Ask Lemmy

No I don't find them annoying. I used to be a street performer, I did a 20 minute show with balloon animals and I would get volunteers from the audience and have them act out funny bits. It was a great time and it paid for a summer in Copenhagen. I've also made balloon animals for tips all over the world and performed with circuses and performers. So for me, I think that just like anything else there are bad ones and good ones but the good ones are fascinating, talented and hard-working. I knew two sword swallowers from New Zealand. they made good money from their show but told me they wished they never started. They cough up blood and every time they worry it's their last. But the pay is so good it's like an addiction they can't quit. I knew a few "cocks on unicycles" as you called them and they were by far the highest earning elites of the street performers. I saw a man earn $1200 a show 4 times a day. Then after a week he would pack up and go to Oslo or Rome or Sydney for a week.

To me they are living the dream. They have all the freedom in the world, they get to be the center of attention, spread joy and get paid. I learned so much from them, and most of what they know is learned from The Butterfly Man (who I also know). The Butterfly Man was not the first street performer, but he was the first to write the basic outline of the "street show" as most people do it today. First you set up a LIMO- that is a Large Impressive Metal Object like a giant unicycle. This draws in the first spectators. You ask them to stand back a bit. Now there is room for more observers. Then you start by "warming up" a few tricks. As more people join, you tell them to scooch in closer. That's importand because when people stand far back they feel uninvolved and won't pay at the end. Get a volunteer up on stage. That part is tricky and I can tell you a lot about how to do it right, but it starts with trust. The volunteer is important to get people laughing. Do a warm up trick with the volunteer. Then set up the finale but DO NOT DO THE FINALE yet. You need the "hat line": 2 jokes and one serious statement about how and why to put money in your hat "now folks if you put in 5 dollars thats great. If you put 10 in that's amazing. But if you put in 20, that's normal (laughter). But seriously folks this show youre watching is my job it's how I survive. Please support street theatre with a donation. "

Then the finale and pass the hat (the hat is where people put money).

There's so much interesting psychology to it, how the way people stand in a crowd affects their behavior, and the way the suspense adds to their enjoyment, and how getting people to say "1! 2! 3!" actually makes them have more fun.