I first started street performing in the mid 1990s. Of course I wasn't doing it very seriously. I have always been a fan of vaudeville and its antics. I was particularly inspired by WC Fields when I was younger.

So my friend Yasha and I go out to University Way which is one of the biggest streets in the Univeristy of Washington commercial district and we started our show. We spent very little time preparing and cooked up our comedy right there on the spot.

I was throwing the boards singing "Find the lady, find the lady! It's easy to find the lady!" and playing numerous rounds of Three Card Monte (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Three-card_Monte) with passers by. (Not for any money of course, we were only asking for donations).

I also started making up bets as we went along and one I still use to this very day. I may have placed it here somewhere but in case I havent:

Vaudevillian: "I'll bet you a dime I knock this telephone pole down right here in front of you!"

Passerby: "I doubt it! I'll take that bet!"

Vaudevillian: (Knocks downwards with his knuckles on the telephone pole!) I knocked DOWN the telephone pole!"

It got some great laughs. I later found several books that have tons more sucker bets like that in them. Maybe one day I will submit that one!

But we continued on until about 10:00 at night and had an amazing time. I think we made about $4 for a nights worth of work but man was it fun.

I haven't done street performances for donkeys. I do keep thinking I should come up with a new street act and test it by busking it for the good people of Belfast. It would be a good way of testing the material and refines it pretty fast.

Anyhow, my first street performance was as a double act. Probably about the same time as you were doing it, Chance. I was about 17 so it was 14 or so years ago.

We put an act together at home and at school and took it to the streets in the weekend. It had stilts, unicycling, magic, juggling and diablos. It was pretty haphazard. I'd written a corny script for the diablos with a pun for each trick.
We had quite a nice routine for stilts and unicycle. Something to do with bullfighting....

The main thing I remember about the first time out was that instead of setting up a stage and gathering a crowd. We had decided the best way to start the act would be for me to unicycle around Belfast with a plastic fish in my hand and for my double act partner to chase me shouting that I had stolen his mackerel. Which wasn't very practical but was funny to us at least!

George

My first street performance got me the most I ever earned for street performance... about sixteen bucks. It was at our monthly public art... gathering? In my home city of Abilene Tx. It is called "Art Walk" and basically all they museums, and gallerys are open and free and there are a few people or groups doing their thing. It was Febuary a couple of years ago, and I busked with my banjo. Basically all I did was play songs I knew and a couple I wrote. It was great cause I was the only one stupid enough to be out in the cold playing.

I busked several more times with my banjo, and a couple of times in clown. I didn't get any money for clowning cause I was just trying things out walk around style and didn't ask for any.

We have Art Walks all over the Seattle area too. I have definitely considered going out to busk them but haven't put enough research in to find out if they'd want a clown out there or not. I will have to check one out!

I know that street performing and public twisting aren't the same thing... but I'm planning on traveling to Gatlinburg, TN (A fairly touristy area in the mountains) for Memorial Day Weekend...

I plan on taking my balloons with me and I haven't decided which character to take with me... RD requires too much suitcase space so I'm thinking about taking "Mr. Dazzle" my light entertainer look with me. And Possibly my mime stuff.

I figure that Memorial Day will be the busiest day so I plan on setting up shop in a little market area called "The Village" and walk around doing Balloons...When I twisted and accepted Donations for the ACS for Relay for life I made just under 70 dollars in about 3 hours... so I figured If I twist for several hours that day accepting donations for "Sullivan Theatrics" that I'd do pretty well.

Also I thought it would be fun to Mime later at night... "The Village" area that I mentioned has a great fountain in the middle of it, the area is lit beautifully and there is a lot of action with the shops, the local German Donut place, and the coffee shop right there in the main part of the village.

For some reason I just think that a mime would be appreciated more at night then he would during the day... It would also be a chance for me to hide my Dlights in my gloves and entertain with them.

What do you guys think??

Sounds like a great time. If you get the chance I would love seeing some pictures of the fountain and the cool shops of the area.

I would definitely go with your light entertainer when traveling. That is one of the major benefits of having such a character! Miming sounds like a lot of fun out there too.

DLites are always a winner. A friend and I finished Spring Fair last year and later that weekend made our way out to the mall where we performed in the food court at our own table and gathered small crowds.

I bet the performing will be a lot of fun and profitable!

Look at all the cool acts I get to watch over the next few days:

Festival Of Fools 2008 (http://www.foolsfestival.com/)

Lucky you. My first streetperformance must be about 10 years ago in the wrong town at the wrong time and day. The wheather was to hot and the people where in a bad tempered mood. I just couldn't get a crowd big enough to cather around. It took me 4 years to overcome this. A right turn off

I tried busking for a few days here in Philly. I made just enough to cover the bus fare for the week. I think the local panhandlers made more than I did.

Have you thought about studying their technique? Some of them are quite accomplished.

My first "street performance," as such, was in San Diego's Balboa Park. I waited in line for about three hours for a chance at an entertainer permit (by lottery). I was the last one to get one, and I got a lousy spot. You're allowed to go to another spot other than your assigned one, but I couldn't find anybody to tell me where the authorized areas were, so that permit expired before I even met a passerby's gaze (passers-by? Nobody even looked at me). I might try it again, but not there and not like that.

Snickers, on the other hand, has been going to a local car show, and bringing in about $50/hour just walking around busking. Go figure.