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KendallScot Regular user Denver, Colorado 133 Posts |
I hope my recent experiences will be of value to my fellow Buskers:
I have been working for months trying to come up with a way to keep people at my show during the transitions, that time between one trick finishing and the next starting. It does not always work, people leave for one reason or another. Everyone knows that losing some people during their show is unavoidable. What I noticed was I was losing a LOT of people during some of my shows. My routines are good, solid and entertaining but there were times when I noticed that MOST of the people who stopped at the start of my show left before the finale. This was not due to the show being boring or slow. I have worked for a long time to make sure the pacing is quick and involving. Three of the four routines use someone from the audience, usually a cute kid who is more often than not, entertaining. However, I was still frustrated by the number of people who left during the transition time between effects. I figured I had tried everything to alleviate the turnover to no avail. A couple of weeks ago, my friend and fellow Busker, Sam Malcom (flat-out one of the greatest jugglers and Buskers I have ever seen), pointed out what he believed the issue to be. I was handling my show like a Magician... Let me explain... As Magicians, we are predisposed to treat each effect as a stand-alone routine that ends with a bow-and-applause moment. It's only natural, it's how we all learned to do it in every show. What Sam pointed out was Busking is the one environment where that approach does not always work! What he noticed when watching my show was each routine, while great and entertaining, ended with an applause moment that allowed people to think, “well, that was fun now let's go eat” kind of thing. Some people left before the next effect started. What I have been doing to try to keep people from leaving is announcing between each effect that the finale, “where I risk death or at least severe bruising” is just moments away. That has been working okay, but still losing a lot of people. Sam's advice was breathtakingly obvious and one I would NEVER have thought of: Simply put, START your next effect BEFORE you finish your current one. That way there's not that pause between effects and people will be more inclined to stay. So far, it is working wonderfully! My show is a fairly short one so I only have two, sometimes three transitions. What I used to do was: 1 - Start with “The Thing” to get people to stop 2 - Ask for a volunteer to do the card in wallet. Some times I just do Fiber Optics instead 3 – Get a young girl or boy to do the comedy linking rings 4 – End by getting two adult volunteers to tie me up for my Pirate Escape routine to end Sam saw that when I finished a routine and asked for volunteers for the next, THAT was when I was losing the audience. Especially when I try to get adults for the finale. A lot of times people world refuse to volunteer and it got awkward making them do so. So, we brainstormed for a bit and came up with the following: 1 – Begin by getting a youngster to help with the silk vanish as a warm-up. I sometimes use The Thing to choose the kid. Use by-play and jokes to get the people to make noise and get others to stop. 2 – Since I have the youngster already up and having fun, transition straight into the comedy 4 ring routine. (I cut out the card in wallet. While it is one of my best, it slows the pace and is not as visually 'Big') 3 – At the end of the ring routine where normally I would have the crowd give the kid a round of applause and then finish with the quick succession of ring shapes, I trade the kid the 2 rings she is holding for 2 funny looking toy pirate swords. I have her pose with the swords while I finish the ring sequence. 4 – I point out 2 adults in the crowd to give the swords to. The adults come forward with the swords and we give a humorous salute to the kid for the applause. So far, not once has an adult refused to help. That has made a huge difference! I now have the 2 adults and have already started the escape routine and so far as I can tell, I have NOT lost one person during these transitions. Since I have added these changes, my audiences as well as my hats are bigger and more consistent. Now, I know a lot of you are set with the routines you do and I'm sure they are working well. However, this is intended for the Busker who is having the same issues I had with keeping a crowd. I'm also sure a lot of you already knew this about transitions but I have been unable to find much on the forum here addressing this. I hope this helps someone as it has helped me!
Kendall Scot
"The art of a magician is to create wonder. If we live with a sense of wonder, our lives will be filled with joy" **Doug Henning** "I drank WHAT?"" **Socrates** |
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ROBERT BLAKE Inner circle 1472 Posts |
Kendall, great overview of your show.
your friend is right. on the otherhand, for my liking, you are using to much people to keep the attention. almost in every trick. this way you can lose the power of using people. try to get some confidence in YOU. 1 - Start with “The Thing” to get people to stop. YOU SHOULD STOP THEM. don't give a trick the power. do one trick without a spectator: color changing silk - rope magic etc. get confidence in YOU. getting the overlapping to the other trick ist the problem with magic. that is why jugglers are having it more easier. try analize a streetjugglers act and put that to a magic act. magicians are thinking in tricks. streetperformers are thinking in presentations. i hope you don't mind that I gave my thoughts on this. you are on the right track becoming a street performer. keep going. |
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augiemagic Regular user Overland Park, KS 162 Posts |
I've always heard this called "Dovetailing" your routines.
I always do it when I add my filler trick to build the audience up a bit bigger. The filler trick is a cigarette vanish with some gags where it looks like I'm gonna push the cigarette into a kids hand (But I never actually do. At the end, they get to be the magician and make the cigarette disappear.) Right before I finish the cigarette trick, I hand out my chop cup and ball (To different people, of course) for inspection and tell the audience "Stick around for the just the next two minutes and you're gonna learn the secret to the oldest trick in the book". This usually works and helps quite a bit. Another thing that helps is giving your audience a compliance cue. Right after you finish a routine, as the applause is dying down, ask them for some form of response to a question. "If you wanna see more, say yeah." This hypes and precommits those members who are already there. I will usually follow that with "That was terrible. If that's all the energy you're gonna give me, I'm going home... IF YOU WANNA SEE MORE, SAY YEAH!" Sometimes using the false walk away is really powerful. Another tactic that seems to work is an "Open Loop" statement. Think of all those click-bait headlines you'll see on facebook etc.: "Top ten icebucket challenge fails (You won't believe what #6 does!) "This one weird trick to losing weight (Diet Companies HATE it!)" "When you hear how this mother of six feeds her family, you'll slap yourself for not thinking of it)" "The one thing to NEVER do at a car dealer." These are all statements designed to inspire the reader to ask a question. It can make the reader very curious. Usually these link to substance-less articles that don't fulfill the curiosity generated by the headline. You can leverage this by creating your own open loop statements about what you're about to do. I shared an example above. If you add a time constraint (Two minutes or less, last thirty seconds, a short trick but a good trick, I have to do this really quick because I've gotta go water my girlfriend etc.) you will keep the people who are worried about how long they are going to be there. Here are a couple examples: "Learn this one crazy trick magicians use to reel in the dough in thirty seconds or less" "Magic's greatest secret revealed in two minutes flat or the show's on me!" It's also important to frame your statement as a benefit to your audience. Answer their question "What's in it for me?" If this sounds like stuff you'd hear on a late-night infomercial, it's because there's a reason those guys use this stuff. It works. Go read a couple books on writing ad copy and persuasive technique. Even some of the simple, short "report" style books on Amazon that are designed to be quick reads will help. Funny enough, I went to Boulder and got my backside handed to me earlier this summer, which is when I started researching tools and tactics outside the insular realm magic books to put into my show. So far, really happy with the results. |
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sjbrundage Loyal user 239 Posts |
Wonderful points. I have figured this over the past few years of busking. Typically I don't ever let them applaud til the very end. Even with this method... some people will always occasionally leave.... But its a great feeling when you do a complete show and you never lose a single person!
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How Regular user NJ 103 Posts |
Quote:
On Sep 7, 2014, KendallScot wrote: How are the reactions with fiber optics? I never got good responses from rope magic but yet to try this. |
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How Regular user NJ 103 Posts |
Quote:
On Sep 7, 2014, sjbrundage wrote: I agree! I think it is funny how many people want to watch but are afraid to get up close. |
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KendallScot Regular user Denver, Colorado 133 Posts |
Quote:
On Sep 7, 2014, ROBERT BLAKE wrote: Thanks Robert! I never mind great advice. After all, you were one who gave me advice that made my Pirate Escape finale so much better. When I use The Thing to stop people, I use it to interact with the people, I'm not just using it to stop them. I also do the silk vanish to work the crowd. Both of those effects are meant to open the show as a "warm-up" and get the people to cheer and make noise. As mentioned, I also perform Fiber Optics at times when I want to do something that does not involve a spectator. As I mentioned, I have been working with a street juggler. Sam is one of the best in the business and he has helped me a great deal. That was the point of my original post. He pointed out that we magicians think like magicians. That is why I started the post. The 2 main routines in my act use spectators. That is unavoidable. I love the comedy 4 ring routine by Pop Haydn. I don't do any other ring routine. And the Pirate Escape is the best closer I have. To keep my show short, I only do 3 or 4 tricks total. I would be very interested to learn how some of the seasoned pros transition from one trick to the next. As I've only been busking with my current act for 4 years, I know I still have a lot to learn. I've been performing for over 40 years and will never stop learning!
Kendall Scot
"The art of a magician is to create wonder. If we live with a sense of wonder, our lives will be filled with joy" **Doug Henning** "I drank WHAT?"" **Socrates** |
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KendallScot Regular user Denver, Colorado 133 Posts |
How, Fiber Optics gets a great response. However it's not the trick, it's the presentation. If you are not getting the responses you want, try changing your presentation to improve it?
Kendall Scot
"The art of a magician is to create wonder. If we live with a sense of wonder, our lives will be filled with joy" **Doug Henning** "I drank WHAT?"" **Socrates** |
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ROBERT BLAKE Inner circle 1472 Posts |
Use a running line. "as a finale I do the pirate escape of death ... audience ooooooooooooooooooo!"
repeat this at intervals to remind them. maybe once per routine. comedy ring routine: there is a moment where the child goes off stage. you still do the 2 and 2 and chain etc. so the child is gone but you speed up the pace. when you are ready - MOVE ON DON'T STOP - you say to the audience "are you ready for the the pirate escape of death finale?" AUDIENCE REACT. p.s. it is hard to give advice because I don't know your style of working. |
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KendallScot Regular user Denver, Colorado 133 Posts |
Thank you Robert! The running line I use from the start of the show is, "I will risk certain death OR at least severe bruising for your entertainment". It seems to get a good reaction and I've always used a running line leading up to the finale. During the ring routine, when the child would normally go off stage, that's when I give her the funny swords for the transition into the finale. It is working really well.
The way I've changed my transitions between tricks seems to have improved the show a lot. Thank you for your continued advice! I always look forward to it.
Kendall Scot
"The art of a magician is to create wonder. If we live with a sense of wonder, our lives will be filled with joy" **Doug Henning** "I drank WHAT?"" **Socrates** |
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JoeJoe Inner circle Myrtle Beach 1915 Posts |
This topic is exactly what my "Crowd Goes Wild" technique is all about - transitioning - or in some respects ... eliminating transitions so people have no "excuse" to leave.
Realize that in the minds of most, the end of the "trick" is also the end of the "show" ... especially for people that don't really want to be there in the first place and have not made any commitment to stay. It is real easy to just walk off at the end of a trick and be satisfied. I will elaborate on this in a future segment of the "Crowd Goes Wild" where I will detail how to transition from PERSON to PERSON ... not from trick-to-trick; busking is about PEOPLE ... not tricks! This is where most people have difficultly, especially magicians that already have successful shows and are wondering why it doesn't work on the sidewalk. I'm about rested from summer and getting ready to fire up the studio and get more footage online. http://magicjoint.com//pages/magic-shop/......d-promo/ -JoeJoe
Amazing JoeJoe on YouTube[url=https://www.youtube.com/user/AmazingJoeJoe]
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ROBERT BLAKE Inner circle 1472 Posts |
Most magicians are only interested in tricks not in presentations that will keep the crowd and be entertained.
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gallagher Inner circle 1168 Posts |
Great Post!
,some really good thoughts, about Street Performing(!), it's a pleasure to read. Again, really good thoughts, and I believe absolutly correct. I go onto the corner with a different aproach, though. ,thought I'd share it. I don't expect my audience to to stay,.. my complete Show. I guess it's from playing a different situation. My potential Audience, generally doesn't have the time,.. aren't where they are,.. to see a Show. ,they're out shopping,.. on the way from the Doctors,.. coming home or going to work,.. have to be somewhere.,... else(!). We've structured our Show, as a string of pearls. Each effect CAN stand alone. Folks can come in the middle of the act,.. and pick right up on who we are. Or, leave(!), after three 'bits',..'cause,.. they've had enough,.. or,.. have to be somewhere. It doesn't hurt,... anymore(!). The 'trick' is naturally,.. 'the 'Pay-off'. And I admitt,.. We DO take a cut. ,maybe 50%(!!!)! ,honestly. ,but,.. we can play more places, more times,.. more situations! It's worth it,. for us. (It's good , for my remaining hair.) We always have the basket,.. basketS out,.. the folks have to make their way to the basket,.. a bit challenging,... they have to reallllly like us,... over come. Still,.. this is our approach. thanks for the thoughts, gallagher |
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Endless West Regular user A town called Malice 185 Posts |
I just never shut the hell up!
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Gary T. Veteran user 375 Posts |
I've heard that you may benefit from calling attention to anyone leaving and that will help keep the rest of the audience in place. Any thoughts on that? I've heard people use some pretty insulting lines, but in ways that make people laugh. Could be beneficial If you can't fit your tricks together perfectly
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G.Gilbert Elite user baltimore 495 Posts |
"2 - Ask for a volunteer to do the card in wallet."
Most laymen won't know what you mean when you asked them to do the card in wallet. Stupid laymen! |
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Yellowcustard Inner circle New Zealand 1334 Posts |
Kendallscott, The timing of this post is great for me as its something that I am working on at this moment. From getting my show set pretty locked in about 4 years ago after some experimenting. I ve worked on getting it tidied up. First I just got out there and did it lots, Then I worked on-
- injecting humor, - edge building, - connecting with the crowd, - hat lines, - slow down my start to edge build more bits of business, - Working of the cuff (Jokes with passer byes and thing that happen) - making a crowd a audience, The next thing on my list is to weave the show more. so thank you for you timly post and all that comment
Enjoy your magic,
and let others enjoy it as well! |
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ROBERT BLAKE Inner circle 1472 Posts |
Quote:
On Sep 9, 2014, Gary T. wrote: "where are you going? I did not leave whenyou came." classic |
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gallagher Inner circle 1168 Posts |
This probably isn't going to help much,..
and, it isn't even MY Story(!), but it kinda pertains,.. and it's one of the funniest Stories I've ever read,... here at the Café. To begin, though,. it must be said, Don Driver told the Story, originaly,.. a couple of years ago,. somewhere here amongst the swill. He told of another Pitchman,.. I'm sorry, I've forgotten the name; I believe he was pitching at a Carnival,.. As with Busking, holding the group, after the initial "wow!", is crucial. This Pitchman used this approach,.. or thereabout,.. After gathering his crowd, half way through his opening effect, he paused shortly and said, "In the men's room, before the Show, I noticed there were some folks doing peculiar things. Now I'd like to say here and now, THIS is a good wholesome family oriented Show, and I personally am against that kind of stuff! So those folks who were doing it,. and interested in it,., well,.. after this first effect,.. I'd appreciated it if you just quietly left. Thank you." (!) ,then he proceeded with his Pitch. ,never lost a soul(!). ,maybe Don could fill in the details,.. the "who exactly",... and the "where",... ,correct me where I'm off,.. ,.... it's one of the classic 'crowd freezers'! ,a Story I love. smiles, gallagher |
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Pop Haydn Inner circle Los Angeles 3691 Posts |
Quote:
On Sep 10, 2014, gallagher wrote: This is the Mighty Atom, a strongman who pitched a Vitamin supplement. His real name was Joe Greenstein. He was still pitching in the 1970's in his 80's. He appeared in Guinness Book of Records and Ripley's Believe it or not. In 1939, Greenstein was charged with aggravated assault, grievous bodily harm, and mass mayhem against 18 members of the German American Bund (he allegedly beat them with a baseball bat, while suffering no personal injuries). Allegedly, when the judge asked him about the fight, he replied "It wasn't a fight, your honor. It was a pleasure". Out of sheer disbelief, anti-Nazi sentiment, and lack of evidence (many witnesses against him were too injured to testify) the case against him was dismissed. "Folks, I've noticed that there are some men in the back of the crowd who are "overly familiar" with other men--standing close to them, swaying against them, touching them...We don't appreciate that here, and I ask you men to leave right now. Everyone else, come up close..." |
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