So the Victoria and Albert Museum area has basically become my go-to place to work. I have seen some musicians working the area, but they don't stay long, and I more or less have that whole stretch of spots, from the South Kensington tube station, to the museums, all to myself, 90% of the time. It's a good place for me to work, fail, wait a few minutes, work, fail again, wait a few minutes, and work again, with changes each iteration. I'm not taking up space in the queue at Covent Garden, not having to wait my turn to perform, and while I'm not getting feedback from other magicians, I'm also not embarrassing myself in front of them, and frankly, the audience feedback is pretty clear, if sometimes painful.

I now distinguish between festival and street performing. Working ren fairs, street festivals, art trolley hops, farmers markets, those are all instances in which people come around actively looking to see what's there that's fun. They are strolling around looking for something to do. That's a very different circumstance compared to straight up street work, in which the people are walking by, on their way to something else, and you have to stop them and convince them to set aside their agenda in favor of yours, and to hold them for the duration. At a festival, the agendas match. On the street, well it's your job to make that happen. It's harder, and I always thought they were the same thing.

So my show has changed, a LOT. I have started threading the elements of the final trick into the body of the rest of the show. I pass out the playing cards to be shuffled. I pass out the ropes for the middle trick. I have them pass the cards to a second person to shuffle again. I reclaim the ropes and do that trick. I have the cards shuffled by a third person while I'm putting away the ropes. At every point I can think to do so, we are involved in some phase of the final trick and talking about what that's going to be.

Before I did that, what was happening is I would complete a trick, people would enjoy it immensely, applaud, and leave. Now I'm trying to get them to stay for the much-touted finale. Still some rough edges on that idea, but it's coming together. Just needs more flight time.