Putting together a show

[Tyler]

Hi!

Thanks very much to the people who responded to my thread about busking, it was a real help. My second major question to this kind of relates to my first one. Most people said to do a show, but a short one. So, my question is: How do you go about making a show? I know you should list the tricks you can do, put them in a good order, maybe throw in a unicycle or rola bola on some, but how do you put in the talking part. Am I doing this right? Thanks.

-Tyler

[Chris Griffith]

putting together a show

There are as many ways to put a show together as there are performers. There is no one "right" way to do it.

General rule of thumb: if they stop and watch, you're doing good. If they keep moving, try something else.

You've outlined one way to approach it, but there are also others. You could, for instance, start with a character or situation and hang everything off that.

For example, I knew I wanted to do a show about a french chef. I sat down and brainstormed a list of everything I could think of relating to that setting or character. Everything from juggling knives and vegetables to pouring wine to cooking lobster, whatever. Then I went back through and looked at the things that seemed the most fun & interesting, or the gags that seemed exciting.

Then, I just played around with it to see what develops. In this example, even though I started thinking about juggling knives, I ended up with something completely different -- a chef trying to cook a lobster. Once I started exploring that idea, I all but lost the juggling completely & found hundreds of new jokes & gags waiting to be had in that scenario.

Some of them you may not be able to actually do yet. (Something to work towards!) Some maybe you can.

Personally, I tend to try and create a progression that tells some kind of simple story in my show (ex: inept chef struggles to cook a wily lobster) rather than just string tricks together.

But if you do string tricks together, here are some things to think about:

1) transitions between tricks are where you will lose your crowd. Try and link your tricks together some way so people will stay to watch.

2) the arc of your show should be straight up -- build suspense, work the crowd, make 'em want to see your big finish, whatever it is. Don't give your best away at the top of the show.

3) Don't even start your show until you get at least a solid front row of people actively watching you. Before you start your show, you need to do things to attract people's attention, and make them understand that they need to stick around for the show.

Ultimately, there's nothing like getting out there & trying something. Don't be afraid to change what you're doing if they start to walk away.

Read the articles in the library section about busking.

Be yourself.

Don't be desperate.

Have fun!

[pablo]

It's the journey, not the destination.

A show implies a beginning, a middle and an end. Introduce yourself to your audience, show them something new, and leave them wanting more.

[Doctor Eric]

The chef allegory in Chris' post may be a bit advanced for someone new (and obviously a bit intimidated by putting together their first show), although his three points are something you should memorize. Just think outside of yourself a little. If you were just a spectator on the sidewalk, what would surprise you, make you laugh, and endear you towards a performer (i.e. want to give him some of your hard earned money). Thinking like an audience member is a huge help towards writing original material, and avoiding being overly masturbatory. And never just deliver, always tease at least a little bit first, otherwise they won't appreciate it, you've got to make people WANT what you've got before you give it to them.

Oh, yeah, and don't ever shout "Look At Me!" as was mentioned in another thread. It makes people want to !@#?in' slap you

[MikeCheng]

Hello, Tyler.

Sorry I don't have much to contribute, but it seems we are quite similar I'm trying to put together a show, as well. It's for a school show, but I am kind of thinking about street stuff also.

I have college coming up, though, so I don't think I have much time for that stuff.

Anyways, in regards to getting better at speaking, I suggest you try to talk to new people. It can be anybody, just approach someone new, and try to start up a conversation. It really helps with your interpersonal skills. It's still kind of hard for me to think of a topic to talk about, but I'm slowly getting better at it. Doing this, you might feel more comfortable talking in front of groups of people, because you would be used to talking to strangers.

Good luck, and let me know how your plans work out!

[Tyler]

Thanks mike.

Try to take some time of that school work for juggling;-) It's good for relieving stress, do a show for your professor

[Airborne Dan]

Beginning, middle, end dude. It's not rocket science.

Beginning: (For a street show) Make some sort of spectacle of your self until you've drawn enough attention from passers by that they are no longer passers by, they are a crowd. (For a stage show) Make an entrance.

Middle: Do something to keep every body interested and entertained enough so they don't want to walk away. That works for both street and stage.

End: It's called a finale', or perhaps a grand finale', your biggest trick, or most visual or funny routine. Also if it is a street show and you want your audience to tip you for the performance, you should communicate that to them at some time during the show. It's called a hat line. For stage don't do a hat line, the people have already paid to get in and it will probably just confuse them, or worse, piss them off. Can we say off on this board?

And finally the best way to put together a street show is to do it. Find a pitch somewhere and do at least 100 shows. Paying attention to your audience at all times. The stuff they like, keep. The stuff they don't like, either fix or discard. Have fun and try not to hurt anyone or get arrested.

[Tyler]

Thanks for the help everyone. I'm going busking next Wednesday, I'll tell you all how it went.

[Lynneski]

Keep on keepin' on

Most important, Tyler, is keep doin' what you're doin':

Go to festivals and learn at the feet of your elders, betters and wisers (and those are mutually exclusive terms in many cases). Catch all the street at the Fringe that you can. Plan your holidays to coincide with streetfests in other cities. Try. Rehearse. Ask quality questions. Fail. Succeed. Laugh at yourself. Don't let the odd cranky reply or brush-off dissuade you. Read. Research all kinds of comedy, of performance, of style, of tempo, of era, of mood.

Find the skin that fits like a glove.

[Tyler]

Thanks for the advice.

[Spike McGuire]

I can't belive no one has said this yet. Here it is Tyler, short and simple, start strong, end strong, and put your week shit in the middle.

------Spike

[Tyler]

Do you want to be stronger at the beginning or the end? Francis Brunn used to say that if you had a really strong start then people will not be as impressed for the rest of the show. Thanks for making it short and simple, though! ;-)

[Spike McGuire]

Well, look at it this way, you don't want to start out with something better than your finish, but, you don't want your show to be a constant incline.

[Tyler]

Gotcha! Thanks for the advice.

-Tyler

[Hunter]

Don't Stop at College

Juggling does NOT have to stop at college. Lots of colleges have a Juggling Club of some sort, and if they don't I've never heard of a university do anything but encourage someone to start one. You can learn a lot from other jugglers and even from teaching newcomers basic techniques. It can be extremely relaxing, and I've found that I'll learn more from studying for 2 hours, juggling one, studying 2 than I have from all night study sessions. Just relax, get fresh air, move around a little.

*added bonus* If you think about what you were studying while you juggle you can come up with some cracked out routines. I know I came up with some real zingers for single charged-coupling device cameras. Once in a while you'll even get one people will understand!