Putting together a street performance...

[Snugglesnort]

So it is getting to be nice and warm here in South Korea, and I am becoming tempted to busk in clown in Seoul.

The bad news: The biggest thing is I have no actual act yet. In fact I have only the vaguest sense of character, no real name, and no real costume with me either. I have only small Korean vocabulary. My funds are limited, and any props have to be small and portable since I left my nice big trunk at home. I don't know the rules written and unwritten for foreigners busking in Seoul.

The good news: I have makeup and nose. I have bright light red baggy winter workout pants, and red suspenders. I have cards, juggling clubs, (that I can only cascade) and juggling balls (that I have about five or six tricks for). I have my health and have been working out. The people here know and appreciate physical humor. I have time. I like challenges, and limitations make me creative.

I am discovering that I am pretty good at taking others peoples ideas and running with them or twisting them to my own ends, so that is what I need: basic ideas.

Help! I am looking to build a flexible portable solo routine (or two or more) that last about fifteen (more or less) minutes.

Any ideas?

[tim]

If you have that much juggling down, work with it. Play it up. Get others involved somehow. Play "pick up and drop", if necessary (where you drop a club, have a kid run to pick it up for you, then drop another - or you can do it entirely by yourself as a physical comedy piece, too.) Maybe get some scarves, also, and use them to interact with the audience. Use what little Korean you have to connect, use maybe a funny English word or two at the right moment that they can identify with. Just focus on what you DO have and go with it. It will build naturally and you'll find yourself filling up fifteen minutes eventually without a problem. Also, recognize what they say on another board, "Your first 100 shows will suck." But that's alright, because you will learn from them and you have to get through that stage to get better. So, as the Nike commercial used to suggest, "Just do it!"

[Chance Marmalade]

Just wanted to see if you'd gone out and performed yet Snug! If so how did it go? If not, what sort of act are you thinking? I'm working on a new act myself and have about a month to get it ready for a huge street fair coming up. Brainstorming is welcome and maybe we can help each other out!

[noname]

Like I said, in another thread, I try to limit my talking or don't talk at all, to force myself to be more of a physical comedian. However, I find it is harder when doing "walkaround" that is, until I discovered a little gem. It is called a mosquito whistle. Clown Antics: Squeakers and Noise Makers You are supposed to use it to sound like a fly buzzing around, but what I usually do is go up to children, squeeze my nose and (with the whistle hidden in my mouth) make the noise. Also, I invite the children to step on my feet (not hard, and remember, I have cheap shoes, so it does not matter to me) and do the same. Don't know why, but children of all ages seem to like that. I guess since a clown is meant to "squeak" it fulfills their expectation.

[Snugglesnort]

I haven't yet. I have been busy with the end of term, and my birthday was saturday... so no Seoul. I am still kicking ideas around in my mind, and I want to get a couple of things before I try it.

I joined the preformers.net forum, and they have me thinking about some stuff too. I definitly want to do it in clown. I have some new make up ideas that might work, and I am trying to remember all the bits I have experimented with over the last couple of years. I have been writing some of them down, but others I haven't, and so now they are popping up in my mind and I go "oh yeah..." I even rememberd that I have brought a "magic" flower with me.

For some reason Lizt's Hungarian Raphsody no2 has been playing over and over in my head...

I think the plan is go armed with juggling balls, the flower and mayyybe a deck of cards, my hat and my clown get up, and have fun and see what happens... probably sometime next month. My desire of just going for it, and my desire to be a bit more prepared are at war. This weekend I am going to Seoul for supplies and the juggling club. I think I might pick up a uke or mandolin for a self-birthday present too.

I will defintly let you know when something happens or if I get a real plan first!

[Snugglesnort]

Oh definitly noname! I forgot to mention my squeaky ball which is a must have. Also at a music shop in Seoul a guy was playing a reed in his mouth made out of photofilm that sounded like a loud kazzo! I sooo want one to use for my voice instead of speaking. I just have to get a hold of some used negatives. Maybe I will drag a bilingual friend to the photo shop and ask for some extras this week...

[Snugglesnort]

Okay I have thought a bit more and I promised I wanted to share. In the back of the "Be A Clown" book there is a "high wire" gag involving a rope and two chairs. For me it was the best part of the book because I could see it in my head, and it is a solo gag which are apperently hard to come by. The darn thing hasn't left my mind in the two years since I read it.

Anyways one of my problems was what kind of chair to use. The backs which you would tie the rope too you cant stand on to "mount" the rope and I didnt want to try to jump over it becuase it just seemed gratuitiously dangerous. Plus they are too bulky to carry around to busk with. But a couple of nights ago I thought "camping stools!" A couple of camping stools would be perfect! Easy to tote, and stand on and knock over. Then tonight I was playing a game at the PC bar, and thought "a huge three ropes to one magic trick" for the rope. Because you always must make any gag you learn out of a book your own, and that sort of thing is certainly a start! There are other thing I have rattling in my mind for this but really alot of I will just have to experiment with when I get the stools and rope.

[tim]

I like where you're heading with that.

[OkiDoki]

What about doing a gag with a pingpongball? How small do you want a prop to be? Do some practicing with pingpong-mouthjuggling. You can do great audienceparticipation with this like let a audience member throw the ball while you try to catch it with your mouth. Doesn't mather whether it goes or not the fun is there anyway. Nex time catch it in your trousers. Let a audience member try to catch the ball when it pops out of your mouth while mouthjuggling. You can play greatly with this one.