In Hellzapoppin’s touring Caravan, we interviewed Tim Cridland, known across the street performing world as Zamora the Torture King. Tim is a successful and professional performing artist, and has appeared on a host of television programs. We were lucky to see him performing on stage and on the streets while he was in Copenhagen, Denmark.

If you could tell us a little bit about what you do…

Tim: Well, what I do is a torture act, a traditional side show, which means I appear to do things that cause pain or injury, yet, I can do them without getting hurt, with minimal injury, without any real pain. And I can do this again and again. They’re classic feats that used to be done in the middle east. Taking long sharp needles, almost like bicycle spokes, and pushing them through my muscle tissue, through the biceps of my arm, and my mouth, pushing down till it pops out through my chin.

What’s the difference between performing on the street and performing on a stage?

Tim: The main difference between the street show and the stage show is that at the stage show people pay admission at the door, sit down, and they’ve invested their money in it already. The street show is a show where somebody who has no idea they’re going to see the show, and you convince them to stop, see the show and then to pay for the show after they’ve already seen it. It’s very unique in that way. I can do things in my stage show that I can’t do in my street show because it would scare people away. In the street show I do things more traditionally associated with the circus. My classic street show I open up with eating fire, which is very edgy, but acceptable and intriguing to people. Then I’d walk on broken glass barefoot, and then end by swallow a sword. That was my traditional show. My stage show would have much more extreme and bizarre things in it. Which would tend to shrink the circle a little bit.

The thing about a street show is like the idea of the flock, you’re basically getting a flock of birds around you, doing things to get them to all act the same way. At the end you want them to put money in the hat, which is what the street show is all about. I’d even say it’s not even about entertaining people. I’ve seen a street show where NOTHING happened, and the guy made a lot of money.

So do you feel like what you’re doing is art then?

Some people think that street performance is a LOW form of art. But maybe it’s the most ancient. It’s got the deepest roots. I used to have this American dream, where you could go anywhere, any city, set up a show and be making money, but there’s so many regulations now in the states. I’d go to places and it was like you’d have to audition six months in advance with a video tape. This is how it was in San Francisco in Fisherman’s Wharf. A lot of places have permits, things you’re not allowed to do. They only give out so many permits. And they only give them out at a certain time. So, if you’re travelling, you’re out of luck.

What got you into busking?

My inspirations growing up were street performers. It was in the late seventies, a thing called the New Vaudeville, they always have a name for people doing the new sort of acts. This greatly influenced me. I grew up in a small university town, you had these hippy dippy people doing fire juggling and walking on glass at one of these outdoor shows. What’s good about street performance is that it’s very genuine, very unpretentious. But, there’s this odd thing, it’s like, let me just say, street performers have some of the biggest egos of anyone you’ll ever meet. Not all of them, but some of them, are like pufffttt [makes explosion gesture with hands] bursting out ego.

Why?

Cause I guess it’s pretty tough. People would see someone make big money in the hat and I bet you 95 % of people who try it aren’t going to do it more than 2 days . Because it’s so cruel. See, it’s also the cruelest form of entertainment. You put your ego out there and you get your ego destroyed. You may be doing well, or think you’re doing well, and you just get nothing in the hat. It really hurts when you do a show, especially when you have these expectations and your competition, the other street performers, they don’t want you there, no matter what they say. They’re going to increase the tension. But if you can make it through the learning process…
Here’s the thing. Street performance is always there. It’s always available. It should be at least. When my other stage shows fell through, street performance saved me. It’s there when things fall apart. But it’s good to get your ego destroyed faster, in fact, the quickness of it, the ego destruction and the money gain is faster than any other in show business. You either go out there and make the money or get devastated and then learn from that.