“There are no rules,” she says. “Every performer makes their own rules.”
Performers also compete for prime positions. Although some spots are more lucrative than others, the permits given out by the CAC do not specify place—leaving the entertainers to regulate themselves.
“There is no actual hierarchy of who can perform where. It’s more like an unspoken, constantly morphing negotiation,” Palmer says. “The politics of it are totally different depending on who you are.”
In Key West, where Palmer also performed, the system was much more formalized. Performers entertaining on a single pier divided themselves into a hierarchy of five classes, based on history and type of performance. Every night, they drew straws to determine who performed where.
Palmer says performance in the Square is completely decided on a first-come, first-serve basis. But she says most buskers will work to find a spot where their act will not disturb any established performers.
Webb took all these considerations into account when she looked for a spot to perform her silver bunny act at the beginning of the summer.
Before choosing to stand in front of Abercrombie & Fitch, she says she considered the sun, traffic and other performers.
“I didn’t want to be in the most high traffic area,” she says. “Especially because it was my first year, it would have been disrespectful.”
Entertainment Troupe
Despite the potential for conflict, performers say there is a real sense of busker community in the Square.
When long-time and well-known Square puppeteer Igor Fokin died at age 36 of heart failure five years ago, Weeks says, fellow entertainers were devastated. They held a vigil for Fokin and began to raise money for a memorial project along with the CAC.
“There were a lot of fond feelings for Igor,” Weeks says. “He represented the best of what street performers can be.”
The group successfully raised enough money to send Fokin’s family back to Russia in 1997 and unveiled the Igor Fokin Memorial Sculpture Project—a bronze statue of Fokin’s anteater puppet “Doo Doo”—just this past September. The small, whimsical stature sits on one of the granite pedestals in Brattle Square, where Fokin worked most often and performed his final show.
Three bronze bricks sitting at the base of the pedestal pay homage to Fokin and street entertainment in general. The inscription reads, “In memory of beloved puppeteer Igor Fokin, 1960-1996, and in celebration of all street performers.”
Following the dedication of the statue, 10 local street artists performed an hour-long vaudeville show in the middle of Brattle Square.
“Community’s very important,” Webb, says. “It’s all of us, doing what we do, that makes the Square a good place for performers.”
—Staff writer Daniel J. Lamas can be reached at lamas@fas.harvard.edu.