Producing in Edinburgh
Producing in Edinburgh can be hard work, but also very rewarding. You lead a company through a month of rehearsals, and then usually a month at the Festival itself, and you'll be very tired by the end of it. But also, hopefully, very proud of what you've accomplished!
The Show and Funding
Often the first step is choosing a show to produce. You may be working with a
director who already has a show in mind, or you may have to find a
director to
direct a show you want to produce. Sometimes Edinburgh shows that have
directors and a funding body may be looking for a
producer. The easiest way for a Cambridge show to get funding is to apply to a society like the Amateur Dramatic Club. The Club tends to fund two shows a year at the Edinburgh Fringe, and is looking for different shows that will get a variety of old and new members involved in the productions. Previous productions that the Club has funded include 'The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe', 'Apocryphal Tales Told in the Dark', 'The Cabaret of Menace' and 'Macbeth: The Hour'. Amateur Dramatic Club Edinburgh applications usually open in February for Edinburgh slots, and if you're successful then you know you've got funding confirmed for the whole production. If you don't apply for funding from the ADC, then you have to look elsewhere. Some Edinburgh productions are privately funded, some are funded by other University Dramatic Societies, some are funded by College Drama Societies. The basic rule of thumb is never be afraid to ask - often a College Drama Society may be sitting on a pot of money that they don't know what to do with, and they'll happily trade it for the benefits of
publicity that come with an Edinburgh production.
The Venue
Once you've got a show and some money to put it on with (bear in mind these are the two crucial steps!) then you need somewhere to put it on. There are literally hundreds of venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, ranging from converted churches and halls through to
professional theatres. The largest venue groups in Edinburgh are (note, the below form opinions, pros-and-cons on the main venues, please add/subtract as necessary!):
Pleasance
For the rest of the year, Pleasance operate a Theatre in Islington, but in Edinburgh they run two main venue-plexes, the Dome and the Courtyard. Within each of these there are 10-15 venues ranging hugely in size. Pleasance have a reputation for programming comedy (the Cambridge Footlights have performed there for the last few years) but they will also take drama, family shows, musicals and all kinds of other performances. Pleasance are well organised, and if you gain a slot there you benefit from their strong
marketing and technical departments, but a lot of their spaces are more suited to comedy than theatre in terms of atmosphere.
C Venues
Many Cambridge companies perform in C Venues, which has a large range of venues in a variety of locations. Although not as on-the-ball with
marketing and production requirements as their counterparts at Pleasance, C Venues do have some nice theatre spaces, which is why many Cambridge shows go back year after year.
Underbelly
Known nationally for the large, purple, upside-down cow that sits outside the Gilded Balloon Teviot, Underbelly has grown hugely in recent years to become one of the largest venue groups in Edinburgh. The venues have an 'underground' feel to them, which shouldn't belie the support and
marketing benefits you get from performing there. However, a lot of the spaces are limited technically, and you invariably have to queue to move between levels in the main Underbelly.
There are many other smaller venues that would also take student shows, but the main advantage of performing at one of the larger venue groups is that you get a company pass to see the other shows in that venue for free. This is a vital benefit for your company, especially if they're having to pay for the accommodation during the Festival.
Applications for venues open in January before the Festival, and the last deadline for obtaining a slot is usually in April, although most people have venues sorted by the middle of March. Most Edinburgh venues will operate on a split basis, with a minimum hire guarantee. This guarantee is usually payable before the Festival, and runs into the thousands of pounds. In September, the venue will work out how much money you took on the box office, and then subject it to the split. If you haven't made the guarantee then they will keep your money, if you have they will calculate the guarantee against their side of the split. Guarantees vary depending on the length of your performance slot, the size of your venue, and how likely the company thinks you are to break even. Once you have a venue sorted you can organise accommodation,
publicity etc.
Fringe Brochure
It's important to get yourself in the Fringe Brochure; for larger venues, the venue will almost always handle this for you. There is usually a reduction in fees if you can get your details in before a certain date; this has sometimes been the day after the venues have confirmed slots, so you might be able to save yourself some money by downloading the form from [
www.edfringe.com] in advance and having the answers prepared.
Accommodation
It's never to early to start looking for accommodation in Edinburgh; if you're quick enough you can find some wonderful flats in beautiful parts of the city. See the
sub-section on accommodation in Edinburgh.
Performance Rights
These are obviously essential before you get too far down the line with any particular show or application - make sure the rights are available for a month-long amateur production in Edinburgh! There is a certain amount of juggling required, between the number of performances, the size of the venue, ticket prices etc (all of which the rights company are likely to know before they guarantee you can do the show), as these won't be confirmed until much later down the line. Use your common sense, and get some commitment out of the rights-holders that they'll let you perform the show in Edinburgh.
Casting & Finding a crew
It's sensible to find a cast and
crew no later than the end of the Easter vacation (so, end of April). If nothing else, if you're after students, they all get very pre-occupied with exams and the like until it's much too late to find anybody! Chances are there'll be some discussion between yourself and your
director as to the numbers involved. This becomes even more relevant if you are paying for your cast and
crew's accommodation out of the show budget. If you are asking your company to contribute, then it's less of an issue, but you still need to be able to find accommodation for everybody. Don't forget that you and your
director will have to be there, and possibly a technician, which means in a flat of 8-9, you're already limited to 5-6 cast members. Larger companies will have much more complicated requirements, but the basic rule of thumb is have an idea of how many people you want before you audition or advertise for production team.
When you cast and
crew a show, obviously the main priority is finding the best people for the job (artistically, this is usually the
director's call. For technicians, you may have more say), however, you also need to give some consideration to how people will cope living and working in a small group for two months. Some Edinburgh experiences can be marred by people not getting on, and this obviously has a detrimental impact to the company's morale, and eventually to the quality of the show. For this reason, it's important you have a say in the casting and crewing process.
Publicity
Just like it's never too early to find accommodation, it's never too early to start working on a
publicity design. Nobody can tell you the best way to publicise your show, but here are some tips:
1. Work out your Unique Selling Points (USPs). Every show has reasons why it's different, and you (and your
director) must have reasons why you think people will want to come and see your show. This can be as simple as 'it'll be fun and entertaining to watch', but if you haven't identified why people will come and see your show, then you won't persuade anybody else to buy tickets! Effective USPs might be: an unusual piece of work by a well-known playwright/author, a well-known performer, a performance that has historical significance (maybe its the anniversary of the playwright's birth/death/first work?), a large cast or
crew,
new writing, a particularly strong review from a reputable publication (in the case of a show that's already had a run somewhere else).
2. Be prompt with your press release and press pack. Put together a press pack that contains information about your show (synopsis, cast list, a history of the company, previous reviews). Make sure to sell your show in the first paragraph. When you've put together your press release/pack, send it to press@edfringe.com before the press launch of the Edfringe brochure. This will help you to attract more reviewers when you get to the festival. The press launch in 2008 is on Thursday 5 June.
3. Get an initial
publicity design, fast. The key thing is to develop an 'image' for your show. This can then be carried forward on your poster/flyer designs, website, Edfringe advertising (if you can afford it!),
stash etc. Also the earlier you sort out a
publicity design, the more relaxed you can be about the June/July deadlines for submitting it to the venue (almost all of which will ask to look over it before you get it printed - some will require major changes, others are less bothered).
4. Sort out a website as quickly as possible. Once you have a domain name, you can put it in your listings, press release, and any other
publicity material. But once you've done that, you need to make sure there's some content. If people try to go to your website and get a 'coming soon' page, they're not likely to try again. Make your content interesting, and look
professional. Also make it vary; perhaps you could try a production blog, or just update the news feed to reflect where you are with the production process. If you can make anyone who logs onto the website feel a part of the process, they're more likely to come and see your show in Edinburgh!
Budget
Once you've got an idea of how much things are going to cost (so, you know how much the performance rights will be, how much the guarantee is, what you're
publicity strategy is), and you have key production team members on board (eg a designer and a
technical director, who can tell you how much the set will cost), you can start to put together a budget. No-one can tell you how to budget your show, but here are some guidelines:
1. Be realistic. You won't be able to afford enough
publicity to flyer every day of the festival for £150, set and costumes will usually cost more than you originally think, and it'll be your job to make the figures match at the end of the day. The key thing here is to get detailed breakdowns from every member of the team about what they want to spend, and then to run this by the
director to make sure they've covered everything the
director wants to do with the show. You could even run the budget by someone 'independent' (ie not connected to the show), who'll be able to give you advice on if they think the budget is realistic. It's important to be realistic in terms of projected income as well - don't expect to sell-out, even if you've got a 'big-name' show. There's a lot of competition in Edinburgh.
2. Don't forget VAT. It sounds stupid, but the number of people who have forgotten to factor VAT into their calculations is astounding; the situation isn't helped by many theatre suppliers who provide list prices exclusive of VAT. You only get to reclaim VAT if you are VAT registered and your purchases are related to the service/product you provide. This covers very very few drama groups. If you forget VAT you can suddenly find yourself 17.5% over budget across the board! If it can happen to the Olympic Organising Committee, it can happen to you!
3. Budget some contingency. This shouldn't be a substitute for good planning and preparation, but do budget some contingency (10% of the total production costs is usually sensible). This will cover
design changes, or unforeseen expenditure.
4. Allow some money for getting equipment/people up to Edinburgh. If you're a student show, you could reasonably expect your cast/team to buy their own train/plane/bus tickets, but if you've got a substantial amount of set, you might need to hire a van, or share the hire of a van in order to transport your equipment up to Edinburgh.
In Edinburgh
Once in Edinburgh, the
producer's role can vary tremendously based on his/her relationship with the cast,
director and production team. Some producers take a very active role in looking after the cast, in some larger companies this role may be delegated to a company manager. Other producers may be involved in the day-to-day running of the show in the venue; for example co-ordinating the daily get-ins and get-outs, or operating
lighting or
sound during the performance. Here are some top tips for surviving as a
producer in Edinburgh:
1) Plan the
get-in period carefully. Venues will often only give you a four hour (and sometimes less) window to set up and have a technical rehearsal. The more you've organised or set up before you get to the venue, the better! Make sure everyone knows what will be happening in the time you've got available, rather than waiting to
get in to assign jobs.
2) Make friends with your venue staff. If you get off to a bad start with the techies and venue management, you may never recover, and the whole month will be horrible! So come in smiling, thank everyone for their help, and remember you're in their venue - act courteously! This will make life much easier when you need an extra five minutes to re-rehearse something half-way through the run, or you need to borrow some gaffer tape etc...!
3) Be firm but fair with your cast. Perhaps the one job fulfilled by every Edinburgh
producer is to marshal their company into the daily flyering routine on the Royal Mile. This can be incredibly disheartening, especially at the beginning of the festival, so perhaps think how to make it more bearable - have a rota, so that people get a day off every so often, and make sure you're out there flyering just as much as everyone else. Lead from the front!
4) Keep on top of reviews and the venue's
marketing strategy. Once you get going, you'll attract reviewers (and you'll be able to see who's reviewed you by way of the daily ticketing reports you can get emailed to you via www.edfringe.com), and perhaps your venue will want you to participate in some of their special offers or
marketing plans. Keep in close touch with them, and you might get that extra bit of exposure you need. Also, once you have reviews, remember that they're useless unless people know about them. You can staple brief quotes onto flyers before you hand them out on the Royal Mile, or use the quotes while flyering.
5) Try and keep ahead of any problems. A month is a long time for a cast,
crew and production team to live together, and there are bound to be frictions. Try and predict these, and defuse them before they blow up! Any good
producer is part counsellor!
Last edited Fri 11th Jul by James Baggaley
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