Street magic removes the boundaries from the stereotypical view of magic. There are no stages, no mirrors, no assistants and generally, no over-glorified props and illusions.
Often referred to as naked magic, street magic strips an illusion down to its bare minimum for maximum effect; using everyday objects, a street magician can outstand groups of passers by in a way no other street entertainer can imitate.
With no stage, large illusions or assistants to pay for, the street magician can find himself making a fortune if he has the right attitude, right location and right performance. Typically this involves passing a hat around (known as "the throw") - magicians such as David Blaine and Paul Zenon have had the luxury of a television career to significantly boost their income, but it is still possible to make a living from street magic without television.
When starting to perform Street Magic, you must realise that the trick is to maximise your audience - stunning them to the extent of silence will not help you, no matter how amazed they are! The key to success is maximising the audience's participation - use your voice combined with their applause to attract more spectators. This doesn't mean you have to shout, then perform a miracle - work the audience - warm them up by making them applaud loudly, bring a child onto the street and get her to do something, and then get the audience to applaud loudly, screaming etc. All of this time, people around you will be curious and join the audience. If you go to any street festival, you will find most of the time the performers are warming up the audience to attract more people.
Once you have your audience, you will need to draw them in to prevent them from walking away from you and your hat! Get close to them, allowing people at the back to hear you easier, and to allow for further expansion. Possibly ask all the kids to come and sit at the front (and for some reason, they always want to put money in the hat - parents' money of course!)
When planning your routine, make sure it is weatherproof to the extremes. A pack of cards won't stand a chance in the wind, and on one occasion, the famous 'Zig Zag Lady' didn't stand up - a gust of wind blew it and the beautiful assistant over - not the ideal outcome!
Keep the routine to a fairly short time - people will typically be shopping and won't want to hang around for half an hour while their car parking ticket expires. Once they wonder off, you've lost yourself a few pounds.
I saw one incredibly cunning technique for maximising your 'hat income' a couple of weeks ago in London. Two magicians asked a little girl to join them and help them with their tricks involving a purse. At the end of that routine, they gave her the £5 note, which instantly shows what a 'lovely' pair they are, appealing to all the people to give a donation at the end of the show - and they all did - there were queues of people waiting to donate!
Give it a try - if it doesn't work out, you've lost nothing, and who knows, you could end up on television!
(Article created with the help of Ace Starry, an expert in street magic.)
