by Allison Pitts

            On Sunday the 11th we attended a workshop led by Scottish producer Frodo McDaniel. After he briefly joked with the crowd about having the name “Frodo,” he began the session. Frodo is currently producing five shows at the Fringe and is also here looking for shows to produce in the future. Specifically, Frodo looks for circus and cabaret, but he gave us helpful tips for all types of artists to use when finding a producers.

            Frodo stressed that the most important thing for an artist to have ready is the pitch for their show. It is important to explain what your show is about in two lines. He said producers do not want to hear the entire plot in a pitch; just the general information of what the show is about. As an artist, it is important to always have a flyer, press release and business card on you. This is especially important at the Fringe because you are always meeting new people who could potentially help you.

            At the Fringe, a producer can help an artist with several things. A producer manages your budget, logistics, rehearsal space and anything else that keeps you from focusing on your show. Using a producer while at the Fringe will help the artist to spend more time making their show the best it can be and it is an overall good investment to make. While the price varies by the producer, the average price a producer will charge at the Fringe is 1000 to 2000 pounds for the month. While this does not fit into everyone’s budget, a producer is worth the money if you can afford it. Overall, Frodo’s insight on presenting to producers was very informative. He gave everyone the knowledge they will need if they want to get the attention of a producer.    

by Allison Pitts

            We have gone to several informative workshops this year at the Fringe that have been very helpful for Fringe first-timers. On August 5th we all attended the workshop: How to Get Your Show Seen by the Right People. At the workshop, there was a panel of people who work in different areas of the Fringe. They discussed several key things to do and not to do in order to get attention at the Fringe. To start off, the panelists emphasized the importance of the arts industry office at the Fringe. The Arts Industry office is available to help give you contacts to people who may be interested in your show. They can help you get the “right people” to see it.

            The part of the workshop that I found to be most helpful was the part when all the panelists stated their “do’s” and “don’ts” of the Fringe. “Do’s” included: hanging out at the right places, doing as much as you can and being nice to everyone you meet. Hanging out at the right places can lead to meeting important people who could possibly show interest in taking on your show after the Fringe. There are so many things to do at the Fringe that the panelists suggested to take advantage of your time and do as much as you possibly can. I have heard many people state that “sleep is for September.” Finally, you never know whom you are speaking with. It could be an important producer or someone who could put you in touch with someone that could help your career, so you should always be nice to everyone. The panelists’ list of don’ts included: don’t stress, move on when things don’t work, don’t worry about being over professional and don’t stalk people. Above all, the Fringe is supposed to be a fun and exciting experience. The panelists stressed that if you enjoy yourself, and perform your best work, an audience will come. They also stressed the importance of not stalking the people you want to get in contact with. Producers and reviewers are very busy. It is okay to send them a few emails asking them to attend your show, but it is not okay to call and email them constantly.

            Overall this workshop was very helpful. Although Fringe University students are not putting on a show here, learning all the ins and outs of the festival will be so helpful for us in the future. Whether we are back at the Fringe one day, or managing a show touring in the US, the information we have been given at these workshops can be applied to all aspects of the entertainment industry.

by Emily Selke

The Fringe Society has put together a ton of excellent free events to help guide performers and companies to make the most of their Fringe visit. Meet the Media was a recent event where representatives from various press outlets gathered at Fringe central to listen to performers' pitches. The brief exchanges were meant to open opportunities for previews, reviews, interviews, and even features. The event itself was four hours long, but queuing began well before the 2 o'clock start time; entrance lines started forming at around 11 o'clock in the morning and extended over two full blocks, nearly circling the building before admittance began.

Excitement and nervousness surged the air throughout the event, even as it drew to an end. Some students of Fringe University, myself included, were able to speak with a couple performers that were waiting to speak to the press. Our first conversation was with Ryan Good, better known as 'Ryan the Bi-Sexual Lion' from a comedy show called Sex with Animals. He shared with us that he is a New Yorker that recently relocated to San Francisco and came to Edinburgh to gain a wider audience and greater appreciation for his act. As you can see he was dressed head to toe, and his bag was chock full of flyers ready for the giving. 

Our second encounter was with another comedian named Toby Muresianu for his show Toby Explains the Universe. He originated from Rhode Island and was actually an engineer with a degree from Brown University and a solid three years at Microsoft before deciding he wanted to become a full-time standup comedian. His ultimate goal for the festival is to get more international press to add to his portfolio so he can continue touring worldwide. 

As a whole, the event was exciting and gave a lot of shows an edge to be acknowledged in the media. By the end, it seemed that everyone was happy (with their free Deuchars beer samples in hand).

by Julie Kimelman

To understand how the Fringe Festival works, it is important to understand its history.  In 1947, eight theater companies showed up to the first Edinburgh International Festival uninvited with the sole interest of performing. The following year, Scottish journalist Robert Kempt coined the phrase “fringe” to describe the performances outside of the International Festival.  In 1957, ten years after the inaugural festival, the “fringe” companies began to work together, and by the late ‘60s there were over one hundred shows.

The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society was born to help with participant services, information ticketing and act as overall advocates of the festival.  In 1981 the Fringe became the largest arts festival in the world, and this year there are 2871 shows, 273 venues, 42000 performances, 24107 participants and it would take over 51 days without breaks to watch every show.

The Fringe Society provides many services to artists who are either interested in bringing a show to the Fringe, or are currently at the Fringe and in need of assistance.  The venues/companies office is the first point of contact for people interested in bringing shows to the Fringe, and helps companies make decisions.  The participant development office creates workshops such as the First Time at the Fringe to help new participants, and the artist development division provides support services and networking opportunities to artists.  In addition to developmental help, the Fringe Society provides assistance with the media by keeping a record of every published review, as well as maintaining the clash book to avoid double booking media reviewers.

Each of the panelists was given the opportunity to leave us with a few final words. One said to “be sure not to give in to FOMO (the fear of missing out)” while another said, “sleep is for September!” Regardless which method you choose, I guarantee the Fringe Festival will be the best month of your life!

by Julie Kimelman

Today we went to a workshop at Fringe Central titled How to Sell Your Show. The four panelists were a wealth of knowledge about how to appropriately utilize social media and flyers for advertising, creating and maintaining a company and show image, networking, and contacting the media for reviews. The panel emphasized the importance of a strong pitch, suggesting that the most successful pitches are vivid, yet to the point and under one minute long.

The moderator urged everyone to avoid sending blanket emails, and instead send fewer personalized emails to specific agencies that would more likely be interested in covering the show. It is essential that the first paragraph of any email include the venue, time, and dates of the show, as well as something that will catch the potential reviewer’s attention. Though this seemed obvious to many of us because of previous marketing classes, an interesting point that I had not thought about was to be wary of attaching photos because many journalists are instructed to not open attachments to avoid viruses.

During our class discussion after the workshop we agreed that one of our biggest takeaways from the workshop was the advice of a man not affiliated with any of the shows, but instead attending just to learn.  He suggested that shows should always hand out flyers as people are leaving the show to increase the possibility that the person will tell a friend. When attending a festival with so many hundreds of shows per day, it is easy for someone to remember that he or she really liked something about a certain performance but forget the name of the show. As the man advised, if the audience leaves with a flyer they are more likely to pass on the information!