I busked for years on the high line in New York City but it was a different life and a different skill-set. I was a juggler and did a variety of very visually engaging circus stunts. I made decent money when the season was right -- enough I didn't need a straight job -- and I encountered everything from sudden storms to being physically assaulted by drunken morons.

Fast forward 20 years and I have a Mentalism show and circus arts feel more like a dream than a memory. I live near St Augustine and there is a considerable tourist influx during summer. I'd love to busk or work the streets but I don't know if Mentalism really has the power to draw and keep a crowd the way that circus and visual magic do.

Interested in thoughts. I'm not trying to make a killing or anything, but I would love to be out on the streets again. Any other cities in the south seem worth checking out for these reasons?

I think well paced mentalism (not overly procedural with lots of steps) and engaging (Like most anything from John Archer or Docc Hilford) you could get it to play on the street.

Do think it might help to have something visual to gather the crowd. Maybe something along the lines of "Flip" where you're tossing a coin and a person gets it right every time. The tossing of the coin, and having the person raise hands when calling heads, would get some attention.

Best thing is to try and the crowds will point you in the right direction. Good luck and keep us posted!

I tried a controlled coin toss as a build and couldn't get it to work, but that doesn't mean you won't be able to!

If I was aiming at a street mentalism show today, I'd probably focus on jokes for the build. Like, mind reading jokes, comic barnum statements and predictions to toss at people walking by, that sort of thing?

It's definitely not an easy road — like, what's the promise you're making? What are people sticking around for if there's no big unicycle or whatever? (This, and height, are two problems that magic in general has on the street, because you don't want to give away the surprise endings to your tricks!) — but in principle I don't see why mentalism couldn't work on the street. Just depends.

Travis

I recently came across Michael O'Brien's Progressive Book test...and it's amazing, and could do well busking. He's got a whole series, of books (but who wants to lug all those books) but it can be done with just one. And he's got strolling versions out...regular looking paperback books in well known titles. One book, three phases, a good 5 minutes of mentalism. No reset required. I bought one of the strolling versions and plan on using it on the street.