Hello all. I'm making another attempt at putting together a show for use on Granville Island (if you've been to Vancouver you've probably been there) My problem is I keep running into obstacles regarding what I want to do and what I can do. Any help I could get with this would be great.
Just so you know where I'm coming from, I'm developing a character that is as close to myself as possible, just a little louder and bigger. It's a combination of things that sort of make the magician-equivilent of a Dark Ride. So cheesy day-glo skulls, monsters,pirates and ghosts thrown into an eclectic mix of weirdery. (Weirdery is a word. It's what I do in the weirderium)
I've got a few effects I'd like to perform (chop cup, Miser's Dream, mouth coil and a couple card revelations, plus either nail in face or spike through tounge, one or the other)
But what I'm really stuck on is a great closer. Any thoughts on some kind of effect I could use to close the show? I was thinking along the lines of some sort of large impressive production or better yet a really convincing surreal illusion. But the circumstances here sort of work against those sort of things it would seem.

Anyhoo, again any help you could give me here would be terrific

tx

-Sean Covernton

Sean,
The characters seems great. Good luck. I think productions make great closers. But it should match your character, and, your case, perhaps a "story" and/or goal this character of yours is trying to achieve. How about one of those cutting your arm off kinda illusions, whatever they're called? The mouth coils could get expensive in a street act with multiple shows all day long.
Jim

Dear Sean,

As long as you are thinking about cheesy day-glo skulls and doing a blockhead or tongue piercing, why not finish with glasswalking, especially in front of sideshow banners? It is pretty weird if you build it up with enough ballyhoo. Please see:

http://www.memoryelixir.com/photogallery/photos2.html

Yours,

Paul

I would say sword though crotch might be a unique blow off.
No I AM serious.

If your stuff is more goth, than I would think wooden stake through heart.

Both would be take offs on the sword through neck, I am sure you guessed.

I wont charge you for the ideas.

A strait jacket routine could themeatically be titled "The triumph of wierdery over constraining conformity"
Again, no charge.

Hey Dr. Wilson when are you going to publish a pamplet about Snake Oil sales? You could do an infomercial!

Hey Hernan,

When the time comes to sell out, I won't be constrained by my artistic integrity!

Yours,

Paul

i don't know how this all ties together.....chop cup and nail in face...not saying it hasn't been done or that it cant be done....but the guys that make the most money street performing are not the magicians....johnny fox swallows swords....eric the great....he walks on glass...they are magicians but don't do any magic in their shows...seems it might make sense to go that way...if you are into this weird kind goth street stuff...dont litter it with magic..not saying it cant work...just seems it would make more sense and more money...

good luck
koz

Tx for all the feedback!
I'm not necessarily shooting at "goth" specfifically. And I'm aiming to treat the nail-in-face in the same way as I would any other presentation, giving just the slightest room for doubt. As for the otherwise "normal" stuff like the chop routine it would be given a likewise strange presentation so hopefully I'd make all this collection of stuff meet in some kind of middleground. Which is yet to be found... but we'll see how everything comes together in the next little while =)

Tx again!

-Sean Covernton