We had an amazing Fringe, great audiences, brilliant feedback, all in all a fine old time.
At the grand distance of almost two months PF (that's Post-Fringe) I've tried to pull together all the things we learned over our first Edinburgh Fringe.
And here it is, the TwentySomething Guide to Surviving the Fringe
- Flyers are not that vital.
The two unopened boxes of flyers in my flat are testament to this truth. When we looked at buying posters and flyers the quantities all seemed huge, so huge in fact that we asked to reduce our flyer order. In hindsight I would have halved it. People came to see Hell Has No Fury because we spoke to them about it and whilst sure, sometimes that involved passing over a flyer, it didn't always. Less is more, for sure.
Not to mention the trees guys - think about the trees! - Small spaces are not to be sniffed at.
Our venue was a 60 seater black box with seats on three sides, pretty standard. Add to that three chairs, three mirrors, a dust sheet and a smattering of LED candles and what do you have? Well a pretty swanky looking set, if I do say so myself. Little venues and small budgets really aren't the hindrance they can appear. - Outside life happens.
Whether this be a building site with an over-enthusiastic pneumatic drill (oh, I wish I was exaggerating!) or work schedules that relentlessly beat on, the real world continues in August. Something to remember when booking a show for lunchtime when 1.5 members of the company have full time jobs. - Any ticket sales are good ticket sales!
We knew this already but it's worth reiterating, the average Fringe show sells 6 tickets. That's across the hundreds of performances, from one-to-one shows to sold out 500-seat venues, the average is 6. So appreciate every person who comes to see the show, because they came to see yours, not the others. - Turnaround? Lol.
Turnaround times are literally non-existent. 5 minutes feels like 5 seconds (and we had a pretty basic set!). It's worth thinking about waaaaay in advance, because the stress of throwing set together in mere minutes, isn't healthy for anyone. - Make pals with the venue staff and companies.
With these tight turnarounds, the venue staff and other companies are super important. Helping someone else with their get-out will definitely help you with your get-in - simple.
And friends are great. - Look after each other.
Buy chocolate (or lacto-free treats for some) and drinks, and check-in with each other. - ENJOY EVERY SECOND CAUSE SEPTEMBER IS SO DULL.
