The Buzz and the High of Street Performing

Keeping it short this week because of the holidays:

I was eating with a fellow street performer one day when I was advised to carefully watch my drug intake. My eyebrows raised - and I prompted this performer to explain what exactly he meant by that.

There is, I learned, an adrenaline rush - a high - that comes with the thrill of performing. That I already knew. It's one thing that I love about performing magic. Many magicians (me included) often say it's the reactions that your audiences get, when they encounter the art of astonishment for the first time. It's the look of awe or happiness or excitement in a spectator's eyes. It's the glint in the eye, the yell of surprise, or the shaking of the head that accompanies an encounter with the seemingly impossible.

Seeing that reaction is what triggers the thrill of the performance...
And I guess, yeah.
It's about the high.

Seriously. I may be in a straight jacket, but this is undeniably fun.

For an introvert like me, there's a crash soon after. Soon as I get home, my brain is done, and I want to bury myself in the privacy of my room. But there's no denying that - in spite of any fears or nervousness I may have prior to the show, as soon as that audience is there and my street performing persona gets switched on, I'm having fun.

That's why, even though I've stopped actively seeking out new magic, I have never stopped performing.

And it's why I was warned to be wary around drugs; my busking friend knew of some people who sought to replicate the high of the show in their everyday lives. If this observation is true for street performers, I can't imagine it being any less true for actors, comedians, singers, musicians, or anyone else who makes a living off of performance.

I don't know how often that happens, and I don't know how much truth there is in it, but it's something to think about.