Hello to everyone reading, even if it's just mum (hello Sylvia) and someone in Tashkent who got lost in the vastness of the internet.
I have decided to start a blog again, despite my last one consisting of incomprehensible teenage musings. It is available here.
This blog is mostly for me to get into the habit of writing more, so by all means readers and trolls alike please do tell me what you think.
My other motivation for starting a blog is the Edinburgh Fringe. I was sitting in my tech rehearsal a couple of days ago trying to work out why we do this to ourselves every year. Why we put ourselves through the crowds, the cramped venues, ridiculous living conditions and huge costs.
For those of you who do not know, the Edinburgh Fringe is a yearly festival that used to be dedicated to inexpensive shows where performers tried out new, exciting and sometimes terrible artistic creations. Whilst it is still a homage to the new (and the terrible), it is no longer cheap. It is not a festival centred around performers as it once was, but around the huge venues sprawling across the city.
And that is largely where the problems with the Fringe start. Performers ranging from professional stand up comedians to the American High School Theatre's family production of Spring Awakening take to the boards during August. And they might end up costing the same. Few people have the money to see so many shows of such wide ranging quality and so audience attendances are legendarily low for all but the best reviewed.
Yesterday we (The Mould That Changed the World) had to deal with the get in to our venue, a venue I actually quite like. However, we had roughly 1.5 hours to set everything up, practice lighting and sound, and try to run part of a 50 minute show. We have five minutes get in and get out every day, there are no ushers provided, no dressing rooms and limited storage. This will lead to issues getting used to the space in the first few shows and the performance will likely deteriorate because of it.
Normal people must be looking at us and shouting 'Why do you do it?'
...because it is the Fringe. It is my sixth festival and will not be my last. By looking at and reviewing some of the shows in the Fringe, I want to explore the Fringe and what it means today. Remember, anything I write is only ever my own opinion. You may like shows that I do not, and you may disagree with me. The beauty of the Fringe is discovery. So if I can urge you to do anything as a result of reading this, it is to go and discover it for yourself.
Graham
PS Did you really think I was going to show you my angsty blog? You deserve that RickRoll.