When we first got to Edinburgh and started our tech, previews, and then performances, the schedule certainly varied a bit from day to day. We would often have work we needed to do before the next day’s rehearsal to adjust and/or finalize different aspects of the show–even today, during our 5th official performance I found something to adjust in my calling script. For me, most of this outside prep includes figuring out scheduling, communicating with the production team and/or cast about any changes or issues that might have arisen, and making sure my calling script is up to date, easy to call from, and secure enough that I won’t have any cue tabs falling out (aka, my worst nightmare). During our first few days, especially while the show’s elements were still fluctuating and we had note sessions each day, the majority of my days were still occupied with the show and all the various details that come with it rather than exploring the city or going to Fringe shows.
Now that we’ve got about a week of performances under our belts and there aren’t any more cues to be added or cut, transition choreography to adjust, or prop logistics that still need figuring out, most of my work on the performance each day is done during those ~2.5 hours that we’re at the venue. Prior to the show I take all the things I need to call the show to the venue, make sure everyone is present, communicate any announcements and/or adjustments to the company before loading in, and then help with load in, supervise the fight call, and set up my script/calling area when we get access to the space. During the show itself, my main focus is calling all the cues correctly. The most stressful part of this section of my day is definitely this one group of 3 pages including and following the “Eye of the Tiger” dance sequence where I have to call a standby for all 3 pages of cues because there isn’t enough time during the section to do so. Following each show I reset my station and help with any remaining load out tasks, then make sure everything is finished before heading out. While I was originally worried about the limited load in and load out time, upon actually being here and doing it each day, everybody has gotten it down to such a science that many days it feels like we’re swimming in extra time before the house opens. For the most part now my only additional tasks outside our performance are the usual making the performance report and daily call for the following day and then sending them both out. This usually totals up to a maximum of 3.5 hours of work each day, which frees up significantly more time than I have had at any other point during this trip.
Having all this extra time during the day is wonderful as it allows me time to explore the fringe as well as Edinburgh in general, while still having time to rest, relax, and take care of myself. With our show being at noon, there aren’t too many fringe shows happening before ours which means that I have been able to get plenty of rest from sleeping in and still have time to prepare before the show each day. After our show there have been plenty of great restaurants to go for food, shows happening that we have been able to find and go watch, and areas of the city to explore. I’ve also been able to spend relaxing afternoons and nights with my friends hanging out at the dorms, making meals together, watching movies, and just chatting and enjoying each other’s company. One of my favorite places in the city that I’ve been able to hang out in is the large park that’s close to our venue; it’s such a beautiful place to enjoy the outdoors, reset after a show, and get a bite to eat from one of the food stands on its perimeter. And of course, with it being the Fringe Festival, one of the best ways to fill free time is to see as many of the incredible shows happening as possible. I have already been to watch several shows with friends, the most recent one being January 6th: The Musical which was wonderfully hilarious and we even were able to get a picture with the cast afterwards!
In addition to the shows that my friends and I find and go watch, there are also several that we have gotten group tickets to as a company, including performances and events that are part of the International Festival in addition to the Fringe. Many of these are shows that due to availability or cost, we wouldn’t have been able to get tickets to and see on our own, so it has been so wonderful still being able to have these experiences and especially with them having been such incredible shows. One of the shows we saw recently, Tether, has become one of my favorite shows ever; it was such a beautiful, moving, and technically stunning collaboration of theatre and cultures. We were also able to see the Royal Military Tattoo at Edinburgh castle which was so incredibly impressive in both the scale and true quality skill of all participating.
I am so thankful for all of the incredible experiences I’ve been able to have so far in Edinburgh and Scotland as a whole, and am so excited for our last little bit here and all the more fun I know I’m going to have!
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