Street Performer Auditions
It’s a sunny Saturday afternoon in March and the Harborplace Amphitheater stands are filled with people. An 8 foot table covered by a blue plastic table cloth is setup at the foot of the amphitheater. Three judges sit patiently with clipboards in hand ready to make notes about each of the entertainers preparing to perform.
For the past 20 years, the Harborplace has auditioned street entertainers to perform and attract visitors to one of their three venues: the Harborplace Amphitheater, the US Constellation dock, or the Bicentennial Pier. The auditions this year featured seven talented performers who performed in the hopes of being regularly scheduled at one of the organization’s venues.
Darion, or “Big D”, from the NYC Players was the first performer of the day. He let loose with a percussional symphony atop buckets that set a high standard for the other performers to follow. Darion sat on an overturned bucket with two buckets in front of him, one upside down between his legs and a second one right-side up to his right. The bucket between his legs was lifted by his feet to change the pitch, that is until he put a hole in the bottom of it. This minor inconvenience did not stop a pro like Darion and he simply inverted the other bucket and used one drum for the rest of the show. Two children from the crowd (a brother and sister) were chosen to perform an 80’s style break-”dance off”. The encouragement of the crowd and Darion’s interaction with the kids provided huge laughs and a great time was had by many in attendance.
