238/365: Busker Tag Teaming, A How-To Guide
I wrote a couple of days ago about a serendipitous event where Rick Mearns (perhaps intentionally, perhaps by accident) helped me build a crowd whilst busking, and he was, unknown to me at the time, a professional magician. Whether he was aware of it or not, he fulfilled the role perfectly, and it got me thinking about codifying some stuff that could be really helpful for anybody looking to work as a street performing magician. Again, I’m no expert, but some of these things strike me as so self-apparent that they’re practically axiomatic.
1) Get an equal partner.
Find some guy who’s got the same goals as you. He wants to perform, he wants to get good at it, he wants to earn. It also helps if you’re in a position to help each other, and if your acts don’t conflict too much. Some cities (Vancouver is one) require a license to busk, but it’s possible that more than one person can be covered by it.
2) Be each other’s first audience.
There’s a concept in the studies of influence that is known as “Social Proof”. Putting it bluntly, people do as others do. If you’re starting to perform on the streets, you’ll know that getting that first person to stop is one of the huge first hurdles you can get. People see a magician standing there and nobody’s stopping, they’re not going to stop either. People see a magician standing there and somebody has stopped, if it looks interesting enough they’ll stop as well. It’s freaking weird. Those people who’d walk on by and not give you a second thought if you’re alone are the exact same people who’d want to stop to see what all the fuss is about if you’ve got a half-dozen people there reacting to your trick.
So, if you’re buddied up with somebody, be that first person. Just stand there with your hands in your pockets and stare at the trick, and keep your reactions and presence subdued. If you’re performing and you don’t want to fake the routine entirely, you could even, if you like, test out tricks and ideas that you won’t even use in a proper show, just do something that looks interesting, and people will stop because “somebody” has stopped. I’m telling you, seeing a crowd materialize out of nowhere just because one person bothered to stop is more mystifying than just about any magic trick I’ve ever seen.
Additionally, you’ll find that having this first audience available to you immediately will help cut down the dead time between sets. This means more efficiency and a better hourly return on your efforts.
3) Have the buddy help you with crowd maintenance.
Once you get a few people to stop, maintaining the crowd properly is of primary importance. Assuming you’re doing something for your buddy. If somebody has stopped, jettison what you’re doing as soon as feasible (killing it immediately might even be in order) and involve the new people. You want to have good reactions from people front and center, so shift things that way. The worst thing that can happen once a crowd is starting to build is to have walk-offs before you’ve hit your hatting, and walk-offs from front and center are particularly poisonous, as it’s the most prominent section of the crowd, and others who see it may take it as permission to walk off as well. Again, social proof.
You might also find that every now and then you get a “colourful” character who’s essentially stoned out of their mind and trying to ruin what would normally be a good magic experience for everybody else. Having your buddy bounce the guy quietly and gracefully can save the performer a lot of trouble trying to deal with it themselves.
4) Have the buddy measure crowd response.
The best form of feedback is honest reactions from the crowd, but if you’ve ever performed live, you know how easy it is to get caught up in the show to get an honest gauge of what others think of what you’re doing. The buddy is going to be in a good position to measure that. If you’re flashing, if a joke is going over poorly, if an effect or display isn’t visible enough, if a moment in a routine is leading to walk-offs, the buddy is the best one to see it. If it’s your turn to be the buddy, trust me, you’ll find this really educational. It’ll also help in identifying good moments (and perhaps even unplanned good moments) so that you can keep them for later, and also to monitor progress over time.
5) Help with hatting.
Assume you think your show is worth a certain amount per person. After you deliver your hat line — perhaps with a subtle (or not so subtle) line about the sort of contribution you’re looking for — make sure that your buddy is armed with that amount and can be seen to immediately put that in the hat. Yet again, social proof. You don’t want to go overboard with this, but effective use of this can really increase your intake.
6) Two people can hold a pitch better than one person.
Sometimes you need to sign up for pitches, and other times you may need to basically head out there and stake a claim for a spot. I think you’ll find it’s easier to get your pitch and maintain it if you’re there supporting each other. What’s more, if one of you needs a bathroom or food break, the other can watch the pitch for you.
7) Get media for each other.
Two guys, one camera. Once the crowd is set up and the buddy’s able to retreat into the background, now is a great time to take photos and/or video of your performances. Brute-force it and get as much as possible, as you can always just delete anything you don’t like, and even if you’re incompetent you’re bound to get some great shots by accident. Do this with a couple of changes in costume and location, and after a half-dozen outings you’ll have enough to fill a personal website, your facebook page, promo material if the quality is good enough, whatever. If the buddy is consistently out with you, he’ll also learn when the best shots are coming, and can experiment in finding the best angles. Best of all, you won’t have to pay the guy to do it.
Be equitable.
The worst thing that can happen in a buddy busking relationship is if one person feels taken advantage of, and feels he isn’t getting an equal share from the deal. So, be sensitive to that. Make sure that you’re getting equal time, equal performances, and/or equal chances at the dough. If he’s having trouble building a crowd, help him out. If you’re each taking photos, make sure you’re working equally hard to get material. I cannot stress this point enough, as failing to keep things equitable between the two can really kill any motivation on your part (or theirs) to want to continue what should otherwise be a mutually beneficial and profitable relationship.
9) Miscellaneous Benefits.
One of the obvious things that should occur to you is the potential for stooging. I’d be careful about this one. It may work in the sense of having your buddy be the one to examine the key-ring, but for something bigger than that, like an impossible prediction or whatnot, you’ve got to be more careful, not just because the effect might come across as Too Perfect or that you give away the fact that the performer has a confederate, but also because it’s almost always better to have a payer’s mind blown, rather than to have the payer see somebody else’s mind blown. That person who gets their mind blown will be in a better psychological position to want to contribute to the hat, but if that person is always your buddy, then you’re losing earning potential. That said, something like secret coding ought to work well.
I’d say that helping with applause might be a bigger benefit. If your buddy is standing incognito amongst the masses, and a big clap moment ought to be coming up but you can sense people aren’t warm yet, you can help push the response. Again, don’t go over-the-top as it’ll just end up being a hilarious situation where one person is hollering and everybody else is staying mum. The better way is probably to measure where the crowd is at, and then react at that level plus one, as if one notch on the volume knob higher than where the crowd currently is.
Sharing of resources is another potential big one, assuming you both have overlapping needs. It can cut down transit costs if one person’s driving, and you can share a table, audio equipment, perhaps even supplies. This may not apply to everybody, though.
Perhaps the last one would be motivation. Sometimes one of the hardest things to do after a bad day is to deal with it and go out again the next day with enthusiasm. Heck, one time I had a really great day, and I was nervous about going out again because I didn’t want to live with the disappointment of not living up to the new standard. It’s messed up psychology, but psychology is often like that. Having somebody there consistently in your corner is a real morale boost, and can lead to more frequent excursions and less slacking.
Anyways, that ought to be enough for now. Seriously, though, if you try this, I think you’ll find that #2 alone will open your eyes to the power of buddying up. I’m convinced that if you’re starting out, you can make more money in half the time, just by eliminating the difficulty of starting with a blank slate when trying to build a crowd.
I like to ask questions to start my crowd build.
Its something Darwin Ortiz talked about in Strong Magic, where he said something to the effect of “the #1 thing people love to talk about is themselves”
So If someone walks by with a Dog I ask them about there Dog (Owners love to talk about there Dogs!!!) i also have a Squeaker I use in my Cups and Balls that dogs love and easy enough to do a little funny something with that is appreciated by both the Dog and the Owner.
If its a group of ladies I ask about the ring she is wearing and where she got it (Women Love to talk about there Jewelry!!) some times they will talk for two minutes about how it was there Grandmothers ring, or how they found it in a little Shop downtown. from here I show my ring that’s oddly enough invisible, then go into a ring production and a small ring routine.
There is also the honest approach, I have a friend who is a great street magician who will stop a couple, explain how getting a crowd works then tell them they can watch they show for free, and it will help get more people (and most of the time after the show they pay him anyway)