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Writing a diary is a good way to learn about yourself. I'm learning a lot as I write this one. One of the principal things is that I'm exceedingly lazy. This particular section is being written a few too many hours behind. Another important thing I'm learning is that my memory is terrible. This is not being helped by the fact that this particular section is being written a few too many hours late. The thing is that the telling of a story is important in both form and detail. In this diary, the little details are often the true gems, the structure and quality being of questionable worth. The facts that a passing car sounded like Chewbacca from Star Wars, or that a staff member at a venue, who looked glum, returned a smile as I was leaving a show are perhaps more valuable in the long-term than the fact that a particular show cost a particular amount of money.
Monday was a day in which I realised that all festivals need to come to an end. The reason is that you cannot live the festival life in perpetuity and enjoy it. I had a very enjoyable week last week, peaking maybe Friday or Saturday. Now is a time for me to regroup and get ready to party hard again. My festival could not afford to run on at festival pitch beyond Sunday night. I needed the festival equivalent of a weekend. This came in the form of a late morning, coupled with some songwriting.
I had received some lyrics by email and I set them to music. This took significantly less time than it did for me to find a way to get the completed demo onto a CD. In fact this process was painful, involving the internet, mobile phones and a whole bunch of things which took a lot of time and stole an important part of my life from me. I would much rather have had the CD writer that I'd brought with me work properly, rather than me have to work around its inability to recognise a disc placed inside it.
With the song written, I set out to find its commissioner and to buy an electronic guitar tuner. These seem unrelated (well, vaguely related) missions, but it should be pointed out that I needed to set myself some tasks that did not involve going to see shows. I had a show to do myself later but the prospect of sitting in another auditorium was not on the agenda for the afternoon. I was also suffering from an acute need for food. Foolishly shunning the idea of going to the newsagents for a sandwich, I chose the shop with the worst service in Edinburgh. The combination of European customers with no concept of queuing and unintelligent service from the staff set my teeth somewhat on edge. My annoyance was calmed by the friendly service in the music shop and the prospect of having a nice toy to play with.
Play with my toy I did (unable to meet my CD requiring chum) and I sat merrily tuning my guitar in the Pleasance courtyard until I was asked if I'd help flyer my show. I set to this task with gay abandon. Indeed, what a lovely way it is to meet people. I was probably funnier and more in command of my audience in the courtyard with a flyer than on stage with a guitar. I'm not proud of that. Actually, my show seemed to go well - or at least, it went well enough. Some of my leaflet recipients were still talking to me after the show, which is a good sign.
Between my own show and the next thing I did, time is something of a blur. I know that nearly 4 hours passed, but I can't say how I filled them. Perhaps I went for a walk. Perhaps I drank copiously. Or perhaps I was kidnapped by aliens and placed through a walking-drunk virtual reality simulator. What's more likely is that I chatted in a bar to some random people, perhaps from another show, perhaps even describing in detail the musical I've been involved with, and perhaps I then spent time choosing the next show, going to it and talking about theatre to the staff and patrons there too. It's hard to say. The show in question was Davie Firestar Simmons in his Canadian Celtic Cowboy spot. Hey Davie! (he reads this)
Following the post show post-mortem, I decided to see what was happening in The Establishment. This turned out to have a few acts I'd met and wanted to see in action. So, I hung around there until it closed and then went home. A seemingly unmemorable day. Small details like where I left my guitar and how I got between venues seem almost uninteresting, so I'll miss them out. Perhaps I forgot the interesting details.
However, days like this do remind me of one of my underlying objectives for the fringe and, indeed, for my entire performing life. It can be summed up in one word - distance. One needs to find a certain amount of distance, a quantity of objectiveness. Without this, there is no way to improve one's performance and no way to decide where to go. Do the crowd really love you? Does that matter as much as the development of your act to better heights? Should you really be on that stage? Unfortunately, you can't trust anyone. You cannot trust an individual audience member to tell you the truth after the show - they'll always tell you you did well. You cannot trust yourself during a performance because you're too busy performing. You cannot trust a reviewer - they're there to review as critically and interestingly as they can. You cannot trust the hoards of yes-men who work in venues because their job is to keep the acts happy. You have to find some distance from what you're doing and be honest with yourself.
Walking home, I listened to the tape of my performance. I laughed myself at some points and found others where I could have done it a lot better. I still aim to remain self-effacing and humble in the face of the fringe. Hopefully that will do me some good.
Show: Canadian Celtic Cowboy
Performed by: Davie Firestar Simmons
When: 23:55
Where: C Central
Cost: £7.50
This show is a combination of different flavours. It tells the story of the Scottish roots of its performer and writer, provides a wealth of interesting and amusing songs, some of which are catchy enough to take root in one's head for days and occasionally delves into the extremely creative mind of its writer, who sets up a complicated tale around an amusing image and then recreates that story in song.
If the fringe cannot find an audience for this show, then the fringe is failing. The time flew by as we watched, and although the already small audience dwindled down to two, the audience participation section was comfortable and entertaining.
Davie has certainly got something. I would not be so presumptuous as to attempt to define it.
Show: The Establishment
Performed by: Various
When: 1:30
Where: C Main, Adam House
Cost: £0
Saw Jamie Douglas and Dave Skinner on this stage. The audience was small and virtually unappreciative, but the acts managed to charm them round and the atmosphere built nicely. Good work to the compere, Jamie, for shepherding the audience into a suitable shape and size.
Spent £7.50, saw 2 shows and performed in one. A relaxed day at the fringe. At the day's end:
Total shows seen: 28
Total shows performed: 6
Total spent: £172
14 August 2003
Ashley Frieze