So, waking up later than hoped and leaving much later than acceptable I came into Edinburgh determined to start my flyering in full force. I think the biggest problem with doing the free fringe solo is that as the sole person responsible for your show's publicity I essentially have to work on a 9-to-5 clock of work, work, work. It's self-imposed management but even if you are just walking around aimlessly handing out flyers you end up physically spent. Then after all that you have to go onstage appearing to be full of boundless energy and keep a group of strangers entertained for an hour.
Today was a good day.
The flyering was a faltering experience. I spent the first hour standing outside my venue handing out flyers to passers-by. The problem became apparent that because of the location of the venue being outside of that key Royal Mile/Pleasance/Gilded Balloon area where the Fringe is really concentrated and those that are spending a day wandering around aimlessly are more likely to wander. Taking a saunter towards the outskirts of the city will result in larger gaps between venues. The Edinburgh City Football Club is just enough away from Princes Street that it can feel removed. As a result I felt like for the most part I was handing flyers out to locals who don't particularly care for the festival but took a flyer out of courtesy and also because it wasn't a more annoying experience of being bombarded on the Royal Mile.
Am I being overly pessimistic? Perhaps. I must admit I made targeted demographic decisions in who I offered flyers to - basically anyone between eighteen and forty and predominantly men. These are the people most likely to have watched WWF/WWE at some point in their life. That's not to say these will be the only ones to go. I think the 'Smart' aspect of the show, the beret & pipe/cap & gown images should emphasise that whilst this might be an esoteric subject the gleeful mickey-taking suggests its inclusive to those who fear all the jokes will be obscure.
Anyway, after working my venue I ventured up and took a walk around the Royal Mile but side-stepping the main road into side roads. The plan was concocted with Mary to divide and conquer - visit every Laughing Horse venue with a pile of each others flyers and have them predominantly placed so that those who are taking a punt on one free show will obviously be receptive to being offered some more. I was able to do a couple but the plan fell through after Mary had to dash back to the venue to for her first performance after the unfortunate surprise of yesterday.
Also met Chris Matthewman whose show 'I Can Make Your Life Slightly Better' is running before Mary's. We're the only three shows at the venue to run all the way through the festival and so our triple-bill nature could be a great selling point. You can spend an afternoon seeing three very different shows, all for free and all without moving from the venue. The drinks are apparently the cheapest in Edinburgh so the quarter-hour between each is also the perfect opportunity to take advantage of this private club briefly opening its doors and making their discounted prices briefly available to others.
Wandering through Edinburgh towards the final destination of my venue I turned on to York Place to encounter Stewart Lee standing outside about to call someone. this seemed to great an opportunity to miss and I slowed my walk down, ready to take out my already half-read copy of his new book and request his signature. Unfrotunately my nervous worry of angering someone by bothering them when they're on, about to go on or just finished being on the phone led to me instead awkwardly trying to move around him waiting for a moment to greet him in a receptive mood. Instead, each time he ended one call and I tried to walk towards him he was soon on another. Fearing the worst that I'd been in his peripheral vision for most or all of the time I decided to cut my losses and live to get his autograph another day. Also my body felt like it was in a state and I desperately had to eat any type of fruit to get my energy up without resorting to soft drinks or chocolate. I decided on an apple, I'm sure you were desperate to know.
The show itself saw a 600% increase - or thereabouts - of attendees. Again, given the free nature of the Fringe and my decision to keep the door open throughout a few people wandered out, but more wandered in so it ended up an overall increase from the start of the show to the end - instead of the breaking even of yesterday.
The show was still not perfect but the increased audience and litle keyword setlist I stuck on the wall to remind of bits I'd left out yesterday allowed me to make a show I could tell was noticeably better. I also had to work very hard to keep the audience under control. After my show I saw Seymour Mace (best known for his part in Johnny Vegas' sitcom Ideal) in a venue with a couple fewer people but because of the simple spotlighting of the stage and the audience being in darkness there was very little uninvited interaction with the audience.
It's obvious now from the past two shows that because my show is essentially in a room with light coming from the window and bathing us all in equal amount members of the audience perceive themselves to be a more key part of the show. Two particularly vocal wrestilng fans, though passionate and fun to engage with at times, were hard to reign in when I needed undivided attention. They would talk over routines, mutter to each other if they recognise a reference or even anticipate particular jokes or punchlines. At one point there was even an almost heated debate about The Big Boss Man but I was able to move on from there quickly enough that it didn't entirely kill the momentum.
Again key routines were forgotten and I really need to get a grip on this within the next two or three shows because I don't want to have to use any sort of setlist by the end of Sunday and I fear that if a critic were to arrive before then it would gravely effect the level of recommendation they offer the show in their subsequent review.
On the other hand, though, its good to know that I kept a decent-sized audience entertained throughout without even using all my top material. The show again finished early, and that is something I need to get right.
After that it was Seymour Mace followed by Richard Herring - my first two shows at the Fringe. Mace was fine but most encouraging was I felt that - without meaning this to sound arrogant - my best routines were an equal to a lot of what Mace performed and since he's able to make a living as a standup that would suggest that it's not as unattainable a goal as I may sometimes fear. Herring was as much fun as he always ben. This is the fourth time I've seen him live and his intelligence, daring and great choices in subject matter made the hour fly by - although it didn't help the extended half-hour wait for his show to start, which is to be expected really since he wasn't performing at that point. Because we were in the queue. I'm not quite sure what my point was there.
So, let's see if a Saturday show will cause another spike in audience figures. Having my flatmate Simon and his brother Thomas arrive means I'll actually be compelled able to see some shows. I feel that after they leave that may not happen again. Which is sad. But I guess that';s what happens when you make the step over. I just hope it's not followed by another step back...
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