Alanabit:I have argued elsewhere in this thread that formal education is no prerequisite to be a genius. I certainly dont see anything in Shakespeare's plays that lead me to suppose he must have been to Ozbridge or whatever. But I do see technical things in the plays that make me believe that he knew the acting trade, bu that is quite a separate thing. There are plenty of crap plays written by actors who know the theatre backwards, too!
    No: busking is not a cure for being a wimpy introvert songwriter: there are loads of wimpy introvert songwriters polluting our streets. Busking does teach you a lot about projection and performance, though. If you are wimpy and introverted, when you've busked a bit you are going to look really really really wimpy and introverted.