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bigfoot Special user 502 Posts |
Signs can do so many things; So I wonder how many people post a sign displaying what or who you are. Do you have a sign that says "magic, magician, gimme your money, etc. does it have function or fashion...is it a gag...etc.
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The Great Zoobini Elite user Boulder, Colorado 443 Posts |
A busker I saw had a sign on a box that said, "The money goes here."
Meet you in Busker Alley
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bigfoot Special user 502 Posts |
I recall a story about someone pulling out a spittoon with a sign that said "spit" on it. After his routine he would turn the sign around and it said "tips". Really this is pretty smart it's humorous and clever and gets a message across in a unique way. I don't recall who did it or in what venue but it would certainly work for a side walk show.
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Nick W Special user 515 Posts |
I know many people do it, but I IMHO, making a sign that says "tips" is a bad, bad idea. at the end of the day, do what ever works for you. do 20 shows with a sign and 20 without. than a year later run the same test. compare differences. it partly depends on the kind of show you have and your level.
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gallagher Inner circle 1168 Posts |
Hey Bigfoot,
I love the 'Spit' / 'Tips' story! If I'd been in the audience, I'd,... hopefully NOT have spit(!),.. naa ..I would have laughed,... nice. yeah, the question about,.. "to do,..or not to do,..?" I'm a bit surprised, more folks here, haven't hopped up and said,.. "I do! I do!!" ,personally,... I don't. ,but lots of film clips, I see, of folks, here in the Café,.. Jimmy Talksalot,..Eris Evans, ..Chanz,.. lots of signs. I believe, a couple of years ago, the theme was enthusiastically discussed,. ...disgusted?,... nö. Actually, Jimmy Talksalot was pretty curious about it. ,..he opted to go with one.... My thoughts, on it ,.. I think it would be great, if the 'Sign' was used, for MORE then simply a 'Sign'. I think, if it could be.... magically produced,.. magically change,... have 'magical' properties.... Funny, the last mail I wrote with Jimmy Talksalot,. was exactly about THIS. I was sitting in a Burger King,... a cheap music video ruining the atmosphere,,.. but,... a guy,. in the video, manipulating(!) a Sign,...! Great!!,! ,..more 'Juggling',...but,..great! (,...told Jimmy about it,.. never heard from him again! ,guess he wasn't impressed...) I believe, Props are,...can be important,.. but they must be used. On the Streets, it's great if you can get, as many 'pops', as possible, out of the props you carry. p.s.: I always thought it would be funny, having a Sign, announcing a Show, that DIDN'T happen(!). like,...."Puppet Show",.. then do a bunch of Magic,..Song, and Dance(!). ,...we should tickle, twist, and tease 'em a bit.... Confusion is maybe the first step towards Understandment. ,..does the word 'Understandment' exist? gallagher, 41*C,...! ...delusion in the heat. |
RiffRaff Special user 671 Posts |
Playing with a sign in a street show is like playing with the curtains in a stage show.
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gallagher Inner circle 1168 Posts |
Is this good or bad?
,...let's decide about the Sign first. ,..then we can discuss taking the Curtains with(!).! smiles, gallagher |
Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
I still maintain that "spectacle" is a RELATIVE TERM. Circuses many years ago) would PARADE downtown in the morning to advertise and attract people to come out and see the circus. Most shows quit parading by the early 1940s. The last circus that "brought back" the parade, did it one season in 1951. (Christiani Bros.) My friend "Doc" Karland Frischkorn sold Christiani his old "steam piano" (calliope) for that parade.
My busking experience is very limited. I did it a few times (35 years ago)in San Francisco on Fishermen's Wharf, to "prove" I could do it. I proved it. I didn't have "six elephants and a brass band", but I made them stop, I made them stay, and, I made them pay. I had linking rings, a rope trick, and a coin pail. I didn't ruin magic with corny gags, I entertained the tip with good magic and did it with humor. School shows only differ from busking in that, they're done (usually) indoors, with a seated audience, and, at the blow off, someone hands you a check. RE: SIGNS... In my school show, I often used "FRESH FISH SOLD HERE TODAY". (Arnold Furst's "version" of the T&R Laundry Ticket.) Jay Marshall had a gag with a Chinese chop stick that had five Chinese characters on the "handle". Jay would point to the five characters one at a time as he "translated": "GOOD MAGIC SHOW HERE TODAY". I've often used Jay's line when I do a "ring on chopstick" bit in a close up situation. (Jay didn't mind my using the line. We were both members of the SECRET SIX. I've often wondered how "Good Magic Show Here Today" (T&R the sign) would work as an opener, once you've gathered the tip and are ready to start the actual show. It might be too much talk? Just thought that I would "contribute" a thought to "the shuffle".
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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bigfoot Special user 502 Posts |
I think anything contributed is good. If you agree or don't it serves two purposes to open your mind or give you more conviction your right. Certainly the amount of experience you offer will certainly do one or the other. I'm sure it is certainly to open minds.
I was also mulling around the idea that one could use the "applause" sign. Perhaps not so much as is but with a rearranged message. It might be interesting as a running gag even. Maybe on one side it could say "no applause" then on the other it could be "just throw money" then turned again to say "thank you" maybe you could hold up the sign that says "beware pickpockets" then turn it around and it says "to late" then produce a wallet and watch from behind it. This of course is your own props used for just the gag. You turn the sign again and it says "thank you" as you put the wallet and watch in your pocket. I guess I was just thinking how one could get more out of less. |
patrick flanagan Inner circle lisle, illinois 1045 Posts |
While I'm new to busking, I do use a sign. It's a small STOP sign. I Velcro it to front of my table. It says, "STOP, magician at work".
I don't know if it's good or bad to have. I've worked in an area not known for street performing. So, I thought this might help to explain who I am and why I'm there. time will tell, I suppose Patrick |
ed rhodes Inner circle Rhode Island 2885 Posts |
Quote:
On Aug 30, 2015, The Great Zoobini wrote: I can tell you that one of the rules in Providence was; "no direct solicitation for funds." I think the police would consider; "The money goes in here" to certainly be a direct solicitation. I know there are people here who consider the "money line" to be as much "free expression" as the rest of the show. And I don't argue with you. But the Rhode Island licensing bureau does argue with that and you'd have to take them on in court to get around that.
"...and if you're too afraid of goin' astray, you won't go anywhere." - Granny Weatherwax
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Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Gene Anderson (T&R newspaper) had a clever routine in a Magic Inc. 'Yearbook" about 35 years ago. He called it--"PERMISSIVE SIGNS". I used it in high schools for a season. It didn't "stop the show", but, it did get laughs.
The premise was that there is too much negativity in most signs ("NO PARKING, NO SMOKING,KEEP OFF THE GRASS, etc.) He advocated "PERMISSIVE SIGNS". He had cardboard "signs" about 12" x 18" made up. ("Safe-Low Voltage", "In Order","GO", "Disturb" etc.) The "finish" was a sign that "said" SPIT! and, he would admit that that went too far. The signs packed FLAT! I'll check my storage. They might still be there. I'll check to see what year tha Yearbook was. I just thought that I would "contribute" this. It might start someone thinking... (In "brain storming sessions, NO NEGATIVE THOUGHTS ARE ALLOWED!) I experimented with Roger Price's "DROODLES" too. Remember them???
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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