You've got your show down. You're successful. You're popular. You're making good money. Yet, you keep looking for new bits to add. Just why is that? Because there's always room for improvement.

Refining means to filter and remove impurities. There are probably things in your show that have never quite worked and new parts yet to be added that will.

Busking is not a sprint to the finish line...rather a marathon. It is the product of many trial-and-errors to see what works and what doesn't. In the end, your show is a refinement of many years of hard work.

This is one reason why buskers are always watching other buskers. They're looking for shortcuts to quicken the final version of their show. They may "borrow" each other lines (bastards!) and change them to suit. Expect to hear something you may have "invented" circling the globe as good lines are repeated all over the place these days.

Be open to new techniques. Experiment with hat tricks, hat heights, and hat lines. Leave no stone unturned. Go over everything bit by bit until you are happy with audience reactions. Sometimes, like mentioned before, it takes years to reach the top rung of the ladder.

As the years roll by, your show will finally "gel" and most experimentation will stop. Eventually, you'll reach a high plateau where you can do your performance in your sleep...and it will work perfectly.

Good Luck!

Malcolm O'Magic