CenterStage - by Sherry Eaker - from Back Stage

The Edinburgh Experience

This was my fifth visit in a row to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. The festival takes place for three weeks in August and last year celebrated its 50th anniversary. Why do I keep going back,  you ask, especially when New York City recently played host to its own International Fringe Fest? As seemingly successful as our festival was, there's no basis of comparison to the Edinburgh Festival. In Edinburgh, the Festival Fringe (as well as the International Theatre Festival, Film Festival,.Jazz and Blues Festival, and Book Festival, which are all just about going on at the same time) devours the city. It creates a kind of energy that's just ... thrilling, if I have to choose one word to describe it. As I state in this column every year,  I love going to Edinburgh because it gives me the chance to see shows I wouldn't ordinarily get to see, and meet with artists and others involved in the industry outside of the States. It's this international exchange that gets my wheels churning and maybe even changes my perception of things.

But what's the experience like for those Americans who come to Edinburgh? What draws them to Edinburgh in the first place? How prepared are they before they come? Is it worth the expense? Would they come back to do it all over again? For Loren Lazerine, a former Chicagoan and now an L.A.-based actor: "I couldn't have asked for a better experience." Loren, along with his seven-member cast plus crew, came to Edinburgh with "Hellcab," a play about a Chicago taxi driver and the various passengers  he picks up over the course of a day. "Hellcab," written by Will Kern, opened in Chicago in 1992 (and is still running!), then opened another production in L.A. in 1995, and a movie based on the script will soon be released. It was the hit of this year's Fringe, won all kinds of awards, got lots of press and publicity, and, needless to say, tickets were scarce. (I couldn't get one!) But others I spoke to had experiences that were quite opposite Loren's.Tina Kronis and her husband-partner, Richard Alger, wanted very much to perform in this year's Edinburgh Festival Fringe. They were living in New York last year when they started making plans to go. They also got married in the middle of their plan-making, got a new apartment, and then realized they needed a space to rehearse in. Because rehearsal space in the city can be costly, they sold everything they owned, rented a truck, and drove to Florida, where they moved to Tina's mom's garage apartment, just so they could find cheap space to rehearse in while saving up for their trip aboard. (What dedication!)

This would be Tina's third time in Edinburgh. She was there in 1981 in a musical with a New York company, than again in '91 with the dance troupe Pilobolus as part of the International Festival. "I wasn't prepared for the immensity of the 1997 festival," Tina told me over the phone last week, calling from the East Coast of Florida where she is currently touring the show with her husband. "Comography," is a physical theatre piece, non-verbal, which is all about language and communication. One problem the couple encountered was the fact that they catagorize their show in the Fringe programme as physical theatre. "We would have been more widely accepted in the theatre category," says Tina. "What we got was a dance crowd, when we were looking to reach all kinds of people." It was also exhausting for them. "We did everything," Tina points out. "The text, the publicity, the upkeep of the show, and performing the show itself." The only advertising bucks that were spent were on the brochure for the Hill Street Theatre (the venue where they performed). Tina regrets not putting more money into advertising and not hiring a publicity person who could hound the press and would know exactly who should be hounded for specific pieces.

The performer also learned the importance of getting into The Scotsman, Edinburgh's daily, during the first week of the festival-- either as a review or pick of the day, or even just having a photo placed. The team did eventually garner reviews from several papers, but they all came out during the latter part of the festival. "You've got to know the reasons why you're taking the show to the festival," Tina states. "To have a good time? To spread the word? To try out a show you think is going to be a hit?"  Tina feels that she and Richard accomplished their goal: They wanted to bring "Comography" to an international audience, which they did, no matter how small their audiences might have been. "We could actually discuss with them their experiences of coming to the show. Their feedback helps us with what we're trying to do," says Tina.  Another goal was to find promoters, those who would be able to take the show and book it elsewhere. Tina says that they did make some connections with whom they will follow up."Some say you need to go to the festival for at least four years in a row,"  Tina points out. "We've spoken to many people who said that they did much better this year than they did last year."Do Tina and Richard plan to return next year? "Probably not, "Tina says a bit regrettably. "It's too big. I'd much prefer going to a smaller festival instead."

"Be prepared to work and work hard. I had never been so tired in my life," writes Lynn Marie Macy, a New York performer and, most recently, artistic director of Theater Ten Ten, in a note to me regarding her experiences with the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Lynn Marie, along with actress-colleague Karen Eterovich, performed "Aphra Behn & Nell Gwyn--17th-Century Career Girls" at the Bedlam Theatre during the last week of the festival. I would have never known that these two original plays, each penned by the actress performing it, were not originally intended to play together. For years Lynn Marie had been wanting to perform in Edinburgh, and last December she got the ball rolling, registered with the Fringe Office, and began to research the venues in Edinburgh. She choose the Bedlam Theatre because of its reputation and location. But they only had a two-hour slot to offer, for one week only, for her one-hour one-person show, "A Thousand Merry Conceits -- A Private Audience with Nell Gwyn." Knowing Karen also had a one-hour show, "Love Arm'd--Aphra Behn and Her Pen," Lynn Marie asked Karen to join her. For Karen it was ideal. She had made an attempt to go to Edinburgh in 1995, but was not able to raise enough money at the time. But now doing only one week made it affordable for her and would still help her meet her goals: having the ability to state that she performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and to bring back reviews. "My show tours colleges and universities," Karen tells me. "The universities already showed interest when they found out I was going to Edinburgh and, now that I'm back, they're even more interested in bringing my show on campus.  "In getting ready for their show, Lynn Marie continued to handle all the details with the Bedlam Theatre and the Fringe Office, and both she and Karen plunged into an expensive and time-consuming publicity campaign which included press releases and press kits, flyers, posters, and a very detailed program. ("We could have charged for the programs," Karen confides to me as an afterthought.) The book that the Fringe Office sends to those who register lists all the media and press contacts, and Lynn Marie and Karen left no stone unturned. Expenses mounted. Fees to printers for posters and programs, for plane tickets, hotels, sound and light operators, a graphic designer, and a photographer. The team hired someone to do publicity, but Karen states that it was worth the investment. (She says that it's best to take out an ad in the Fringe programme instead.) Friends and colleagues became part of the creative staff. Stipends were given instead of larger fees which would have otherwise had to be budgeted. Karen notes, "You have to brainstorm every angle down to the last degree...it's a herculean effort."

The ladies held a benefit at the T. Schreiber Studio before they left, to help raise additional monies. Lynn Marie, along with her director and the stage manager for both shows, arrived in Edinburgh a few days in advance to gather and put together their set. Groups in almost every venue are only given a few hours rehearsal on the stage, but Lynn Marie notes "that the rehearsal went splendidly and smoothly because we were very prepared and organized. Pre-planning paid off." As part of their very meticulous publicity drive, the ladies handed out flyers, while still in costume, for their show. They appeared almost daily on High Street, in front of the Fringe Office, along with what seemed to be every other Fringe performer. In fact, Karen had to attend a matinee performance of a show at the Kings Theatre in costume just so that she would make it back to High Street on time. What else did they learn from their experience? Lynn Marie mentioned not to perform during the fireworks show Thursday night (the last week of the festival), and not to choose the third week of the festival only. She also states, "The festival was winding down well before it was actually over. It is also difficult to find your press coverage once you're gone." Karen advises that you need to target your audience when sending out your press materials. Would they do it again? Karen states, "Not unless I get someone to raise the money and help implement all details. For months my whole life was consumed by the Festival." And Lynn Marie adds, "Being at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe was a very intense experience. One has to give one's self time to recover from it. But I would do it again."

I'll give all details about applying to the Fringe Office in next week's column, where I'll be talking about various shows I managed to catch.

c 1997. BPI Communications Inc. Used with permission from Back Stage.