This is one of the best articles i have read on busking. came across it ages ago, but accidentally stumbled upon it tonight again (gosh i am SO not supposed to be blogging. need to do proper stuff and sleep fast).
My guiding principles for busking all came from this article. The main points are:
1) a busker sells entertainment. if you're not entertained, dun drop the moolah. a busker is NOT a beggar. it is NOT a disguised form of begging. keep those sympathy coins.
2) if i get no crowd, I am doing something wrong. ME and just ME and totally ME. Dun blame the crowd, dun blame singapore, dun blame PAP.
3) every successful busker started by failing. badly. learn from the failure.
4) the street is the best place to hone skills. the busker is trying to make pple, who aren't there for him, stay and watch his show. Not only does he need to be entertaining enough to distract them from their original purpose, he has to be so good that they want to PAY him. Like put money in the hat of a stranger that just ate 30 min of their time. if he is crap, they walk. instant feedback.
in a stage show, the audience is held captive. whether you're crap or not they have to watch (since they're there, and hopefully for them there are other shows), and clap politely at the end.
once you can gather a crowd, keep them there, and actually make them pay (a lot) willingly, you know you've succeeded. conquer the street, conquer anything.
robbie williams honed his skills on the street. i guess that's what's so thrilling abt busking. it's so painful and embarassing to fail, but once in a while there's a gd response and it feels blardy rewarding. the money collection is basically the point system. the more you get, the better your show.
----------------------------
From Larry Moss (http://www.balloonhq.com/faq/twister_busking.html)
"A busker generally works hard for the money he makes. He isn't looking for handouts from kind and generous souls in the same manner as a panhandler. He is, in fact, selling something. The something, however, isn't so cut and dry. A busker sells entertainment. I like to think of it as selling smiles and memories. There's no tangible exchange of goods.
....
The street is a difficult place to work. You must create organization out of chaos, grab personal space out of a public way, communicate with strangers, and work long hard hours under pressure.
So if it's that tough, why the street at all? Well, everyone has a different answer. But most of the performers who I talk to have similar reasons.
Basically, it's because they love it. If you can get through the obstacles, then it is a wonderful way to make money. It is a rush no like other to have groups of people applaud you and then rush forward with fistfuls of money. There is also no job in the world where you can have complete independence, be utterly creative and expressive in your work, and have an instant performance evaluation.
I talked about how appealing the street is for me, while still describing the street scene as being an incredibly difficult place to work. The fact is, while difficult, it can be the most rewarding form of work.
The very thing that scares most people is the thing that I like most. The only people that stay to watch your show are those that genuinely enjoy what they're seeing. Those first few minutes are rather trying. That's when you have to convince them to stay and play along. But once they're watching, you know you've won them over.
When that show ends, and you have a crowd around you applauding and giving money, it's not because they're being polite. It's because they want to do it. Every time my street show ends and I can look into the smiling faces of my crowd, I know I've done something right. If I look and see that there is no crowd, I know that I need to improve, but I don't have to answer to a disappointed audience that paid admission to watch.
It's not easy, but if you stick it out and develop a show that works on the street, you've got something to be proud of. You'll know that your income has been earned. Most importantly, after all of the hours put into developing that show and learning how to work with your crowds, your performance and audience interaction skills will be greatly enhanced for your work in other venues. "
---------------------------------
from my somewhat limited busking experience, my most memorable moment was when an expat lady and her 2 little girls came up to me (during one of the de-trash shows) and went " i really like your show."
one of the funniest moments was when i built up my show (and crowd) to my finale and the blardy snow machine started spewing snow. all the built up habis. the entire crowd went to catch snow.
the worst moments were always when i start the show and mess up all the tricks. that is unforgivable.
it's a gd thing i remember the fun times more than the times i want to bury myself in a heap on shit.
gosh i am so not supposed to be blogging.
let's leave with a message by good old disagreeable Jason Garfield:
"Most hack jugglers juggle no more than 5 balls and 4 clubs.
Most good jugglers perform the juggling of 7 balls, 7 rings and 5 clubs.
An exceptional few perform 9-10 rings and 7 clubs.
Nobody can juggle 30 balls."
source: JasonGarfield.com (Jason Garfield is 11 times world champion juggler and has 2 world records)
i'm a hack juggler. argh.......7 balls....5 clubs......
My guiding principles for busking all came from this article. The main points are:
1) a busker sells entertainment. if you're not entertained, dun drop the moolah. a busker is NOT a beggar. it is NOT a disguised form of begging. keep those sympathy coins.
2) if i get no crowd, I am doing something wrong. ME and just ME and totally ME. Dun blame the crowd, dun blame singapore, dun blame PAP.
3) every successful busker started by failing. badly. learn from the failure.
4) the street is the best place to hone skills. the busker is trying to make pple, who aren't there for him, stay and watch his show. Not only does he need to be entertaining enough to distract them from their original purpose, he has to be so good that they want to PAY him. Like put money in the hat of a stranger that just ate 30 min of their time. if he is crap, they walk. instant feedback.
in a stage show, the audience is held captive. whether you're crap or not they have to watch (since they're there, and hopefully for them there are other shows), and clap politely at the end.
once you can gather a crowd, keep them there, and actually make them pay (a lot) willingly, you know you've succeeded. conquer the street, conquer anything.
robbie williams honed his skills on the street. i guess that's what's so thrilling abt busking. it's so painful and embarassing to fail, but once in a while there's a gd response and it feels blardy rewarding. the money collection is basically the point system. the more you get, the better your show.
----------------------------
From Larry Moss (http://www.balloonhq.com/faq/twister_busking.html)
"A busker generally works hard for the money he makes. He isn't looking for handouts from kind and generous souls in the same manner as a panhandler. He is, in fact, selling something. The something, however, isn't so cut and dry. A busker sells entertainment. I like to think of it as selling smiles and memories. There's no tangible exchange of goods.
....
The street is a difficult place to work. You must create organization out of chaos, grab personal space out of a public way, communicate with strangers, and work long hard hours under pressure.
So if it's that tough, why the street at all? Well, everyone has a different answer. But most of the performers who I talk to have similar reasons.
Basically, it's because they love it. If you can get through the obstacles, then it is a wonderful way to make money. It is a rush no like other to have groups of people applaud you and then rush forward with fistfuls of money. There is also no job in the world where you can have complete independence, be utterly creative and expressive in your work, and have an instant performance evaluation.
I talked about how appealing the street is for me, while still describing the street scene as being an incredibly difficult place to work. The fact is, while difficult, it can be the most rewarding form of work.
The very thing that scares most people is the thing that I like most. The only people that stay to watch your show are those that genuinely enjoy what they're seeing. Those first few minutes are rather trying. That's when you have to convince them to stay and play along. But once they're watching, you know you've won them over.
When that show ends, and you have a crowd around you applauding and giving money, it's not because they're being polite. It's because they want to do it. Every time my street show ends and I can look into the smiling faces of my crowd, I know I've done something right. If I look and see that there is no crowd, I know that I need to improve, but I don't have to answer to a disappointed audience that paid admission to watch.
It's not easy, but if you stick it out and develop a show that works on the street, you've got something to be proud of. You'll know that your income has been earned. Most importantly, after all of the hours put into developing that show and learning how to work with your crowds, your performance and audience interaction skills will be greatly enhanced for your work in other venues. "
---------------------------------
from my somewhat limited busking experience, my most memorable moment was when an expat lady and her 2 little girls came up to me (during one of the de-trash shows) and went " i really like your show."
one of the funniest moments was when i built up my show (and crowd) to my finale and the blardy snow machine started spewing snow. all the built up habis. the entire crowd went to catch snow.
the worst moments were always when i start the show and mess up all the tricks. that is unforgivable.
it's a gd thing i remember the fun times more than the times i want to bury myself in a heap on shit.
gosh i am so not supposed to be blogging.
let's leave with a message by good old disagreeable Jason Garfield:
"Most hack jugglers juggle no more than 5 balls and 4 clubs.
Most good jugglers perform the juggling of 7 balls, 7 rings and 5 clubs.
An exceptional few perform 9-10 rings and 7 clubs.
Nobody can juggle 30 balls."
source: JasonGarfield.com (Jason Garfield is 11 times world champion juggler and has 2 world records)
i'm a hack juggler. argh.......7 balls....5 clubs......
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home