01/09/2023
Edinburgh Fringe.
What an absolute ride August has been.
I was the production manager (and technically, the technical stage manager, and on-ground video content creator? I think at one point I was also a walking pharmacist?)
Stammermouth took Choo Choo! up to Edinburgh hoping to raise solidarity for people who have experience with intrusive thoughts and OCD and we were absolutely blown away by the response to the show, and how many people connected with it. So many people shared their experience and thoughts with the team both in person and through social media which is so incredible to be part of a piece of work that has connected with so many people, achieving it’s main aim of doing the show.
We also found ourself with a Fringe First award, something we still can’t quite believe. We were nominated for a Neurodiverse Review Exceptional Theatre Award, and we won the Mental Health Foundation Fringe Award. I’ll find a way to worm this into my email signature for years to come, I make no apologies.
I could write a book on how wonderful it’s been to work with the whole team, but I won’t (you wouldn't read it anyway.)
I, somewhat foolishly in hindsight, also took on two other shows ontop of this. I was the operator for Asexuality the Solo Musical, a late night musical by Rebecca McGlynn and Tickbox 2, a story told by Lubna Kerr about her parents journey and life to Glawgow from Pakistan. Both wonderful shows done by wonderful people.
Now for the fun bit!
In August I pressed the GO button 6205 times.
Out of 6205 cues across three shows I had two cue misfires (0.032% failure rate, I’ll take it!)
We pulled two shows due to illness.
I had a piece of kit go bang in my face, a rite of passage!
I saw 26 shows (my favourites being Teachers Pet, Please Love Me, It’s a Mo*********ng Pleasure, Glass Ceiling Under the Stars, and many many others)
Much to my disappointment, I didn’t see any theatre I hated.
Met some absolutely incredible people.
(I could add to this list endlessly, I’ll stop now)
I have an interesting relationship with the Edinburgh Fringe. My first ever Stage Management role in 2016 was taking a student play to the fringe. In many ways I adore the fringe, the opportunity to be around so many incredible people and incredible works of art, but the fringe has a very loud and noticeable dark side. It is not financially accessible, It’s not accessible for anyone with sometimes even the easiest to accommodate access requirements. Venues are yet to find the right model to run their spaces, with some venues outright abandoning some shows mid-season. There’s an awful lot of work to be done.
Not by me this time though, I’m going to go sleep for nine years, night!
