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I am very new to street performing, and I barely have an act put together, but I am drawing crowds and getting a positive response from them. The thing is I've already run into a serious problem.
A group of hippies (the kind you can smell from 50 feet away) from a local commune have started showing up every week where I perform and just set up and do their show right in my spot. They just assume I want to "join their circus". The first time they showed up I thought it might help me to build a bigger crowd having all these hula-hooping and poi spinning freaks around, so I agreed to take turns with them, they do their act, then I do mine and so on. This was a colossal beginners mistake, but now I am too polite to ask them to find their own spot. I even moved to a different spot this week, and they followed me there! I think they see my minor success and are trying to latch on to me or something.
The problem is although I am just learning how to do a show and handle a crowd, they do the worst possible job imaginable. They dont have a structured show. They do a build, but then just keep doing the same acts over and over, with hats out on the ground instead of building up to an ending and passing the hat. They run their show FOREVER (I'm talking hours) so the crowd doesnt ever disperse, so even if I wait for them to stop their show and do mine, the people watching have already paid them, and dont want to pay me when I pass my hat. I cant wait until after their show because if I dont perform, they just start their show over immedietly for fear of loosing the crowd they've already bilked and who's already seen their show once (I told you they were bad). They also scream about how they are poor hippies and need money for food, which makes them look like beggars and not professionals. This makes me look bad because it appears I am with them (and they do everything possible to make it appear as if I am with them). My hat line is more along the lines of "I'm a professional performer, this is my full time job, I take it very seriously, and I have to make my BMW payment". Just about the opposite of theirs. They not only take up time I could spend doing my act, but they make me look like a beggar, and they make it impossible for me to build my own crowd since they never stop long enough for me to build a new crowd.
The problem is, I show up early in the day and stake out my spot. I even juggle behind a hat for HOURS before there are enough people there to build a crowd, just to save the space. There are a lot of musical acts where I perform who would take it if I didnt get there early. By the time they show up in the evening my only option is to steal someone elses spot if I want to move!
I'm making 1/2 or 1/4 of what I normally make when they weren't there, and I'm afraid that some people are confusing me with them and paying THEM for my act!
The worst part is they're doing fire now because they saw that I got permission from the fire marshal to do fire. I have a bucket of water and wet towels, as well as a fire extinquisher. They have NOTHING to put their props out with, and tonight one of their crappy home-made flaming hula hoops burned out dry and started throwing flaming bits of towel all over the street, some large flaming pieces even landed right next to their fuel dump! Guess who had to put the fires out? Thats right, me. I'm afraid their incompetance will get fire performing made illegal here, and destroy my livelihood in the process.
I dont know what to do. I made it clear I dont want to be part of their act, but they keep setting up in my space anyway, and they keep barking for me when I go on even though I asked them not to, making it look like I'm one of them.
Any suggestions as to how I should handle them? Has anyone else had a similar experience?
A group of hippies (the kind you can smell from 50 feet away) from a local commune have started showing up every week where I perform and just set up and do their show right in my spot. They just assume I want to "join their circus". The first time they showed up I thought it might help me to build a bigger crowd having all these hula-hooping and poi spinning freaks around, so I agreed to take turns with them, they do their act, then I do mine and so on. This was a colossal beginners mistake, but now I am too polite to ask them to find their own spot. I even moved to a different spot this week, and they followed me there! I think they see my minor success and are trying to latch on to me or something.
The problem is although I am just learning how to do a show and handle a crowd, they do the worst possible job imaginable. They dont have a structured show. They do a build, but then just keep doing the same acts over and over, with hats out on the ground instead of building up to an ending and passing the hat. They run their show FOREVER (I'm talking hours) so the crowd doesnt ever disperse, so even if I wait for them to stop their show and do mine, the people watching have already paid them, and dont want to pay me when I pass my hat. I cant wait until after their show because if I dont perform, they just start their show over immedietly for fear of loosing the crowd they've already bilked and who's already seen their show once (I told you they were bad). They also scream about how they are poor hippies and need money for food, which makes them look like beggars and not professionals. This makes me look bad because it appears I am with them (and they do everything possible to make it appear as if I am with them). My hat line is more along the lines of "I'm a professional performer, this is my full time job, I take it very seriously, and I have to make my BMW payment". Just about the opposite of theirs. They not only take up time I could spend doing my act, but they make me look like a beggar, and they make it impossible for me to build my own crowd since they never stop long enough for me to build a new crowd.
The problem is, I show up early in the day and stake out my spot. I even juggle behind a hat for HOURS before there are enough people there to build a crowd, just to save the space. There are a lot of musical acts where I perform who would take it if I didnt get there early. By the time they show up in the evening my only option is to steal someone elses spot if I want to move!
I'm making 1/2 or 1/4 of what I normally make when they weren't there, and I'm afraid that some people are confusing me with them and paying THEM for my act!
The worst part is they're doing fire now because they saw that I got permission from the fire marshal to do fire. I have a bucket of water and wet towels, as well as a fire extinquisher. They have NOTHING to put their props out with, and tonight one of their crappy home-made flaming hula hoops burned out dry and started throwing flaming bits of towel all over the street, some large flaming pieces even landed right next to their fuel dump! Guess who had to put the fires out? Thats right, me. I'm afraid their incompetance will get fire performing made illegal here, and destroy my livelihood in the process.
I dont know what to do. I made it clear I dont want to be part of their act, but they keep setting up in my space anyway, and they keep barking for me when I go on even though I asked them not to, making it look like I'm one of them.
Any suggestions as to how I should handle them? Has anyone else had a similar experience?
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