Hook Hitch Theatre gets its Edinburgh Fringe priorities right

AH YES, it's that time of year again when people start focusing on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and, importantly, get their bookshelves in order.

Previously, we've seen top-quality book-related pictures here:
http://edinburghfringesurvivalguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/the-art-of-skyers-words-and-women.html

and here: http://edinburghfringesurvivalguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/hooray-for-blitz-sisters.html
and here: http://edinburghfringesurvivalguide.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/babies-puppets-and-swimming-pools-read.html

Now it's the time of those wise people from Guildford's Hook Hitch Theatre who, as well as making their own shows, their own music and their own puppets, are starting their Fringe campaign as they mean to go on – with a mighty fine pile of books:

 

Cash for musicians to perform at the Fringe

The Scottish government has just sent out this press release, which will be of interest to musicians based in Scotland and thinking about performing on the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Applications for support can be made from today via http://www.creativescotland.com/investment/madeinscotland2013:

Cash for musicians to perform at the Fringe

Funding scheme expanded to support music acts for the first time

The Scottish Government will expand its support for Scottish-based artists to perform at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year, Culture Secretary Fiona Hyslop announced today.

The annual Made in Scotland funding programme will receive a £100,000 boost and will be extended to support music acts in addition to theatre and dance in 2013.

The Cabinet Secretary was speaking from Creative Scotland in Edinburgh, where she met members of The Blueswater, whose 2012 Fringe performances earned the Edinburgh-based band a prestigious Mervyn Stutter Spirit of the Fringe Award.

She said:

“The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the world’s biggest arts festival, attracting visitors and artists from all over the globe to experience the cultural and creative talent it has to offer.

“It makes strong economic sense to ensure Scotland’s own exceptional talent is at the centre of the Fringe and our artists are given opportunities to benefit from the global exposure the festival brings. Through Made in Scotland – part of the Edinburgh Festivals Expo Fund - the Scottish Government continues to demonstrate its commitment to doing exactly that.

“Since 2009 we have provided £1.6m through Made in Scotland to support 56 theatre and dance productions to perform at the Fringe and to embark on a range of international touring opportunities.

“Expanding the scope of the scheme to support musicians is a natural next step for Made in Scotland. For the successful applicants, it will provide access to fantastic support, expertise, training and advice, exposure to esteemed international promoters and funding towards performing at the 2013 Fringe.”

Kath M Mainland, Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, said:

“The Fringe is the world’s largest arts festival and provides a unique platform for artists to showcase their work to the public and arts industry from all over the world.  Made in Scotland ensures Scottish artists can take  full advantage of the significant international opportunity provided by the Fringe. Expanding the Made in Scotland programme to include music is a natural progression and one which sits very comfortably within the Fringe programme as a whole.

“The Scottish Government’s ongoing support for the Made In Scotland programme continues to be invaluable as a means for Scottish based artists to present their work both to audiences and promoters at the Fringe and it is fantastic that this support has made it possible for the Made in Scotland initiative to be extended this year to include musical genres for the first time.”

Caroline Parkinson, Director of Creative Development at Creative Scotland, said:

"I'd encourage musicians based in Scotland, ready to take the step onto the international platform provided by the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, to apply for this new support available through Made in Scotland. The tremendous successes enjoyed so far by artists working in theatre and dance who have been supported by the programme shows the potential opportunities now open to those working in music."

Felipe Schrieberg from The Blueswater, said:

“This kind of program is perfect for a group like us. We've worked hard to succeed at the Fringe with our show 'Blues!', and with potential access to this kind of funding we can work on putting together a more ambitious Fringe show.”

What I learnt about putting on a Fringe show

The Butlers serving Tattie Shaw's fruit

THE series of six chat shows I hosted during the 2012 Edinburgh Fringe could scarcely have been more simple. The format was straightforward: me and three or four guests sitting in front of an audience discussing the various challenges of putting on a Fringe show for an hour. I did not have to worry about building a set, remembering lines, keeping up company morale or sorting out accommodation.

Despite this, it was remarkable to realise how much time and energy the show took up. Here are some of the things I discovered:

The responsibility of doing your own show

It is not unusual for me to appear on stage in front of an audience. I am quite often asked to chair a post-show discussion or a Book Festival Q&A session. Indeed, during the 2012 Fringe, I chaired four interviews in the Pleasance Bytes series - in the same room and at the same time of day as my own show.

I found it fascinating to realise how different my attitude was to doing this kind of event compared with running my own. Although what the audience saw was essentially the same kind of thing, I felt very differently about it. When I'm a guest on someone else's show, I take it seriously and may even get a bit of an adrenaline buzz, but I don't lose sleep over it. I do what I've been asked to do, then move on.

With my own face on the flyer, however, something changed. This was my show and its success was my responsibility. If no one turned up, it would be me who had to apologise to the guests and me who had to worry about attracting a bigger audience next time. I was confident the show itself would work (more on that in a moment), but I was much more conscious of the pressure to make sure the whole thing went smoothly and that guests and audience were happy.

The time it takes

One consequence of this was the show took up a lot of mental energy. Particularly before the first two shows, I found it difficult to think about anything else. The various tasks I had to complete were not difficult in themselves, but it was important I got them done. That, coupled with the initial sense of uncertainty about how the event would go, meant this simple show occupied a disproportionate amount of brain power at a time when I was also trying to focus on my job as a reviewer. I didn't have to do any of the physical labour involved in many Fringe shows, but it was tiring just thinking about it.

In addition to these mental demands, the show took up a surprising amount of organisational time. The tasks were not onerous, but there were a lot of them. Things I had to do included: sending emails to the guests to remind them to turn up; watching the shows the guests were putting on; picking up fruit to give to the audience from my sponsor Tattie Shaw's; carrying the fruit, flyers and copies of The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide to the venue; getting unsold books back home again after the event; sending emails to the guests to thank them for their time; promoting the show by flyering outside Fringe Central or on the High Street . . .

That was just for starters. Additionally, I had to talk to friends and family about how to improve the show; find replacements for two guests who had to pull out at the last minute; ask the Pleasance press office to circulate information about the line-up to other performers; send emails about the show to Fringe companies who had emailed me about their shows; use Twitter and Facebook to tell people about press coverage and forthcoming guests; do interviews with an American documentary maker, a blogger, a Times journalist and a festival radio station; appear on a panel at an event run by the World Fringe Congress . . .

Cumulatively, all these things meant I was thinking about the show almost constantly. If that is true for this, the most simple of shows - and just six performances - how much more must it be true for a major production doing a daily run? I managed to continue seeing shows and do a fair bit of writing (though less than normal), but it's easy to see how a bigger production would be all consuming.

The lesson: don't underestimate the time and effort it takes to put on a Fringe show. It's a lot more than the hour you are on stage.

The neediness of the performer

As a theatre critic and freelance writer, I'm used to being self-reliant and independent. It's the sort of job that appeals to the lone wolf. I was surprised, therefore, to find myself quite unabashed about encouraging people to come to the show. It was like I needed their support and validation. In August, Edinburgh is a city full of fragile egos, exposing themselves to public scrutiny. In my own small way, I guess I was one of them. If you are planning to perform on the Fringe, it pays to remember how exposed you may feel and to have strategies for coping with that.

My face on the flyer = pressure

Belief in your show

The core message of The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide is you should understand your motivation for performing. If you are clear about your purpose, you are more likely to believe in your show. And believing in your show makes all the difference when dealing with everything the Fringe throws at you.

Having written the book, I knew this in theory, but it was great to see how true it was in practice. Call it self-delusion, call it hype, but I never doubted my show was essential viewing. That meant I went out flyering with an evangelical zeal. I surprised myself with my enthusiasm.

Meeting my target audience, I genuinely believed they would enjoy the show. It was no effort for me to speak persuasively about it, because I was saying what I honestly felt. It would have been so much harder if I thought I was selling them a dud. In those circumstances, to go out flyering at all would have taken special reserves of energy, let alone talk to people.

The experience reinforced the importance of doing a show you believe in, remembering why you are doing it and  maintaining your enthusiasm and morale throughout the three weeks.

The book was right: I have survived

THE last of my Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide: Live! shows was this morning and very well it went too. Had a great conversation with Camille O'Sullivan, Vicky Featherstone and Ben Harrison, and even did a bit of artistic matchmaking.

I hope to add some thoughts about the whole experience shortly - if you're impatient, you can read Philip Fisher's four-star comments about it in the British Theatre Guide or, indeed, my own in the Guardian. Or you can cut-out the middle man and take a listen to the podcasts here.

In the meantime here are my butlers whom I commissioned to serve Tattie Shaw's fruit for the middle two shows:

Lying In The Streets - Scottish Falsetto Socks at Edinburgh Fringe 2012

We have lift off

THE first two instalments of The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide: Live! have gone swimmingly, with illuminating contributions on Thursday from Kath Mainland, Orla O'Loughlin, Aneke McCulloch and Tess Waters; and on Friday from Lyn Gardner, Brian Logan, Miriam Attwood and Finn Anderson.

The events have been sparking off lively post-show conversations and generating a bit of publicity, including this from Brian Ferguson in today's Scotsman, in which he reports Mainland's view that there are more reasons than money to appear on the Fringe, including "raising their profile within the industry, attracting media attention, seeing other world-class productions, and enjoying the opportunity to learn from other productions and performers".

The series continues on Thursday. Here's a reminder of the line-up:

Thursday 16 August

How to keep body and soul together

Essential advice about surviving week two and beyond from Maureen Beattie (pictured), star of Stellar Quines' The List, Guy Masterson, Oliver Award-winning director of Morecambe, Ian Fox, author of How to Produce, Perform and Write an Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Show, and Teresa Burns, co-director of How It Ended Productions.

Friday 17 August

Comics on comedy

How to have the last laugh as a Fringe comedian with Phil Nichol, Edinburgh Comedy Award winner, Josie Long (pictured), Edinburgh Comedy Award best newcomer 2006, and Jessie Cave, comedian, actor and Harry Potter star.

Thursday 23 August

Riding the highs and lows of Fringe fortune

How to deal with disappointment and make the most of a hit with Hannah Eidinow (pictured), five-times Fringe First winning director, Judith Doherty, producer of the multi-award winning Grid Iron, Peter Michael Marino, writer of West End flop Desperately Seeking Susan, and Nicola Foxfield, assistant producer with Fringe first-timers Hecate Theatre.

Friday 24 August

Life beyond the Fringe

Expert advice on developing your post-Fringe career from Vicky Featherstone (pictured), artistic director of the National Theatre of Scotland, Camille O'Sullivan, singing star of the Fringe and the Edinburgh International Festival, and Toby Gough, Herald Archangel-winning director.

A flyer: tips on staging a successful Fringe show