As a beginner one question that came up for me is about the sidewalk show. On the 3rd dvd in the set of the Cellini DVD's they talk a little about sidewalk shows.

It got me wondering... what is the difference between a sidewalk show and a big circle show?

The more I thought about it, the more the answer became clear in my head. I may have it all wrong, after all, I'm just the new guy here. But I'm not going to beat around the bush about the conclusion I came to...

The truth is:

The sidewalk show is the poor man's magic show.

Like I said, I'm not gonna beat around the bush...

The first argument I had with myself about this is: the sidewalk performer can do 20 shows in a day, & at the end of the day, makes the same amount of money as the big circle show performer. But deep down, I know this isn't true. Here's why: it takes a lot of TIME and EFFORT to do 20 shows in a day, even if they are only 15-20 minute long shows. And TIME is MONEY. EFFORT is MONEY.

The big circle show performer wins because he is more efficient in how he makes money. The big circle show performer makes more money with less TIME and less EFFORT. From a business perspective, it makes more sense to do a big circle show.

Look, if you're not concerned with the money, there's nothing wrong with sidewalk shows. As far as I can tell, the sidewalk show guys view the artform as more important than the money. And at some level I admire that attitude.

But maybe I'm a lesser man, because I like making the money, and I like making a lot of money. That is why I aspire to be a big circle show performer, the type that connects emotionally with the audience, and makes a lot of money from just one show. Four shows in one day and I have plenty of money. Just like Kozmo, Bobby Maverick, and of course Gazzo.

In my mind, the big circle show performer is the perfect combination of business and art. He makes the money (business) and he upholds the artform (art). I'm not there yet, but I have no choice but to continue working at it until I too am filling plazas and squares with crowds, like the big circle show worker does.

And that is how I came to the conclusion... The sidewalk show is the poor man's magic show.

If you choose to be a sidewalk performer then I say you should go for it, but I choose a different direction. And we each must choose our own direction.

Like I said, I may have it all wrong, I'm just the new kid on the block here. I'm just trying to figure this all out and I hope this generates some helpful discussion for all of us. If I'm wrong (and I frequently am wrong) please let me know...

Less effort for a Circle Show? NO!!!!!
Less money from a Sidewalk Show? Not necessarily.

Sidewalk = Poor man's magic show? No.
Sidewalk does not hold up the artform? If so, No.

I think the choice depends on the personality and showmanship of the performer.
Some of it you just can't fake. In the end you'll be doing the one that suits you best and you can make the most money with.

Don't be discouraged if you're only doing Sidewalk shows for the first 8 years on your journey to eventually filling plazas,
if you get there at all.

Your audience will tell you which you are. Have no doubt about that! Best of luck.


You might have been better starting out by beating around the bush after all.

I think you left out 3 IMPORTANT POINTS.

1. PITCH. Not a lot of circle show pitches in the US and many of them are seasonal.

2. Circle shows always make more money. I know a performer (non-magician) that has gone to more of a trickle show on a good circle pitch because he says he can make MORE MONEY. I also know a very, very good magic performer who performs music because he makes more money with music.

3. IF you are only a circle show performer you have to do fairs and festivals which means you need to be part performer and larger part self promoter.

My conclusion is an analogy. My favorite sport is UFC (cage fighting) In the beginning there were Ground fighters and stand up fighters. Now the fighters are all hybrid fighters and can do both. They have boxing and muay thai coaches, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Wrestling coaches. So do both Sidewalk and Circle if you can't someday a pitch will kick your A**.

Just my opinion Thanks Shel.

Become a well rounded muilti-faceted performer who can do any kind of show in any situation and you will be fine.


Only learn one way or focus on one thing and you're gonna regret it.


Tim, I see where you're coming from, but man you HAVE to have the ability to do the sidewalk show and do it well.

And by the way, those big shows are no easier They are a culmination of what you learn doing those small shows! I mean, if you're doing them right...
;D

Lets start with wow you are new.

I do both, as not all pitches will hold a big show.
some thing to think about, the tip % gose up the smaller the crowd. say you get a tip from 90% of the people doing small shows or 10% of the people at a big show. if you perform for the same number of people, the side walk show will win. if anything, the side walk show is for your wallet the big show is for your ego.

Big show less work?? more, bigger props, sound systems, (or a lot of voice training,) I have both. and you can spend 20 plus min, just building your crowd, befor you start the show.

There is no easy money in busking, and if that is all you are after your in the wrong job. I welcome you to my world. there are other forms of busking, many who make more than magic.

side walk shows can be done on the cheap, a deck of cards, some rope, sponge balls, a TT and some silks and you are good to go for about $20. far less than I spent on my mic.

And thanks for the post, I got a kick out of it.

Pokie-Poke, thank you for your reply. I have to disagree with you about % of bills per crowd size. A skilled big circle show performer gets a very high % of spectators to give bills. I have seen Gazzo do it & Bobby Maverick do it. These guys know how to connect with large crowds and they do solid strong magic and because of it they get a very high % of their crowd giving bills.

Do they have walk-off's? Yes some but they still make in one show what it takes a sidewalk performer five shows to make. And that would have to be one of the best sidewalk performers to make their 5 show take to equal what these guys make from one big circle show.

I don't mind if anyone disagrees with me, I enjoy the discussion. All I ask is please do so in a respectful way, as I do in a respectful way.

And if anyone wants to take shots at me because I'm the new guy, go ahead, I'm an easy target because I'm new. But we wouldn't be street performers if we didn't have a thick skin.

Shel,

You make some good points. I agree it's good to do both, like Bobby said too. But if you can do a big circle show, you can easily do a sidewalk show. But it might not work the other way around.

Frank,

My point about the artform is my impression is that the sidewalk guys have a belief that the ART trumps the money. Maybe it's just an excuse.
I say it is not dictated by personality, I believe that if someone really wants something they find a way to make it happen. Yes they may fall down over and over on the way there, but if they really want it they keep getting back up and working towards it. Thanks for the reply Frank I am a big fan of theambitiouscard.com and a very happy and loyal customer.

As for everyone else reading:
I would go so far to say that if the sidewalk performers were honest, they would admit that deep down they want to be a big circle show worker. Think of it this way: if a sidewalk performer gets a little excited because in one of their shows they have a larger crowd than their average, that reveals they want to do bigger shows. It would only be natural to feel more excited when you have a larger crowd, and there is nothing wrong with it.

If we didn't want big crowds, we would not be posting on the sidewalk shuffle section, instead we would be like the magicians who just buy tricks but never perform. We're not collectors here, we are performers, and there is nothing wrong with a performer wanting to perform for large crowds.

While I wait for Bobby to address my previous post, I'll engage you Tim, since you seem to be somewhat of a surrogate for both Bobby and Kozmo --



Simply put, the Art does trump the money.

Why are you out there? To make money? I've got news for you, you can make far more money doing other things than working the street. This is one of the great misconceptions about Street Magic perpetuated by people like David Groves, that you can make a small fortune performing on the street.

One of the most misunderstood quotes to be bandied about by the likes of Kozmo and his following came from Cellini when he said: "There is no Art without Money". That phrase has been misused I guess because they misunderstood what Cellini was saying or why he was saying it.

Most magicians sit in their rooms as frustrated performers always wanting to perform, but unable to find a venue. Well practicing in your room is fine, but it isn't art unless it is shared with others. And that is why Cellini went to the street, to find a dependable venue that allowed him the freedom to travel that he so desired.

Let me turn it around and say this, THERE IS NO MONEY WITHOUT THE ART.

Otherwise you're just another hack, hawking your wares to an undiscerning public.



That's a pretty big mouthful for one so inexperienced. At least I assume that you're pretty new to this, if not then my apologies; you're just ignorant.

It's not a question of wanting to be anything other than what we are, capable performers who can work a circle pitch (with or without an amp) if it's available, or a sidewalk, as there are a lot more of those out there to be worked (as Shel has already pointed out).

I've known more circle show guys (and I know a lot of them) who wished they could do a sidewalk than the other way around. And those sidewalk guys were trained to do circle shows precisely because they worked the sidewalks first.

It's easier to work larger crowds after you've learned to establish rapport with a smaller audience than the other way around.

I hope this doesn't come off as abrasive, but I'm really getting tired of people like Bobby and Kozmo indirectly insulting me and my friends as if they know us, in order to raise themselves up. You're just the latest crop. And I would like it to stop. If you all want to extoll the virtues of the circle show, that's fine. Just don't spend your valuable time trying to put someone else down in order to make you look bigger. It's a lie and one that will hurt you in the end.

Circle shows can get out of hand. They take on a group mindset like those sociologists ramble on about. Not everybody wants to have to deal with a group like that just to be able to perform magic for tips on the street. It's a different feeling all together. It can be intimate, it can be fun, but it can also turn bad. My very last show was 2 and a half years ago. I was sharing a pitch with Mark from New Orleans, and maybe another guy or two, don't remember. It was getting towards after nine pm and my show got larger than normal. Then a couple high school punks and their girl friends walked thrugh my show and one of the guys starts yelling obscenities and jumping around the inside of my edge. I tried to turn the crowd against him to get him to leave, but they seemed more interested in if we'd fight. So, I got mad and pulled out the pepper spray, told him I'd be walking down the street with his girl in a second if he didn't move on, and closed down the show right after he left. I know I look like a juggler from my avatar, but I've dony many,many small-medium magic shows, restaurants, amusement park stage, birthday parties, corporate gigs...all as a magician...prolly more venues then most have the good fortune to perform on. Circle shows are just different, and I'd not do one again. If you do circle shows more than just as a hobby, then you've got to be ready to handle a mob if/when it happens...unlesss you're tucked safe away on some regulated pitch...then that's all well and good I suppose. Just be ready to scream for security and let them be your crowd control. Sidewalk shows don't take on that risk. They feel different & are different & I much prefer them, though, to be honest, I've not street performed since that night.

Eric
Keep me out of this and don't go around and act like you know what I think. You don't know me.
Who do you think you are?

I think what Eric is saying is spot on. I will say that I have been at this for a very very long time and if I was doing it mainly for the money.....I would have given up on this so long ago. The thing that has kept me going for so long is the passion for the art itself.
It's like marriage and sex. If you get married just for the sex.........

I based my opinion on what you used to write on Danny's Busker Café. It has been many years since I have been there so if I am wrong and you have changed your views, my mistake.

As to who I think I am, what does that have to do with anything?

BEST POST EVER, as Danny Hustle would say.
Very nice analogy guy!

Al, it makes for much easier reading, if you will break up your post into paragraphs.

Get back out there and take that hill, don't let anyone bully you about. Cheers!

Tim,

You know my show. You know me. Hell we killed a bottle of Jack together one night. Wait, maybe that was Kozmo? Anyway you can easily tell everyone if what I say is a fact or not because you know it is true and you were there. I always listen to the people I know from personal contact, know their show and I trust, appreciate and most of all RESPECT. Kind of like picking friends. I choose wisely.

Remember the first day of Busker Boot Camp when Gazzo tore me a new one for not managing my audience? Perhaps you didn't see it but it has been a long time since anyone has talked to me like that and I needed. My management was pathetic. His words and mine. A small show teaches you how to manage people and yourself. I never had a good small show till now. Remember last month when I started creating my small show? I still have much to learn and I can learn it with a small show. Make it stronger and my big show gets stronger. Why be a one trick poney?

You ride a motorcycle. It's like a dirt bike compared to a crotch rocket. If you crash on a dirt bike you might get a few scuffs or at most a broken arm and the plastic fender may need to be turned right side out BUT on a crotch rocket the bike is totaled and you have broken every bone in your body. I went down a few times. Dealing with drunks and crazy teens and not knowing how to do it. There is no security. No back up. No referee. Just you. So get really bad a** on the dirt bike and then you can fly on the crotch rocket with more confidence. You still have a chance of crashing but you are better at brushing it off and always walking away.

AND furthermore, remember the last day of Busker Boot Camp when there were small crowds and it was HOT? Gazzo looked at me and said "you're not going to do a big bang out show are you?" and I told him no then did my lame small show at the time. Remember? You can't always do a big show. So you must do both if you want to work anywhere anytime.

I have met people that make a good living performing on the street. I've been to there houses. Seen their toys. For me it was hot dog money and a place to work on my craft. I'm still searching for a new pitch for a big show. Another reason I needed a small show. You can do it in so many more places. Then take that sheer talent, grace and beauty and sell it to huge Corporations. Yeah, yeah, the one percenters. I'm a sell out. Get off your soap box!

I didn't know you were a surrogate! Would you please Sarah Jessica Parker my wife a baby? Daddy doesn't want stretch marks.

*****Disclaimer: I do not know Kozmo. I do not know if he drinks Jack or not. He may be a tea tottler? I don't even know how to spell tea tottler. Then again maybe that is how you spell it and spell check is wrong like it was with percenters and poney? I may not be right about any of this and just maybe neither is anyone else. ******

Ahem. Back to my story. Thanks Devious, I certainly appreciate your sentiments. However, I viewed that incident as a message telling me that my temper does not mix well with large shows on a pitch. I have a full time career to think about. I'm not afraid of crowds, I'm worried about losing my career over a matter of pride on a sidewalk somewhere. Right now, I'm completely content working and being an involved father/husband on the weekends. When I go back to street performing, it won't be the way I did it before. No more standing in line for the pitch and trying to rally large crowds. I'll be making balloons and doing small shows intermitantly. That I can do without worry about losing it on some poor misguided sole.
OK now ya'll. Quit jackin' my thread around. Don't you realise this is all about me?!? I gotta bad temper ya know.

There is a balloon artist who is an aspiring magician, he used to perform magic pretty regularly at one spot where I busk on occasion. He doesn't perform whenever "magicians" are there. No one told him to stop, I think he just became self-conscious and perhaps intimidated by the presence of said "magicians".

Here is my magician friend ready for a pitch with his pouch, tip bucket, along with a broom to pick up his cards off the floor, at the end of the show. He has a sidewalk show or as we say in the field, "doorway pitches" and isn't in the least embarrassed to admit it.

I guess that just goes to show ya, not even Hulk Hogan can make a fanny pack look manly...

Al, I think he cares just as much about our artform and just lets the money take care of itself, or rather his ex-wife is now taking more care of the money these days. I see many buskers wearing flip-flops just like hulk out there and on the net videos.

The best advice ever given to new buskers came from Gerald in Texas, "Wear comfortable shoes". I wouldn't knock a guy for wearing flip flops if they worked with his digs. But, I'd go Donnie Baker on any guy wearing a fanny pack on the pitch. Swear ta gawd I would...