Tin Man: "I'm on break!" (Part IV)

So... I failed this week.

Sorry about that! I'll make a post today, and then I'll finish up my profile on the "Original Chicago 10 Man" in lieu of my weekly Monday post! So there.

In case three days of silence on the blog-o-waves have made you forget what we were talking about this week, I have been writing about the Chicago street performer most commonly known as the Tin Man. For a quick refresher, read up on last week's post, The Rubber Band Effect.

Or watch this clip, which actually illustrates the rubber band effect that we spoke about last time:

So say hello to the Tin Man again!

Wait! Where'd he go?

The Mental Game
Last time, we talked about how passersby get stuck after donating money to the Tin Man. People are, essentially, forced to stick around to see what their money "bought." And the Tin Man waits for as long as possible as he tests his audience's patience and remains still. This game is both how he gathers a crowd and how he gets them to pay.

"99% of street performers are like the TV that’s already turned on when you’re walking past. The show is already going. Matter of fact, if you want to watch it for free, you can. And then walk off. My TV is off. You have to pay to turn my TV on, okay? If I’m moving, then my TV’s on – I’m giving out free shows. Nobody’s.. nobody cares about my dance moves. Nobody cares! Nobody cares about how amazing I look. Nobody. The only thing that’s in their head is, 'Is he real?'"

"You know, if I give that to them for free, they’ll be, like [claps twice] “Oh my god, he’s amazing!” but they’ll walk off without giving a donation. I have to get it from them first, or it’s not happening. And I gotta get it from almost everyone. I can’t just get a dollar from a whole crowd. I’m not gonna do anything. I can’t be satisfied."

"Layers" of audiences that build up around the Tin Man

"The moment I move, the money stops. The moment I move, I’m not a statue anymore, I’m real, I’m human. Everybody’s satisfied. They just want me to move. They want to see me flinch or move, you know?"

"If I don’t move, and they can’t take it no more, then they’ll finally drop it. But that’s the game, the mental game that I have to play with people, you know."

"They know that I’m human. They just have that doubt in them. They know it! They just have the doubt. So as long as I stand still, I can keep that doubt."

"I'm on break!"
So now we know how he builds an audience and starts a show, but how does he end it?

If you watch the Tin Man long enough, you're bound to hear him yell this out. He would step off his platform, break the illusion of his statue-ness, turn off his music, and directly address the audience.

"I'm on break!" he'd proclaim.
And some would raise their brows and chuckle: What? Statues need breaks?
And others would wonder why.
They would leave...

And then he'd turn the music on and hop right back on the box again.

So if it's not really a break, why does he yell out "I'm on break!"

I'm on break. My toes couldn't take it anymore! I ducked inside the
AT&T store and conducted my observations through the glass window...

He explained: "The first purpose is kind of like when you go into a restaurant, and you sit down to eat. They want to feed you, give you the check, and get you out of here so they can get some more people in those seats. They want to turn it over quick. Same thing for my show. I want to stand still, gather a group, have as much of them pay as I can, put on a show, and then get them out of there. So I get some more people in there. 'Cause people, they'll like the show, they'll enjoy it, and they'll wanna stick around. So I got people sticking around that's not paying again."

"So then I have a whole crowd of people that already paid… that just want to see more. It’s time for me to take a break and get rid of them."

"Another reason I take a break is if I have a huge crowd, and nobody has money. We're just wasting time staring at each other! I’m on break!"

"Another reason I’ll take a break is if I see people – sometimes people pull out money, but then they just hold on to it. Like… I- I don’t know why [...], but they just hold on to it forever. I’m not gonna – no! I’ll take a break. Let’s just get this moving. We gotta keep it moving because the more control people have over my show, the less money I make."

And that is more or less how the Tin Man builds an audience, get them to pay, and move them along. Stay tuned for tomorrow's episode, where we learn that living statues are actually cylons... (Not really. Sorry... But stay tuned anyway!)