That place was just so perfect for busking that I couldn't help myself. I went back. I had some fun... but, unfortunately, I left after an hour of performing with, essentially, an empty hat. It was the worst I had done on the campus thus far.
I need to get there earlier if I want to get a crowd.
And, honestly, I need to use the hat lines. It felt too contrived the last time I was there... so I was trying to be more natural with my hat lines. That essentially meant that I barely gave a "final hat line." That said, there were more people Tuesday than before who came up to me, thanking me for the show and apologizing for the fact that they didn't carry any cash on them that day.
So maybe it was a combination of bad luck, bad timing, and bad performance structure.
I packed up at the end of the lunch rush... intent on figuring out a better script.
--
That afternoon, just as I was thinking about the scripting, I got a phone call from another magician in town. I had contacted Don Driver, the creator of "Building a Tip" - a DVD on building and maintaining a crowd in a busking situation. I tried to purchase his DVD, and Don put me in touch with another magician who wants to start busking in Memphis.
I met up with this magician, and we discussed busking. I got the chance to look over a script for Don's bally. Needless to say, I spent the next few days practicing and practicing and practicing... To the point where I could say what I needed to say, throw in my own jokes, and go on with my own show at a comfortable level.
Today - Friday - I went out to Beale St.
The bally worked like a charm. I stood in the middle of the busiest part of Beale St. at 12:00pm (which was a little busier than usual because of a lunch crowd? maybe? and yet, it was pretty dead compared to other venues that I've seen in cities in the northeast). I took a deep breath, climbed on top of this little stone structure, and started yelling.
"We are going to have a little fun - we're going to do a little magic. Watch!"
And on I went.
Pretty soon, I had a decent crowd. I was shocked. Nervous, too... though I hadn't been this nervous since I started busking. I was about 3/4's through my show... at a little break right before I was going to give my first hat line and move onto my strait jacket finale... when a guy walked up to me and asked me to move my show outside of the Beale St. barricades.
First problem that I encountered: I had a couple people leave as soon as the bally was over, and they found out that I wasn't going to immediately change ten one's into ten ten's. People were still sticking around though. I need to fix that... fix my transitions so there aren't any points in the show where people will feel like they can leave.
Second problem: Transitions again. The man who had walked up to me was politely waiting until the end of the show before he asked me to leave. He stepped in during an applause bit - when I took a breath to grab the strait jacket. Transition problem right there.
Third problem: I was asked to move. DOH! I really wanted to try out this new bally. But off I went... outside of the barricades... and there, I had almost no foot traffic.
I packed up my stuff, tried walking down to Main St., only to find that Main St. is quite dead even in this nice weather. Back up to Beale St., set up outside the barricades, and waited.
A couple people walked past, and I did some effects for them, but I couldn't get a show going.
Then I walked up and down Beale St. again, looking for this guy. Went up to Beale St. Management, found the guy, and he was convinced to let me stand in the park (right off of Beale St) to perform for today only. He did say that he wanted me to come back in mid-March to April. He saw my show (the ONE real show I actually managed to give... though I didn't get the chance to finish it with the finale there), and he said it was good. I hope that's true?
But yeah. I set up at the park off of Beale... and I was allowed to stay there until 4:00pm, when the guy who actually rents out that little spot comes in to work.
First problem: Once again, foot traffic. Most of the pedestrians were on the other side of the intersection. The park was a little bit out of the way. I would need to yell out really loudly for anyone to hear me from that far away.
Second problem: There a band in the park, not too far from where I was. Once again, I had to worry about projecting my voice out so that people could hear me.
Solutions? I tried the bally... but I never got too far with it. As soon as I started talking, the few people who were there to hear would be almost gone by the time I got up to a point where - last time - I started drawing a crowd. They were just walking by.. and they were trying to get to the busier end of Beale. In the end, I just ended up standing there and performing for small groups of passerby every so often.
All this started at 11:30am... and I left at around 4:00pm.
Third problem: NO HAT LINES! I couldn't get any of them in there for the small groups. Maybe I felt more awkward when I had to say them to groups of two or four people. I probably did. And yeah, most people did tip, but they weren't nearly as good as when I had larger crowds and I could give my lines without feeling like I was being too pushy.
Oh. And I encountered my first creepy guy today. This guy with longish hair and a hoody hovered around my table all day. He would walk away as soon as people were there to watch... and then he would come back, stand right near me... or walk in circles, pacing.. waiting.. I don't know. For what. I wasn't really making enough for anyone to REALLY want to steal from me.
He might have been desperate.
Or he might have just been a creepy guy.
Good news? I think I'm on pretty good terms with the vendors and the musicians in that area. Maybe it has to do with me being the only girl working those parts... but a word here and there, and I'm confident that they were watching my back.
Still, when I packed up to leave, this creepy guy essentially followed me.. though he stayed on the other side of the street. I stopped at a corner cafe, chatted with the guy there who helped me find Beale St. Management earlier, and watched the creepy guy in my periphery. I told the guy at the corner cafe that I was avoiding said creepy guy, and he said he'd watch out for him. Creepy guy turned and left, and I grabbed my table and bag before heading off to my car.
Went home - arms hurt from carrying around the table all day.
Reflections?
-I need to get luggage straps to make carrying the table easier.
-In five hours, I made as much as I made at U of M in one hour. Having foot traffic makes a huge difference.
-The dollar bill bally works! I just need to use it.
-And man - the anthropologist in me is aching to go back out to the streets to get to know the vendors and other street performers better.
Plans for the future?
I'm thinking of going out tomorrow morning to perform at a farmer's market in the area. I hear there's a decent flow of people.. but I also hear there aren't really ever lots of people there at one time. Here's to hoping.
Maybe I'll go outside a church Sunday afternoon and try to catch those guys on their way home. The bad news? One of my former bosses go to the church I'm considering performing outside of. I don't want to see him. We'll see, huh?
I've lost the chance to perform at Beale St, pretty much, after the guy asked me to stop. I might try Overton Park sometime.. and I'll go back to trying U of M during the weekdays. Good news? Trolley Tour takes place the last Friday of every month... and there are actually buskers there. Real street performers! It's the only time in Memphis that I've seen other non-musician buskers out. I'm doing that, definitely. I'll find away.
Advice, suggestions, comments? Feel free to leave them.
Until next time!
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