As we gave our final company updates today it began to sink in that this is the beginning of the end. Some of our companies did better than others, but of course what we consider "doing well" goes back to what the company's original goals were for coming to Edinburgh. Despite the varying goals of our companies, we came to the conclusion that no matter why they chose to bring a show to the Fringe, it is important for all of them to be extremely open.
Open to venue options.
Open to changing your target audience.
Open to changing your marketing strategy.
Open to taking advice.
Open to other's opinions.
Open to the fact that what works in one area may not work in another.
Passion. Another key aspect to success here is how much you are willing to give for your show, and if you are here solely for your show or if you have ulterior motives. It's clear which shows have producers who are passionate about the production, and which are here to make connections for future engagements. If you don't love your show and completely invest in it you will not succeed.
As Fringe University students, our goal when working with our companies was to gain experience working with an American company traveling to the UK for the first time. We shadowed venue managers, worked with producers and applied our marketing and entertainment touring classes from home to help the companies succeed here. Honestly I was surprised how much I knew that the "professionals in the field" didn't know. I mean it was cool to know most of what the workshops were teaching, but at the same time it makes me wonder why I'm still sitting in class and not out there doing something.
Gayle told us a little bit about her experiences at Summerhall with Paul and the visual art exhibitions. She worked a lot with Ryan and the live "fashion vandal" who screen prints on your clothes while you're standing there.
Then we transitioned to Theater class. We discussed our Mandarin Tragedy of Coriolanus experience. It was quite interesting to experience how the audience members react. There were three very distinct groups of people - those who were reading the English supertitles, those who understood the dialogue, and then then those who read slower. That has to be awkward for the actors on stage looking for some feedback from the audience or having the audience laugh before the punchline. BroadwayBaby gave it 2 stars. It's an International Festival show. Let that sink in.
As things start to wind down we had the afternoon off. We're all starting to crash so some went upstairs to sleep for a while and others went to coffee shops to get work done. I'm ahead work so I went for a walk to pick up random souvenir type things that I haven't had a chance to get.
I'm getting shmancy with my dinners. I bought some pesto at Tesco and made some grilled chicken and green beans. Yum. I'm playing a fine line with food...I need make sure I have enough to feed myself for another 6 days but I don't want to throw away food when we leave....rough life eh?
Just a few people out and about today.
Tonight Emily and went over to Summerhall to see Tin Ring. Everything is selling out over there because Summerhall shuts down for the season tomorrow night, but we were able to squeeze into the show. The only way I can think to describe the show is captivating. It was a one-woman true story show about the Holocaust. The way she portrayed multiple characters without losing track or confusing the audience was amazing, and the story itself was enough to keep audience attention. Well, most of the audience. There were a few rather rude audience members who walked out in the middle. I can understand why people would walk out of certain shows, but in a circumstance like this--the show is only an hour long. You're sitting in a lecture hall in rows of chairs where everyone needs to stand for you to get out of the chair and the performer is in the middle of an extremely serious speech.
Have a little respect people, COME ON.
Also today was Andrew's last day. He's off to Glasgow tomorrow and then back to the good ol' states. Hard to believe that'll be me in less than a week....
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