Today, we spent the morning with Caroline Newall, the Artistic Development Producer of the National Theatre of Scotland. She gave us the opportunity to learn a little bit about how the organization is funded as well as how it was conceived in the first place. She also gave us some insight into their "Theatre Without Walls" mission as well as let us have a stab at sticking to a matrix by which to fulfill the mission of the organization and doing a little bit of programming ourselves.

Caroline Newall explored the questions we ask about commissioning and programming a new season of work in a hands-on workshop that made it worth the early time slot. She was frank, and very invested in all of us learning something from her presentation. She entertained every idea our students submitted while interrogating them seriously and helping us to better understand her work.

Later that day, we engaged in mentor check-ins as a litmus test for how everyone was feeling in our living situation and with how much they'd learned at the festival thus far. This gave the students the opportunity to cater the experience to their personal needs. 

Holly Payton, organizer of the World Fringe Congress and WorldFringe.com, prepared Fringe Festivals Around the World in collaboration with Dr. Xela Batchelder from Drexel University. This panel was designed to allow directors from Fringe Festivals in the US, Australia, the UK, South Africa and Italy to showcase some of the specifics regarding each of their festivals as a means by which to invite performers and patrons to their individual festival.

In attendance was Alexandra Kesman, Managing Director of Cincy Fringe in Cincinatti, Ohio, Davide Ambrogi, Artistic Director of Roma Fringe, Meghan McCauley, Outreach Director for Hollywood Fringe, Greg Clarke, Executive Festival Director of Adelaide Fringe (and representative for World Fringe Perth), Julian Caddy, Managing Director of Brighton Fringe, Sarah Jones, Festival Director of OxFringe in Oxford, and Tony Lankester, CEO of the National Arts Festival in Grahamstown, South Africa (and representative for Amsterdam and Prague). Additional representatives from St. Louis Fringe, Rochester Fringe, and Arte Brasil International Shakespeare Festival & Fringe were in the audience. 

The panel discussed differences in visa laws, venue management, access, housing, and other issues.

Afterward, the group of us went to What Fringe Next?, a panel wherein performers who have been to several festivals at one time or another can share their experiences with performers who may be interested in touring their shows in the future. The panel consisted of Nick Brice, Ali-Pollard Mansergh, Tessa Waters, Mikelangelo, and Martin Dockerty and together they've attended festivals in Brighton, Edinburgh Oxford, Adelaide, Perth, Melbourne, Brisbane, Woodford, Indianapolis, Orlando, London, Toronto, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Edmonton, Victoria, Vancouver, San Francisco, Phoenix, and New York.

They each discussed when they felt ready to begin a life touring their shows and what each festival specifically offered them in a Q&A session led by Dr. Xela Batchelder. Their combined experience was relayed frankly, with a focus on honesty and realism.

We got a chance to sit in on the Fringe Annual General Meeting. We got to see the names of last year's students in the minutes and add ours to this year's sign-in sheet. Afterward, we stayed for the annual agenda and a review of the society's annual accomplishments. There were seven items to get voted on at the event, and we learned a lot getting to see the questions people asked.

People were concerned that there had been a shift toward dramatic pieces becoming more prominent in the early-mid afternoon, such that it had become more difficult to get to cool pieces in the evenings. Some people stated that this has always been the case because it's a good slot for this type of theatre. It could potentially concern both performers and journalists because with this many performances back-to-back it will cause more time conflicts.

Afterwards, Fringe Central hosted the World Festival Network's World Fringe Fair, where representatives from around 50 Fringe Festivals set up tables where they offered valuable insight and free SWAG for our students. It was a great networking opportunity.

Additionally, Zach had his shift at Gryphon Venues today as well! :)

Once again, our students met up with their individual company liaisons to continue their marketing internships and to keep up our discussions with them. After having gotten to know us a little better, it was nice to see our students finding comfortable places under the wings of each of their individual organizations. Alan Flanagan at Irreconcilable Differences began to give more responsibility to Lauren and Leah. Francesca Moody from NOLA brought on one of our students to continue to help her arrange her postshow discussion panels at the Cow Cafe at Underbelly Cowgate, and Jennifer Jajeh from I Heart Hamas enlisted the help of Kathleen and Caitlin in managing her social media presence.

While several of the students attended Independent Theatre Council's Nuts & Bolts: The Essentials of Running a Performing Arts Company at Fringe Central. It was described thusly: For absolute beginners (and those who fancy a refresher course), ITC's legendary short course provides an overview of some fundamental topics that you should be aware of when setting up a performing arts company, however small. ITC’s legal expert Jackie Elliman will explain company formation, planning, contracts, intellectual property law and much more.

Those students interested in continuing their Fringe-u-cation in sunny South Australia went to the Adelaide Fringe Info Session where Greg Clarke, Adelaide Fringe Director and Chief Executive and his team gave an overview of the 2nd Largest Fringe in the world.

Our day started with Structures of the Fringe Festival at Summerhall. We checked in regarding our involvement with our company liasons. We continued to try and understand what draws companies her if not for financial gain, and it really began to seem as though our students were getting a better feel for what the festival has to offer as a long-term investment. 

We are working towards a comprehensive understanding of the different aspects of the festival including the Fringe Society, Venues, and Companies and began to discuss briefly the other Fringes around the globe, and how they play into the grand scheme of things. Sam and Hayley were preparing for their shift shadowing the staff at Gryphon Venues later in the afternoon, so Lauren and Leah's debrief helped them to know what they should expect regarding the experience. They discussed their duties regarding the front-of-house staff and Rachel helped them to understand how this deviated from more "typical" front-of-house structures. They touched on the paperless aspect of the venue and how that weaved into their duties regarding Box Office reports.

We discussed the importance of box office reports, seeing as box office payouts aren't completed for some companies until October. Having a signed copy of the box office report is the only way to ensure continuity between the company and the venue. We got some insight into the importance of a Company Manager in a traditional theater setup.

Afterwards, we headed over to the Fringe Fair to take the opportunity to meet various professional organizations including: UK Actors Equity, Tick It (an audience services program that allows patrons to review their experiences at shows online), and E15 Acting School at University of Essex. There were opportunities for students to learn a bit about graduate school opportunities as well as to network with the other participants in the hub.

Our students spent the morning and early afternoon continuing work with Underbelly Cowgate and Gryphon Venues on NOLA as well as Irreconcilable Differences. They continued to engage in dialogues regarding why each company had chosen to come to the Fringe and what they wanted to glean from their experiences. The students got valuable insight as to why the Fringe Festival is such an important arts arena.


Mark Fisher, theater critic for The Guardian and author of The Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide sat down with us afterward to discuss sat down with us to discuss what individual factors come into play to determine the difference between "success" and mediocrity at the Fringe. He gave us a couple of examples of shows that might effectively define what it means to be successful. He also invited us to his forum with Maureen Beatty, from The List at Summerhall, Guy Matheson, one of Britain's top solo performers, comedian Ian Fox, and the producer Teresa Burns.

In defining success we looked at some shows from Traverse Theater, the National Theatre of Scotland, Finn Anderson, the Pleasance Grand, and Underbelly, including Bullet Catch, Appointment with the Wicker Man, Streets: the Musical, PEEP, and Sexytime! We discussed the importance of press coverage, topical subject matter, danger/risk, and artistic distinction and how all of these factors come together in different quantities to define individual success for each organization, dependent on their goals. 

Later that evening, some of our students continued to work with I Heart Hamas at Gryphon and PBH's Free Fringe presentation of Overexposed: A Slightly Awkward Peep Show at Finger's Piano Bar.

We went back to Fringe Central for a seminar on how to get the right people into your performances. Generally, they meant promoters, producers, tour managers, and publishers. Mike Hall, from the BBC was present as well as the producer, Frodo McDaniel, Francesca Clark from Pleasance, and Louise Callow. They discussed with us how it is that promoters actually go about finding shows. They don't like flyers, and are specifically concerned with word-of-mouth with regard to their choices. They have a strict timeline and like to be contacted one or two months before the festival about what you're doing and why they should be interested. They insist on targeted communication, and will ignore blanket email blasts. They like to be contacted via twitter, but once again, in a targeted manner. 

They reiterated the importance of a good image, but Mike from BBC insisted that BBC does not care about your flyer or branding.

An interesting section was the importance of your "cigarette pitch", a short, concise description of your work that would have someone interested by the time they finish their cigarette. This is important because a lot of the promoters frequent pubs as locations for scouting new work. They specifically mentioned Traverse Bar, Udderbelly, and Summerhall as locations to meet producers.

Today we had Structures of the Fringe Festival class. We discussed the specific aims of participants at the Fringe Festivl and got into the nuts and bolts of the festival schedule. Additionally, 2-for-1's at the Fringe began today and we talked about how the Fringe started 2-for-1's as a means by which to effectively jumpstart audience participation at the festival and allow for word-of-mouth promotions to begin amongst folk at the festival.

Ou first assignment was to seek out someone at each of the companies we were paired up with and talk to them a little bit about why they chose to bring a show to the festival, and what they hoped having done so would mean for their careers, long-term.

We were also assigned our major projects-- blogging our experience at the festival and networking with at least ten individuals. Xela and Rachel sent us off with some Fringe U business cards, and we all started focusing on what we'd learned.

We went to Summerhall, the Fringe's newest and largest venue, to have a discussion with some of the staff there about their roles in promoting, programming, and fulfilling the mission and vision of this new space. Rupert Thomson, our representative on programming, gave us a broad look at the science behind 'picking what's on'. He talked about how to specifically define Summerhall's direction in its first real year in operation, and how important the programme is in doing so. He stressed that although the identity of the space as still settling, this festival programme was the organization's best bet at asserting a thematic motif to their patrons.

Though Rupert continued to stress the importance of "having a way", Dani Rae, the arts industry expert, gave us her opinion on being flexible to your artist's needs. She assured us that it's not what you know, but who you know. She reminded us that taking your artist's livelihood seriously is the only way to get them to trust you with their product. She talked about how she had to give artists homework, because in a lot of cases, their lack of press was based solely on them not knowing how to initiate the process.

Anu Thomson, the Education contact, talked to us a bit about the mission of Summerhall as thought-provoking space and how important it was to keep channels of communication open within a creative space. She is hosting a series of educational and philosophical lectures for artists and reminded us to email her if we'd like to attend.

Finally, Mark the Building Manager, took us on a tour of the space and relayed to us several spooky stories about the history of the building and what strange leftovers could be seen from its former identity as the Royal (Dick) Veterinary School.

Xela led a discussion with Richard Demarco, CBE in the Red Lecture Theater of Summerhall, the Fringe's newest venue, owned by artist/economist Robert McDowell. Richard, having been to every Fringe since 1947, gave us invaluable insight into the motives of the festival. He reminded all of us that the festival was founded to help "heal the wounds of war" following WWII. Demarco went on to explain that his interest in Eastern European arts was rooted in his appreciation for arts motivated by suffering and by edge.

Xela went on to ask him about him founding the Traverse theater, and Richard explained that the entire operation was conceived, not as a theater or gallery, but as a meeting place for artistically-minded individuals and an aegis for the protection of Eastern European artists whose lives were endangered by their own work.

He explained his work with Tadeusz Kantor was motivated by his desire to save this man from certain death at the hands of the Gestapo, and that their production of The Waterhen meant the difference between critical acclaim and slaughter.

Demarco went on to denounce distinctions within the arts. "A photographer is just an artist who happens to use a camera," he said as he began to pick people out of the audience to have artistic dialogue with so as to affirm that the Fringe had deviated from its original purpose. He was concerned that it had become a circus more fixated on more and more and more arts rather than substantial, compulsive works.

Demarco has produced 8 Kantor shows and 3 shows by Joseph Beuys.

His final words of advice to the audience were to avoid limiting the scope of your artwork at all costs and that we should continuing to question why venues at the Fringe can't exist all year.

Meet the Media is bedlam! Between the two-hour queues, the crazy costumes, and the desperate excitement in the air, Fringe Central was the most packed we've seen it over the duration of the 4-hour event. Meet the Media is an opportunity for performers to veritably speed-date with representatives from media outlets. They get a couple of minutes to pitch their show to editors, who will in turn dispatch reviewers to shows they find newsworthy.

The event is described thusly on edfringe.com:
An event unlike any other and one of the most popular opportunities at the festival, this is a chance to meet media representatives and get a face-to-face chance to promote your show. Last year saw representation from such publications as The Scotsman and the New York Times. Strictly two representatives from each event only and bring hard copies of news releases, flyers etc.

The Gryphon Venues Press Launch was just as wild though! POINT Hotel's beautiful penthouse was the perfect view of Edinburgh Castle and the reaches of the city. The entertainment, the drinks, and the company all blended together to create a unique atmosphere and some incredible networking opportunities for some of our students who could steel their stomachs and approach some of the media present at the party.

:)