A short daily breakdown….
Day 1
The real day one for me is Friday 3rd August… the day Medicine Show opens at Venue 13. But in actual fact this is our third day and it feels a very little bit overwhelming. After a full day of swanning around the Fringe Office and this beautiful, beautiful City we had a strong dose of reality. The reality is the difficulty of selling your show alongside 2,694 superlatively laden wonders – highlighted by your first box office report. So today and yesterday we worked the mile flyering with attitude and engaging as many passerby’s as possible. Does it work… who knows but it feels positive to be doing something and not fretting!
The first day lesson actually came a couple of days ago from Sheridan, the PR for the C venues. The best way to sell your show in Edinburgh… is to have a damn fine show!
This beautiful, beautiful City
Day 2
The first night out the way…. a few notes and a couple of changes to pick up the pace second half… but we are doing what we love as opposed to trying to sell and meet the press, which is what we had to do today. An hour in a queue to join many other queues to then wow and woo the journo’s from all sorts of random publications and on-line sites. The best bit was meeting so many others doing exactly the same and we made new friends who may well become audience members. We then performed on the Royal Mile on the upper stage….the sun shone and we gathered a crowd before starting.
Todays lesson, Mrs Clark bending over continuously to take off and put on her shoes pulls a mighty crowd…. the show was excellent tonight and Mrs Clark was on fire… they loved her!
Day 3
We have been plotting this campaign for a while so our appearances today were targeted. First we battled the rain to perform on the outdoor stage on the mile. It was a little slippery but ‘acrobatics for beginners in marriage crisis’ went down well. The show was electric and we very nearly had a real casualty after a little on stage collision between Mr Clark and an audience member! Then after seeing the excellent Naked Dictators we headed over to Sweet for a little late night cabaret appearance. This too was very well received and Mrs Clark attracted and terrified the audience in equal measure.
Today we have mostly learned that a mild hangover and a little fatigue can be overcome with a positive approach to performing. We were so hyper after the cabaret we walked home the long way. It’s all about attitude up here and you can already spot people who are loosing heart.
The wet weather policy
Day 4
Monday’s rain cleared away nicely and the street stage was once again surrounded with the curious. The show was a good one but we had our first review and its a shocker… a real kicking. It’s not from anyone important just an on-line site (of which there are many here) but undoubtedly this takes the wind out of our sails (and potentially our sales) but the venue and other artists have been very supportive and a little annoyed at our reviewers attitude.
The lesson – It is always worth remembering that some people will not like your show…. a thick skin is a good friend as is a pint of beer!
Day 5
Get back on that horse and ride and with vigour we hit the mile once more. There are more effective ways of flyering, queues, exit flyering etc… but the camaraderie on the mile is great fun! Tonight’s show is supported by a 2 for 1 box office deal and we get a late walk up from a mix of punters. We also head to see two other shows including The People Show. It’s a wonderful and inspiring experience and its great to be engaged so fully by other people’s work.
Today’s lesson is simple – some people will say they will come to your show and don’t. Others will say they will come to your show and they do and they bring other people! 50% of the marketing is working, we just don’t know which 50 % that is!
The best tech team are at Venue 13
Day 6
It is clear the more you can talk to people about the show the easier it is to get them to come. However getting people to stop is both a challenge and a chore. However if they are sat in Cafe’s or stood in queues then you have a chance. There is undoubtedly a technique to this and for us it is in development. There is something truly humbling in selling your trade directly to the public. I recommend it… because it ratifies your own love for the show and no one can do this as well as you can!
Today’s lesson – we’re in it together, not just us Clarks but everyone punting on the streets. We have met some great people and here we are all trading theatre like stock brokers trade commodities and bonds.
Day 7
We return to the street stage today and then later we have the Scotsman and Three Weeks reviewing the show. We need an audience and then we’ll need a pint. Wish us luck today…our Edinburgh experience may well depend on it!
The first week in Edinburgh… the biggest lesson? Time flies here, there is so much to do that the more prepared you are before you arrive, the better. There is simply is not enough time. Does writing this blog constitute a good use of time when probably only a handful of people will read it? These are the things you have to be very honest about and perhaps this is an hour wasted this morning. Prioritising is essential!
There maybe more….. there may not…. Gareth