Some early conclusions
September 4, 2009
Well I’m home. Curled up in my flat in Cardiff, looking at the sea and trying to work out what the last 4 weeks were about and if it was all worth it. Read more
Last day…
August 30, 2009
Oh that is a nice feeling! Looking back over my past blogs I do seem to be consistently a bit miserable. Tired and grumpy and generally ‘looking on the positive side’ while feeling completely run down. But that was really just the side effects. Now, looking back, it looks like a brilliant month. It’s rare in your life you get times when you feel 100% alive and active and that was this month. Read more
Nearing the end…
August 28, 2009
This is the fun part. I’ve been looking forward to this for months. Knowing it’s mainly done and being able to go out and see stuff without worrying about preserving your voice and not wearing yourself out… Read more
That counting down thing is getting really depressing…
August 26, 2009
Is it really only 5 days left? Where did that go? What did I do before I did this? What’s going to happen when I stop? I have a nasty feeling I might be too acclimatised now. Ah well. Better start partying! I’m sure I haven’t drunk enough yet. And there were shows I wanted to see… haven’t any money but that hasn’t stopped me so far. It’s going to be the best final 5 days ever!
People have stopped laughing…
August 24, 2009
I mean my audience, not generally. That would be depressing!
Laughter was quite a thing for me in the first week. I hadn’t actually really dealt with it before in this piece. Don’t get me wrong, it’s very nice, but it took me a while to work out how it works. I felt I wasn’t leaving space for it, but that was partly because it wasn’t predictable. People laughed in different places every day and I worried that I wasn’t given clear enough guidance. Read more
A gradual lowering of expectations…
August 22, 2009
Though, to be frank, I’m not sure what my expectations of Edinburgh actually were. It was a destination. A Full Stop. End of the road. It hasn’t been something I’ve looked past. Read more
The One-Person Fringe Network…
August 20, 2009
Every Thursday, at Fringe Central, there’s what’s best described as a support network event for one-person shows. It’s a wonderful thing. It can be a very lonely experience taking a solo show to the Fringe. As much as friends and family try and understand, the all encompassing nature of it is sort of indescribable. Here there is a group of other people all going through the same thing, moderated by Barry, who is one of the calmest, friendliest people you could hope to meet. Read more
A new obsession…
August 18, 2009
Halfway through the fringe and I’ve gained a new obsession. Flyer-ing. Ok, it’s probably something I should have been obsessing about since day one but I’m an idiot. I decided, as part of the whole process of convincing myself I could bring a one woman show to the Fringe, that I didn’t need to flyer. I’ve been sternly telling myself for the last six months that there’s no point flyer-ing when there’s only one of you. Read more
A nice moment…
August 14, 2009
Someone just gave me a free ticket for the opening night of the International Festival. I was flyering outside the Usher Hall in the pouring rain and this guy came up to say his friend couldn’t make it and would I like the ticket. So I’ve just sat through a rather good Handel Oratorio and my feet dried off completely. Sometimes this festival madness throws up wonderful moments!
Tired & grumpy & cutting up reviews…
August 13, 2009
I’ve lost my bounce. I’m telling myself it’s the mid-week one lull. On the one side, everything’s gone quite quiet at my end: the venue is quiet, audiences are smaller and I’m waiting for reviews to be printed and reviewers to come. Meanwhile, out in the wider festival, shows seem to be taking off, a buzz is starting and I’m beginning to panic that I’m being left behind.
I keep running through a mental checklist:
- Still happy with the show? Tick;
- Think it’s worth doing and worth someone’s time to see it? Tick;
- Done all I can to get the press in? Pause… Read more
EIF: 14 August-6 September
Advertisement
