Hi all,
I'm thinking of taking my show on the road next summer.
I have friends in seattle (laymen, so they can't help me), and I was wondering about busking there.
where are the good places?
are the cops hard-nosed about permits? I'm working on a 3c monte, how would that go down there?
any advice is appreciated. I don't have any set plans yet.
thanks.
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Oops, forgot.

how about juggling fire, or knives? I know here in SLC people get bent outta shape by those.

Hows Seattle you may ask...wet, sometimes very wet.

You might wanna get ahold of Tom Frank here at the Café, he used to busk in Seattle and is a legend!

johnny

Just curious what do they say about the knives in SLC...

They say "don't juggle those!!"

Just kidding anton,
event organizers and security guards will ask you to leave if they catch you, and I've never tried juggling knives on a sidewalk

Only been there once, visited Tom Frank while there and if memory serves me correctly, there was a permit office at Pikes Place. You walk in, fill out a form, and pay the fee (very cheap), and then they give you a schedule for where you can perform. There are spots painted on the sidewalks, and you have to perform on those spots. Every so often, you rotate to the next spot and someone comes and takes your spot. So, in theory, everyone gets a shot at the good spots.

I also seem to remember that the spot Tom had, he was able to spent most of his time there and not rotate.

That's only my one day snap shot memory of it all. I do know I went into the office where you get the permits because we were trying to track down a guy.

Tom's the guy to ask, but until he answers, hopefully I got close.

Steve

How big are these rotating pitches?

Anton

All sidwalk spots, no circle show venues, that I saw. Several of them are right at entrances into the market, which meant that you can't draw a big crowd, or you'd be blocking the entrance into the market, which is why the people came there, not to see you. Then, some spots on the sidewalks in various places.

Please take into consideration, I was only there for a couple of days, and I didn't get the inside scoop on it all, I am just telling you what I saw or seemed to remember from conversations I had with people while out there.

I could be completely incorrect

Steve

p.s. The spot Tom used was on a corner, which allowed you to draw a very nice sized crowd. I would guess Tom's years of experience,interaction, and friendship with the fellow performers there may have gave him a little more control of it all, but that's purely a guess.