Last night Gayle, Sam, Allison, Ali and I went to Macbeth by a group called Thrust Stage at theSpace on the Mile. Other than being located on the mile, we weren't totally sure where the venue was located so we left the flat around 9:40 for the 10:10 show. The building was easy to find; it was located in the Radisson Hotel right at the intersection of High Street and where North Bridge turns to South Bridge. Because the hotel is...well, doubling as a venue and hotel during the festival, finding the actual performance space was an interesting experience. After walking down a narrow hall and up a few flights of stairs we reached what I think is usually used as a conference room. It was a thrust stage and the walls were covered with a black curtain. The show was sold out, and performance began shortly after we sat down. Because I haven't read Macbeth or seen the show before I read a brief synopsis before we went but I don't have a great basis of comparison for the production. The on stage performance was very good, but there were moments that I wanted turn around to the curtain behind me and tell them to shut up behind the curtain....
This morning we had theater class, and Sam and Ali gave their pre-show presentation on This Side of Paradise. It's a site specific physical theatre piece located in the dissection room of Summerhall. It will most definitely be creepy, but I'm looking forward to seeing something that isn't a traditional play/musical.
After class we went to two Fringe Central workshops: International Touring, and US Touring. After the International Touring workshop I spoke with Louise Oliver from the Arts Industry office. Turns out that after six years this is her last Fringe and she is passing her position to her best friend, Robin. Robin happened to be sitting there while we were talking, asked for my information and we will be in contact regarding internship/co-op opportunities.
As I was leaving to head to our second workshop I was stopped by Sandy Thomson, artistic director of Bell Rock Co (formally Poorboy). She told me that she overheard m conversation with Louise and Robin, and asked where I am based out of. When I told her that I'm a marketing and arts management student in Philadelphia, she told me that her company is based out of both New York and Edinburgh, and told me that they are looking for people to help rebrand. We exchanged information and are in the process of setting up a time to grab coffee and talk before the end of the festival.
Our schedule was pretty packed today-- right after the second workshop we went straight to Gryphon to meet with Kakoa, Gryphon's venue manager. We went to one of the show spaces and he spoke to us about what it takes to be a venue manager at the Fringe. It still amazes me all of this is done on a volunteer basis. He talked to us about the three stages of the Fringe: Build, Fringe, Tear down. Seems obvious, but the way he explained it made the whole process sink in more. Everyone spends so much time and so much money putting together the festival, and in the matter of weeks it's over and done. Talk about the ultimate 'post show depression'
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| Meet Alexis, just your average goat walking down the street. Just kidding, she has a Gryphon venue pass. (seriously!) |
And this evening Sam, Ali, MC and I went to see Titus Andronicus at the Bedlam Theatre. SO AMAZING. I'm not sure why we're so into seeing Shakespeare lately, but this is another that I haven't read or seen before but it was an all female company who did a fabulous job playing multiple characters and utilizing their entire space. They didn't have a good backstage area so they embraced the fact that the audience could see everything they were doing 'backstage' and it definitely contributed to the quality of the show.
And right now we're catching up on some work for our companies while listening to Songs for a New World...and I'm not the one playing the music! Other people in the world know about the show!
Last but certainly not least, we made DrexelOne today! #famous
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