has anyone ever done some busking at a renaissance festival?
i was thinking of doing it at one in holly, MI. any recomendations on: costume, props, pitch, location? the gazzo cups&balls are my closing trick before passing the hat.

In most casses you should have a period costume and props. Find a location in the center of things going on, not next to a show as this will distract from the show. Find somewhere that a lot of people pass by. Look at a performance schedule and find the most popular show and set up where people will pass by you on there way to that show.

Most of All find out if this is an S.C.A. event and talk to the faire coordinaters. You usually cannot just walk in and do a table set up and go at it. The odds are you will recieve some sort of reprimand for not clearing it first. Why would that happen because they are unaware of your presence, and will blatantly be aware of you presence if your drawing a crowd. Understanding how these events are organized is a key to learning how to get in and do this stuff. They may hassle you because there is another approved magician who works there. I think as long as you do your research, and get permission you will probably be able to do this and have alot of fun. Just another heads up is if it is and S.C.A. event your costumes usually has to be exactly period correct and approved by the council for that specific faire. All of this may not be the case with the Faire you will be attending but its best to do your research first that way there are no suprises. By the way good luck and have fun. Oh and if your are doing the cups and balls by gazzo Practice,practice,practice, and if you already have the Gazzo dvd for this watch it alot, and realize some of the incredibly subtle ways he handles this illusion. Do it right for gods sake. Since purchasing this dvd I have become obsessed with the cups and balls and if I see you on youtube with video doiing it I will critique the heck out of it until you get it perfect. Its harrd to have your routine stand up to a man who has made this his life's work. So once again practice your cups and balls off and get it right.

thanks for great tips and i'll see if i can get it vid taped and put it on youtube. and i ALWAYS practice the gazzo routine up to the point of the final loads. i don't have a pouch yet and i might wait for next years ren. fest. so i can get prepared with my props, costume, pitch, and table. wish me luck. and if i do the vid. feel free to critique my show to me so i can work on it.

Please don't you tube your perfomance. I think I'm going to suggest to penguin that they build an area on the board where members can perform and post there videos that way you have a captive audience of magicians who care to see your work. It actually looks like they already have this under the performers podcast, so just post your work there.

Ren Fests are very common places for magicians. However, to work there, you must do routines which were common in those days.

Use ropes, chains, cards(get a deck from that era, do not use a current deck), and of course linking rings and cups and balls.

If you really do want to work a ren fest, you've got to do it right. You've got to know the talk, you've got to know the dress, and you've got to know the history. I know of one guy who's considered one of the best, and I've seen some vids and it's clear why. If I can find the vids, I'll post them here for you to get an idea.

Do you live in MI?

http://tobiastheadequate.com/watch.html
I found it faster than I had thought I would.

What you want to watch in this video, is not the effects he is performing(because they're fairly common and simple concepts), however watch his performance and attire. He's one of the better ren magic acts I've ever heard of, so you could learn a lot from him.

http://theambitiouscard.com/aitem.cfm?itemid=61

heres a pouch that can hold up 6 balls, and a melon

edited, read up on it

I've seen some good stage magic at the Ren. festival.

All the Renfests that I know of require you to audition. They also limit the number of magi so all can have fat hats. If you just go in and start busking you will soon find out that some large men will insist that you move yourself off the site. In some fests you have to pay a fee to perform. Check with the Fest people before you start anything.

1-i do live in MI. and i will probably perform in holly next year.

2-i'm planning on getting the busker's pouch.

3-the guy in the video was outstanding. (stance,projection,props, and costume) but his character is more of a jester. i'm looking for a costume that is more male gypse/merchant.

4- my props will include: as mentioned the gazzo cups, whit hayden rings and mongolian knot, garrot, TT, possibly gazzo tossed-out deck w/1800 deck.

the cups for the routine are my own. i turned mine out of wood which looks great for the festival.
any other suggestions?

Delete Tossed Out Deck and add Egg Bag. Everything else looks good, and has looked good for many years. These are all the "staples" of many Ren Faire magicians.

Have you given any thought to the show order yet? Have you attended many Ren Faires yet? Tobias' costume is very typical of what you'd find there. If you haven't outfitted yourself in Ren garb yet, be prepared to pay more for your clothing then you do your props.

good call on the egg bag i forgot i had one. i have been looking for ren garbs. i found the shirt,pants,hat, and boots. the only problem is the jerkin or doublet. most of them (that i can find anyway) don't have pockets. and thats a problem i need to fix. and i have been to renfest. two years in a row. but unfortunatly i couldn't find any magicians but, i kind-of got the same idea from dancers, fire eaters (or breathers), and bagpipe players. i love the sound of the bagpipes, so peaceful. anyways, tobias didn't talk like the others working there. is that somthing i should take note on?

I'm blessed enough to have a seamstress in teh family so I got costumes that are the same quality as what everyone there would wear, but that's not the point.
Try a costume shop if you want a really authentic looking costume. Some Ren. festivals provide them for anyone who works there, but I'm not positive.
Or you could always hire someone to make one for you, it's your choice, but deffinatly get a good looking costume, even if you make your own.