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I went to a city festival last weekend with my ball, with no idea of what I was going to do - I never perform in high traffic areas. I chose a corner, pulled out my ball and did some tricks. Within 5 minutes I had a crowd well over 50! Looking up for the first time and seeing all those eyes on me was quite a scare!

Such a scare in fact that I decided to get some help from you experienced (or not so experienced) folk.

Like, what tricks/combos are your favorite to captivate an audience? What are some jokes/lines you might say? How do you end?

I have read these forums, but I am looking for some 'secret' tip and tricks that you feel make your performance better, or at least draws the audience in even more.

isolations win a crowd. every time. dont be afraid to talk to the crowd. And spend almost as much time being still as moving. Look happy to be there, and look happy that they are there. And thank everyone for stopping, thank the people who tip individually(when possible).

i think that covers what i know.

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much Love,
Dan

The peekaboo is a definitely crowd pleaser. I find it a good move to end on, but if you're talking to a crowd it's also a great move to throw when you get the "what happens when you take your hands away?" question.

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"Oh, the places you'll go! There is fun to be done! There is mischief to have. There are games to be won.
And the magical things you can do with that ball will make you the winning-est winner of all."

also something that has a high wow effect is to start in a cradle go to the stallpoint behind your hand ( on your wrist ) stop, look around, go to inside elbow, stop look around, go to outside elbow, stop look around. then like sort of slowly stretch your arm that is rolls into another point, you know the elbow with your stretched arm. this goes all directly without going back to your hand. and then from there roll down your arm with a curve and stall it on two fingers. this stall combination is not so difficult but for an audience almost impossible cause you will show a lot of control and balance. and they probably have never seen it before.

and the second one is just doing this butter fly window thing like form one hand to another, then make it in one hand a couple of times in a row keeping your wrist straight. so now when you have the ball in your palm thumb grip it but don't let the people see you. hold the other hand below your belly button palm up en when you move back the butterthingy don't move the other hand or touch it with the ball with a slow motion move you hand in thumb grip upwards creating a "gap in time". this works the best if you use your other hand below as described because of the effect it has. ONLY DO THIS ONCE never repeat twice infront of the same audience and don't explain it. hiding you tumbgrip is very important, that is why you should use a stageball for this

ok, and then ofcourse isolations. and one that i really enjoy is ..... uhmm. lets call it wobble. so if you know the italian hand gesture for figa make that with you hands and have the ball between it. like making a triangle with your thumbs and index fingers together. now hold your hands flat in one line and move everything from your wrist and arms. and start to make small circles like a hoop that falls to the floor. this can be done in both directions and also with a strobe. but when you do it just right you get this weird realistic floating effect. it is like the pen that you can wobble to make it appear to be ... you know different.
and to get out of this one without doing some weird s**t, turn one hand with your plam to the ball and start a enigma variation.

ok, i let the rest open for other people. i like this topic already

thanks for the post robbert! this is exactly the kind of thing i was hoping to learn from this thread

we need everybody post at least one thing, that would be so awesome.
i learned this peekaboo thing from the video and it is so cool.

people teach us new stuff

Street show! Contact juggling is the magic street art, and festivals are where it's at.

Agreed with FireMage that isolations are key. I'll juggle around until I see people walking by (especially people who are trying not to look interested) and then pop into an enigma. I usually do it like this: butterfly -> halfpipe walk -> enigma. That will usually grab the attention of at least one member of the party; then you've got an audience. Doesn't sound like you've got a problem with that part.

Once you've got a crowd, start engaging them. I do this by asking everyone to move in and step forward. People are usually reluctant to do this, so I cover it with the excuse that I'm trying to keep the walkway clear. This is true, of course - if you are nice about foot traffic around your pitch, the festival organizers will be your friend. What the organizers don't need to know is that you're just packing the people in so as to turn a 30+ crowd into a 50+ crowd. Don't get claustrophobic here - this is where the magic happens. And remember: the closer they stand, the cooler it looks - but this is where you've gotta have the rock-solid isolations, because many people will take the close distance as a challenge to find the flaws in your routine. Fooling the skeptics is your pot of gold here.

Now they've all gathered around to see your show, so your end of the bargain is to keep it entertaining. Starting a conversation is best, IMO - dig into that stack of funny responses to common audience questions. Otherwise, this is where I'll deliver my hat line - I tend to use longer hat lines that last for about half a minute. Also: by talking, you build anticipation for some big tricks... don't stop juggling, just banter with the audience while you juggle.

Then, once they're ready for something new, bust out your really amazing tricks. I'll start including more dramatic bodyrolls here, bust out a peekaboo or two, or do Okotanpe's headspin (seen here at 5:00). This is your subtle signal that the routine's wrapping up - people will leave feeling satisfied, you'll keep a straggler or two, and you can bring in a new crowd with a new pile of singles. If you haven't delivered your hat line, do it now.

FAVORITE BANTER

Q: "How much does that weigh?"
A: "It's actually weightless. Can't you tell?"
-beat-
A: "Naw, it's actually about a pound. But it's lighter because of the string." *string trick*

Q: "Can I touch it?"
A: "Yes, but please don't try to juggle it. It's fragile and expensive."
*hold ball in palm, let audience member touch the ball*
A: "Yes, folks, it does actually exist."

FAVORITE HAT LINES

"So folks, I'm a professional juggler with my hometown circus guild, so I am saving up money for a rent payment, not a sandwich. If you love what you see, it'd be greatly appreciated if you'd reach into your wallets, pull out a dollar, and drop it in my hat. And if you hate what you see, reach into your wallets, pull out a dollar, and drop the wallet in my hat."

Alternately: "If you like what you see, it would really make my day if you'd drop me a buck or two. And if you think I'm boring and lame, drop me a $20 and I'll take a day off work to practice and get better."

replace rent payment with: this is how a try to pay for collage to get a real job

so you see kids when you aren't going to school you going to end up like me.

and then ofcourse do somereally impressive tricks.



and Gravity Defiance. i still like that drop in a 20 line

Thank you Gravity!

I know exactly what mean when talking about trying to impress the people who are interested but act as if they are not.

Given the fact that I have only CJed for a year and some odd days, I'm not comfortable enough YET to encourage the audience to move inward, but the tip has given me something to strive for with my isolations - I always want them to 'get better' but now I have a short term end goal.

good post.

This post was a really big help to me! I performed for my first time 2 days ago at a big event. I used a lot of the information from this post for crowd control and crowd interaction and had an amazing time. After 3 hours of performing i made out with $200!


A line i have used that i didnt see in here was something like:

"I'm sure you have spent $10 to sit through a 2 hour movie less entertaining than this. This time you get to see the show and decide how much its worth. If your enjoying it, show it by dropping a small donation in the hat."

Also, sometimes i would have trouble getting people to move in because no one wanted to be the first. I found that to get more people to move in it helps if you start giving veiwer priority to the first few that move in closest. For example, i would ask people to move in closer, and one couple would start moving in, but back up again when no one else moved. but if i turned towards them and started doing iso's and directing my performance at them, they are more distracted by the ball than the audience and continue to move in. and that starts a chain reaction of people wanting to get up close and see it like that.

There were a lot of people who stuck around for extended periods of time when i was performing. Im not sure if this is true or not, but i think what might have contributed to their staying longer was when i told people to ask me any questions they want and i will do my best to answer. I got into a lot of lengthy conversations with people about what i was doing and the work that goes into it. Maybe people stuck around because they like hearing about the performing they were watching, and maybe it helps them feel more of a connection to the performer.

anyway, this is only what i have observed after just 1 street performance. may not be inclusive of all audiences.

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200 in 3 hours? wow...

I have never performed for money - what is the most you guys have made? The least? The average? I know im getting off topic on my own thread...

A good line to use to get people who are pretending not to pay attention:

"You know if you come closer, you might look like an audience."

Sometimes it scares people off, but more often, it works.

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-Lirnyk/Scott

"Don't believe anything you read on the net. Except this. Well, including this, I suppose." - Douglas Adams

also for getting people to come closer to use as an audience doormat ( this is only if you are a guy ). go and look for eye contact with single looking ladies that are with friends. preferably in the age around 30 and above, this might sound cheesy but flirting a bit works. and for some reason this group is more .. well.. more open to go into this non verbal communication.
this might also work with younger ladies but a little less effective. and don't be gross, or rude, or creepy. if you are this method is not for you

and the most difficult group are either highscholers that think it is not cool, or close minded people that only think in boxes and therefore think you are different and they will ignore you.

flirting helps but don't go to far,



seriously

for me if i want my audience to come closer i often say "come closer so you can see the string" : )

I would over all tell you that you should be your self. The more i try to make it seem like i am hanging out with the audience and that we are all friends the better it all goes. It is good to have hat lines, and cheezy answers to question that people are asking you but it is also good to make sure they are things you would say any way. Things that perhaps you would say to tease an old friend that has not seen you juggling in a while or ever.

And 200 is not unreasonable in 3 hours depending on how many people are passing through, and if you are performing in a place where people expect street performers and expect to pay them. I know in my home town i can make between 50 and 100 an hour, and there are other people that make even more than that.

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I pluck mother pheasants.
I am the most pleasant mother pheasant plucker, to ever pluck a mother pheasant.