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UNIVERSAL ARTS' FRINGE
THEATRE PRODUCTIONS
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| What is the fringe? |
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Edinburgh Festival Fringe
outside of the UK realise how big Edinburgh's festival has become over sixty years. This unique event has grown to become Every year over 700 theatre companies bring over 1,600 different productions from around the world to 260 venues and perform nearly 28,000 shows. Over 2,500 international journalists, festival directors and theatre programmers flock to the city each August to seek out the best work currently available. This is in addition to 1 million tickets sold to ordinary audience members. Big international corporations and hundreds of smaller businesses use the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as the best sponsorship opportunity through which they can advertise their product or enhance their position in the market. Also a number of foreign government agencies (i.e. Australian Ministry of Culture, French Institute, Canadian High Commission, Arts Council Ireland and the Goethe Institute) directly promote their countries. The American and French consulates organise special events for key industrialists using cultural events to strengthen contacts and initiate new business projects for their countries.
the Edinburgh Festival Fringe has been a breeding ground for hundreds of illustrious writers, directors and actors such as Samuel Beckett, Harold Pinter, Peter Brook, Tom Stoppard, Andrew Lloyd-Weber, Steven Berkoff, Albert Finney, Anthony Hopkins, Robin Williams, Daniel Day-Lewis, Rowan Atkinson (‘Mr Bean’) and John Cleese to name just a few. With the involvement of such a collection of talent, we begin to understand the importance of this event in relation to world theatre and drama. Every year Edinburgh reveals important new talent to world theatre and the entertainment business.
 is not the only event in Edinburgh during the last three weeks of the summer holidays. The International Festival hosts ballet and opera, renowned national theatre companies and symphonic orchestras from around the globe. The Edinburgh International Book Festival is the biggest literary festival on earth. The International Film and Television Festivals invite celebrated non-commercial film achievements. During the last eighteen years or so, the Jazz Festival has also made this beautiful capital of Scotland its home.
The first thing to understand about participation in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe is that no one is invited and no fees are paid. This means that each company takes its own financial risk in appearing. As outlined above, there are many advantages in participating but the costs can be considerable. It is not uncommon for an average sized company coming from Europe or the USA to need a budget of £30,000 - £50,000..
A typical budget for a company of 10 people coming for the whole festival (not including travel to Edinburgh for performers or set) will breakdown roughly into:
| Accommodation |
£8,000 |
| Venue Hire 200 – 300 seats |
£10,000 |
| Marketing |
£12,000 |
| Professional Fees for Edinburgh-based promoter |
£3,000 |
All these figures depend on how big the company is and the size of the production. It is important to remember that the Fringe is a commercial venture and that market forces often mean high prices for every element of your expenditure.
 - There are over 70 venues with nearly 350 stages where shows take place. Most buildings used as venues have a different purpose throughout the rest of the year and are usually schools, universities, church halls, Masonic lodges and other meeting places.
The owners of those buildings rent them to festival Venue Managers who will convert them to performing spaces by bringing in seating, lighting, staging and employing staff. The Venue Managers then sell time slots on the open market to participating companies. Time slots are usually limited to 1 hours 15 minutes – 2 hours 30 minutes. Your time slot will include the time needed for the performance plus setting and clearing the stage before and after the performance. As there may be up to 10 shows on the same stage on the same day it is vital that your show does not take a long time to set up and clear. You will buy the same time slot (ie 6pm-7.45pm) each day for a minimum of one week and more commonly 2 or all 3 weeks. It is very unusual (and costly) to perform for less than one week. When coming from abroad the minimum recommended time is 2 weeks.
Every participating company will need to discuss their requirements with several different Venue Managers and to negotiate the best deal for themselves.
 –Many companies will spend a year preparing for their visit. If you have never experienced Edinburgh during Festival time it is highly recommended that you make an exploratory visit the year before your intended participation. This way you can see venues in operation, speak to venue managers and see which kinds of show work well in different spaces. Over the autumn you will need to raise funds for your visit so that from the beginning of January you are prepared to enter negotiations with venue managers.
The most important publication is the Fringe Programme and it is ESSENTIAL to be included in it. The deadline for inclusion is the middle of April. However, usually by the middle of March Venue Managers will have already sold most of their slots. It is important to begin searching for a venue as soon as you know you have the budget to come to Edinburgh or you may find that there are no slots left and you will have to put off your visit for another year.
- you should also register with the Fringe’s umbrella organisation The Festival Fringe Office who will regularly send useful publications and information bulletins. They are also a vital source of advice and specialist help.
The Fringe Office can be contacted on +44 131 226 0026 or Email: admin@edfringe.com. Their web-site www.edfringe.com gives much more detailed information about participation.
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