talkmagic.co.uk

Now I hear a lot of talk about Magicians going out onto the street with an ACR or other such ditty and doing a Mr Blaine, now if thats what you want to do then fine but i get enough Violence and abusive language from the wife and can't really be bothered getting it from complete strangers i've just accosted. This post is not about that kind of street performer this post is about the kind of street performer that does it for a living that builds a crowd keeps them and then makes them pay at the end. Performers such as Cellini and my good mate Gazzo. Now you might ask how i am qualified to discuss such matters well put simply I am one it's what i do for a living.

There are 3 types of street performer. there is the circle show ( usually the domain of jugglers) I've seen many magicians do this kind of show although usually they have an escapology act and play much bigger than most magicians normally do.
There is the sideshow act people like Cellini and Gazzo are 2 great examples of this. Cups and Balls are the staple of this show but i'll get back to that later.
Finally there is Hit and Run Magic. a great example of this is Owen Lean who financed his way through college by doing this type of performing. I won't go into too much detail on this as Owen has a great Book out there which goes into a lot more detail and the last thing i want to do is take money out of his pocket. Hit and Run magic is the closest thing you will get to the Blaine type performing. you get a small group of people 2-5 max do a 5-10 min routine, hat them (ask for money) and get out of there. How you get them is up to you but if you think it will be how Blaine does it your in for a shock.

I personally do a Side show act which I'm working on expanding into a circle show.

to keep this post semi concise here are my top tips to doing street performing.

1) Create a Show, it sounds obvious but so many magicians just copy Gazzo and do the cups and balls and many go so far as to copy his entire show including his personality. My advice is don't (trust me if Gazzo is in the area performing he will tell you in no uncertain terms to stop. be original be inovative create a show that is yours. but remember a crowd is a strange beast doing a bunch of card tricks on the street might sound like a plan but it very rarely works in fact i don't know any street performers who do cards on the street.

2) Build a crowd. it's fairly important and also fairly difficult. making people stop and watch is easy but controling them so you don't get shut down by the cops entertaining them and getting them to act as one is totally different and one of the reasons so many people try and fail to become performers.

3) get them to pay. you can only be so good a performer if you do it for the love of it. when you need to get the audience to pay that is where the real skill and what makes the difference between a guy doing magic and a professional street performer. that is where the real skill comes in. there are many great books out there on this subject

4) Be prepaired to fail.....miserable. When i first went out i managed to get 5 people to watch me and all but 1 left after the first trick i was paid 1 euro.

5) be prepaired to be scared. I still get nervous when i go to a new city to perform but it is nothing compaired to how i felt going out onto the street for the first time.

Many people see the street Performers at festivals or on their high streets and think "I'm a performer i could do that" it is a bloody hard life you can't stay in the same city for more than 6 months at a time since people won't pay after watching your show more than once unless you change your show often ( and then the quality of shows goes down) so it's a life of being on the road constantly having to adapt and change and hoping that the weatheris going to be good. It's a life of dealing with police and hitler esqe street wardens and a million miles away from the easy as pie image that blaine portrays on his tv specials. I'm not trying to discourage people from becoming street performers but i think it only fair to tell the truth about my experiences. if you think your a good magician try going out and doing a 45 min street show and see what happens it is quite an eye opener.

That said if your still interested have a look at some great books on the subject.

The Hit and Run magicians handbook by owen lean
Street cups and balls by Gazzo
the art of Krowd Keeping By Gazzo
in fact anything by Gazzo lol
the royal touch by Jim cellini

there are many others which if your serious about getting into street performing you can find for yourself (I'm not gonna make it easy for you)

have fun

figo

Hi figo,
Really good informations you have there, i am myself from the type "hit and run" considering your review on street magic. Unfortunately there is a municipal law that say any business must be within 4 walls i had discussion about that with my mayor councillor but there is nothing to do unless i pay the big bucks for a derogation and then id be stock in 1 single area.

There is a lot of street performers in my town they are all hired by either the local business or paid by the municipality during specials events. That doesnt really matter to me since i already have a good job and profession so the hit and run tactic is just what i likes.

I must agree tho cards trick doesnt make sensation unless they are really visual but anyways they make really bad openners in general. I am lucky enuff to live in a very touristic town so i never get to see the same persons more then 3 days in a row.

I am really looking forward to buy the "The Hit and Run magicians handbook by owen lean ".

thx again for your review on street magic.

Yes yes i know I am bumping up a relatively old thread but I know that if I started a new one I'd be getting tuts of disapproval which would in turn lead me into a downward spiral of emotion. It'd start off as a pang of guilt and slowly it would build into a huge self loathing and before you know it I'd......
Ok I'll just ask my question

The above guide is a very informative one as to the kinds of crowds and what to expect as a street performer but it doesn't cover the subject of legality.
For example, if I wished to begin street performing will I need to apply for some sort of licence? Is it completely legal and unregulated therefore no licence needed? Or is it strictly speaking illegal but the Rozzers dont mind and have better things to do (like beating up minorities)?

If licences or permission is needed then where do you go for that sort of thing? I hope I dont have to go to the police station for a licence as I'm a welshman in London and that is close enough for a kicking.

Thanks

the simple answer is yes and no, a lot of councils will require u to get a licence a lot will say u need one and not have one to give u others will welcome u with open arms. the simple fact of the matter is if that is what u are worried about then u shouldn't be a street performer trust me i've been moved on threatend shut down and shut up more times than i care to mention if ur worried about it don't do it

I often watch the magicians at Covent Garden. One thing I have found annoying is that you can get four magicians on during the day, only to have the cups and balls done each time, with a good 50% of the patter being the same. I just wish that there was more effort at origionality.

I know Covent Garden has it's own rules and regulations, but does anybody know about the street between Covent Garden and the tube station? I think it is called James St or place. ( Where the Living Statues are normally found. )
From what I was led to believe by the police, this isn't under control of the Covent Garden management. They said that there can be no more than 6 performers at a time but made no mention of needing a liscence etc. I did some balloon modelling there for a couple of hours once, not to make any money, but for experience.

Only did it the once as I really wasn't sure of the rules there. Does anybody know more about this?

Don't really know about this from a magic perspective, but from music. I shouldn't have thought the rules are that different apart from less of a worry with magicians making too much noise. This site has the regulations to download.

http://www.artscouncil.org.uk/publications/index.php

Can't post a direct link, but if you go on publications, then by title and on page 19 there is "A simple guide to licensing for circuses and street arts" which has the info needed.

As said it's different place to place. In London I imagine its regulated quite well in particular areas, whereas me in Hull I doubt there would be an issue. They'd be happy for a free entertainer on the street. Basic rules come down to not being in the way, blocking street, fire exits, actively request money, no pressuring people by shaking collection hat, etc. The shaking collection things is particularly disliked by some police authorities, with police waiting round corners to hear that jingle. Basically check with your local council for the license and apart from that have fun. People seem more keen to give you money when your enjoying yourself.

I think you have to get a lisence, its something to do with stopping the flow of people on a street, i remember being told about it....

I have looked around myself and have pretty much just been left slightly confused.
From what I have gathered there is some sort of street entertainment licence needed but cannot find where you get one. i did find a form on the uk art council website but that seemed to be if you were holding an event rather than a lone performer.
This is something I would love to dabble in but I really wish to do it properly and above board as much as possible concidering the kind of act I wish to pursue. As it would feature a lot of street scams using poker chips instead of punters cash I think it would be unwise of me not to look into the legal issue as I don't want the police on me misunderstanding what I'm up to.
My quest to to try to find information on this continues

The rules on the arts council website contradict themselves. It one paragraph it states it would be allowed if it isn't in violation of local licensing laws. However the website responsible for local licensing has no street performance option. So you pretty much have too take the risk if you want to do it. If the police stop you then you can find out the regulations.

There are exemptions that are clear however. If you aren't doing anything that can be considered a public nuisance you may perform if you aren't making money. So if you just desire to promote your act or get some practice then it is legal according to the info on the arts council website.

The exemptions also state that morris dancing does not require a license. So anyone that fancies combining magic and morris dancing eat your heart out. Or you could just wave you silk hankies in the air if any police turn up.

I've never performed magic on the street but my old folk band used to do it from time to time. I know that we had to fill out some forms from the council before we could perform. I don't really know what was involved because one of the guys used to take charge of that side of things.

Of course this changes from place to place. In Canada generally you need a street performers license. (very few bother with them) most often you are just asked to move along or you get a fine. Good performers will usually opt for the fine because what they make easily pays for the fine and the cost of a license is more then the fine.

Blocking traffic is a no no in most places. And it doesn't matter if you have a licence or not. Public nuisance or endagerment overrides your license.

Festivals and what not I have no experience so I won't comment.

Performing out on the street will tell you very quickly where you need HELP.
If you're willing to take mental notes, go back, fine tune, add lines, figure out how to engage the audience, how to get them on your side, how to keep them from walking away, .....

.. you'll be able to perform anywhere and command attention.

The law in the UK all got a bit squiffy a couple of years ago and as Figo rightly says it changes from town to town. If in doubt talk to the relevant council... That's what I do if I fancy dusting off my busking hat.

I've often thought about going into the centre of a large city on a Saturday afternoon dressed rather outlandishly and with several large bags of modelling balloons, and making hats, swords, dogs etc for passing punters and knocking them out at 50p a go. One could make a small fortune I'm sure.

Bag of balloons = £4 for 100 balloons.

100 x 50p = £50.

Can easily knock out 100 balloons in an hour if the demand is there.

Result!

Stuff the palm reading, it's balloon modelling where the money is!