(This article is an excerpt from the CD-ROM Attack of the 50 Foot Demon".)
Busking, or street entertaining, is an approach to entertaining audiences that has existed for centuries. Despite the ever changing world, it is still popular in many cultures, and is a common introduction into the world of professional performing. Due to it's commonality, the difficulty of being a successful busker is often overlooked by the would-be entertainer. Only hard work and a careful understanding of what this form of entertainment is all about is going to make for a fun and successful experience.
I was one of those people that saw the beginnings of a performance career on the street. Year after year, I've looked back at the experiences I've had, and always missed being back in Central Park. As I travel and lecture to different groups about performing with balloons, I'm often being asked about balloon busking. I've answered those questions to the best of my ability but, in all honesty, I've felt weird about doing it since it really had been years since I had done any serious busking. I recently returned to the street as a performance venue after a nine year hiatus. I knew it was time for me to do something about that, and the opportunity presented itself this last summer with an invitation to perform at the Halifax Buskers Festival. With all of my experience as an entertainer, I was reminded of just how different busking can be from the more formal settings I've found myself in over the last few years.
Every street performer has some of the same issues to deal with, but also some of their own. The variables are personality, type of performance, and the target audience. Some sections of this article are certainly meant to be general with respect to busking. Others focus on the particular form of entertainment that I specialize in, balloon art. If you have an interest in busking, regardless of your specialty, I hope the information I provide is useful. I don't claim to be the worlds foremost authority on the street. Far from it. My approach to balloon busking is different enough from others I've seen, that I want to share my experiences.
Read the article sequentially, or skip right to the section you are most interested in.
If you like what I've written here and you are interested in other articles I've written on balloon entertaining, check out an archive of past columns I've written for the Magic Menu.