We started our day back at Fringe Central for a lecture outlining how best to utilize your time during your first outing to the Fringe. Christabel Anderson, head of Participant Services, gave us a brief history of the Edinburgh Fringe, beginning with the story of the first Fringe in 1947 and its purpose as a WWII relief center for global arts culture. She discussed the Fringe Society’s 1968 inception as well as the current state of affairs within the organization.

Louise Oliver, head of Participant Development, lectured us on the importance of the Fringe’s focus on the artistic maturation of the participants, and told us all about her job advising shows and theatre companies as to how to make sure the Fringe results in some benefit for the artists who come here, considering the financial burden inherent in the pilgrimage.

Andrew, the Fringe Society’s Media Manager, gave us some brief insight into his role, and how he effectively plays matchmaker with shows and press outlets to ensure relevancy, clarity, and equal opportunity coverage.

Mark, the Music Licensing Coordinator walked us through the nuts and bolts of copyright and licensing issues at the Fringe. Bridget, the director of Marketing and Sponsorship explained her role in marketing the Fringe as a whole as well as in managing the advert requests for the website and Fringe programme before moving on to explain Friends of the Fringe.

We learned a bunch about the festival in a little over an hour! It was kind of like a crash course in Fringe-ery.

Fringe Central proved to be a wealth of information, coffee, and free WiFi! Zach, Sam, and Jacob Merinar (the first of our delayed students to arrive) attended the first seminar of our festival run, "How to Sell a Show", a definitive guide on how to best utilize the services offered by the Media Management sector of the Fringe Society. Panelists included Sheridan Humphries, independent PR for C Venues, Peter Shaw, Editor of Broadway Baby, Paul Levy, Editor of Fringe Review, and Valerie Potter, an independent press agent with loads of Fringe experience. The panel was mediated by the Fringe Society's Media Manager, Andrew.

The panel discussed candidly the madness of the Fringe as it relates to effectively publicizing your show. It can be easy to get lost in the mix when you're trying to be heard over 2,700 other shows, but the panel outlined numerous ways to get the most bang for your buck at the festival.

Some of the subjects included: 
 - Holistic Marketing
 - Fringe's Meet the Media
 - Flyering Do's and Don't's
 - Writing a Press Release
 - Social Media Integration
 - Discussion surrounding Stuart Lee's Guardian article on Fringe venue politics.

All in all, the event offered practical insight into the world of marketing, and the panel fielded questions for about as long as they lectured. They were personable, professional, and eager to help each and every member of the audience.