, and I've never had others "pay their way out" after someone drops a tip ... on the contrary, when someone puts something in the jar it gives me the opp to thank them and call the crowd's attention to the jar which certainly helps.

Another thing I've been known to do on occasion is a money trick, and then drop the bill into the jar - a subtle soft hat line in itself.

I like how Sony Holiday does it - he wears one hat, and has another on the ground. I consider him to be one one of the few "real magicians" working the sidewalks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gql_lSoDPg



-JoeJoe

I'm like JoeJoe; the bucket's always out. I keep my wand there, for the same reasons.
Subtle reminders never hurt.

I've never found keeping a bucket out to hurt the final hat at the end. If nothing else, by thanking the tippers that have to leave, it reminds the rest of the crowd that you're doing this for money and we sometimes add, "Don't worry, there will be plenty of time to add yours at the end of the show."

If you don't have structure you don't have a show.

Well said Rotten.


Okay, try this exercise. Remove the bucket or the hat or whatever you have out the entire time. Do your show. If you make less its probably because you're lacking in a specific area, the part where you keep an audience...seems important to me, but maybe I'm wrong.

Then again, if you have only had success doing it one way and never tried the other it would be hard for me to convince ya otherwise wouldnt it?

Contrary to some folks beliefs, its about becoming better performers. The money just gets better once you have gotten better at performing.

To save some of the thin skinned replies I'm sure I will receive, I'm NOT telling any of you guys you are bad performers. I'm just saying that relying upon an open tip receptacle for the folks that wanna leave early is a good way to dull a very needed skill in street entertaining. The ability to KEEP a crowd.

If anyone wants me to show them what I mean, I would happy to come and do it. All I need is the where abouts of your pitch....LOL!!!!!


that's a joke, don't go broadcasting your pitch. You will end up with knuckleheads all over ya.

I see a lot of structure in that clip of Sonny Holiday. Your entire perception of this is based on your misguided belief that the only reason to have a tip jar out would be to get money from people that want to leave early ... which is where you are wrong.

By having a tip jar out, I don't have to deal with money till the end of the night. No counting it between shows, no figuring out where to stash it, no worrying about it blowing away in the strong ocean breeze I work in. Makes my life easier in a multiple of ways.

And it works to my advantage psychologically ... ABC rule of sales ... Always Be Closing.

-JoeJoe

I think that having a tip jar out would give me one more thing to worry about while performing, distracting me from the show. Perfect example. A few weeks ago I was in the mall with my wife. She wanted some coffee so we stopped at the Starbucks. The coffee girl had a tip jar out. It had change and plenty of ones in it. This is in the middle of a Shopping mall with cameras and security and police about and it is enclosed. This guy walks up to the counter while she is helping another guest and we are in line. He snatches the tip jar and runs away. He got away clean with all the girls tips, while she was distracted handing someone a cup of coffee.

Now, I can only imagine how easy it would be for someone hard up to get away with a tip jar full of a days worth of money on an open street while the mage was distracted delivering bits of patter and doing complicated sleight of hand. I just don't want to have to keep one eye on my tip jar and the other focused on the performance. Heck, last week I was doing a PK style effect with a little plastic ball to stop people. I had a group stop and as I went into my show I pulled the thread free and stuck the tack to the tree behind me. I performed my show and when this group left without tipping I found my ball was missing. I searched for it and it was gone. Now, if my tip jar was sitting there I can only imagine what else may have walked away.

For me hatting at the end and dumping the money into my case (similar to yours JoeJoe, with locks, that is bike locked to a tree or lamp post) means that I don't have to worry about it. I would notice someone smashing my case or trying to cut the cable with bolt cutters....

Your experience is limited to only what you know and where you work.

I can say without a doubt that I am right on this.

There s a difference between closing and settling.

And your experience is limited as well - and you don't know everything.

Just because I have a hat out during my show does not mean I am "settling" for anything.

Give it a rest already - you have stated your opinion and everyone heard you; they can decide for themselves what they want to do.

-JoeJoe

When I first tried busking and was scared I had a tip bucket. After I got rid of it I had one person ask during the show where to leave a tip. I said with the waitress. That happened during the first month of me ridding my show of the trout line. Since then no one has interrupted to ask anything. Oh, wait. Why can't we discuss this?

There are cities I have worked I wouldn't leave a bucket out for any reason...that thing will be gone in a short time, other areas I could use one but why...It is something else to lug around and I want to travel with less, not more.
I'm not saying the jar is a bad thing where some of you are working, but there are places it is a very bad idea. I also agree that if you have a tight show I doubt you would miss it.
JoJo, not arguing with you but I know for a fact that Sonny does not use a hat out for tips all of the time, he picks his locations and often works without one.

On the pitch money goes in my pocket, not out.

I never said you had to put a tip jar out so I don't see how your comments are in disagreement with what I've said, that being that people should choose for themselves what they think would work best for them.

All I've done is point out the pro's to having a tip jar out; every side has pro's and con's and this notion that there is one way and only one way to street perform is just asinine.

And if I was in an area where I was worried it would be stolen ... then I would move to a better neighborhood.



-JoeJoe