So I am going to be doing a charity event on October 17th, where I will be busking for charity. Now this will be my first time doing any type of event like this so I wanted some tips! Right now I am working on coming up with some different routines but I wanted to know if anyone had any that they think I NEED to do

Right now I am working on

Rope Routine
Miser's Dream
Liquid Metal
Cups and Balls
Sponge Magic
Vanishing Ketchup
Invisible Deck
Pressure

I'm trying to find some closeup routines that would play well for a larger audience.

Any tips would be appreciated!

Is this true busking with hat and tips, or do you just have a table and people roaming by?

Tell us more about the venue, what you were told to do, and a little about your "assigned space".

Well it is going to be in a park and I have requested just to have a little area where I can set up. I will be using my case as a table and at the end of a performance explain how this is a charity event and any little bit will help, I'll then be passing the hat.

Oh the event is scheduled to be from 11am-8pm

Just my two cents:

Since you haven't done busking long enough to have mastered it, but you are exceptional at close-up, I would just do close-up stuff for groups of people, announce that it's a charity event and ask people to donate money to the hat. People will probably be more free with their cash for charity, plus you're not trying to make a living for the day.

Use your existing strengths, especially since the event is only 3 weeks away. You'll be comfortable, loose and fun, thus more entertaining.

Again, just my opinion. Nobody go ballistic on me about my ego and whatnot.

Zenn, I do a sidewalk show, 10 to 15 minutes long from start to get a crowd to hat the people. Take 3 (max 4) effects that you do best. Rate them from 1 to 5 with 1 being OK and 5 being WOW!!! then start with a 4, next a 3, finish with a 5 and use lines all thru the act indicating that you will pass the hat for whatever charity.

Then after this go hit the tourists for your own income. La shana Tova

Paddy

Thanks for the tip Paddy... I'll take a look and what I have now and see. Right now the two routines I'm working on are my misers dream and cups and balls only because I know they can play for a large audience (plus I already have a basic version down so it wouldn't hurt) Would you mind if I asked what your typical sidewalk show consists of?

Hows "flow" by Dan Hauss sound? You could bring someone up and devise a routine that everyone can watch. Dan is a buddy of mine and I've seen him do this routine and gets really solid reactions.

-Ari

Flow is tits! It gets great reactions. I used it in a similar situation (though not exactly busking) last April at a street festival. The problem is the setup. I had the space in my gear set aside for 5 performances. Problem is when you are doing 10-15 minute sets over and over again for several hours and you are only prepped for five performance of Flow you can only perform that effect once an hour or so. I found that I kept forgetting about it. I would get in the "Flow" of the routine I was performing over and over and would forget about it. At the end of the day I had only performed it two times! If you have enough space to stock up enough bottles to last the entire day(20+ for 5 hours of performing) then it would be great. If not I fear you may get carried away with your other performances and forget about it.

Very True. But what is great is when you forget you have flow ready to go and then remember. Then , at that moment you know you are gonna hit them with a killer effect!

-Ar

Zenn, I start with a rope routine, go into either a 3 or 4 linking ring (3 ring is Capehart's 4 ring is Whit Haydn's) whichever I think will work with the crowd and finish with my routing where I take 3 balls from a box that barely has room for them, make them invisible, then open the box they came from that was in full view of everyone and they have returned.

Paddy, have you seen Lou Serrano's Steel Ball routine? Is yours similar?

-JT

Yes it is Serrano's routine but I don't use the steel ball I use rubber balls the same size as his steel ones. Thanks I couldn't remember Lou's name when I wrote that and knew that if I said "I do a steel ball routine with rubber balls" no one would know what I was talking about.

Okay yeah I've always wanted a routine like that (very magical) but the price tag was keeping me away...I thought maybe you were doing a more affordable alternative.

-JT

It is more affordable, but you have to buy Lou's package to learn the secret. I had to change it for reasons of my own, the balls were HEAVY. That and I personalized the patter and routine to fit my character. I'm not like Lou so I would bomb if I used his patter. But that's the only changes I made. It's worth the money, it's a killer.