On the Street

Prior to hitting the streets we had a photo shoot at the house. That's Myron at left 1978. Photo by Mom.

My first and only experience with street performing until a few weeks ago was when as a teenager friends of mine and I roamed around Coconut Grove juggling and performing mime. It was a fairly unorganized effort and while we didn't earn any money, I think one spectator did offer us cigarettes.

Earlier this summer I was back on the streets for the first time in all those years, but this time as part of the Berkshire Busk festival in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It was a great experience all around.

Berkshire Busk has a lot of good things going for it. Every weekend throughout the summer they present a bunch of free acts around Main Street and on Railroad Street which is shut down to accommodate three main stages. Entertainment in general has become so expensive these days that it is really a relief to be able to turn up at something like this and just roam around and enjoy the performances without worrying about the price of tickets, not to mention the hassle of buying them, keeping track of everything and getting admittance to a venue, etc. It may seem simplistic but I think there is some sort of lightness that comes from removing some of the encumberances that weigh down other entertainment experiences. The Festival brings out lots of families and the environment is entirely upbeat. (It doesn't hurt that there is a great ice cream shop perfectly positioned by the stages. Among its other purposes it seems like the Festival is good for business in Great Barrington.)

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I loved that there were bunches of parents and kids watching my act. I ended up performing a 30 minute show three times and aside from messing up the first trick of my first set (!) it all went well (or at least that was my take on it). Magic acts get better through repetition and so it was great to be able to do the show repeatedly and (hopefully) improve each time. There were lots of fun moments in the shows but I particularly enjoyed working with a young audience volunteer (I think his name was Adam) who picked up on one of the jokes. In the process of asking him about his favorite colors, foods, etc I also asked what his favorite type of insurance policy was - and this witty dude answered "auto." Good job Adam. By the way - there were folks of all ages at the show - one older couple hanging out and biding their time before going to see Paul Reiser at the Mahaiwe Theatre suddenly found themselves seated in front of a magic show, which they seemed to enjoy - no matter how unexpected it was for them to be there! 

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After the show there was a moment with Myron and Ol' Miss Money Bags (see photo). Oh, Miss Money Bags, you came and you left me. Well, maybe next year.

​Thanks to all the folks at Berkshire Busk for their hard work putting on the festival which does a lot of good for the audiences, the performers and for Great Barrington!

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