Do you have any tips on how to plan a street magic show? i have a book on it but i would like some more views.
thank you
Grand Illusions

The effects should be short, visual, and kept to a minimum.
Plan on about four shows an hour to come up with decent hats.
Open with something extremely visual or extremely noisy (see Jim Cellini) to attract attention.

Take all your effects that you have that are visually stunning, my favourites are levitations whether it is with thread or body, when you have your favorites try it out on yourself in the mirror, like Peter said it sould be short not too long. I usually start with some cards then go into other objects. (Just my opinion.)

Decide what will work for you. Practice until it is second nature, and do it.

An old saying that I believe is attributed to Kingfish, of Amos and Andy fame, when asked where does success come from; he said; "Success comes from good judgement!" Naturally, he was then asked; but where does good judgement come from? To which he replied; "Bad judgement!"

The best way to teach yourself what to do, is to experience "what not to do". And the best way to do that; (assuming you have done as much homework as possible) is to simply go out, and fall down.

Prepare, practice, and then Just do it!

BroDavid

Brodavid has the right idea. No matter how many books on acting you read you will not be a great actor till you get on stage.

Like the rest said pick out some quick visually stunning tricks and try to get at least one slightly longer trick to close with. This should be your best as it will be the one they remember most when tipping.

On a side note when it comes to passing the hat, remember to get them hooked into the last trick then mention that you live off your tips or whatever line you use. If you wait till afterwards to mention this you will already have lost half of them. You can then decide to pass the hat at that time or after your performance. Each choice has its pluses and minuses so play with it.

Lastly, when you are starting out bring at least an extra routines worth of tricks with you. That knife thru coat that looked so good in the book and was the center of the act may not work as well as you liked.

In any case i find that street performance is one of my favorite forums because of the freedom you will have in your performance. When you perform an act 3-4 times an hour for a couple of hours you will find that the act at the end of the day usually bears lttle resembalence to the one you started with.

Have fun and don't get discouraged,
Mat

Hello:

Here is what you want to work the street.
1- Routines that can pack fairly small and yet play big.
2- The routines should be almost totally angle proof, if not totally angle proof.
3- You want a short reset time. For things like the Torn and Restored Newspaper you want to have as many as you will need for the day already made up and ready to go.
4- You will need a table, large bag, etc. to organize and HIDE and keep safe your equipment.

You will need a longer flashier routine to open with and draw a crowd. Or, some other business to draw a crowd: Juggling that segues into the magic, etc.

Once the show crowd is established you want routines that entertain like a son of a gun. You want to grab the crowd by the throat and never let them go. You want to be funny AND good at the magic, OR you want to be REALLY funny!

Test for show length, but most street guys will tell you that to GET the money you have to GIVE some show. 20-30 minutes and sometimes longer depending...

Have a really clever, forward manner of asking for the bucks at the end. You don't ask: YOU DON'T GET or you get a fraction of what you would get otherwise.

Linking Rings, Rope Routines, Card routines like LePaul Wallet with lots of funny by play. 20th Century Silks are just a few of the routines that play great on the street.

After you do about 100 shows on the street in real time you should just about be getting broken in. I had a real good friend who lived in a Volkswagen bus who looked like a bum, who worked the best places in the country outside and did about $200,000 a year. There is money to be made out there.

Best,
Brad Burt

Great advice Brad! That "100 Show" rule is one that I've heard quoted in the stand-up comedy world too. Nothing beats flight time!

I perform in places that are generally where people do not go for a day out, as such, but go for the shopping centres. With this in mind, I have begun to realise that people don't want to hang around my show for TOO long. For this reason, I keep my show at around the time suggested at the top: around 15 minutes.

Chris, UK
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"Fate is a fool's word for chance"

What book do you have on it?
Mario

Comedy, Comedy & lets not forget Comedy!!!
These 3 things are the most important weapons in you arsnel of entertainment!
Seriously! You need something visual to build a crowd.
It has to be big, it has to be loud , people tend to like music and fire.
A short introduction should follow. Add in as many jokes as you can.
If any one is looking for some good lines PM me.......
Use one or two medium sized effects , kept short and to the point.
I use red hot mama ( chicago opener) , it gets a great response.
Finally you need a big finale, build towards it throughout the show, tell them you'll never see anything like this ever again ( lie if you have to ).

Then the most important part ,
The hat line,
It has to be killer,
PM me if you need any ideas.

I think you need to check Cellini's Art of Street Performing. He gives tons of tips and ideas to fill your pockets. Have a great day.

The first Item needs to take up some time and be able to cut short or add time to.

Keep it simple. Visual. Strong.