Audiences- Love or Hate?

[Daniel Craig]

I was walking home yesterday with a friend of mine, and we were discussing the similarities between being a waiter who earns excellent tips and being a street performer.

If you're a waiter, not only do you have to serve your customers quickly, but also make topical banter with them if you want to do well, but at the same time, don't make it seem like you're patronizing them. You generally are just catering to their interests.

If you're a street performer, you use complete and total charisma or other such devices as well as the service you're providing (a show) to make the audience believe you are worth that same tip.

Now, here's the thing. I was thinking about the different dynamic that each of these aforementioned occupations have with their audience. Realistically, they both could love the audience for being there and being captive, but could also hate them for the reasons that the audience is:

- being hardasses
- a big stupid group that has to be taken advantage of to make money
- etc. etc.

Now, I personally enjoy my audiences. If they play with me, I'll play back, but I was just wondering if different people had different ideas about this particular dynamic between an audience who "donates" at the end of any performance. (whether waiting or showing)

Best,
DC

[Greedybogle]

It depends on why you do what you do.

In any profession, you cater to an 'audience'. Whether they be clients, the management...there is always someone who decides how much you get payed. So naturally, in any profession, if you do it for the money you will make concessions to your 'audience', and may indeed come to resent them.

HOWEVER, busking has a unique appeal (at least to me) in that your boss is there in front of you. The feedback is instantaneous, so you can indeed play with your audience, and they will play right back. Performing is hard. It's a risk...you risk your financial security by choosing to busk professionally, and your ego every time you go up in front of an audience.

The reward is that of doing what you love...and if this is it, the audience is your best friend, because they're the ones paying you to have fun. <img src="graemlins/jester.gif" border="0" alt="[jester]" />

[Jim]

[quote]Originally posted by danielc:
<strong>I was walking home yesterday with a friend of mine, and we were discussing the similarities between being a waiter who earns excellent tips and being a street performer.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

If you're a waiter, you take an order, deliver the food, deliver the bill and make change for the customer. Maybe you refill a water glass or replace a dropped fork. If you do the bare minimum "waiter stuff" and are relatively friendly, you will get 15-20% of the bill. On a $20 dinner, you get $4-5 without breaking a sweat.

If you're a street performer with a physical and/or comedy act, you gather a crowd who didn't expect to be entertained, make them laugh and/or impress them for 30-45 minutes, all the while sweating and risking injury and at the end, people say... "That was great, here's a dollar."

Did the waiter make your sides hurt laughing? Did the waiter do anything out of the ordinary or impressive? I know there are some people in every crowd who give $5's and bigger bills, but why is it that for the past 30 years, the majority of people in the world still look at a street performer and think, "That was worth a DOLLAR. (or less!)" but they'll then walk into a restaurant and order lunch and give the waiter $2 for delivering a sandwich and a drink?

Urgh!!!!!!!!

[Mr.Taxi Trix]

[quote]Originally posted by Jim:
<strong> Did the waiter make your sides hurt laughing? Did the waiter do anything out of the ordinary or impressive? I know there are some people in every crowd who give $5's and bigger bills, but why is it that for the past 30 years, the majority of people in the world still look at a street performer and think, "That was worth a DOLLAR. (or less!)" but they'll then walk into a restaurant and order lunch and give the waiter $2 for delivering a sandwich and a drink?

Urgh!!!!!!!!</strong><hr></blockquote>


Hey, I think that right there's a pretty good hat line, Jimster.

[Jim]

[quote]Originally posted by Mr.Taxi Trix:
<strong>


Hey, I think that right there's a pretty good hat line, Jimster.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yeah, and I have another good one about how a movie costs $10 and you have to pay first. And if the movie isn't any good, you don't get your money back...