This blog is for all of you interested in the art of being a living statue performer. Here you will find tips, tricks and general advice on how to get started, what to wear and how to perform.
Struttin’ Standin-still On The Streets (SSSOTS) was founded in 2013 by me, Nathan Strutt, who has been performing as a living statue on the streets of London since 2010. I am really passionate about this type of street performance and I want everyone to be able to take part and enjoy it.
I hope that this blog can provide you with everything you need to know about this wonderful form of street art and I would love for you all to share your experiences with me so that we can build a community of street performers.
Have fun, get out there and make some money!
I am a living statue performer. I get paid to stand still, I don’t have to make small talk, and sometimes I even get paid double if it is raining. You too can make the big bucks standing on street corners in the city with your clothes off. In this blog, I will give you tips and tricks to becoming the next big thing in performance art: a living statue performer.
It all starts with a dream. You need to dream about being a living statue performer for your whole life before you can become one. Only then will you be truly ready for what is ahead of you: years of training, performing, and learning from your mistakes. If you have not been dreaming about being a living statue performer since birth, please stop reading now and find something else to do.
If you are certain that this is what you want, read on.
I’ve been a living statue performer in the streets of New York City for the past four years.
The ever-evolving and expanding art of human statuary is an intriguing profession, but it is not something that can be learned overnight. I want to help you get started on your journey to becoming a living statue performer.
After moving to New York City from the suburbs of Virginia during college, I began busking as a living statue with my best friend. We were two 20 year old girls in a city that we knew nothing about, and we didn’t know how to make money. Making money was our top priority – and so we dressed up as fairies and painted our faces white and stood still on street corners. Our first day out, we made $100 in four hours.
We had no idea what we were doing, or how hard it would eventually become. We had no knowledge of why people put money in our hat or how to get more money from them. We just stood there like statues – white faced and awkward – wondering what was happening around us.
One of my favorite things to do is to be a living statue on the streets. I make a pretty penny doing it, and it’s fun. I have been branded “The Green Man”, and people love me. They throw money at me because they think I am so cool.
When you perform on the streets, you must get a license in your town so that you can legally perform on the streets. You can get robbed by cops if you don’t have one! Once you have that, you are set to go.
Find a great corner with lots of foot traffic and start performing. I usually put my hat down for donations, but some people just do bucket collections or pass around hats. The trick is to make sure everyone feels like they are getting a good show and that they will enjoy it if they pay you.
Now here are some tips for being an awesome living statue performer:
Most people don’t realize that being a living statue performer is an actual job. It’s not like anyone would want to do it if they didn’t get paid but it does take some training to be a professional street performer. Having enough money to live on is why I became a living statue.
It wasn’t always sunny days and coins. I was born in the north of England. The weather was so cold there I could barely stand outside for more than 15 minutes without getting frostbite. There were few people willing to stop and talk with me as well since they were all too focused on getting where they needed to go.
The only reason I made any money at all was because of the tourists who visited York, my home town. They weren’t used to the cold and so they would often stop in the street while walking around just to warm up. Since I had nothing else to do all day, I took the opportunity and started talking with them about their travels, asking them questions and making small talk. That is when I learned that there were other places in this world where it was warm year round and there were people who actually wanted to stop and talk with you for hours at a time!
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Blog posts are going to be written in a very informative and casual tone. They’ll be written as if the author is having a conversation with the reader, like they’re talking over coffee, or a beer. The content will be geared toward new living statue performers, basic information that they need to know before they take their act out on the street.
New posts will be published weekly, on Mondays. They’ll cover things like:
I’ve been a living statue for months now. I’m good at it, and I have a lot of tips to share.
As a living statue, you must be dedicated. It isn’t as easy as it looks; standing still for hours on end is actually quite difficult! You must be able to control your body and your mind. Your body has to stand up straight or in whatever posture you want to strike, and your mind needs to concentrate so that you don’t give away that you are actually alive.
Once you get the hang of it, though, it is really fun! Especially when I dress up as the Statue of Liberty or other historical figures; kids love me then! And one time, I even got $5 from a man who thought I was real!
I hope this blog can help people like me who want their fifteen minutes of fame by standing still!
