I did street performances across America. April 1, 2000 I started in New Orleans, then Boston, San Francisco. Later, L.A., Baltimore, New York, and more. Every city, I performed in tourist areas and every city had different audience types. These were basically the same people ( a mix of US and Foreign folks on vacation) Not only were people affected by the vibe of the neighborhood, they were affected by the culture of the city.
- San Francisco is bohemian and art-supporting
- Boston (Cambridge) is intellectual and culturally self-important
- New Orleans is dog-eat-dog and Bacchanalian and tied to tradition / voodoo / celebration
- L.A. is about brands / celebrities / known things
- New York brags the best theater in the world
When people are in these places, they join in with the culture because they believe in it. They believe not that they are part of it, but that seeing a street performer in Paris is magical art, but a street performer in Rio is poverty ingenuity.
So, this continues to all things that happen in a city. For locals too. We all believe it and go with it and participate. With Scot Nery’s Boobietrap, we started off selling tickets to a show, and ended up reserving people’s nights at an experience. In Chicago, people want to buy tickets to an interesting show. In L.A. shows are for people trying to meet an agent. Experiences are there for our enjoyment.
When we’re getting a local audience, empathizing is easier when we melt into the culture.