Does any one know any good videos or books in setting up and starting street performing just so I don't go out there and look like a total idiot.

Have a look at :

1) "How To Do Street Magic" Video by Brad Christian - although check the reviews of this carefully - some hate it.

2) "Do you want to learn MAGIC?" video

Also check through the "Search" facility here for ideas/reviews.

lol....might want to look at?.....what do you guys think i'm gonna say....hum


the art of street performing....cellini $60

some might tell you...i cant cause well i shouldn't...but some might say this is the best investment you will ever make if you want to be a street performer......

it tells you everything you need to know about how to perform on the street...gathering a crowd...keeping them and getting the cash....

buy the video....not that cellini knows anything...

koz

David groves also put out abook, well booklet really, on street performance. It is mored geared toward the begining street performer. No actual routines in it, more info on where and how. It has been years since i read it so i don't really remember how good it was.

Mat

Greetings and Salutations DVS,

You've come to the right spot. Go through every single thread in this, "The side walk shuffle" forum, and then cruise through the rings & things, boxes & things, silk, and rope forums for advise and opinions on effects and routines. This way you don't have to spend a dime, and you get a wealth of opinions, counsel and advise on the hows, whats and whys of what will and what won't work.

Then, to reinforce those lessons, get the Cellini video or DVD that koz shamelessly plugs, and he plugs it for good reason -- it's everything you need to know to put a show on on the streets, with great examples of what to do. For a more in-depth look, get Cellini's "The Royal Touch," it's about $80 (USD), if you can find it, and puts the info in the video into your hands, plus it has a wealth of street- and audience-tested effects. And, yes, around here, the likes of Cellini and Gazzo -- get his "Uncensored" and "Cups & Balls" if the Cs&Bs are to your taste -- are highly regarded in the world of street performers.

Then hit the bricks. One proviso to your search, ignore most if not all of the David Blaine-style tricks, and any book or video that claims to teach DB-style tricks. Blaine is an excellent close-up or strolling magician, and he has a style all his own -- and he's cornered the market on being David Blaine, because he is David Blaine. Go out there and be DVS or the character that comes from DVS, because the world already has a David Blaine -- so ends my David Blaine rant.

Good luck, have fun playing in the streets, and remember that the adventure is in the journey not the destination.

Joe in KC

Live a great adventure, have an interesting life!

Greetings and Salutations Mat,

Your right. I've got Groves book. It was the first book I ran across when I got interested in street performing, but it is a beginner's street performing book.

A book I'm going back through as I work up patter for my character and routines is Claflin (sp?) and Sheridan's "Street Magic." My apologies of Mr. C on the spelling, I'm sure I've spelled it wrong, but the book is, as far as I have been able to discover, the definitive work on the history of street performing.

YMMV, but I believe "Street Magic" will put the street magician into a historical perspective for you, and it's surprising how little things have changed.

Joe in KC

Okay,

Avoid the Brad Christian stuff. He doesn’t do street magic he is a Blaine clone.

The David Groves book I don’t think is very good.

What I do think is good:

Jim Cellini’s DVD on street performing: This is it. This is the only video of it’s kind on the market. This shows you step by step what is needed to be a busker. It is not magic specific, this is important. You probably already know how to do magic this shows you how you can use it on the streets.

Whit Hayden’s notes on street magic: This is just good stuff. Whit gives you a real practical look at performing magic on the street. It is more biographical than instructional which makes it a really nice read. He talks about his fumbling beginning shows and how (and more important WHY) it smoothed out as he progressed. This was great for me as a beginner because it told me that I was going to make mistakes and that by working through them I would get better. When you first go out you might come home broke and your show might fall apart and you will just think this type of magic isn’t for you. This book helps you stick with it and describes the rewards that can come from it. Whit’s four ring routine is probably the most commercial and most copied routine on the market today. It is the best, and it was born on the street and it’s birth described in this book.

Gazzo’s video on the cups and balls: this is a two-hour tape that describes one trick. In that two hours Gazzo talks a lot about the performance of magic on the street. A lot of the stuff applies to much more than the cups and balls.

Gazzo Uncensored: This is a tape where you can see Gazzo in his element doing what he does best. Street work. This is a chance to observe one of buskings biggest moneymakers plying his trade.

This is the best stuff currently available for working the street. Contacting Kozmo for a set of Cellini’s lecture notes probably wouldn’t be a bad idea as well. Jim’s lecture notes are brilliant and contain much good stuff. These notes are not easy to find either unless you happen to be a Café member and know that Kozmo supplies Jim with most of his stuff. The Magic Café has it’s privileges.

Best,

Dan-