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KingStardog Inner circle 2134 Posts 
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I see from Ken's posting, he has been traveling with several zbits and doing fine.
A couple questions on these. Rather than pester a bunch of different folks via email, I thought I would throw these out there and possibly other folks that had interest could benifit. 1.Does a single really great 'what's it' do better than 3-4 average items? 2.Do you need to frame the show around one that is more spectacular than the others, or do you think they all stand on their own merits just as well? 3.In order to stand on its own, (the Show) how many differnt types of items 3-4-6-10? 4.And do any of the folks pitch slum at the same time? (i'm talking about buttons, badges, referigerator magnets etc with tiny pics from the show or actualy shoot and print photo's on the spot, of folks with the zibs to double the take) 5. Do you do other shows to help gather the tip? (fire, magic, escape, blockhead etc)
...think not that all wisdom is in your school. You may have studied other paths,but, it is important to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from, there is always more to learn.
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gsidhe Inner circle Michigan 1725 Posts
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*Answers imaginary phone*
Doug!! It's for you!! Gwyd |
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts
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First of all, listen to Gwyd when he says to listen to Doug. My show has improved since I read Doug's manual for Zibits.
1. I only have one item. It's great. I personally think that this is better than three or four minor items, but it depends on the format of your show. Travis Fessler has shown several items in a show for people waiting in line to get into a performance. Some big shows with multiple working acts have used this format for the line waiting to get into rock concerts. 4. I have pitched some slum at these, but it doesn't go as well as at a regular pitch. I have handed out free plastic sea creatures to kids at my Feejee Mermaid show. Everyone likes a little something extra that they weren't expecting. You get a big smile from the kids, and the stuff is maybe $6/gross. I think people figure that they bought the ticket, they saw the thing, now they are done, and that's why a pitch doesn't work so well. 5. I have used Don Driver's fantastic tip-gathering DVD to draw a crowd. I do a little street magic (Fast & Loose, Cups & Balls, maybe my busker organ), then start a killer bally with a battery-powered Anchor Minivox. Some of this is going to depend on the setting. With a big crowd, I don't think you need more than a bally. If the crowd is light, you have to gather a tip first. The other great thing about setting up Doug's way is that people can see the faces of the patrons looking at the exhibit. I gather a tip, do the bally, and then when they are thinking about whether it's worth it, I ask one person from a large party to pay and have a look. If that person's friends like the look on the patron's face, they can put up and come in. I pick the right person, take their money, and stand them in front of the display, which is covered with a cloth. I whip away the cloth, their face turns all kinds of colors, and their friends rush in, throwing money at me. Is this a great country, or what? Yours, Paul |
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mota Inner circle 1658 Posts
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I have made very good money with Doug's approach with a single exhibit.
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KingStardog Inner circle 2134 Posts
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You just have the one FeeGee Paul? Have you thought about more?
Couple more dumb questions. 1. Can you charge more for more items or is it pretty much a buck a head regardless? do they resist spending more than a buck? 2. If a single creature is good how large should it be? 3. Last one. What seems to be the creature that is best to show? FeeGee, pygme mummies, chupakabra. 4. Does anyone realy bother to have the little stuff with thiers. (flesh eating toads, two headed squirrels etc)
...think not that all wisdom is in your school. You may have studied other paths,but, it is important to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from, there is always more to learn.
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Freak Prodigy Inner circle NYC & LA 1805 Posts
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A lot of times it has to do with your amount of comitment, and your personality...
just PM doug...he'll give you the ins and outs. Brett.
Blog:
http://www.bloudermilk.blogspot.com _________________________________________ E-mail: BrettELoudermilk@gmail.com |
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drwilson Inner circle Bar Harbor, ME 2191 Posts
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KSD,
Doug's notes relate that he was next to a big show charging $2 with a little single-O charging $1. Everyone who went to the big show went to his. He got half as much money, but the expenses on the big show were way out of line. Who made the most money? Doug did. By the way, I charge $2 for adults, $1 for kids. Lemonade at the same venues is $2.50. Charge adults about what the lemonade costs. My Feejee is 22", and is shown in a nice acrylic display case with an 8' x 5' banner on the side of the tent. If I were showing one of Doug's Atomic Death Worms, I would dress it up with some trinitite (which I have), and some documents and photos. The other items are not attractions, but they authenticate the attraction. Doug has a vial of heavy water from the 1940s. The best creature depends on local interest. In Nevada, you'd need an Atomic Death Worm or a Roswell Alien. In Maine, something from the sea is good. In Iowa, it would be the World's Largest Hog or the World's Largest Ear of Corn. Out there in the Northwest, where you are, there is Bigfoot. I think that the little stuff fills out an attraction that might be something of a letdown. When Barnum showed the Feejee, people stood in line to see it, but once they were inside his museum they saw everything else too. No one left before they thought that they got their money's worth. If I had an attraction that I thought might disappoint people once they were past the banner line, I'd fill it out with a bunch of small stuff. Drop by The Old Curiosity Shop in Seattle if it's still around and see what you like. Different people like different things. When I went to the Barnum Museum in Bridgeport, the very best thing for me was a piece of Tom Thumb's wedding cake. It was almost totally black and shriveled with age. To me, there was something amazingly cool about it that I still can't put my finger on. It was a mystery. Almost everybody else who ever went to that museum would remember something different as their favorite thing. At Ripey's in Orlando, it was the Vampire Hunter's kit. This was a beautiful wooden box with a silver crucifix, a vial of holy water, a miniature Bible, a wooden stake and mallet, and more. Of course, if you dropped by my house, I could show you a thing or two.... Harley Newman fell in love with my Feejee Mermaid. Yours, Paul |
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts
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There are good answers to all your questions. Kondini is travelling with 7 of my Zibits and doing VERY well. BUT...Just one of them would most likely do the same money with a blind pitch! The reason he has more than one is to get RESERVATIONS from the tip ahead of time. Long story.
Point is one will do fine. Size: larger is not really the issue. I like smaller. Why? With a gaff, the eye is better off taking it all in at once rather than cruising around the thing studying individual parts and flaws. The size doesn't matter a hill of beans. It's the 'come on' or simplicity of flash & pitch that make the dough. Now here is a VERY important point to know LISTEN UP all you guys...this is not in my notes (Stardog get the notes) When you have a Single-O and the customer comes in EXPECTING to see a strange object and sees a strange object he got his moneys worth and is happy because that's what he expected. If he sees a bit more stuff laying about he should be happy he got a bonus! UH...maybe...probably not... If you tease him with a bunch of stuff...a few items or a bunch...he WILL think or SAY out LOUD..."Is this all there is?" He will tell others outside "it's just a few things in there..." Show him ONE great thing and make him happy by not even bringing to mind the size of the show. The show IS ONE great thing...wow! You have to see that! That is a SINGLE-O. Bare bones and not a bunch of foo foo. The object is the star and center of attention. Period. Grind 'em in and out'thrilled and delighted. Let the other guys have a table full of crap. Which do you think they will remember? That's a Single-O. If you are dying to have a Museum show, then you are stroking your ego as a Curator and not after the tip. That's ok too. Just know the difference.
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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Harley Newman Inner circle 5117 Posts
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Doug knows. Listen to him! Get his manuscript, because you WILL learn from it.
And much as I loved Doc's mermaid, it was unrequited, so I left her there in Bah Hahbah, crammed into the little box she deserves to be in, the insolent ungrateful hussy!
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus” -Mark Twain
www.bladewalker.com |
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NippleKing New user 16 Posts
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That sounds like some useful info right there. The things mentioned here make a lot of sense. There is a lot of psychology involved with putting the 'you know what' in the seats and it's fascinating to me. I'll have to check out Doug's notes some day.
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts
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I'm not aguing with my great friend Doc Wilson who knows his stuff but I do have a different opinion on one aspect of showing a Single-O...Personally, I don't think it makes a hill of beans if the Zibit matches an area or not. Just doesn't matter what you show. Consider those in Iowa have seen enough Hogs and never saw a Sea Critter like you will bring to them. In Rosewell, they are Aliened out I'd bet. (Though Bobby Reynolds did show one of my Aliens there! hahaha. Cajones!)
Since in my plan you are doing a Blind Pitch what is inside just has to look good as you are not pitching a specific thing. Nipple King: are you our friend Nips with a new handle? If not, welcome to the Café! If you are the Great Nippleinini Pm me. 
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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KingStardog Inner circle 2134 Posts
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Quote:
On 2006-11-10 20:01, drwilson wrote: Bigfoot has entered my mind, but I think it would be hard to pitch for various reasons. Sea creatures are still in the thought loop. The Old curiosity shop is alive and well. They have one of the few human shrunken head collections, including a shrunken torso, all real. This seems like a bad thing since people seem to want to wonder if its real or not, and these are tested real. People shy away from them. The two other creatures get a lot of interest, and so do the sea collectibles. There is no pitch or grind so its hard to guess how the would pay. There is also too much stuff in one place, and then running a store in the middle of it makes everything a bit confusing. I have some exorcism tools but I think one would have to have an extensive knowledge of the process for them to be of any interest/scary. My prize one is a 7" aspirgillum in the shape of a cross with a tiny silver crucifix on the front that is worn on the neck of the person performing the rite on a purple and white ribbon. The silver was to skin test (for burns I guess?). These types of exorcisms failed the largest percentage of the time, and many priests died during the process. I think around 40 between 1900-2000. The vampire kit sounds pretty cool though.
...think not that all wisdom is in your school. You may have studied other paths,but, it is important to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from, there is always more to learn.
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KingStardog Inner circle 2134 Posts
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Quote:
On 2006-11-10 21:40, Doug Higley wrote: These are exactly the answers I was after. More to the point not destroying the psychology involved in the process, with a bunch of extras. The show needs a star. I also understand that different things play to each area. Somthing that keeps coming to mind is the worlds largest shoe at pikeplace market. A pay per veiw vend. I am pretty solid in that it has to be a star that no one else has or has ever thought about. Probably crypto of some sort. Right now O have two dumptruck full of leaves on the ground. I imagine I will be vacuuming and shredding those for the next couple weeks, but it should give me some alone time to think on things. Its more obvious now that Doug has the best wares for the purpose, even though some of the other folks have nice things, I just don't see being able to actualy use them for the job at hand. I also need to take a close look at the market area and see where exactly this would plug in. Plus it is damp here so that is a big consideration for handling that most areas don't have to consider.
...think not that all wisdom is in your school. You may have studied other paths,but, it is important to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from, there is always more to learn.
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KingStardog Inner circle 2134 Posts
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Quote:
On 2006-11-10 21:40, Doug Higley wrote: My worry there is that having lesser items would detract from the big ones and flaws in the lesser ones may take away from the star. Not to mention I'm all about packs small/plays big. I have no desire to pack around things that are not needed.
...think not that all wisdom is in your school. You may have studied other paths,but, it is important to remember that no matter who you are or where you come from, there is always more to learn.
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NippleKing New user 16 Posts
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Thanks for the welcome, Mr. Higley! I am not The Great Nippulini, and you are not the first to think that I might be him. I am not as renowned as TGN, but maybe some day people will start asking him if he is me.
What I do is a little different. He performs (or used to perform?) the world's strongest pierced nipples whereas I perform the worlds strongest UN-pierced nipples. I'm not all that new on the scene. Though I've only been on the Magic Café for a few months, I've been performing as The Nipple King for almost 4 years now. I've enjoyed working with Michael Baker for 3 of those years. My troupe, Carnevil Circus, are concentrating our efforts on making a name for ourselves. We have what I think is a great show and have set a goal for ourselves to make Jim Rose weep. Until then, this is The NippleKing signing off. |
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Doug Higley 1942 - 2022 7152 Posts
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I certainly head of Crneveil Circus! As to that Michael person...hmmm...who?
Anyway, have good shows! :) King StarDog: ALL your questions (and anybody elses) are answered completely in the notes. You can get them on my site at http://grindshow.com/GrindShow/How_To_Grind_Show.html
Higley's Giant Flea Pocket Zibit
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mota Inner circle 1658 Posts
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Doug's notes take the questions out of how to make money with a zbit....real world facts.
As a point of fact, above it was mentioned that you could play a sea creature in Iowa. I have...my wife and I played one of Doug's mer's at an art fair in Iowa City. It played great. Before coming in one woman was trying to figure out what she would see. She asked me, "...if I find it in bed with me would I be scared?" I said, "...yea, I'd run like hell." She went in and went into mermaid shock. You can definitely play sea creatures in Iowa. |
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Harley Newman Inner circle 5117 Posts
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We are the makers of dreams, eh?
One can play anything anywhere, if one knows how. Doug's advice re: zibits, is the best. Period.
“You can’t depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus” -Mark Twain
www.bladewalker.com |
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airship Inner circle In my day, I have driven 1594 Posts
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Mota, LOL! I actually LIVE in Iowa City, and wish I could have seen your mer. This place is full of stuffy professors and artsy-fartsy types, and it amuses me to think they were as easily taken in by one of Doug's Zibs as some hick rube!
'The central secret of conjuring is a manipulation of interest.' - Henry Hay
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dough Loyal user Gee. . . 13 years, and only 238 Posts
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I don't think you can go wrong listening to Doug. He has been amazingly helpful trying to get me started. Hope to be out and about by spring. If he doesn't give up on me. :o)
"One of the Last Ten in One Sideshows"
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Posted: Nov 10, 2006 06:36 pm 
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