Edinburgh Fringe Guide for beginners (1)
Priorities and Dreams
What the hell have you done?
It’s May and you have already got a venue, a show (perhaps you’re still working on it) and hopefully you’ve booked your accommodation. I have had several messages on my instagram asking what people should expect, so I am going to do a little series from my point of view.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe. It’s a sales tent, it is expensive, exploitative, and emotionally draining. But it’s also the most incredible opportunity to introduce your art to new audiences, industry, meet your bffs, see things you didn’t realise were possible and probably things you wish weren’t.
For first timers it is a learning curb, an opportunity and a recipe for disaster. This series of posts is meant as an insiders guide. If you haven’t already, go to https://www.edfringe.com and click on all the links. Read as much as you can to make yourself aware of what’s out there. Connect with the Fringe team early and start the conversation. Ask questions and follow up. Go on Facebook, find the groups dedicated to the Fringe, read old posts. Look at pages like https://www.facebook.com/groups/uktheatreproducers/ and https://www.facebook.com/groups/624433770970684/
Who am I?
Last year, I went to Edinburgh exactly 10 years after the first time by myself with a show called Dead Air that I wrote and performed. When I say by myself, I mean I had a director in the lead up, a lighting designer at the tech, and I hired a PR to get journalists. So not entirely on my own, but up there flyering and performing every day on my own. My own producer, marketing officer, flyerer, stage manager…. etc. I did everything myself on a tiny shoestring budget.
10 years ago I went up with a show someone else wrote and I produced and acted in it at Underbelly in 2015. I went with 3 friends who are still really good friends of mine today and it was, if nothing else, a bonding experience that we will always have. The Fringe has changed, it has an app for one thing, and a lot of things are more electronic, but what hasn’t changed is that it is oversaturated and tough out there.
Every year there are stars that come from the Fringe, this year I shared a venue with at least three of them. The play Eat The Rich (but maybe not me mates x) (Jade Franks) has gone on to do sell out runs at the Soho Theatre. Ayoade Bamgboye had her debut show, Swings and Roundabouts, and is on the cast of SNL UK and Toussaint Douglass: Accessible Pigeon Material: is a break out star with his comedy debut show.
It is easy to think, why not me? But there are many factors that lead to success; all of these shows had a good producer and team behind them. They were at a well respected venue, The Pleasance but most of all, they had great shows with strong points of view, great reviews and were sold out early on in their runs.
But even with all the right factors, there are 4000 shows at Edinburgh Fringe and not everyone can be a breakout star. Every audience member who decides to buy a ticket to your show, or even come for free is someone you should treat with immense respect. They have taken time out of their day to see you. Don’t forget that.
My show had great reviews, was in a great venue but I had limited resources. Don’t get me wrong, I would love for everything to have gone my way, but for the vast majority of us, success doesn’t look like that but that doesn’t mean you are not going to get something out of it.
This is written from that perspective. I recommend talking to as many people as you can and preferably to people doing similar things to you, so you get a more nuanced and detailed idea of what might work for you.
Edinburgh Festival Fringe… is it worth it? Well, clearly you think it is, otherwise you wouldn’t be doing it. I want to start by drilling into the WHY.
Setting Your Priorities
In 2015, before my first foray into the Fringe, my mum gave me really good advice, which I use every time I do anything like this.
2015 with The Lost Art of Lost Art
Make a list of things you would like to happen:
Sell out run
Soho transfer
Fringe First award
5 star reviews from national papers
TV producer pick up your show
A UK or international tour
Now look at yourself realistically or pragmatically:
I have no experience
I am still at drama school so can’t go on tour
There are lots of unknowns, will everyone get on? Will the show be good enough to showcase us?
We have very limited money
Now think about what the three most important things are to you about this run (these were mine):
Experience working with a writer and director in the real world
Break even and pay everyone a little bit
Agents see us (we were at drama school)
Get good reviews
Gain experience of doing a show for 30 days - stamina
Stay friends with my friends
Number 3 is the most important. Have a meeting and discuss it, find out what is really important. These things are not easy to achieve, put them in order of priority.
Now look at the top 3 and tattoo it into your brain. Those are your priorities. Period, full stop. When you ask for people’s advice, or when they give it to you unsolicited and you get to Edinburgh, you will be told what’s important, and everything is or seems like the most important thing in the world. But you are one human being with limited time and money. This is what is important to you, hold onto that, achieve that. Everything else is a bonus.
2025 with Dead Air
Make a list of things you would like to happen:
Sell out run
Soho transfer
Fringe First award
5 star reviews from national papers
TV producer pick up your show
A UK or international tour
Now look at yourself realistically or pragmatically:
I am on my own in Edinburgh wearing a lot of hats
I have limited time in the day
I have a limited budget
I don’t have a network
I am prone to negative thoughts about myself
This is my first solo show
Now think about what the three most important things are to you about this run (these were mine):
I write a show that I am proud of
I perform the show well
I get reviews that I can use in future
Don’t get sick, mentally or physically
Ok, these were my main aims, and you can list yours. They are not guaranteed to work, but they are achievable if you are focused. Illness is always a possibility, but for me, I was coming off the back of a burnout and my mental health was my top priority. Everything I did was with that in mind. If I needed a break, I took one; if I wanted a donut I had one, I went to sleep early, I didn’t go to parties, I talked to people after the show but not over a drink, I did my exercise, touched grass etc. That means that inevitably I had to let go of the idea that I would have a sell out run, because I couldn’t flyer as much as other shows, I had to put some of my budget towards a gym membership, I protected my mental health at all costs.
Pick One Dream Scenario and Write Down How You Could Achieve It
Your time is your precious commodity. Figure out how it is best spent. I am an optimist, and I think this time I really went in trying to do everything at once. Next time I will follow this advice and focus on one dream scenario rather than spread myself too thin trying to do all.
For example, if you want a Soho transfer:
Think about other venues that could work - Theatre 503, new writing spaces, etc.
Connect with Soho
Invite them to show
Get someone who is already connected with them to invite them
Write to them, phone them, go to shows at their venue, and introduce yourself
Talk to people who’ve done it and ask them how
If this plan fails it is not the be all and end all but you tried your best, maybe next time, or maybe you’ll realise it’s not as important as you thought it was. I realised that I couldn’t do this without the support of a well-connected producer. And that is a learning curb, but now you know. And also, you never know. Your show might take off and be the talk of the town and all of your dreams happen for you. I would say that if you don’t have an experienced and well connected producer, this is very unlikely so some things are also not worth wasting your time on.
I have never achieved the dream scenario - not yet anyway. But that is not to say that I won’t. But I think my mum’s point is when you get to Edinburgh, people are going to say a lot of things. Oh no, you didn’t apply for this, or write to that person… that’s like the MOST important thing. Well, it might be to them, but you know already what’s important to you so stick to that and make note of everything that everyone says for next time, or just ignore them. People say a lot of stuff and usually they don’t mean anything by it.
I thought I had a “bad time slot” for Dead Air and the head of the venue joked that I would be flyering to nobody at that time of day, but it turns out it is a great time for unknown theatre to get journalists in. And people usually haven’t booked anything at that time, you’re not competing with hundreds of other shows, apart from children’s shows, and true, most people aren’t milling around the bars yet, but maybe that’s not your audience. I guarantee that if your show gets good press and good word of mouth it will get an audience, no matter what time it is, everyone is chasing the high of having seen the thing that is this year’s gem.
Good or bad is a perspective thing. Everything has two sides, and nothing is perfect. The point is, there are 4000 shows on, and not enough punters to fill them all so if you get one audience member you are winning. I got a five-star review performing my third show to 2 people, the reviewer and his wife. I know it’s boring but you’re there to do your job, and when you are on stage, you better do your show to the best of your ability. And if you don’t, for whatever reason, do it tomorrow.
Next post, on marketing your show coming soon.