So the Fringe is over - not officially, since there are shows tonight and tomorrow - but for all the shows we had any sort of personal attachment to, the Fringe is over and done with. I think it has been a great experience for so many people, all of the friends we've made here would do it all over again. And we would too, if it didn't cost so dern much.
It took a lot of hard work and the dedicated support of so many people (that's you) to get us here, and to let you know how successful it was, here are some factoids I've concocted:
All an Act 2012 Edinburgh Fringe Numbers:
13 shows 3 sell-outs 200 or so seats occupied at some point or another(sometimes by the same person three times) 4 reviews(2 4-star, a 3-star from the national newspaper, which is a 4-star anywhere else, and one group of kids playing reviewer[did I say that?]) 1 UK tour booked(with two more reviewers and a producer) 46 Production photos taken 100's of photos taken of us on the mile 20 odd(in both meanings) friends made And endless experience and memories gained we will never forget....
Now that that's taken care of, here's my theory on All an Act's success, from a business standpoint:
If there are 2,700 shows here, there were about 1,000 plays. There is no way 100 of those plays were asked to tour the show, and there is no way 100 of those plays got a 5-star review, or even multiple 4-star reviews. So All an Act is running in the 90th percentile. Not bad for a bunch of grad students who put together a show and a budget, and made both work together. And not bad for a group of 120 or so people who decided to take a chance and help out the aforementioned group of grad students.
Go team.
Well you'd think with the Fringe done and the tour set we'd be sitting here having margaritas, with no news in store. But nope, wish we could be that boring (or do I?).
The tour is still going as planned, but as we get ready for it we are trying to promote the show, the international NYC aspect, and of course the huge success we've had here in Edinburgh. So we got a new press release together and some of the best production photos from New York and Edinburgh, and sent it out to a bunch of people in the Exeter/Devon area. And we are starting to get some hits back, the most exciting of which is the BBC Radio interview we'll be doing Monday the 3rd of September, for BBC Radio Devon. Pretty cool stuff, huh? We'll also be receiving at least one, probably two or three, reviews for the show in Exeter.
We'll keep you updated on everything that we get going, should be hearing back from more and more people as the days go on.
All an Act takes over the UK, -Adam
Yes, you read that right. All an Act will be joining The BikeShed Theatre September 4th and 5th for a limited run. The BikeShed Theatre is located in Exeter, and found us through the wonderful folks at How to Start a Riot, who helped us secure the run and are even going to give us a place to sleep. We'll be slightly re-staging the show for a larger stage and then taking most of the same gear down in a rental car, then driving through the night to get back to Edinburgh on the 6th of September for our changed flights. This is a bit of a dream come true for all of us, and after the last three nights of our run in Edinburgh were sold out, a perfect way to carry on our momentum a while longer, to another audience and potentially to another group of publications that may have interest in writing about our show. We continue to be floored by the feedback we get about our show, and the success it has been having. I mean we knew we were good, but not this good...just kidding. The friends we've met here and the many many hearts we've touched will be something we all remember for a long time. And now we think we know what we're doing and what we've got, we'll be able to parlay this success into further iterations of All an Act, like this run at The BikeShed Theatre. -The Clowns P.S. check our facebooks and tweeters and everything for some fun photos of us on the Mile...
Sold out our last three shows! That ain't bad for a bunch of first timer clowns. This has been so incredible, and we get people literally every day throwing love our way and complimenting the work that we've been doing, we've reached hundreds of people and made nearly all of them laugh or cry, and both in a good way. We are working on some cool stuff and we are really close to hopefully having a final word, which we'll send your way tomorrow, but for now we leave you with the best photo we've taken so far.
The cast of Blind Mirth, an incredible improv group, came to see closing night (several of them saw us twice before that) and they painted their noses red in our honor. So we told them to come on stage and grab their favourite prop and strike a pose. Here are the results.
Love to everyone who made us the happiest clowns north of the River Thames...
Just a quick post to start the morning: we had ANOTHER SOLD OUT SHOW last night! Hurrah! We can't wait to close tonight to another packed house, and we are getting out on the Mile soon to make sure that happens.
Stay frisky, friends. More updates soon.
xoxo
I just have to post a quick update letting everyone know that now Adam (as Merkin) has made 4 babies cry within as many days while we were out flyering on the Mile.
It's. Just. Hilarious.
-K
*In "real" news, we had lots of people come up to us today on the Mile and say that they either A) tried to get into the show last night and couldn't because we were sold out, or B) have been told by someone who already saw the show that they MUST come see us. Both of which are awesome. Only 2 shows left at EdFringe! Here we gooooo!
Wooooohooooooo!!!!! Guess what we did!!!! Sold out our Thursday night show! That's big for Edinburgh, imagine a city that doubles it's population and hosts 2,700 shows in over 300 spaces....and of all the gin joints in all the world, 42 people decide simultaneously to come see All an Act at Surgeons' Hall. And guess what else. None of them left disappointed. We had the great casts of Trojan Women and Ovid checking us out, as well as an Actors Studio Drama School Alum we met on the Royal Mile randomly, and a few new friends from Blind Mirth and the crew they brought with them. Plenty of shows here advertise when they come back for a second run that they sold out a show in Edinburgh, and plenty of them rig it so all their friends and family come on one night to fill the house. But we didn't do that, and we can still lay claim to all of it. So hooray for all of our friends and family who created this successful show, we wouldn't be able to do it without you, we wouldn't even want to. And now you can all go to your bridge clubs, faculty meetings, PTA meetings, social gatherings, and business luncheons and brag about how you helped create a sell-out show in the biggest Arts Festival in the world.
Now I know I just kind of knocked your socks off, but there's more...
We had two reviewers from edfringereview.com come the night before our sell out show. And they both gave us four stars, here's the link, you should check it out. That means All an Act is a three-time four-star show, and if you'll recall that little three-star we got from The Scotsman, the biggest newspaper here...turns out they are trying to do away with the five-star review and work on a scale of four unless they see the greatest show of all time and can award it a five. So our three-star there is a four-star anywhere else easy. So print that out on your business cards folks, you made a sell out show that blew audiences and critics away in Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2012.
Be proud of yourselves, we are so grateful for you.
All right kids, we've got 4 performances left, and it feels like we just got here last week. We've been working our butts off out on the Mile, peddling our show and getting people to come out and see it. We had a good show last night - barring the fact that my nose keeps falling off - and Adam and Mel even met a fellow ASDS alum out on the street! He graduated in 2004 and said he would come see the show - it would be awfully nice to have some hometown support in this last stretch. Going out on the Mile again soon, I've stocked up on the cough syrup, and oh, our air mattress sprung a leak a couple nights ago, leading us to sleep on the floor one night and on a half-deflated mattress the next. We think we've fixed it though (fingers crossed).
Love from Scotland, All an Act
Hey! We got our photos from Gunnar! Here's a taste for you, it will take a bit for us to upload some choice ones to the website's slideshow. You can see Kathleen as Petunia doing her best ballerina(not bad, eh?) and Adam as Merkin being depressed and alcoholic. If you look close you can also see the ceiling and the back of the curtain, which gives you an idea of how small our space is, although we make do pretty well I would say.
Got out on the Royal Mile today as Merkin, swigging a flask and causing a scene, trying our best to figure out what kind of "advertising" really sells the show rather than just dressing up like clowns(everyone thinks they know what a clown is until they actually think about it). Seems like it went well, plenty of people are interested in the show, so we'll see if they come 'round. Meanwhile our friends at Blind Mirth and our new friends at The Awesome Show are plugging our show for us as we plug theirs, so we hope to be able to help each other out since our audiences like to see good stuff that's funny.
It's hard work making theatre, so it's time for some foods, a rest and maybe a show. Fight the good fight!
-All an Act
So we get a day off today, or at least we don't have a show and we mostly just have to get our eggs lined up for the final week of Edinburgh Fringe and the onslaught of marketing we hope to achieve to finally get some people in the house.
The day of rest is much needed, for two of our members are down with some sort of malady, Sean and Kat are resting and taking vitamin c and zinc to recover soon we hope.
In the meantime, Melody and Adam attended a networking event with potential producers and companies today, and once again the response was positive. We continue to impress people with our play, the themes and ideas behind and in front of it, and our wonderful marketing materials, which stand out from all the rest. And when those people come see the show, they are further impressed, so we soldier on to get more people to sit down for forty minutes and take in a show they won't want to miss....
Love to all back home and anywhere else you might be, we can't get enough of Edinburgh.
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