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Halifax Daily News: "Buskers push to be paid"
Not all specators at the annual event are pleased with the way performers ask for money
By Sarah Regan
The Daily News
BUSKERS - If you're a person who watches a busker's performance, and then slip away before the hat is passed to you, you're not alone.
The Halifax Busker Festival kicked off yesterday, but a few spectators who attended the festival's first few shows said the approach some performers were using to get donations was a bit too pushy.
"There's a fine line between entertaining and annoying," said spectator David Connors as he and his fiancee watched a performance on Halifax's Historic Properties. "Some of them are good, and some are panhandlers who happen to have a sword-swallowing talent."
Thousands of spectators are expected to attend the 20th annual Busker Festival this week. Seven hundred international performers from around the world will put on pay-what-you-can type shows for the public.
Costs too much
According to Connors and his fiancee Karen Baker, the donation-optional festival is costing the couple too much money.
"I understand that they need to get paid, but some of their suggested asking prices are outrageous," said Baker.
"One busker asked that we spend the same amount that we would on a movie or a ticket to the theatre!"
Allen Keng, a member of the Toronto-based busking group Team Ryouko, said he can earn up to $400 for each hour-long show he does, but added that he isn't pushy in his approach.
He suggested each person who attends a performance donate $5, or the amount they feel comfortable with.
"I think the majority of the people that come don't pay," said the 24-year-old.
"I used to do that. But I think if you want to keep the festival alive and the performers working, then a little tribute would be nice."
After dropping in on a few of yesterday's shows, it was apparent each performer used a different tactic to lure the money out of spectators wallets.Some performers used charm, some bribery, and all of them used humour.
"If you liked the show, pay for the show," performer Daniel Craig joked to the large crowd gathered in front of the Maritime Museum yesterday. "If you didn't like it, pay for it anyway so we don't both go home feeling ripped off."
sregan@hfxnews.ca
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the true Buskers victims....
In her bumbling soapbox diatribe ˇ§Buskers push to be paidˇ¨, reporter Sarah Regan set out to give a voice to the dissatisfied audience members at the Halifax Buskers festival.
Presenting ˇ§researchˇ¨ that no doubt was concluded in the time it take to read this column, Ms. Reganˇ¦s (carefully selected) interviewees lamented the pushy approach of some of the performers.
She cites that ˇ§ Not all spectators ˇK are pleased with the way performers ask for money.ˇ¨ Indeed, to one couple, ˇ§ˇK the donation-optional festival is costing the couple too much moneyˇ¨. A statement that is absurd, to the point of hilarity. Perhaps Ms. Reganˇ¦s stellar services would be best utilized reporting on skateboarders complaining of road-rash, or power-eaters suffering from indigestion.
Pity the fools.
Further on, the same disgruntled spectator, having been fleeced of all his cash, claims: ˇ§There is a fine line between entertaining, and insulting.ˇ¨ There is also a fine line between newspaper and toilet paper.
Congrats Ms. Regan, and sleep well. You have served a tiny minority admirably; giving a voice to the true victims of these festivities.Comment
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Maybe, and that is just a suggestion, someone who is easily annoyed should not attend a buskers show at all. There's a whole world of companies out there that will let the sludge they produce slide down the throat so easily that you won't even notice the money flying out of your pocket. Why bother about watching a busker if you can have it the easy way...Comment
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I'm confused about this thread.
Martin is a mime and to my knowledge (he might have changed his work) does not bottle his work. I can and have, but choose not bottle my crowd. It can effect my work.
I've watched hundreds of one trick shows that have more commitment to the hat lines than they have to entertainment.
Maybe, some people push it too hard and/or without sufficient class.
As some-one who has clashed with "he who shall remain noseless" whilst experiencing the early days of Halifax, I can say that the above statement can apply to both newspaper stories.
Is our artform contentrating too much on a formulaic method of extracting cash from the crowd at the expense of the show's actual content (again applicable to performers and management).
As I said, I'm confused.Every-one should watch their drawers!
http://www.chalkcircle.com.au/Comment
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This is bikeboy not daniel craig i stole his account
Oh well ignorance is bliss i suppose good luck and god bless love seanComment
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Okay. This is the real Dan back now.
As someone who was misquoted in the show to sound like a huge greedy douchebag, anyone who has seen my show knows how actually gentle and non-pushy the whole thing is. Text does not capture facial expression, nuance, or tone.
:/
I wrote a letter the day the article was published in reply:
Dear Sarah Regan,
While I am a strong advocate of a non-discriminating publication, I believe your article in today's Daily News entitled "Buskers or Beggars?" is entirely misleading and unfair. I am a street performer, and have come to Halifax for the festival for the first time this year.
First, of course, a little backstory for the uninformed-- The Halifax
International Buskers Festival is a ten day long festival which draws hundreds of thousands of people to the waterfront every year. Is is a well established event with the 2006 year marking the second decade of its progression, and there are hundreds of applicants to the festival every season, each hoping for the
chance to entertain these hundreds of thousands of people. We all have to audition, and Halifax is annually treated to a vide variety of the world's best professional street performers.
Regrettably, the quote you chose to extract from my show makes me fit the stereotype portrayed in the article much more than is actually true. The quote you took is from what we call the "hat line" and it is where we have to explain the fact we rely on donations solely for income, as some people honestly do not
know and would not pay us otherwise. I have been a professional busker for nearly a decade and am saddened by the fact we are being compared to panhandlers. We are not fabricating any claim when we say in our shows how much
we love our work and where we have been, performing the very shows you see at the festival every year.
While there are certain "buskers", and I use that term loosely, that create a negative stereotype for all of us, the same can be said for doctors who are hit with malpractice suits, or any other profession where someone is unqualified but practicing their craft regardless. I would also like to say due to the rigorous audition process in order to perform in Halifax, there are ABSOLUTELY NONE of those underqualified buskers here. Halifax, as I said, is very lucky to have the choice of watching the world's best yearly.
While it may seem to a few that some of us are "too pushy" in asking for money, keep in mind that some people honestly do not know that our hats are the only source of income we get, and they need to be educated in kind. I have performed in places where busking is an unfamiliar concept (a personal example I can
recall is the streets of Detroit, or recently in Whitehorse, Yukon) and they need to know what exactly it is they are seeing. Halifax audiences are very well educated and they know what to expect, but we can never know if someone understands the concept of the hat or not.
In closing, I apologize if you thought my hat line was too pushy. It is unfortunate you focused on that instead of the other extraordinarily positive messages in my show such as pushing yourself to stretch your limits, or striving to reach your goals. I think that as a street perfomer who has been called a role-model by parents of children who watch the shows, I believe you may be regrettably uninformed. I hope this letter will shed some light on any lack of understanding that may exist.
Respectfully yours,
Daniel Craig
The Dan ShowComment
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Nice one Dan, let's see if they will publish this now...Comment
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yup...they won't
well maybe they will...
but, You Know... the past few years in halifax , the newpapers have not been very positive 'bout the buskers...
the general theme is that performers should not be asking for money ... or that most acts are juggling acts....
as performers it's easy to understand the effort we put into the show ... ( or less effort as has been pointed out at "one stunt shows") and to understand why we need the cash ...
not so easy for the average guy understand....
and not so easy for them to understand why we are asking ( in a thick pawed way sometimes ) for money...
i see more press about how the buskers festival needs money more than i see press about how the buskers need money ...
it truly sucks that of all the performances to pick out they picked you dan .. i mean .. i think your goal is to get the whole crowd to have a group hug.. isn't it ? and your letter was good...
but people are already bitter about buskers in halifax
what do you think would happen if the press found out how much the average busker earned during halifax buskerfestival ....
really?
see you in waterlooComment
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I was wondering if anyone could post the "what not to say to reporters" rules?
Note: This reply was posted with lagre smirk on face.Comment
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Halifax "There's a fine line between entertaining and annoying,"
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