An additional daily breakdown of our experience at the fringe 2012
Day 8
After the usual stint of flyering we went back to the venue to see Gods, a performance from California. It was a wordy, visual affair and despite its subject, the death of an infant, it was relaxing and beautifully hypnotic. We performed straight after and like coiled springs we bounced on to the stage and gave those watching what for. The audience was great, the show was caught on camera and we bounded off after to see a beautiful dance piece called Duplica at Dance Base. In fact Dance Base have selected us to perform at their highlights show on the 24th August…. so today felt very positive indeed.
The lesson… there are people who like and rate your piece.
“Splits Opinion” on the Mile….
Day 9
We return to the street stage with more acrobatics. Mrs Clark has taken to doing splits up the side of the stage. This gets a crowd and we rattle off some cheap lines and revel in the lunacy. The show is the complete opposite to last night…. no reaction at all, a very stiff audience who did not react to any of the visual images that seem to have made others titter. Halfway through a very ‘middle-aged’ couple leave and I have the feeling that this will not be the end of it. We head off to see Outland at the beautiful C-Nova venue and it is a brilliant piece of up close theatre by Belt Up… not our usual cup of tea but some really excellent performances win us over from the start. Then some late night drinking in many a haunt leading to the Labyrinth. A very late boozy night indeed!
The view from the top floor of C-Nova
Today we really appreciated the fine technical work that goes on behind the scenes of every show. Its worth telling those technical types what a fine job they do.
Day 10
Yes indeed …. the couple who left last night write a withering review on the Ed fringe box office site. They hated it and need to tell others. Fair enough…. we use this in today’s pitch. “Don’t come to this show if you are serious… too serious. Do not come if you like Shakespeare, Andrew Lloyd Webber or Eastenders. For this show is not for you if you want original one-liners, fine acting or ballet style dancing. No don’t come…. ” It was some of our best flyering to date. People stopped to listen, came up and asked “what’s it about then” and we had a lot of fun explaining. Mr Clark went on a right rant and stood on a bollard to deliver a speaker’s corner type rant.
The show is an interesting one… the audience are a little stiff… we have that feeling that at any point someone is going to get up and leave. We deliver the show rigidly, stick to script, add nothing new and get off quickly and then hear a really rousing round of applause. We leave the building, we never go back for a bow, but we can still hear the clapping. We meet people outside after and they hang around for a chat. Another ‘middle-aged’ couple, who I was banking on walking out, congratulated us on a thoroughly different experience. They were from Newport… they’d know about different then. We flyer well into the night, twice being asked to leave Underbelly by a polite but firm security man, and then meet some lovely people on the street. Here, maybe, is our best chance to find our real audience.
Today’s lesson… how you react to criticism is very important. It is OK to be hurt but essentially get back on that horse, as soon as possible, and ride….. BAREBACK!!!
Day 11
Today Venue 13 is closed so we have a day off. A day to do other things… it flies by. We do a workshop on Forum Theatre, head over to the Mosque Kitchen for our daily dose of dhal and rice, a mere £3 for a massive plate, and then head to the Voodoo Lounge to see Jet Black Pearl. She is an accordion player who uses a loop station to record and layer vocals and beats and she delivers a jaw dropping set of her amazing, surreal and funny songs. Wow… we are blown away. This is a free fringe gig and we are inspired to see more alas nothing quite lives up to Jet Black Pearl afterwards. We head home…. its time to wash those costumes, tomorrow is another day and the first of 14 shows to finish the run.
Today we have mostly noted that time flies when you are having fun and less so when you are not. An old lesson but a valuable reflection. Check out Jet Black Pearl.
A few drinks in good company is essential
Day 12
So we are back at it… a street stage show and some rabble rousing on the mile. It’s hard to start but once in the swing we enjoy ourselves and after a little rain the sun appears. There are even more people out flyering and the public are bombarded with a whole variety of gimmicks from a plethora of performers. This includes us. The show feels a little heightened by the presence of the total theatre award judge. We are warned just prior to opening. She openly takes notes throughout. I can’t get it out of my head and want to laugh out loud at one point, it seems ridiculous that they’d even consider us. It’s a fun show and we meet a few of the punters outside after. The judge walks past and says “Great show” before rushing away. We smile and head up to see Pony Dance at Silks. This is a great interactive piece of dance with a fantastic comic edge… in fact its the comedic moments that impress more than the choreography. But these guys are the absolute business.
Motivation is only truly tested when you have to do something you really don’t want to.
Is this helping sales?
Day 13
It starts like every other. I look for reviews on-line. A sordid, self-centred pursuit of praise, recognition or damnation. Like a junkie you want a good hit but know too well the perils of this unpredictable narcissistic pursuit. The show has been visited by the Evening News, The Scotsman, Three Weeks Magazine, Ed Fringe Review.Com, The Culture Show and Broadway Baby but only one review has been published and that was on-line… and it was bad. There is something odd about this search, an unsettling moment as you tell yourself it doesn’t really matter. But of course it does. We had a great review from an audience member on the box office site and I plaster this all over facebook as if to say “see, someone likes what we do.” Then the phone rings and its the pressroom at the Scotsman. They want a publicity photo as they are putting a Medicine Show review in tomorrow’s edition. We are gripped with optimism and then a little fear.
Tonight’s show is a wonderfully crazy one. We don’t get a call from our usually super efficient stage manager and the show starts without us. We enter somewhat belatedly and have to skip the opening routine. It feels nicely chaotic and we enjoy the enforced change and the adrenaline rush that accompanies the realisation that something has gone wrong.
There is a lesson in all of this but I cannot articulate it… but Mrs Clark says ‘when dreams become reality, trouble is not far behind’.
“a sexy, guitar wielding, lyrical mastermind!” Edinburgh Evening News
Day 14
We go in to the City separately today and meet at the venue. The weather is wonderful temperamental but essentially dry for the street stage appearance. Mrs Clark is surrounded by photographers as she does her thing on stage. This at time looks disturbing, not what Mrs C. does but the flurry of activity from these men who become like bees around honey. I buy the newspaper and there it is nestled at the foot of the page a lovely, witty and shinning Medicine Show review stating that “Mr and Mrs Clark will rock your world.” Its an odd relief more than anything else but of course the reality still stands that we need more punters at shows whatever the papers say. The show is great tonight and there in the audience was Mr Clark senior and his lovely wife. We had no idea and we celebrated by getting the aforementioned Mr. Clark up on stage! It was great fun. We then went for a curry at the Mosque kitchen with the folks, which was very lovely indeed. After a sneaky bit of flyering we sloped off to see some crazy macabre cabaret at the Jekyll and Hyde pub and once again we flyer enthusiastically afterwards. A night out is often tinged with this mantra… ‘These people could be our target audience.”
Mr & Mrs Clark with Mr & Mrs Clark
Todays lesson… you cannot run on adrenaline alone but boy its a hefty buzz.
Time appears to move like the speed of light and I am here typing away at this blog once again. Our box office figures are picking up but it always feels like there is more you can do. Thanks to all who commented last time … and thanks for your support and well wishes. Onwards into the final 9 shows and the last week of the Edinburgh Fringe experience.
Gareth