#edfringe2013

[traversetheatre]

Life is one big competition. Charles Darwin really had the right idea, it's all about survival of the fittest. Who's the funniest, the smartest, the prettiest? Who can fit the most marshmallows in their mouth? The ever-provocative Made In China theatre company address these very questions at the Traverse stage next week with their ★★★★ show, Gym Party on 4-5 March. 

[gotossmycausticsalad]

Also, I meant to do this ages ago. Things I saw at the Fringe that I think you should see too: John-Luke Roberts: Broken Stand Up. Not only was he hilarious, but now I'm never going to be able to listen to Johnny Cash's version of Hurt without pissing myself with laughter. Plus, he's on the free fringe so you don't even have to pay. Michael Legge: Free Wi-Fi. Angry Northern Irish comedian. Also runs a blog which I 10/10 recommend. The first thing he did when he came on stage was just scream PETER CAPALDI and laugh like a maniac. Shit-Faced Shakespeare: Much Ado About Nothing. This is exactly what it sounds like. Classically trained actors perform a Shakespeare play, except one of them is utterly and beautifully wankered. Robin Ince: The Importance of Being Interested. Come on guys, it's Robin Ince. I shouldn't have to explain why you should go see him. Chris Coltrane: Compassion is Subversive. Political comedian (and friend, but that's not why I've included him on this list). He's really funny, his protest stories are great and he's a radical lefty feminist. Plus Mark Thomas has called him the future of British political comedy. Srsly guiys. Also he's on the free fringe. Double winner. Alternative Comedy Memorial Society. I don't even have the words, but it's so good that me and my cousin went 3 times. Hosted by Thom Tuck and John-Luke Roberts with a varying line up. On our last night in Edinburgh they had Phil Jupitus performing a Catholic mass made up almost entirely of puns on the names of comedy gods. Pun Run. Run by Bec Hill, hour of comedians just doing puns. It's a thing of beauty. Sock Puppet. Little Shop of horrors demusicalified and turned into a one man, hour long play with a haunted sock puppet. It's a lot funnier than I'm making it sound. Festival of the Spoken Nerd: Full Frontal Nerdity. Comedy and science experiments. Includes spreadsheets, a ukulele and lots of fire. Things I saw at the fringe which I'd recommend you avoid: Shit of the Fringe. Just no. No. No. I saw a comedian do a ten minute set entirely in a language I don't speak a single word of at ACMS, and he still managed to be so much funnier than this hour long crock of shite. It lives up to it's title and far, far beyond it. Joe Rowntree: Themeless. Nope. We went to see him partly because he was on in the same venue as someone else we were waiting for, and partly because his blurb said he was one of the stars of Brainiac. Well, we worked out who he was on Brainiac. He was the guy who handed the real stars stuff. Yeah.  Showstoppers. Actually, this is just personal. It's an improvised musical that I was dragged along to and I reserve a special hatred for musicals. If you do like musicals, you'll probably love it. Special mention for things we tried to see but either went to the wrong venue or were too disorganised to get a ticket before they all sold out. Baconface. Stewart Lee pretending to be a cult Canadian Comedian Stewart Lee. Come on, it's Stewart Lee. Mark Thomas. Ditto. Kate Smurthwaite. She's brilliant and passionate and funny and an awesome feminist. She's doing 2 shows and we managed to miss them both because we can't read venue names and kept going to the wrong place. Don't make our mistake.

[walkingthefringe]

What I did at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival Generation 9-11: So Far/So Close Chris Wolfe "Opening Scenes"

[walkingthefringe]

What is a fringe festival?

Noun - An open access arts festival. Open access means that anyone who wants to perform, can perform, regardless of fame or talent.

Examples:

Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The biggest and best Adelaide Fringe Festival & Edmonton Fringe Festival: Both have claimed to be the second biggest fringe. Anyone want to visit Australia or Canada? San Francisco Fringe*: The most popular US fringe that's actually a fringe, but not as big as... NYC Fringe: Which is curated, that is, not open access, so not technically a fringe. Hollywood Fringe Festival:New, but growing rapidly. Check out anything by Antonio Sacre.

*The San Francisco Fringe is run by lottery. The advantage: Anyone can perform. Disadvantage: But only if they're lucky.

NEAT FACT: Canada is much better at organizing Fringe Fests which is why the SF Fringe Fest is part of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF).

[walkingthefringe]

On the way to Edinburgh.

[aneverymanstale-blog]

from a different perspective

Sometimes, I think the beginning of the rehearsal process is the best. Early rehearsals are filled with potential and large concepts and even larger ideas. This is where the understanding begins. T...