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This will be an ongoing insight of what it is like as a technician at the Edinburgh Fringe. From our first week to our last, these will be an inside look at what happens behind the scenes that most people don’t get even a glimpse of. This is our third week of the EdFringe.
At the Fringe, most shows have about 4 hours for teching their performances, some have more, some have less. It merely depends on the show and what we are able to do in an allocated amount of time. As technicians, it is our job to make their dreams and what they see their show to be in their head come to life on stage and make everything they envisioned about it a reality. Most of the time we as technicians are able to do just that, sometimes even give them more than what they were expecting. Sometimes though, we have to be the bad guy and explain why we can’t always make dreams come true. Sometimes, it is merely out of our hands and what the venue we are in is capable of doing. Not all venues at the Fringe are decked-out theatres ready for anything you could possibly imagine.
This video is an inside look at one of the tech rehearsals with the show Fabulett 1933, shared with permission. A massive shoutout to this amazing show and crew! (@michaeltrauffer on instagram)
We start the week off with the first of the tech rehearsals, programming shows as fast as our fingers can fly so we can move on to the cue-to-cue rehearsal to make sure the shows are happy with the hours of long work we have just put into a show we have never seen before. Then we have to get ready to do it again, as most venues have anywhere between 5-8 shows running in them per day and we open to the public just before the weekend arrives.
Let’s pause for a moment here and understand what was just said: Majority of shows and visiting companies that come to the Fringe are here for 1 or 2 shows that they put on per day, but technicians run between 5-8 shows per day and are trying to make all of those shows happen and happy without a hitch or hiccup.
This is by no means a vacation for visiting companies as they have to advertise, rehearse, and constantly market to make ticket sales for their shows. The behind the scenes is no summer job between Uni though either. Everyone who works behind the scenes to make this massive festival happen is here for extremely long days, doing at least 3 peoples worth of work, and trying to meet the demands of incoming shows.
We finally open to the public and… our first day goes smoothly for the first time for as long as anyone can remember. Of course celebratory pints are needed! We wait for the other shoe to drop as a smooth running festival is unheard of. It of course happens but nothing that can’t be handled. Some visiting companies are late due to coming straight off tour, some technicians are feeling the pressure of their first Fringe, and some shows are getting their first major reviews. And you? You have a list 3 pages long of things you need to get done.
Janine has always been a part of music and performing. The first show that inspired her to go into theatre was the Velveteen Rabbit which she saw as a child, and Drew works to keep that magic alive in her work. When Drew was accepted into an internship program for audio engineering at a recording studio, she jumped at the opportunity. That was at the start of 2020, and so much has happened since then, both in her career and in the world. Since then, Drew has taken several opportunities to work at recording studios, concerts, festivals, and even large theatres while spending some time on tour. Drew's favorite by far though, has been the chance to work on Broadways and West End shows, as this was a dream come true. Drew is honoured to get to share these experiences from being inside the entertainment industry.
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