A magician from UK making the audience cry...

[DMorini]

Hello everyone, my name is Morini and I live in the uk.

Summer is just beginning over here, after about 8 months of cold weather, since october. I have been doing magic for about 30 yrs of my life and have worked in various venues, restaurants and weddings, parties. The usual kind of stuff and i hated them all.

For a long long time i thought about busking, but never had the nerve to do it. There is no one in the north east really to go and watch and perhaps learn from, the reason probably is the cold weather, and the people up here tend to be very difficult to please, or so i thought until i plucked up the courage and very nervously set up my magic one wknd. Luckily the weather was good, for once! I had put together about a ten min show and had no idea how it was going to go so i just set up and asked a family walking past if they would like to see some magic. They did and so i began my first show. Within about two min I looked up and there was 15 or so people had stopped! It was a really strange feeling at first, how evryone had just kind of turned into audience mode, almost fixated by what i was doing. I dont think they had seen many street magicians, so i had a lot of responsiblity on my shoulders! The worst thing ever could have happened, i was performing the cups and had a little audience participation when I asked a boy of about 12 yrs old to help me out by watching the little balls. He agreed, so i got about half way through and then he began to cry!! I froze for about 2 seconds not understanding how this could have happened, but i had to finish the trick, so i did. He was pulled away by his father, to my relief. The show went really well and i got the impression my audience enjoyed it, so i think i did do some justice for magicians! It was a heart pounding experience which i shall never forget. I done three shows that day before stopping with nervous exhaustion.

Wow that was long winded and i hope i have given you a bit of info. I have been out a few more times and cant wait to go again. I learned so much from that first day.

It would be great to hear about your stories the first time you went onto the streets!

Thanks for reading D

[jeep caillouet]

The street is the proving ground for the best performers in the world. Try to find Gazzo . he's over there somewhere. He's probably the reason the kid cried. You can google him, Gazzo Osborne. Good luck

[Uncle Yodie]

I enjoyed your post. Everyone has a first time and it takes some nerve to actually make the first contact with the people walking by. Good for you.

[MagiCol]

Hi, D. Thanks for your report of your first time out. I wrote about my first time out busking, which happened about a year back. I've learnt a lot about being a Street Magician in the year or so since then, even though just a Weekend Warrior.
So here is an edited and shortened version of my write-up.


Colin going out busking for the first time
Saturday, 5 April 2008
I had spent the years since about 2002 learning magic tricks and now had a few tricks and balloon tying to present publicly.
On the morning of this Artisans Fair I spent some time at home getting some items ready for a public performance – the time seemed to whiz on before I was ready to leave home for the 45 minute drive over to Whangarei city. I had my colourful jacket and my grey retro felt hat as part of my performing clothing. I had my backpack and in it a waist bag with a balloon pump, long modelling balloons, a cut down knitting needle, light rope, a pair of scissors, and a couple of packets of playing cards. At last I was on my way driving myself to Whangarei – departing at about 10 a.m., a couple of hours later than I would have preferred!
When I rounded the corner to the Library, there the stalls were. There were but a few people visiting the stalls; things were very quiet. I called on the stall where long time friends, were with their jewellery for sale.
“What are you doing here?” asked Hannah, seeing my colourful jacket and felt hat.
“I’m going to do some magic here.”
Hannah told me who was the organizer of the stalls and went and saw her and she asked “What are you going to do?”
I replied, “A rope trick and card trick”. I wasn’t too sure of myself as I hadn’t done them in full public view – but having put in hours and hours of practice I hoped the tricks would turn out all right.
“I’ll turn off the music,” the organizer said, meaning I could have the use of the microphone to call attention to my show.
“No, at least not yet. I have to go back to the car,” I said, for I needed to fetch something from there. Had the music been stopped I was rather scared of becoming the centre of attention. Upon my return from the car I stopped off and chattered to Hannah about her family. I mentioned again why I was here.
Helpful as ever, Hana encouraged “Stand alongside my stall”. She was long accustomed to meeting the public and speaking to them to promote her jewellery.
So I was there, next to her stall, waiting for someone to turn up.
“Here,” said Hannah, laying down a small blue tarpaulin on the cobblestones just behind where I stood. “Define your area. You’d better stand on it.” I obeyed and stepped back. She gave me a stool to sit on, too. Hannah had their 7 year old daughter Karmelle at the stall and I started by entertaining her. Out came a few balloons and I made a dog model for her. She promptly “reverse engineered” it, untwisting it and bringing it back to a long ballon, explaining that she took apart all the balloon models she got. I was very familiar talking to someone her age for I have taught such children at school for some 35 years. Talking and performing for Karmelle helped get me involved, instead of standing around waiting for someone else to turn up. Over a period of the next hour I tied balloons and gave them away, mostly to children wandering along with adults. I also worked with my diabolo, did a cut and restored rope trick, and did a bit of card magic. I had made one balloon dog and passed it to a young girl. Mum asked me “How much are they?”
“Free,” I answered.
“No,” she said, “I want to give you something for it.”
“I’m not charging,” I said. “If you want to give something then give a donation of a dollar.”
She put a dollar in my outstretched hand and I put it in my waist bag that was sitting on the ground. Her adult friend, for whose child I made another dog, joined in, also wanting to pay for it. “I’ll give a dollar, too,” she said. I put out my hand and took it and put it away. I hadn’t been performing for the money, but for the experience and the enjoyment. So, what is busking? Is it performing for money, or is it performing and getting money for it? For me it’s the second aspect. I’m having fun and the spectators are having fun. Hannah came over after the women and their children left.
“Here,” she said. “Put the money on the tarp.” Well, that’s what buskers do. They have a hat or open container for the public to put in money in return for the performing they watch. Having the hat out lets people see that you are expecting money. Louis, a young fellow of 15 that I am acquainted with through our mutual involvement in community circus groups, makes something like $80 for a couple of hours busking of a weekend. He juggles, rides a unicycle, and the like. He’s a lot more experienced than me. Well, back to myself. I had now gotten $2 unexpectedly. In fact, I was so little inclined to display the money I had that at first put it into my bag rather than having it out in the open. Due to the low number of people present I had performed for maybe about 20 people during the hour or so. About 1.00 p.m. it was time to pack up. I did get Hana to take some photos of me performing, but as posed camera shots rather than capturing the public looking on.
Things had gone well for me on my first day of stand-along performing and I could see this was a good way to get to perform magic tricks.

[Comic Characters]

We've been developing a new show over the last few months (Google: Freetannia) and my partner eventually decided we needed audience feedback and we took it out on London's South Bank. The actors were terrified, but I think I was more so as director. We weren't too good but managed to hold a crowd for at least part of the show.

The following week we took it out again. This time I was practically shaking! On the second occasion it flew! I'd been trying to get the actors to develop a technique of playing outside a script and inventing stuff as they went along and for some reason, in this show, it fired! They came up with stuff we hadn't done in rehearsal and really held the audience, getting a few to take part as well. This augured well for a paid booking at the Manchester Feast the following weekend where we had a great audience despite two days of downpour.

Yep, the street is definitely the proving ground