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Journey to Edinburgh: 1 – An idea is formed. 

So… Having performed at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 I had a crazy idea to take a show there for 2020. As a performer, while I have done directing & production before having sole responsibility for organisation, casting and production of an entire show not to mention the financial risk was definitely out of my comfort zone. But once the idea was formed I just couldn’t let it go. 

So the research began and boy was that scary there was so much to consider, from the who, what, when, where & why to the if’s, buts, and can I really do this ?!? However I am  nothing if not determined, I was certainly going to try.

It was a very small step but the journey had begun. 

I knew from the start the kind of show I wanted to do, being a performer and massive musical theatre fan there was really only one way this was going and the musical mix up began. All I needed was some songs, a name, a venue and… well the list seemed endless. Could I really do this!?!

So one step at a time…out came the laptop and the emails began, would anyone even want my show for their venue? 

Journey to Edinburgh: 2 – Can a venue be found

So having sent lots of emails and worrying no one would get back to me it turned out my fears were unfounded as I received many replies and a lot of interest in the show. Well it’s true that venues are eager to fill the spaces for the duration of the fringe as this generates a good income for them it is also true that they are oversubscribed so the fact that a number of venues were interested was a bit of a boost at a time when it was very much needed.

When considering the right venue there was a lot to think about, What size should we go for?, How many tickets do we think we can sell?, What size stage would we need?, And the list goes on. After studying plans for a number of venues and reading technical specs I barely understood it was time to speak with one of the venue owners which was nerve wracking to say the least.

The phone rang and the nerves intensified, as it happens I needn’t have worried, a very nice gentleman discussed my show with me and suggested some appropriate venues. I was surprised that he was very enthusiastic about the concept of the show, and really felt that it could do well. However the decision wasn’t all mine to make, I should say at this time I had a friend join the journey  who was to help fund & organise the show. So off I went to discuss our options and a decision was made. We had secured a venue!

But it wasn’t all good news…

Journey to Edinburgh: Step 3 (Or back to 1) – One step forward two steps back. 

So we had managed to secure a venue, great right? Well yeah except one thing…

The co-funder was not meant to be and backed out of the show entirely for personal reasons. While I understood, it was a hard blow to take having been excited to be taking this on together and spending a significant amount of time researching and securing the venue.

I’m not going lie the loss of half of the funding  was also a big kick in the teeth having felt like progress had been made, the venue secured and that this might actually happen, it was back to the drawing board.

There was a lot of thinking to do and a big decision to make, did I go ahead alone as the original plan but take a much bigger financial risk than I had planned on the venue we had secured, or  did I quit? And forget about it.

However, sometimes to my fault I am not a quitter, but I did have to seriously think about how I moved forward without putting myself at to large a financial risk. 

Was it a risk worth taking?

Journey to Edinburgh: 4 – Let’s do this.

In the end after much deliberation I didn’t go with either the options; I didn’t quit nor did I go ahead with the original venue. I instead had further discussions and secured a somewhat smaller venue with a lower financial risk. It seemed like a good compromise & It seemed this may really be happening.

With a venue secured although it didn’t seem real (I awaited the contracts) it was time to carry on with the research although I won’t bore you with the details of looking at insurances etc…boring right! 

My favourite bit of the journey to this point was actually exploring what material we might have in the show, this consisted of hours and hours spent listening to some of my favourite musicals. I know how awful right, A tough job but someone had to do it.

The fun bubble then burst as the contract arrived, que panic and reality dropping on in. Oh and hi self doubt, nice of you to drop by! 

There were now two options; calmly and carefully read and sign the contract, or delete the email and forget about it. Oh yeah and the third option quickly sign the contract and send it back before I could change my mind…Can you guess which one I took?

So the contract was in place and the venue secured, this was really happening. What else was there to do? Oh yeah, I might need a cast…

Journey to Edinburgh: 5 – The out of time, out of tune and the “are you actually kidding me!”;

So I needed a cast, I’m very lucky that I have some very lovely and talented friends some of whom were super excited to jump on board and join the journey. I did however have a couple of spots to fill so it was time for auditions.

Having advertised on social media I received some extremely strange questions  to respond to…Yes you do have to sing (it’s a musical), no you can’t do rehearsals remotely, yes the show is in Edinburgh( I mean where else would the Edinburgh fringe be!?!) no I wouldn’t like to attend your house to audition you, no I won’t rearrange my auditions around your work or social schedule, no you can’t pick your own material I have chosen the songs for a reason, no I don’t want a video of you singing one song when you’ve already told me you can’t sing the other, yes I am sure a child is not suitable for the show nor do I want to babysit, and the bizarreness went on…

Having whittled out the crazy, the auditions slots were set and it was finally audition day. 

With two friends with me, the room set up and camera at the ready we were ready to go! 

But would anybody turn up?

Journey to Edinburgh: 6 – Audition one – “I don’t know the second song so I’m going to sing a different one…a Capella”;

After waiting with baited breath somebody actually showed up!!! Let’s go… bring on victim, I mean, audition number one.

In walks… well I can’t give that away so let’s call him Gary… First impressions are he’s a little younger than I was looking for, doesn’t quite fit my vision but hey who am I to judge someone on the their looks, And I really want him to be good as I know he’s travelled a long way and is extremly keen.

I ask him which song he’d like to do first and without hesitation he tells me he’d like to do the first song but without the backing track, oh and he’d like to sing it down an octave…a little  odd for a very popular song  but okay let’s go with it.

Well it wasn’t terrible but let’s just say my understanding of what down an octave meant and his were somewhat different what I expected was the song to be sung in the format written but an octave lower, what I got was it sung completely flat throughout …not great but there are going to be harmonies in the show so let’s see what he can do. I can also put the first songs issues down to nerves. Time for the second song. Fingers crossed…

Oh I’m sorry you don’t know the second song (you’ve only had the material for two weeks! my bad) but okay it’s fine use the lyrics. Oh no…that’s not what you meant, you mean you didn’t know it at all, you haven’t made any effort to learn it and you’re going to sing any song you like…. okay that’s a bit awkward… but your here so go-ahead.

You may call me stupid but I was actually still willing to consider this one,  they then went on to sing a song I didn’t know, from a musical I’m not familiar with. However I could see past that but unfortunately the performance was… well let’s just say average at best, it became very clear that unfortunately this candidate was not going to be a good fit for the show.

But there are still more candidates, not to worry, Rome wasn’t built in a day and all that…

Journey to Edinburgh: 7 – Mr ‘I don’t actually sing’

Well audition one was a little disappointing but all is not lost as in walks candidate two…

I am actually quite excited and I’ve got high hopes for this one, he looked the part and I think he would fit in great with the rest of the cast I have. I’m feeling good and quite excited…

But then he starts to sing…dreams shattered. 

Okay so maybe that’s a bit dramatic but I was very disappointed I thought we had found our guy. I hate to be rude about anyone’s performance but what ensued with an extremely awkward 10 minutes with me having to correct the timing (and pitch) at several points to get him anywhere near the backing track and also to try and break the awkwardness.

However  to his credit he was a very nice guy. I could tell he felt awkward so to break the awkwardness I chatted with him after his performance, at which point he tells me he is more of an actor and doesn’t actually sing but thought he’d give it a go… I mean it’s not entirely helpful for me trying to cast a show…but fair play for him to give it a try! 

Next…

Journey to Edinburgh: 8 – Too busy to turn up. 

Audition one and two didn’t exactly go to plan but let’s stay positive we still have more people to see. So come on in candidate three…

Oh there is no one in the waiting room… we have a bit of time so casually looking at my phone… Oh wait I have an email…

Right well it seems this candidate is simply too busy with his work and social schedule to actually attend an audition but wait…oh fantastic he’s took the time out of his massively busy schedule to send me videos instead of turning up. Great thank you, so nice of you not to waste my time. (Sigh) 

Again you may call me stupid and I may well have been too nice but off I went and played the videos to my casting team, was I really willing to consider this one? they better be absolutely amazing to go anywhere near to making up for the no-show. 

So we watch the videos…Next!!

Journey to Edinburgh: 9- Mr ‘I’m so amazing I don’t need to do the second song’.

So we go onto the next candidate in all fairness this one had emailed me to tell me he was only able to sing one of the two audition songs. I politely replied that unfortunately I was looking for somebody with the range and skills to be able to sing both songs but thanked him for his interest.

What proceeded with a string of emails telling me how amazing he was at singing one of the songs, including videos, and basically saying that it would be a real shame for me to miss out on using him as he was so amazing at one of the songs…Next! 

Journey to Edinburgh: 10 – We have a cast.

Well as you probably gathered by now the auditions weren’t exactly great, I won’t bore you with any more, but by this point I was one of my original cast down as well and was feeling pretty bleak about the whole project.

However with a lot of discussions in a little bit of luck I had now put together my cast, we were good to go! Bring on the rehearsals and let the fun begin. 

I should say at this point by this time I now had a good friend who was to be a co-producer on board and we were super excited about working together and getting started. 

Off we go to the first rehearsal having sourced a rehearsal room, picked up the keys, the rehearsal was in an hour, we were ready to go with rehearsal one.

Well they say nothing is simple and it was a certainly the case here out of a cast of five we had three including myself attend the rehearsal, not entirely productive, but there are songs to be learnt and work to be done so let’s work out those harmonies! 

Journey to Edinburgh: 10 – Man down.

Well things are looking up we’ve had our first rehearsal and as luck would have it we had also managed to find and pay a deposit for some great accommodation with the bonus of a price that doesn’t mean I have to remortgage my house! (How expensive it is Edinburgh in August!)

Finally things are coming together, oh yeah…that’s not how life works though is it, there’s always a curve ball to be thrown. In this case we lost one of our cast which was a great shame as they were a friend and  appeared  committed and had attended rehearsal so far, but it wasn’t to be.

I’d be lying if I said there wasn’t some doubt and panic creeping in at this point, was anything ever going to go my way? and was anything ever going to be simple?

Que a panicked message to my friend and co-producer who was super calm about the situation and talked me down from the edge and I guess everything happens for a reason right?

After discussing the situation with the rest of the cast I was lucky enough that one of the cast knew some other performers who came highly recommended so messages were sent. I won’t go through the auditions as I have talked about previous auditions at length. But after a couple of unsuccessful auditions we had our cast for the second time. 

Journey to Edinburgh: 12 – COVID Strikes

Well you might say we hadn’t had much luck so far but onwards and upwards, we had a cast and we were ready to go albeit for a another slight cast change, but we‘be got this,  we’ve got a cast, the material is set, so time to get back to rehearsals.

Oh no here comes the biggest curve ball of all time… covid strikes, we are all on lockdown, and then the biggest blow of all…

Edinburgh fringe 2020 is cancelled.

Watch this space… The story continues…We will be back for 2021.