Behind the Scenes: Assembly Venues

What a day! This morning in Structures class we discussed our experiences at the past few workshops and learned about the ticket box percentage deals that companies make with their venues. In general, most venues use the 60/40 split with 60% of ticket sales going to the company and 40% to the venue. Another method is a split with guarantee, meaning that the company keeps a certain amount and the remaining is split 50/50, 60/40, or 70/30.

Because the main goal of Fringe companies is to get people to see their shows, many companies will give out free tickets on days that they know they will have reviewers to fill the audience. Though this seems like a great way to fill seats, the producer needs to either be certain that the person will use the ticket, or use a coupon method. If a venue has 50 seats, a maximum of 50 tickets can be given away in the rare event that every person decides to attend; in the same venue, 100+ ticket vouchers can be handed out with a disclaimer that only the first 50 will be admitted. This increases the likelihood that people the house fills because specific seats are not being thrown away each time someone does not use a voucher.

After class, Julie and I went over to Assembly Roxy to meet up with Bob Paisley, Amy Kelly and Jordan Fox, the director and actors of Bedtime Solos. They had just finished today's performance, so we all went to lunch at a local restaurant, discussed today's performance, and began coming up with new marketing strategies. 

Julie and I are now responsible for creating and implementing a new marketing strategy, including things as simple as social media and flyer distribution, to things like booking a time slot on one of the Royal Mile stages. We are also in the process of finding a time that our whole group can have a talk-back with the company, and will be involved with the technical aspects of the show including the insane 10 minute set up and strike.

After lunch, Bob, Julie and I went to the Assembly production office located on the fourth floor of a building behind the Assembly Checkpoint venue and around the corner from our flat. There, we briefly spoke to Assembly marketing agents and picked up our venue passes.

It goes without saying, but venue passes are awesome. Not only do we get free stand-by access to any of the venue's shows, but we also get access to one of the top networking spots at the Fringe. Behind the Assembly Rooms theatre 3, there is a small "secret" door that leads to the Assembly Bar. 

While Bob, Julie and I were talking, we found ourselves in the middle of a presentation with William Burton Coutts (the producer of the Assembly Venues) and a Georgian company distributing free wine. 

The Georgian company presenting William Burton Couttes with a sword

One thing I've learned over the 2 weeks I've been here is free (expensive, Georgian) alcohol leads to fabulous networking...and this was no exception. We spoke with Rebecca Vaughan of Dyad productions, and Elton Townend, the playwright of The Unremarkable Death of Marilyn Monroe. 

After William Burton Coutts was presented with a sword from the Georgian company, Julie and I had the opportunity to introduce ourselves and have a brief conversation about Drexel, Fringe University and our goals throughout the month. It was a great conversation.

Tonight we are off to our first "big" group show, The Events. It is located at the Traverse Theatre on the large stage, and we are determined to get good seats. I'm really excited to see the show and the Traverse Theater. 

After the show we will be celebrating Sam's birthday. I took a nap for the first time in years this afternoon...with ten of us living in one flat, the moment one of us gets sick we're all doomed...so I'm determined to not let that happen!