Street Working in the UK

[cstreet_1986]

Hi,

I am about to start performing in the South Wales area and found that there are no regulations here. I want to know how everyone started up.

1) Do you have a lisence? If so, whats it called?
2) How many routines do you perform in one day?
3) How long does your working day last?

Thanks,

Chris

[cstreet_1986]

I just want to point out that I want to become a street magician (It's my first time here and was given the address by someone on another sight. I assumed this was a magician's forum).

Chris

[AJJames]

chris, when you say street magic , what do mean by that?, a street performer will think of a table show, eg nick nicholas, Tom Picard
you may mean , david blane or derren brown style roving street magic.
which is it ?

[cstreet_1986]

Street performing as in Gazzo (i.e. Busking on the street, that being why I am on the busking forum). Anyone who reads this post should note that it took me 2 weeks for a reply on here.

On The Magic Cafe (www.themagiccafe.com) a number of replies to any question you have will be virtually guarranteed on the same day.

Really, you gotta join that site - much better and much faster, with actual professionals who have written books (e.g. Danny Hustler, Werner, Pete Biro and the list continues...)

Thanks anyway though,

Chris

[Frisbee]

A response

Most of what I have seen on that magic site is by and for amateurs and while there may be amateurs and hobbiests out there on this board it is primarily for actual working professional performers both street and otherwise.

here is a few reasons it may have taken so long for someone to respond to you.

1.) Your spelling mistakes may have made someone not want to respond.
2.) We were all working those past weeks.
3.) We are trying to protect our top secret busking spots and do not want to reveal anything...especially if it is a successful pitch and do not want it to become overrun with amateurs from the magiccafe site.

Thanks for stopping by the professionals location...when you feel ready to try again...please don't.

-Frisbee

[grOmmet]

2 weeks for a reply!!??

Hi, Chris.
Don't take it personally if you don't get immediate feedback here on p.net.

If you take a good look at the variety of postings which appear here, and the diversity of kinds of performers.... you'll perhaps realise that it can be like angling.

I mean:
i)your bait has to be put in the right spot of the pond....
ii)is it feeding time, or are the fish all elsewhere spawning?
iii)have you used the correct bait for the kind of fish you intend to catch..?

....and finally:
iv)are you sure you're on the banks of the right pond in the first place??

If you want to be a street performer, you could do worse than learn the patience of an angler..... and, let's face it ..you HAVE had "bites" from AJ, Frisbee and me, so far!!!

Happy Fishing!!

[Rex Boyd]

I have done street gigs in Cardiff, Swansea and Newport all in South Wales. All of these places would be very good for doing shows and learning to work the street. I don't actually have experience of passing the hat there so I can't say if you'll make a lot of money or not, but at the beginning stage I wouldn't worry about it. Just see if you can hold a crowd first.

If someone asks you for a permit ask them back what authority they have to be checking permits. Unless of course it is a police officer and then kindly ask where you get a permit. The answer will probably be that there is no such thing. Then if you want to keep working that place then you'll need to find out a way of working with the council to create such a thing. But don't worry the police will have better things to do with their time as long as you are not creating a nuisance of yourself.

If you want to travel a bit further you can work in Cheltenham, Bristol, or Bath or even Gloucester. Bath being the most regularly performed spot where you would have a chance to watch some other performers for ideas about working the street.

Let us know how the shows go.

Rex

[grOmmet]

..and then there was FOUR!!

Congratulations, Chris!

........ looks like you just caught ANOTHER one!!

[Woofnah]

... and another bite ...

1) Do you have a lisence? If so, whats it called?
2) How many routines do you perform in one day?
3) How long does your working day last?

#1: already been addressed, I'll ignore it.

#2: I have a 40 minute stage show that gets converted to a 20 minute street show.

#3: I quit at either a pre-determined time or when I'm tired.

Good luck, Dude.

[cstreet_1986]

Cheers everyone

Rex - where in Cardiff did you work? Did you work in the main street? I really have no idea on this topic of where to perform. Do I go into the city centre, or on the outskirts? Where exactly would be a good spot to begin?

Thanks ever so much.


Chris

[Rex Boyd]

I wrote an article years ago that is in the pnet library on how to find a pitch. The short answer is go to where the crowds are. Find out if there is a festival on somewhere. Ask around. Open your eyes.

Cardiff has lots of pedestrian areas in the centre. I have never worked there but always see musicians working when I'm in Cardiff. The bay is the other place to work, around Mermaid Quay. I imagine they would be very happy to have buskers show up because they often pay for people like me to come down in the summer. If you were really good and worked there a lot then I would be putting myself out of a job just like no acts are paid to play in Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Covent Garden etc, etc., but I am such a nice guy and so dedicated to the promotion of street performing that I am willing to take that chance. The real answer is it doesn't matter whether I'm helpful or not if there are acts out there who can find or develop the pitches out there they will do it with or without my advice. I think it's nicer to help people.

Like almost all British cities the obvious time to work is when people are doing their Saturday shopping. Huge crowds, but don't expect to keep them long. Sundays can be slower to gather a crowd (like at Mermaid Quay) but the people will be happy to stay and wait and watch a longer show.

If you are brave then you might try either the city centre or the bay on Friday or Saturday nights with the pub crowd. Be careful though because Cardiff is a particularly drunken city, even when compared to the normal drunkeness of British cities, but hey when I was 18 I got my start doing the same sort of bar crowds in Kansas City. It's not easy, but it can be a lot of fun if you approach it from the right perspective. I am now 38 years old, have gigs and a house and children and there is no way in hell I would play the pub crowd, but it was good when I was young and keen to learn.

good luck,

Rex

[Bruce Airhead]

G'day Chris
Like Rex I have never busked in South Wales but have performed there loads ( I lived in Caerphilly for 5 years)
Newport is worth a go.
Do some short shows and just get out there and see what it feels like.
Also the Cardiff Magicial Society could be a group you might be interested in , they meet twice a month
good luck.

[jugglermatt1]

Ive worked in Wrexham before , which turned out to be good .The working day in Britain usually works out best by starting out as early as possible 10ish and stopping usually about 2pm.Afternoons at least where Im from are spoiled by big groups of hooligan like kids and hoardes of crazy people .The big shows that work in the UK are usually of the Hype type , long lasting with good hat lines . Licences should only be obtained if asked for by the police , ie dont waste time looking for one beforehand .

[grOmmet]

Wrexam

I have to agree re; Wrexham, though it IS a bit of a trek from South Wales....

I like smaller "market" towns, because that 10am start tends to beat the fkkwits into town. ..and you probably won't have such fierce competition for pitch space, either!

Most of the people who are likely to give you a hard time are usually sleeping off their hangovers, or grabbing coffee and a smoke whilst the street belongs to you and your audience....

...and that's ANOTHER good thing about smaller towns, too.. People can be more appreciative, since they might not encounter street performers / musicians quite so often as their City counterparts.

By doing the 10-2pm "shift", you often avoid the disruptive / teen element, who are just hauling themselves out of bed!!!

[If anyone from Wrexham reads this.. thanks for your generosity and I hope to see you in the Spring!]