Drum Bums, by Peter Voice

[gav]

Ok, so you have aluminium cups (like cocktail shaking cups) that stack into each other. They have either a bolt or resin in the bottom for balance and to seperate them a bit when they are stacked.
You throw them in the air in a stack of 2 to 5 from either 1 hand or 2 and they seperate in the air to be caught back in the stack in either 1 or 2 hands. There's a bunch of different tricks you can do with them and they are very loud.

here's a pic of a shaker cup

[jester]

I did a dusbin and sponge soccer balls routine in 1994 at Salisbury Arts Centre with kids at an end of workshop show.

It ended with a production of an 8yr old girl.

It took me ages to master the false/hinged bottoms of the three plastic bins and it took hours for me and Ben to master nonchalently tipping the primed dustbin.

They were ruined after just 3 performances.

Getting the girl into the third cup towards the end of the routine on stage was easy with a bit of misdirection. Getting her lifted from the floor from down facing bin, into an up position, loading two more bins onto her (she just worked through the hinges, and then placing her onto the floor again was tricky but possible. However, she did manage to get some badly scuffed knees and a friction burn on her back during the performance.

Although she was happy during the show, she was very uncomfortable afterward.

If anybody wants to know how we did it I'll gladly tell them as I have absolutely no intention of repeating that trick. Far too much work - although the audience were quite rightly gasping with astonishment.....

We did it with black plastic dustbins because it was easier to cut and glue them...

[Peter Voice]

"Bins and Balls" is obviously possible but would require serious commitmentment and a very good prop maker. Makeshift props never last long but you can't test an idea without them.

If the test works, as it sounds like yours did Jester, you have to invest in the show. Afterall it may make you a excellent living for the next 20 years.

A great example is Glen Singer's show. It is a beautifully simple idea but without Glen's exquisite interpretation and seriously well-built beautiful props, it would not work.

Commiting a year or more and several thousand bucks towards a show is actually quite a cheap investment. The really challenging part is that it is an investment in yourself.

The "bins and balls" thing almost deserves it's own thread but the issues are the same as being discussed over this show.

This thread is being read and responded to by some very accomplished performers but is also being read by people hoping to learn so I think it's worth posing a couple of questions that maybe obvious to some but not to all.

How much is a good show worth?
How much did you spend on your props?
How much did you spend on your costume?
How long did it take to put these elements together with your show idea?
What does it cost annually to maintain your props and costumes?

I'm talking pure fiscal costs, preparation and rehearsal time are another issue.

[Stretch]

>
How much is a good show worth?

Kind of depends on how well you sell the show. If you are fee for hire, having the show is just the start. If busking, then location, location, location sets the upper limit.


>How much did you spend on your props?
Not counting stilts, Giant Parade Puppets or the Bubble Tower, cost ranges from free (napkin rose) to $100 or so . Some I make myself, others I commision. A number of my props are actually part of my costuming. IE Hat, stilts, glove sqeeker, umbrella, comedy water bottle, fabric poi, belt buckle, etc.

I'm more of a prop/character based entertainer than a juggling skills entertainer and this enters into the mix.

>How much did you spend on your costume?

Upper around $1000, again, not counting the stilts.

>How long did it take to put these elements together with your show idea?

Continuous and ongoing. I enjoy the creative process. Started in 1997 at age 44. Kind of a second childhood thing.

>What does it cost annually to maintain your props and costumes?

Four figures includes new stuff, not just repairs. I try to comeout with something completly new every year or two. And refine, rework existing stuff.

[jester]

This is a very good point about investing in your show.

I originally did the giant bins and balls because it was relatively cheap and it gave us a larger stage illussion. I also did it because I did not know much about larger stage props at the time.

I think making a firmer, lasting set with the false bottoms would cost only about £150 but some considerable time.

I think the bins and balls idea is a brilliant way of going large with a magic trick. Plus the bins all stack into each other and then you can stack all of your props into the top bin.

Metal Dustbins that stack also provide you with three metal dustin lids - and everybody knows just how vesataille dustbin lids are as props both visually and noisily.

In fact.. I'm going to go out and buy three dustbins.

Over the years I have invested many thousands into my shows. In fact I am currently clearing out dead props and selling them on cheaply to younger artists who will make better use of them.

Sometimes I have an idea, work on it, build something and after one use it sits in a room somewhere for ages before I use it again.

Other times I find myself building and improved version within months, such is the use I got I out of the original.

Re-cycling is the key. It isn't a waste of time or money to make mad things, once made you can pass/sell it on...

[Rachel Peters]

no, seriously...

I'm telling you, guys -- chimps is where it's at.
replace all your props with chimps, and continue using them as you would have, had they remained props. Axe's drums and drumsticks -- chimps. stacking and shaker cups -- chimps. Juggling pins -- chimps. Mary-Kate and Ashley -- chimp.

Make some make-shift practice chimps to begin with (I can show you how to build some out of duct tape, tofu and paper clips, if you'd like), but the wear-and-tear will be heavy, so you'll want to get some real ones eventually.

I'm going to go now, but I'll be back again, I'm sure, to give more useless, chimp-related suggestions. ...in case you were worrying that I wouldn't be back.

PS: sorry.

[Mr.Taxi Trix]

Damn Little

Money spent to put a show together intelligently is money well spent: it leads not only to lots of income, but also many a laugh along the way.

Having said that, one of the things I really love about this business is the very very low overhead. Amps, mikes, props, a vehicle, and costumes, and you're done. A true cakewalk, considering the fees we command. The talent, though, you can't buy.

I worked a "show till you pass out" gig once, heading to the pitch for three shows daily, and would've died of boredom if I didn't come up with this simple way to improve and change the established act. I walked past a second hand store daily, and would go in, and buy something that I would put in the show, that day.
It was a very, very effective way to stay interested, and be open to unforseen development.

[Mr.Taxi Trix]

Rach,

I didn't see your post, as I was busy composing mine. The problem as I see it with the chimps is simply cost and annoyance. You've got to diaper 'em, right? Eww.

[Stretch]

you want chimps?

http://www.stiltwalker.com/monkeysonstilts.jpg

[Rachel Peters]

whoa.

[Peter Voice]

Really, Rachel, anyone who's shared a room with Gazzo will tell you that you can work with chimps but touring with them is a terrifying prospect.

[Mr. Wilson]

Wow. Tough to believe those chimps on stilts, OR the cup stacker. Makes me wonder why humans bother.

I like where this thread has evolved to, and I agree: the cost of putting a show together is soon eclipsed by the income we make. Its also easy, though, in our culture, to try to replace talent and practice with cash. You can't buy it.

While we are designing a show, and looking at useful aspects, what did you once have in your act that you've now dumped, or outgrown?

[gav]

no time

I don't have the time to remember all the stuff i've tried out and then gotten rid of.
Its in there somewhere but I prefer to leave it there for a rainy day.

many many many things.

[jester]

Very good question.

There are several little routines which I no longer use because I simply never got around to replacing the props as I lost/wore/broke them. We learn how to live without them and before long we forget them.

I made my own magic colouring book a few years ago and it got worn out... I refuse to buy one... but the other day I saw somebody doing it very badly and I pined for it.

I used to have a magic Porn Mag for adult shows which went from soft porn, to gay porn to the money shots for all (the money was pictures of money). The amount of times a grandparent had to explain what a "money shot" was to the younger adults was unbelievable. Of course "Porn" is now far too mainstream to include in my act.

[Stretch]

Shhuuush!!!!!!

>Its also easy, though, in our culture, to try to replace talent and practice with cash. You can't buy it.

Geee, there goes my secret!

But somebody has to keep the prop builders busy! Otherwise just imagine the mischief they would get into!