Edinburgh Festival - Tips for Performers
I recently got back from doing my first-ever show at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
I was part of a three-man magic act called Magic Cubed.
It was a great success, we sold out the venue and got great reactions from the audiences.
But having never performed at the festival before, we threw ourselves in at the deep end and had to learn a lot in a very short space of time.
Here are some points that might help to make your show a success and give you a more enjoyable festival experience, particularly if you have never performed at the Fringe Festival before.
1/ Book your venue early.
There is huge demand for venues and they get booked up very quickly, so make sure you send your application in early.
2/ Consider doing the Free Fringe.
This means that you don't charge money for tickets, however you avoid the potentially massive costs of taking a show to the festival.
Taking a show to Edinburgh can cost around £10,000 and even if the show is a success, the best you're likely to do is break even.
Doing the Free Fringe allows you to learn the ropes without incurring big costs.
Plus you make some money by passing a bucket around at the end of your show, rather like street performers do.
If your show is good and you attract a good-size audience, you can still make quite good money.
There are two organisers of Free Fringe events: Laughing Horse - http://www.
laughinghorsecomedy.
co.
uk/freefestival/edinburgh.
htm PBH - http://www.
freefringe.
org.
uk/ 3/ Consider renting an apartment.
Hotels in Edinburgh become more expensive around the time of the festival.
You can find good deals on apartments if you look around, especially if you are going with a group of people.
4/ Go at the beginning of the festival.
If you are not performing for the whole festival, it is better to be there for the beginning than the end.
There is more press coverage at the beginning (therefore a better chance of getting publicity) and there are also lectures for performers on how to make the most of your show.
5/ Attention-grabbing flyering.
Flyering can be an excellent way of getting people to watch your show.
But bear in mind that you are surrounded by thousands of other performers promoting their own shows.
You therefore need to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
Wear an eye-catching outfit, or think of a creative way to make your show stand out in people's minds.
Don't go for anything long-winded, you've only got a couple of seconds to grab people's attention before they pass you by.
6/ Websites and social media.
Set up a website for your act and use social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter.
These help to build awareness and enable people to get in contact with you.
7/ Be prepared for a lot of hard work (and a lot of fun).
Travelling, Setting up, performing, promoting, carrying props up Edinburgh's hills, it's all pretty tiring.
However, it's also very rewarding and the atmosphere is fantastic.
The opportunity to perform every day allows you to really develop as a performer and you will meet talented artists from around the world.
It is well worth all of the effort.
I was part of a three-man magic act called Magic Cubed.
It was a great success, we sold out the venue and got great reactions from the audiences.
But having never performed at the festival before, we threw ourselves in at the deep end and had to learn a lot in a very short space of time.
Here are some points that might help to make your show a success and give you a more enjoyable festival experience, particularly if you have never performed at the Fringe Festival before.
1/ Book your venue early.
There is huge demand for venues and they get booked up very quickly, so make sure you send your application in early.
2/ Consider doing the Free Fringe.
This means that you don't charge money for tickets, however you avoid the potentially massive costs of taking a show to the festival.
Taking a show to Edinburgh can cost around £10,000 and even if the show is a success, the best you're likely to do is break even.
Doing the Free Fringe allows you to learn the ropes without incurring big costs.
Plus you make some money by passing a bucket around at the end of your show, rather like street performers do.
If your show is good and you attract a good-size audience, you can still make quite good money.
There are two organisers of Free Fringe events: Laughing Horse - http://www.
laughinghorsecomedy.
co.
uk/freefestival/edinburgh.
htm PBH - http://www.
freefringe.
org.
uk/ 3/ Consider renting an apartment.
Hotels in Edinburgh become more expensive around the time of the festival.
You can find good deals on apartments if you look around, especially if you are going with a group of people.
4/ Go at the beginning of the festival.
If you are not performing for the whole festival, it is better to be there for the beginning than the end.
There is more press coverage at the beginning (therefore a better chance of getting publicity) and there are also lectures for performers on how to make the most of your show.
5/ Attention-grabbing flyering.
Flyering can be an excellent way of getting people to watch your show.
But bear in mind that you are surrounded by thousands of other performers promoting their own shows.
You therefore need to find a way to stand out from the crowd.
Wear an eye-catching outfit, or think of a creative way to make your show stand out in people's minds.
Don't go for anything long-winded, you've only got a couple of seconds to grab people's attention before they pass you by.
6/ Websites and social media.
Set up a website for your act and use social media tools such as Facebook and Twitter.
These help to build awareness and enable people to get in contact with you.
7/ Be prepared for a lot of hard work (and a lot of fun).
Travelling, Setting up, performing, promoting, carrying props up Edinburgh's hills, it's all pretty tiring.
However, it's also very rewarding and the atmosphere is fantastic.
The opportunity to perform every day allows you to really develop as a performer and you will meet talented artists from around the world.
It is well worth all of the effort.
Source...