Tom...that was too funny....

:)

Mark

Wanlu...I 'll bet e-llusionist would jump to market your DVD !

Ok, seriously now (I must stop laughing or my coffee will shoot out my nose...OUVCH !) I don't run into a lot of interest in what is being called street magic, since my audiences are very young, and can't stay up late enough to see Blaine or Angel on TV. However, everyone above the age of 8 knows who the street guys are from pop culture references in the news, etc. It is one of the new faces of magic, and carries as much credence with laypeople as Vegas style illusions and old clips of Houdini.

On that note, why wouldn't street vent be as much of a success as street magic ? After all, I have seen vents working in placs like Key West on the streets, and they always drew a crowd.

Good grief, Wanlu, you might actually be onto something here....

:)

Mark

I am actually working some (paid) street vent this summer in a resort town. I did some last summer at a festival and it is a tough environment to work. Won't be wearing leather goth and using expletives though!

There are a number of vents that do or did street - Otto coming to mind immediately. Paul Zerdin also has some clever Youtube clips about public vent with his Baby Cry and person in a mail box.

Good luck with the DVD Wanlu - can't wait to see it!
Tom

Paul Zerdin's was not street vent... it was some sort of a gag show

Mine is street vent as in street ventriloquism with actual figures...plus I will have clippings from public transportaions...hospitals...bars...restaurants etc I also managed to catch some footages on my Payes being interviewd by the backstage crew of a TV show. It's in tagalog but I will add subtitles. The crew asked some silly questions...like "where is the battery hidden?" "When you bought him, did he know how to talk already?" One even saw me fixing the bodypack of my wireless mic, saw the batteries and told his fellow crew "I knew it, it is battery operated. I saw it!!!"

Hopefully I will have enough materials to make a DVD...

Wanlu

You are right Wanlu - Zerdin's was a show - not true street vent. Traditional street vent would be more along the busker style - setting up on the street, drawing a crowd and doing a show. Otto did that - it will be what I am doing this summer, and I'm sure there are plenty of others. (I believe Kenny Croes used to do street vent with Harry Anderson.)

Your roving multi-scene idea sounds more along the lines of the newer style "street magician" - moving around and capturing the moment on video.
I'm glad you will be adding the sub-titles!

Interesting ideas. We have a tourist spot here called Granville Island and there are lots of buskers, including magicians, but I have never seen a vent.

I wonder if vent would work for a busker?

Granville Island! I LOVE Granville Island! I had a play I wrote done there the last couple of years!

And vent would go great on Granville Island.

Neale,
It does - Otto is proof of that - in fact, I read George (not Otto) once got a tip from John Lennon.

My experience last summer let me see exactly how tough it can be. Drawing an audience is key - then you've really got to be tight to keep their attention. Improv is an important skill so you can instantly react to what happens around you. It is also tough to transition between figures - you will loose some of the crowd if the transition isn't strong.

Once you have a successful street show, you can pretty much take that experience anywhere. Street is one of the toughest areas to work as a vent in my opinion.
Tom

David Strassman started off performing on the streets of NEW YORK and we know how good he is.

It will be completely different when people see a camera taking footages...

They simply cooperate more