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How To Do A Show At The Edinburgh Fringe 2004
It's big (a million visitors), it's long (3 weeks in August), it's cold & wet (it's in Edinburgh), and here's how to do it ...
What happened: Officers from the Official Edinburgh Fringe (Edfringe) organisation explained what's involved in taking a show to Edinburgh 8-30 Aug 04. Fifteen venue managers described their venues. Officers, venue managers, and the 200 audience networked (drank) afterwards (writes John Park).
When, Where, How Much: The Pleasance Theatre, London, Saturday 14 February 04, 2-5 pm. Part of Edfringe's Free Inter-City Roadshow.
Who: Paul Gudgin - Fringe Director. Martin Reynolds - Press & Marketing Manager. Owen O'Leary - Press & Marketing Officer. Rachel Athey - Performers & Venues Development Manager.
Detail:
Martin Reynolds asked and answered Why Do People Want To Come To The Fringe?. To get reviews, he suggested, explore touring opportunities, and have a good time. When visiting for the first time, there's the direct experience of running one's own business. It's good to go on the CV and a rite of passage - come and have a ball. For more established people, there's the CV kudos that one's been, tried, and succeeded.
There's substantial media attention - 6,000 reviews, 1,500 journalists. Martin Reynolds runs the Edfringe Official Press Office. He gave a Golden Rule - We can only do for you what you tell us. He's delighted to be told.
It's a useful place to meet other artists - for collaboration and even sharing of costs. For professional companies, there are opportunities for future work. 300 to 400 promoters come every year - eg the British Council Showcase - plus talent scouts and casting directors.
Rachel Athey explained What The Fringe Office Does. When a show registers with them, they send monthly step-by-step bulletins. New venues come in all the time. The copy form is vital - containing all information on the show. Registration is £12 (check fees with Official Fringe Office online in case we mis-report).
Rachel Athey said that the most important decision is Finding A Space To Perform In. Venues vary in services, facilities and location. Some give a bare service, some do very detailed programming. Some will expect scripts, some are not concerned.
Critical factors in selecting a venue include, most crucially, location. After that, it's time slot, trust, technical support, capacity, reputation, and how much they charge.
Location is vital. Central venues are the most expensive, but they're more popular, and close together. The most-asked questions concern time slot. People think a 7pm time slot is prime. That's true, but at 7pm, 8pm, really big names also appear and can dwarf other shows. Audiences want to see maybe 6 shows a day, so 2pm can be OK too.
One has to trust the venue managers, said Rachel Athey. Technical support is important. Capacity? Better to err on the side of caution - it's better to sell out a smaller venue than have a large one looking empty (and cheaper). The venue's reputation is a factor. The deal - how much one pays - must be examined carefully, particularly all the small print of the contract.
Rachel Athey suggested these steps: do research; look at one's intended venue's last year's programme; what awards did they win?; make a list of 5 venues, contact them, see what comes back; negotiate; when happy, exchange contracts as soon as possible; read the small print; find a space to live; find the money.
Finding somewhere to live is, Rachel Athey suggests, 40 percent of the budget. It's very expensive in Edinburgh. www.edinburghspaces.com carries a database of landlords nearer the time. One can also try the Tourist Board www.edinburgh.org.
The speakers took questions from the audience. What does the Fringe Office do?: The office tries to do as much as possible online, eg www.edfringegroups.com has a massive database of PR contacts. There's a free Press & Marketing Roadshow. The office provides the Fringe Green Room - an office for performers, with computers, internet and photocopiers.
Publicity?. Owen O'Leary said that 425,000 copies of the programme are printed and sent world-wide. Signing-up for a listing is instant publicity for the show from June. During the Fringe, listings are published daily, sorted by the hour - in printed form (Guide Daily, The Scotsman, Metro, List Magazine) and online.
Getting the word out. Martin Reynolds: The Fringe Box Office is a prime resource, it's on the Royal Mile, and online from 21 June. Venue box offices open later - around the end of July, so the Fringe Box Office offers an early advantage.
Martin Reynolds explained that the first couple of days (this year, Sun 8 August, Monday 9 August 04) used to be quite quiet, hence the introduction of 2 For 1 Tickets for these days as an incentive to get the audience in. There is an option for this on the registration form.
Events. The big one, said Martin Reynolds, is Fringe Sunday - 15 August this year. 'We try to condense the whole festival into one day. 200,000 people came last year, making it the world's biggest open-air event. It's the chance for the public to get a taster of your show; the opportunity to get at the Edinburgh audience.' It's not a captive audience, Martin Reynolds pointed out, and it's advisable to adapt the theme of the show as a teaser.
He noted that Fringe High Street is on for the duration of the festival. Again, it's not a captive audience. Slots are 10-15 minutes. It's a good opportunity to drum-up interest, a taster. He recommends combining it with flyering.
The Fringe Opening Party on Sunday 8 August 04, the day the festival starts is an opportunity to meet other performers and the press. A lot of artistic partnerships are formed at the fringe.
Fringe Director Paul Gudgin spoke about Money It's important, he said, to identify key costs, and remember that everything is negotiable. These were listed in order as venue, travel, accommodation, and after that, marketing. He set out the cost of entry to the Fringe Programme, and explained the discounts for early enrolment before mid-April - details online
Paul Gudgin recommended spending time on one's budget. He suggested taking a pessimistic view of box office takings - about 5-10% of theatre capacity. There's a section online, he said, on fund-raising - How To Sell A Show At The Fringe. There's little point trying to raise sponsorship in Edinburgh, with 5 major festivals in August. It's better to go locally, trying eg the local Arts Council board; or getting sponsorship in kind - eg printing - rather than asking for money.
Taking floor questions, Paul Gudgin emphasised that the approx £200 entry fee 'buys our services. The words in the programme are the most important words you write.' The words and title of the show are listed online. Reviewers all look at the Programme.
Is it worth going up for a week?. There's no hard and fast rule, Paul Gudgin reckoned. If it's about getting experience, yes. If one is able to manage two weekends it will be a better experience. Are there other venues than those registered? Paul Gudgin: Venues are not registered in the sense of being regulated; most venues register with the Fringe Office.
Dates of Scottish school holidays?. Paul Gudgin: 'I think schools go back around 15 August.' Ticket prices. Paul Gudgin explained that the average price is just under £8. The most common price is £5. It's a good idea to look at last year's programme. It's up the show to set the price it wishes, and worth consulting the venue.
One person shows? Paul Gudgin suggested finding help to get the word out. It can be lonely, and for stand-ups too. 'Be prepared to network like crazy'.
Flyers (leaflets) There was a discussion about using a professional firm to do flyering; and about arts administration courses in Edinburgh. A show doing its own flyering would be more likely to be fully committed to the flyering. Allow 200 flyers a day for 30 days.
Length, slot, set. Paul Gudgin: Most shows are 1 to 1 hr-15 min long - discuss with the venue. Make sure to get a time slot. Ask the venue if they know where the set can be stored.
There was a discussion with an American about Foreign Entertainers' Tax. Rachel Athey advised that the Inland Revenue needs to know about shows from outside the UK. In 99% of cases the tax is not payable for the Edinburgh Fringe.
Short plays 15 minutes? Is there a cluster, and a space, for short plays? Paul Gudgin said that some venues could like 15 minute plays. It's worth going online to see if one can team up with others.
Managers of 15 venues spoke for 5 minutes about what each had to offer. (For details see individual websites, most of which are listed online at the Official Fringe website.
Venue managers speaking included: (with the numbers they held up to identify themselves): 2, Vicky de Lacy, Holyrood Tavern. 3, Paul Wagner, Cowgate Theatre. 4, James McKenzie, Zoo. 5, Tomek Borkowy, Hill Street Theatre. 6, Catherine Smith, Bedlam Theatre. 8, Michael Slack, Greenside Church. 9, Julian Caddy, Sweet. Hartley Kemp, C Venues. Christopher Richardson, The Pleasance. Thomas Sandford, Augustine's. 12, Stephen Keyworth, The 5056 Lift. 14, David Lavender, Komedia Roman Eagle Lodge. 15, Charlie Wood, The Underbelly.
END
John Park
reported 14 February 04 / The Pleasance Theatre, London
Fringe Report (c) Fringe Report 2002-2008
