Street Performing

This weekend was the "Cheese Festival" at Pike Place Market. Besides sampling a fair amount of gourmet cheeses, I banged out some decent street shows.

Getting the crowd, keeping the crowd and getting the money seemed to go OK, but getting them to REACT seems to be the real challenge these days. I don't get it. I know we live in a TV world of the diminishing attention span, but really; is it asking too much to of my audience to respond a bit? A smile, a round of applause a reaction when asked for it. . . . probably.

I'm trying to figure out why all the jokes that used to gat a laugh are falling flat. I think I hit on one thing that might be important, "Be Topical"! There is a point in my act where I pull my finger off. I know it surprises them, I can see it in their eyes. . . . but where is the vocal response (the laugh)? This weekend I put in a new line, "Don't freak out. . . don't leave. . . it's OK. . . I got it at Wendy's" This got a laugh, go figure.

I will continue to edit and re-write my lines until I am happy with the reactions.

I can't blame the audience. I must take all the responsibility to how they react to my act. That's my job, that's our challenge.

Street performing can be as frustrating as it can be rewarding. It just used to be easier 20 years ago. Am I getting old? I don't feel like it. Is my act stale, I don't feel like it.

What's going on in a world where it's harder to get people to REACT!!??

I will keep on keeping on, hell what else am I going to do?