Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2017
Eighteen shows in twenty-seven days. That's what we committed to when the decision was made to participate at The Fringe for the first time. The open platform idea was appealing. The condition? To book a venue first.
For anyone wishing to participate at the world's largest theatre festival, do your research first. Thoroughly. Just like pretty much anything else in life involving decision-making, when it comes to choosing a venue, there will be a myriad of things to take into account because every venue will have its own character, reputation, relationship to other venues and the festival as a whole as well as an overall ‘feel’. Where you are in your career will be one of the determining factors in choosing a venue, for instance.
Marketing is another important one -though bear in mind that the sheer saturation of ‘flyering’ and poster distribution can sometimes be ignored (particularly by locals who remain largely polite). Putting together a carefully-thought plan to market your show will also go a long way in staying out of the general noise and making sure your show stands out (targeted versus mass marketing).
The Fringe, originally formed to give a platform to those with more limited exposure, does not feel very close to its original intent. To us, taking the show all the way from California, it felt pretty much dominated by big names in the comedy industry whose shows run parallel to yours. Over 4000 shows in the course of three weeks.
It can be exciting to have several festivals running alongside each other or overlap; but it can also be overwhelming when wanting to choose what to see.
It is said that the average fringe audience consists of 6 people and that only 10% of shows break even.
If you are aware of all of this and more and participate knowing how little to expect, you will have a good time. You never know who is going to be in the audience or what like-minded people you will meet. Magic can happen and is out there. But be realistic about the return on investment. The Fringe is not cheap. Since you are going to pay high price for your experience, make sure your venue aligns with your show, can back you up with marketing efforts and one that can offer more than a space to rent.