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Beginning Busking

It takes a lot of practice in order to perform at Busking Festivals. During university, Chris Pilsworth, routinely went to Sparks street, in Ottawa, to perform, pass the hat and earn his tuition. During those four summers, Chris learned how to engage and audience, have them watch his show and also throw money into his hat. This education was invaluable to becoming a better performer.

An audience is built on the street. As no one is expecting a show, the performer needs to stop them quickly with amazing tricks and keep that interest until the end of the show, when the hat is passed.

Busking Festivals’ Headaches

Tricks that work well in a theatre don’t necessarily work outdoors. I quickly discovered that the wind, rain or intense sun could all have a negative impact on the tricks I could perform. Once I eliminated the ones that didn’t perform well, my show began to take shape.

Busking Festivals

When I was older, I returned back to the street, in between regular shows to experiment on new material. It is a great laboratory for testing new entertainment ideas! After 5 years of busking on the street, my act was really tight and ready for Busking Festivals. These festivals are hybrid events as residents come to the festival knowing that they’ll see some great acts. It is somewhat easier to build the audience. As important as the tricks and illusions are, a personal interaction with the audience is equally important. At any time the members of the audience can walk away. If you are funny, engaging and exciting, the chances of them staying for the whole show increase dramatically. There is nothing more rewarding than knowing you built up a crowd of 300-400 strangers and created a magic moment in time.

Joining People

One of my favourite parts of performing in busker festivals is to create an audience of strangers that is diverse in ethnicities and ages. Seeing them act and respond as one is truly magical. It is wonderful knowing that deep down, people are all pretty much the same; we love to have fun, play and be entertained, no matter the age. Magic has a way of relating to everyone and creating wonder that all can appreciate.

3 Day Festival

As a festival performer, you need to be adaptable to all sorts of variables. This is what makes working at festivals so much fun. Last week I travelled 9 hours to Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario for their annual Rotaryfest. Starting on Thursday, I had three outdoor shows. Friday also had three shows and Saturday there were two. The weather for the entire durations was fantastic with no rain whatsoever. The final show on Saturday was very hot and the weather was warm too.

Festival Performer Space

The festival that’s been running for many years now, have a great layout in the park by the river. For myself and the other three performers, a set of three bleachers provided a terrific spot for the audience to sit and be enthralled by the shows. We also had a private tent to store equipment and to change.

Festival Performer

Festival shows are somewhat different from performing in a theatre. Even though the showtimes are posted, not everyone is there exactly on time. That dictates that the show has a softer beginning. I would engage and make jokes for the early attendees. Preshow music was also important to signify the show was about to begin. When enough people were seated, the show began.

Outdoor shows can be challenging if it is very hot, raining or too windy, not to mention having the sun in your eyes. There are also advantages! I love to do magic with water outdoors. There is no problem when the water spills on the ground. Another advantage is that there is no ceiling. That allows for objects to be tossed high into the air.

Other Festival Performers

I was really fortunate to work with three excellent festival performers from Montreal. Samuel, Marianne and Jess each have specialties in the circus arts. They juggled, blew incredible bubbles and also ate fire! We got along really well. That is so nice to be able to work with like-minded performers. I’m excited the next time we meet.

Time Off

In between shows, there was some time to explore. I visited the Algoma Art Gallery. They had a great exhibit of some of the Group of Seven artists and the paintings and studies of a northern mining town, Cobalt. It was a splendid diversion. I also have a friend in the Soo and we spent some good time together catching up. That was a really nice fringe benefit.

Next

I loved working at the festival and I have a few more before the summer is over. Performing outdoors used to make me anxious because of all the uncontrollable variables. I’m more relaxed as a performer and relish all the possibilities that present themselves in serendipitous moments. I can’t wait until the next one.

Another fringe benefit of going on my China tour, is the opportunity to sample some of the culture. In Shanghai, a group of magicians went to see an interactive play where we followed the actors through the different sets and scenes. It was an immersive experience and really impressive. It was like being in a movie.

China Tour, Next Stop – Changsha

The next stop after Shanghai on my China tour was Changsha. This is the home town of my good friend, Daly. Daly was the magician that organized the tour. We’ve been friends for 10 years and met at a magicians’ convention in New York. It is limited to 200 of the best magicians in the world. You can only attend if you are invited and sponsored by two magicians that have already attended.

After seeing me perform at that convention, Daly and I became friends. He is one of the top magicians in China and presents much of his magic on national TV specials, seen by millions of people.

In Changsha, I gave a lecture to the local magicians. I also had time to sample some cuisine from that region. It is know for its spicy food. I love trying new food and this time in China, I had some items that I’d never had before.

China Tour, Xiamen, The Garden City

The next stop on the tour was Xiamen. It is in the south and known as the Garden City. They have a beautiful theatre there and the reception was warm and friendly by the local hosts. I was always impressed by the promotion that was created for the tour. In Xiamen, a large wall poster was fantastic and was the backdrop for all of the selfies that were taken after the show. I didn’t have any time to explore Xiamen as the following day I was up very early to catch a flight to Beijing.

Final Stop – Beijing

Beijing was the last city on the tour. It was also the longest day, as after I arrived at the airport, I was taken to the theatre to present my lecture, workshop and show. It was a long and full day. Even though I was concerned about being tired, the day went really well and the presentations were really well received.

The following day was my last in China. The hosts in Beijing took me for a tour of the Summer Palace. It was built by the Emperor for his mother and is remarkable. Our tour guide explained how and when it was built. It took over 13 years to complete as there is also a large man-made lake.

Later in the day, I went with several local magicians to a pedestrian area of Beijing. I loved walking and absorbing the sites. I had a candy made for me in the shape of a rabbit. The method was like magic.

For dinner, we attended a dinner theatre with a multi-course meal. In between each meal, there was entertainment in the form of dancing, acting and martial arts. It was a phenomenal meal to conclude the tour. The last activity was to attend a magic bar. Max, the owner and fantastic magician treated us to some amazing magic and drinks. It was a long day, but an amazing way to conclude the tour. I’m back home, but looking forward to the next time I’m able to visit China.

After the performances in Guangzhou, I went to the next stop on my China tour, Hangzhou. The location for these performances was a small theatre owned by my friend, Simon. At that location, I presented 3 shows and 1 lecture.

Lectures for Magic Clubs

A magic lecture on the China tour is usually 2 hours long. I presented tricks, ideas and theoies to magicians from that city. Afterwards, I sold my tricks and lecture notes. The notes I created had been translated into Mandarin by two translators, Peter and Chenny. They did an outstanding job of translating my notes. They also did all the graphic design and printing. The notes will be a wonderful reminder of the tour.

China Tour – Shanghai

The next city was Shanghai. I went there on a high-speed train. The train system in China is modern and efficient. The top speed of the train was 308 km/hr. It was an incredibly smooth ride. My translator set a water bottle upside down on the window sill and it didn’t mover or tip over for the entire journey of a couple of hours.

Shanghai is the financial capital of China and from my hotel, I was very close to the financial district. As with all the cities I visited, the architecture of the skyscrapers was impressive. Some of the buildings are lit up at night time with integrated lighting on the exterior of the buildings.

Chris Pilsworth – Big Star!

The shows in Shanghai were in a magic theatre that was located in a shopping mall. In the atrium of the mall was a two story high LED sign. My photo was displayed there to promote the shows. I’ve never seen my image so big in lights! In China, I felt like a big star. I was also treated like a big star. After all of the shows, I would sign autographs and have my photo taken with new fans. It was exciting and humbling. I’m very grateful for the gifts that magic has given me and the tour certainly reminded me of the charmed life I’ve lived.