Here's how this happened: I decided that I definitely wanted to participate in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this August. I figured air fare to Europe would be cheaper earlier in the season, so I decided to spend June and July somewhere in Europe then hop over to Edinburgh. The Czech Republic was the obvious choice, with Iceland and Switzerland as runners-up. Czech is an amazing and beautiful country in which I wanted to spend more time, and it's also affordable.
My time in South America inspired me to want to volunteer at a hostel. My accommodations there reminded me how much I love hostels, and free housing would enable me to stretch my money. So I began emailing many hostels, including Krumlov House in the adorable medieval town of Cesky Krumlov. I had been a guest here in the fall of 2012, and simply loved it. So now I'm back!
First off, I'll take a rare departure from the focus of this blog and touch on my personal life: I am extremely happy here. The hostel is so homey and lovely, and I adore my co-workers cum friends. I immediately felt welcomed into their community, and always have someone to do things with. I'm usually behind on my blog because I'm just lazy, but the tardiness of this post is due exclusively to my full social calendar. This is a great place to be in the summer because the river winds through town, perfect for rafting and tubing. The beer is cheap and delicious, so I'm doing summertime the way you're supposed to! Working, yes, but also relaxing, being on the water, drinking [responsibly], and socializing. I feel like it's the first time I've enjoyed summer in many years, since I'm usually working non-stop.
And the busking is falling into place. There is a bridge that connects the touristy halves of town, and it is always mobbed. As a result, the buskers are out. Here I am playing on it on my first visit, in October 2012, after it snowed:
In fact, here is my old blog post about that day.
So I did my first day there, but it wasn't so good. Lots of tourists who took lots of pictures, but not too many tips. Here we are this time around:
The other variable was that I hadn't actually had time to test the new puppet, and she didn't really work. Also, two cops came by to talk to me while I was taking a water break. One of them pointed to my water bottle and asked, "Alcohol?" Really? So I unscrewed it for them to smell, and they were satisfied and let me keep playing.
I haven't played on that bridge again. I have a new bridge! It was my hostel owner's idea, and it's been working out nicely. The bridge is long, so I don't disturb store or restaurant owners. It is well-trodden in the evenings, in post-dinner promenades. There aren't a ton of people on it, but it's flat, it's busy enough, and, most importantly, it's super close to where I live. Pulling my trolley over cobblestones has proven loud and uncomfortable, so the minimal commute is great. I also haven't had to worry about sharing it with other buskers, knock on wood. So I'm satisfied. It's exhausting negotiating spots with other buskers, especially when we don't have a common language, so I'm happy to do my thing over there.
The close proximity to my pitch has made it really easy to busk a lot, since there's no commute! Once I'm out, I don't feel obligated to play for a long time like I do in Northampton and Provincetown. So I've been doing just 1.5-2 hours every night, which is totally enough and doesn't dictate my schedule for the day. Usually 7-9 pm, which is full daylight here.
Here's some stuff that's happened:
June 2014
1. A big theme is that communication is difficult, since Czech is difficult. Normally when someone says something in Czech, I just smile and nod and they walk away. So unfortunately I'm missing all the one-liners coming my way. But sometimes they don't walk away, or what they say is lengthy enough that it's worth a try. So I say "Ne mluvim Cesky" (I don't speak Czech) then ask, "Anglicky?" (English?) Then they usually respond, "Rusky? Slovaksy?" (Or something, Russian? Slovakian? etc.). so I say "Anglicky Or Español." Usually they shake their heads and walk away, or speak a tiny bit of English. The other day, though, the guy summoned his son over who speaks Spanish! He said that Spanish is a common language that Czech people learn. Go figure!
2. Another thing I didn't anticipate but makes perfect sense is the influx of Euros. Folks travel through Germany or Austria before coming here, and they have leftover currency. So I'm the perfect recipient! In fact, over a quarter of my tips are Euros. I'm putting them in a separate bag and calling them my "end of summer bonus." I'll change them into Pounds when the time comes!
3. Game of Thrones continues to be a big hit. Due to the nature of my bridge, it's easy to cater to whom is walking by at that moment and stereotype the hell out of people. I've been pretty spot-on with my Game of Thrones recognizers, and this tune has consistently made me tips. Including a 200 kč bill (ten dollars) and a five-Euro bill. Can't necessarily talk about the show, though.
4. A guy stopped on his bike right in front of me. He knew very basic English, and said "tradition." I took that to mean he wanted a traditional song, so I played "La Vie en Rose." I have a really nice arrangement of it, and when I phrase it and do dynamics, it can be quite nice. So this guy started crying!
5. I had a guy who wanted to talk, but we didn't have a common language. But he still stood right next to me, and said he wanted to sing along. I pretended not to understand and played really obscure instrumental songs back to back, which eventually worked. (Like "Morir Soñando.)
6. A couple who I thought might be American due to their fashion stopped on the sidewalk across from me as I was playing Katy Perry's "Roar." They were really amorous and smooched a lot, and appeared to be muttering sweet nothings to each other. Then the girl confirmed my suspicions and extended her left arm and flexed her hand to admire her ring. And there I was playing a very un-romantic song. I talked to them after, and they complimented my English! I asked if they just got engaged, right there, and they said that they had 20 minutes ago in the park. Sorry I missed it! Regardless, I was still the first to find out. I would have loved if it had happened right there; if Thomas had gotten down on one knee and I noticed right away and started out La Vie en Rose or Parlez-moi d'Amour, then when she obviously said yes and they kissed, switch to "Here Comes the Bride." It's such a romantic town, I might have another chance yet! Congratulations to Thomas and Meredith! Just putting this out there: I would like to be proposed to on a bridge in the Czech Republic, preferably the Charles Bridge itself in Prague.
7. People CANNOT believe that I'm American. Everywhere I play people assume I'm European, and that is no different here. They are simply shocked. "What are you doing here???"
8. A group came by, including a little boy with great musical taste. He sang along, or at least mouthed, every word of "Don't Stop Me Now" followed by "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood." He disappointed me with "Take On Me" and if he had come back I would have switched to Beatles, of course.
9. There are a few unkempt looking guys who hang out around town, and one of them came by and asked me for some of my money. When I said no, he came back a few minutes later and asked for 50% of my money. Tempting offer.
10. A group of guys came by, and explained that it was a bachelor party. One guy in a red t-shirt asked me to leave him sweet words....on his shirt. Sure! So he passed me the marker and I added a message to the mix ("Go Red Sox," of course).
11. Cesky Krumlov has a restaurant called Cikánská Jizba which has a live gypsy band Friday and Saturday nights. These guys are major celebrities. I heard them and fell in love with them as a guest last time, and found upon my return that I still remembered their faces perfectly (that bass player!!!). So naturally I was starstruck when the violin player came by when I was playing and smiled. Even more so when he left me a tip! I played my best for him, of course, also tried for the first time a new Czech phrase: "Dobry večer" (good evening). He sort of politely acknowledged me, so I reckon I pronounced it wrong. I probably told him "My antenna fell off" or "I chew on guinea pigs" or something.
12. Right when I had started one day, a guy came up to me and made an offer: he would pay me 500 kč ($25) to come play on the boat with his friends, and they would pay for my drinks. I thought about it, and asked how long he'd want me to play for. "You would be home around midnight." This was 7:30. Yeah, no thanks. He did ask me to play some rock music as they were boarding their boat though, which I obliged. He wanted Metallica or Joe Cocker, but had to settle for The Rolling Stones. I got a good look at them, and they were all guys and all drunk. Definitely the right call.
This brings me to....THE BACHELOR PARTY!
Right after my first day busking I went back to the hostel, where I was living at the time, and was greeted by my coworker and his English friend who was in town that weekend for this bachelor party. He lives in Vienna, and was in charge of the festivities for groom-to-be Mario, who is Austrian. I told them about my act, and he offered to pay me to play Friday night at the bar where they would be. They would tell Mario that there would be some female entertainment, then I would play, so it would be cute. Don't worry, there were strippers coming later. So I agreed: I would play for a little while, make $50, and they'd pay for my drinks.
So I showed up at the bar at 8:15 for the 8:30 gig. The owner of the bar let me down to the space where I would perform, which was the DUNGEON. We literally went down crooked stairs in pitch blackness to this little damp dungeon room that had an actual well in the floor with a grate over it. It was wonderfully creepy, and my puppet setup looked great with my little lights on.
Then I had a beer and waited. It turns out everything was behind schedule. The guys, a mix of Austrians, Brits, and the groom's future brother-in-law from Australia, had been rafting all day, an activity which asks a lot of a person's energy and liver (because of the drinking, yeah?). They had finally gotten dressed and ready, and it was time for dinner. So I waited while they went next door to eat. Finally at 10:00 it was time to play, so they filed into the dungeon and tied Mario to a chair in front of me. He was incredibly drunk, and in bad shape, continually threatening to doze off. He was holding a beer that was in danger of pouring right into my box. He didn't react to the "female entertainment" "joke" at all, although I won't comment on whether or not my marionette's lacy underwear was exposed at any point.
Mike, the guy in charge, wanted me to play Game of Thrones, and we agreed on "The Final Countdown" as well as a bachelor-party themed song. Neither Mike nor Mario was really processing what was going on. Some of the guys were actually functioning as human beings, though, and fancied a singalong. They NAILED "Don't Stop me Now." This one guy requested something, but I couldn't understand him due to his strong accent. "Are you from Austria too?" I asked him. "No, mate, I'm from Liverpool!" So it became a game of name-that-tune. Mike asked me to play Game of Thrones for a third time. At one point Mario tried to stand up, but not knowing he was tied to his chair, totally fell over, spilling his beer everywhere (but not really on my setup, luckily). A high-strung young DJ was mad because he thought he had the dungeon that night, and was adamant that no one touch his stuff. Then Mario crashed into his stuff.
Next, it was time to transition into the strippers' performance. Only nobody knew where they were. Mike was drunkenly trying to sort it out and sincerely asked me, "Did YOU talk to the strippers?" Why would I have talked to the strippers? I took my leave, and from what I heard the rest of the night was disastrous, that Mario was completely down for the count and so the strippers didn't end up performing. And the puppy pooped on the carpet.
So this was an interesting experience! There seem to be a lot of bachelor parties here, maybe I should advertise.
Overall, the busking is going totally satisfactorily. I've just been playing accordion, for the most part, since puppet isn't quite working yet. It's been nice to see the same faces, and be recognized both in and out of costume around town. The bridge is used for folks' commutes, so I see the old lady walk by around 8:30 every night on her way home from swimming in the pool (as I inferred, using my great knowledge of what people look like on their way home from the pool). I also see the super-cute guy with the shaggy golden hair who walks his equally-cute, shaggy golden dog (just like 101 Dalmatians) and the old, well-dressed man who walks by left to right several times (how does he get back to the left side??????).
This week I'm going to get the puppet up and running, then really start preparing for the Fringe.
Na shledanou!
No comments:
Post a Comment