On Saturday afternoon, I went to a meeting in the Edinburgh International Conference Centre about how to put on a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. I have been thinking about doing some kind of poetry cabaret at the festival, over a week or so – not a one-man show, I’d hasten to add. The idea would be that every evening would be different, with poetry, music, prose, film etc from a variety of performers. I’d want top quality stuff though, the kind of material people are going to swoon over. Otherwise there’s no point.
The meeting opened my eyes a bit. The venues are expensive to hire at that time of year and the panel reckoned that a show needs to sell about 40 percent of seats, at least, to break even. Exactly how to pitch a poetry cabaret so that it attracts an audience who have about 2000 other shows to choose from is obviously a key issue. Who do you pitch poetry to, and how do you best reach these people? What time should it be at? – that’s a key question. The peak time of 7.30pm is too expensive, apart from anything else, but is it best to do a morning show, or does that give the wrong impression, that poetry is only for a tea and buns crowd? Maybe a late-night session is better, or perhaps late afternoon before dinner time.
One panel member said that it was vital people knew why they wanted to do a show. Is it get noticed by promoters? Is it as a calling card so that people will remember you and pick up on your work later? Is it to make contact with other artists? Is it to strengthen your CV? He took it as read that everyone wanted to express themselves through their art and to have fun, but there had to be another central reason for doing it.
One guy asked how best to win a Fringe Award. A panellist told him that, if that was his attitude, he shouldn’t be in the arts in the first place. They didn’t pull punches…
I met quite a few venue promoters. Some venues, one in particular, looked great for the type of show I envisage. It was small (about 40 seats) and very atmospheric. I’ll have to decide soon whether I can actually pull it off and get people involved. The panellists warned that it was impossible to do everything yourself – venue negotiations, publicity, press and marketing, design, direction, tickets, money etc. A good organising team is invaluable.
Issues of dealing with the press, getting reviewed in good time (before your run is over!), working well with the fringe staff and box office were also dealt with. It’s a huge undertaking. Hmmmmm, I don’t know whether I can do this or not. Perhaps aiming for 2010 might be a better idea, but I’m planning a big event for around Easter 2010. So it’s either 2009 or 2011…
