Poll: I'm gonna be a street peformer but I need the brilliant escapist's help

[titankore]

Right now my job is giving me too few hours and until I can get a better job or get better hours I decided to be a street performer to have fun and maybe get some money. So Ive decided to become a puppeteer.

So far I've designed and built a stage with built in special effects and I can slide in different backgrounds and I can make any kind of character by drawing them and making a paper puppet.

What I need help with is ideas for stories to tell, characters and backgrounds, also any ideas on how to build special effects for a puppet stage about the size of a fat tv would be nice to. Remember the stories have to be moderately child friendly cause that is my main audience.

Edit: Just any ideas would be good and helpful

The puppets are cut out drawings with a diffrent expression on each side so when I flip it around they go from happy-sad or angry-happy or something like that

And the special effects include
fire: that appears when I flip it up
Moon/Sun: that I can change by spinning a knob
ocean: similar to fire but it can also move back and forth
Firebreathing dragon: Just a paper puppet with a pipe that when I blow it makes red/orange paper blow about.
lights: I installed battery powered lights.

 

[imnot]

punch and judy would be a good start.

 

[titankore]

Well I mean stories like fables or fairy tales punch and judy is just about two blokes hitting eachother.

 

[TheEnglishman]

The Magic Ring?

 

[titankore]

The Magic Ring?

could you be a little more specific.

 

[snowman6251]

Just do all those Arabian (shit now I feel stupid. Is it Nights or Knights. I think its Nights right? Lets go with that.) Nights stories.

 

[Betancore]

Well usually people don't have time to stand around and watch something long, so whatever it is, make it engaging and short. With most buskers around here, I walk past, if they're playing music, I pause my iPod for as long as they're within hearing range, chuck in a few coins, and that's it. You could do your own version of some simple and popular short stories. Oh god. I'm imagining a puppet version of the Call of Cthulhu. Probably kind of difficult to do, though. Whatever you decide on, good luck.

 

[Jadak]

It's my money, get your own.

Although I refuse to give money to street performers unless they interest my enough to actual stop and watch/listen to them, which is never.

If I wanted to see a show, I'd go see a show, I'm certainly not giving money to a street performed for subjecting my to their performances whether I like it or not, and that's my main issue right there, not all street performers are actually any good, and some of them I'd sooner go up and knock them out than I would give them money, just to shut them up.

 

[DazZ.]

Well I mean stories like fables or fairy tales punch and judy is just about two blokes hitting eachother.

What? How dare you. Punch and Judy has much more depth than that.
There are also sausages and a crocodile.

 

[TheEnglishman]

The Magic Ring?

could you be a little more specific.

Oh, sorry, it was a story I loved when I was young. Basically a boy named Sandy meets an old man who gives him a magic ring. Sandy uses the ring to rescue his Father and becomes a Knight for his bravery. However the rings was stolen by a rival knight but since Sandy was pure of heart, the old man sent his cat rat and dog to steal back the ring. Sandy defeats the knight and gets the princess, but from there the dog cat and rat take the ring and give it back to the old man who just smiles and is happy.

Come to think of it, it wasn't that brilliant a story.

 

[nairb1582]

Not to throw water on what seems like a great idea, but simplicity is always good to draw in the largest audience. One hobo (I think he's homeless at least) on the highway near my home dresses like Jesus and walks for miles to some unknown location. Sometimes he dances. And he makes a damn killing. He's a neighborhood legend. I don't even think he is a street performer by choice, just a weird eccentric who random people on the street give money to.

 

[Terminate421]

Do something like tom and jerry.

 

[no oneder]

I used to go out busking with my ex boyfriend. He would play the guitar and I played a mean recorder and harmonica. We played covers and some of the songs my brother and I co wrote.

We got so much money we decided to travel to Brazil.

Those were great times.

 

[titankore]

Thanks everyone and just keep them coming I would like to have about 20 diffrent stories each lasting about 5-15 minutes

 

[IxionIndustries]

Well usually people don't have time to stand around and watch something long, so whatever it is, make it engaging and short. With most buskers around here, I walk past, if they're playing music, I pause my iPod for as long as they're within hearing range, chuck in a few coins, and that's it. You could do your own version of some simple and popular short stories. Oh god. I'm imagining a puppet version of the Call of Cthulhu. Probably kind of difficult to do, though. Whatever you decide on, good luck.

I would stick around for this. Seriously.

I want to see a Cthulu puppet!

 

[Chromwell]

I see a homeless guy every once in awhile with a sign that reads, "Why lie? I need beer." It's unreal how much money he makes.

 

[Count Igor]

Well I mean stories like fables or fairy tales punch and judy is just about two blokes hitting eachother.

And it's bloody hilarious.

On topic, however...
The tortoise and the Pain-in-the-ass-chief-of-medicine-that-everybody-hates.

Look it up. It pulled me through a lot of bad times.