There it is, beating away on the horizon. This time next week I would have done three Edinburgh shows already. In the build up my mood constantly changes from terror to complacency to excitement to nerves to just stupid giggling, all\u00a0in the time it takes me to finish my cornflakes.<\/p>\n
I have to keep reminding myself that this is all entirely self-inflicted. I don\u2019t have to do this, nobody tells you to take shows to Edinburgh, which is why it\u2019s beautiful, and incredibly personal.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s strange being producer and performer; you have to have split personalities and keep trying to sell the show even when you really feel like wrapping yourself in a duvet and being a hermit for a few days.<\/p>\n
For instance I\u2019ve spent the last couple of days putting together a promoter pack about the show, which is all the technical, cast and show information a possible promoter\/booker would need to book the show after Edinburgh for performances and tours etc.<\/p>\n
In the eyes of a performer most promoters are mysterious people that hang around bars like ninjas of the night. They don\u2019t seem to have names, and nobody seems to know who they are, only that \u2018some promoters are floating about\u2019. It\u2019s not even clear what they\u2019re actually promoting. I wonder if they even exist.<\/p>\n
I might turn up in Edinburgh wearing a sheepskin jacket with a big sign above my head saying \u201cI am a promoter\u201d.\u00a0 Perhaps they are shy creatures, like the wild haggis that live on Arthur\u2019s seat.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ve also been sending our flyers and posters to print. One of our cast, Jon Monkhouse, has done an amazing job on the design so I\u2019m really happy about that.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve also been allocating lots of random odd jobs by text like \u201ccan you buy a step ladder\/make a sandwich board please?\u201d I feel like I\u2019ve become the Mr. Boring of the group who sends people a trickle of dull shopping lists. As one of the cast is also my girlfriend I have developed the persona of Formal Steve so we don\u2019t get these roles muddled up.<\/p>\n
These odd jobs include buying things in London as if Edinburgh doesn\u2019t have any shops. I found myself thinking \u2018better get some razor blades before I go\u2019, as if nobody in Scotland shaves. I\u2019m sure they have a Boots, BUT WHAT IF THEY DON\u2019T???? The horror.<\/p>\n
The cast also had a pre-Edinburgh discussion that revolved around what they thought they would be like to live with. Turns out half the cast are early risers, half the cast are night owls, and Jon doesn\u2019t like it if someone is in the toilet too long in the morning.<\/p>\n
Other jobs this week have included sending out a second wave of press releases. The first batch were done at the time of the programme release so I was hoping this batch were going to have a new angle, or some piece of news. Actually this didn\u2019t happen, so in the end reading between the lines of our second batch of press releases they basically said \u201cErrrr, hello, me again, remember me? Ha ha ha, aren\u2019t we such good friends! Remember me? Anyway, nothing\u2019s really changed, same show thing going on, if you fancy it.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a bit of a paradox writing to reviewers when you\u2019re also one of the performers. My producer side of me knows I have to do it for the sake of the show and use reviews however I can to sell to tickets, whereas the performer side of me is like a frightened little slow loris that wants to hide underneath a table. A similar paradox happens with acting sometimes, where you want to act but don\u2019t want to be seen, and a huge leap comes from opening yourself and making yourself available.<\/p>\n
In previous Edinburgh shows I\u2019ve had everything from 1 star to 5 star reviews for various shows I\u2019ve been in. One show I was in got a 1 star and 4 star review from the same publication in the same week. This feels likes having your ego used as a football. Eventually what seems to happen in Edinburgh though is that the performer\u2019s ego just takes a holiday, which is when the really interesting stuff happens.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve been fanatically checking ticket sales. We\u2019ve actually sold some in advance which we really weren\u2019t expecting as we\u2019re a new group, and it\u2019s done wonders for our morale. Not loads, but some, and that feels good.<\/p>\n
To chill out a bit George (girlfriend) and I went to see Wicked last night. Being readers of whatsonstage.com you\u2019ve probably seen it about five times already, so I won\u2019t have to tell you how amazing it was, although it was amazing. It did however make me realize that maybe I should change our flyer copy from \u201ceverything you could want from a musical\u201d to \u201ceverything you could want from a musical, apart from a fire breathing dragon, flying monkeys, full orchestra and frightening talking wizard head\u201d.<\/p>\n
See you soon!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Edinburgh Blog 2 There it is, beating away on the horizon. This time next week I would have done three Edinburgh shows already. In the build up my mood constantly changes from terror to complacency to excitement to nerves to just stupid giggling, all\u00a0in the time it takes me to finish my cornflakes. I have[…] <\/p>\n