On the board

It's been a strange week for my show. From getting pretty nice numbers every day, on Wednesday I walked out on stage to see just five people in the audience, plus a reviewer sitting at the back! It was a particular shock because I'd been told that I'd sold at least 15 that morning, so something must have gone wrong with the box office system, or someone was looking at the wrong figures. Playing to that few people is always difficult, especially in a big room in Edinburgh, but because I knew a reviewer was it was important that I just deliver the show as well as possible, and I performed with as much energy as I could muster. It actually went well, and led to a nice review. But it was odd.

The next day I had a larger, but weirdly much harder audience. Lots of older people in, who didn't seem to get some of the references or enjoy the slightly ruder material in the show. Something I've noticed over the years is that even if older people enjoy a comedy show, they often don't laugh out loud - that seems to be something that younger people do more often, so ideally you need a mix of age groups. It was definitely the case on this night. I even had a couple of friends in who said things like: "I really enjoyed it, I don't know why we weren't all laughing!" A bit frustrating. I think I had a reviewer in that night as well: in some ways I'd have preferred him to be there the previous night!

Friday was ok, although I didn't feel on top form - I think the exhaustion of doing the Festival was suddenly beginning to hit me, and at one point near the beginning of the show I felt really light-headed and spaced-out. Quite disconcerting when you know you have to do another 40 minutes of material! I was probably a bit on auto-pilot for the rest of the show, trying to get through it without literally fainting... Thankfully I got some sleep that night and felt a lot better for Saturday. That was a relief, because on Saturday I finally managed to get on the board!

It's a phrase all comics talk about at the Fringe: if you sell out your name gets chalked up on the Sell Out board. I wasn't sure that I'd ever manage it this year because I'm in quite a big room and relatively early in the evening, but yesterday was a busy day with many shows selling out, including mine!

It made such a difference playing to a large audience in that room. There was so much more energy from the start, and I really enjoyed the show again. I even added some adlibs and little bits here and there which I haven't used for a while. I felt relaxed and in control for the first time in a couple of days, and I'm now really looking forward to the final week of performances. If I can get on the board another one or two times, that would be brilliant. And hopefully I won't have to play to five again...

Day Off

Monday was my day off. Everyone told me that I should make the most of it - get out of Edinburgh, do something completely unrelated to the Fringe, generally escape the madness for a bit. What I actually did was go and see two shows that clash with mine, then spend the evening drinking with other comedians in Brookes Bar.

It was fun though. I really enjoyed Richard Herring's show The Headmaster's Son, and then had a good time in the bar chatting to various people I haven't seen all festival. Doing a full hour every day has been quite tiring, so I haven't felt that up for socialising every night. However, now we're over half way through I feel like I can relax a little bit. I've also just made a list of shows that I really want to see in the next couple of weeks. If I get to half of them I'll be impressed!

The evening before my day off I performed at Spank, which was brilliant. It's the only really late gig I've got booked in this year and I wish I was doing more of them. It was great fun performing to a big, rowdy audience, even if the microphone wasn't working for the first minute...

Ten years on

I had a good day yesterday. The weather was warm and sunny (well, grey, but I'm now working on Edinburgh expectations so it felt warm and sunny) and I had a really enjoyable show. I think it was the best of the run so far, in front of one of the smallest audiences. There were only about 20 people in, but they were really nice and I enjoyed performing for them. I think there might have been a reviewer in as well, but I didn't spot anyone writing notes, so if they were there it was in disguise...

The strangest thing about the show yesterday was that during it I discovered that a family in the audience had previously seen me ten years ago in Edinburgh when I performed in my first student show. It was nice to think that they recognised me and decided to see what I was up to now, and quite bizarre to realise that it was a whole decade since my first show here. Someone also came up to me in the Dome and said that they really enjoyed The Big Briefcase, a show I did six years ago. The nostalgia just keeps on coming!

I had another very enjoyable gig at the 99 Club last night, and then tried to get a bit of an early night, which in Edinburgh terms means before 2am. I just about managed it. I've got quite a busy weekend, with two shows plus several extra gigs including a very late one at Spank! on Sunday night. Then Monday is my day off - I have no idea what I'm going to do!

A break in the clouds

The weather in Edinburgh this week has been awful. Really awful. Cold, windy and very very wet. I saw horizontal rain on Wednesday. That's the Scottish summer for you. I'm pretty sure that at least one pair of my shoes has been ruined by being saturated on the walk home a couple of nights ago. I wish I'd brought the Wellington boots I bought for Glastonbury! I saw people on the Royal Mile flyering for the country of Spain the other day. They couldn't have picked a better time. If they were selling tickets on the street, I imagine they'd have a lot of takers.

On the other hand, I'm having a much better time this week than I did last week when the weather was nice. Despite the optimism of my previous blog entry, the following couple of shows were very quiet, and it was getting to a point by Sunday where I was beginning to despair of getting the show to work as well as it had done in previews.

Then on Monday I did a couple of late extra gigs (99 Club and Electric Cabaret) which were a lot of fun and I relaxed properly for the first time since I got here. I remembered that my show is just stand up, and I've been doing that for ages, and with that realisation I began to enjoy it more. The last few shows have been a lot of fun, and the audiences have seemed to be a lot more engaged as well. I don't feel like I've completely nailed it yet, but then there's still a lot of the festival to go.

I'm going into this weekend looking forward to doing the show and also doing a few more extra gigs. It also looks like the weather is going to be a bit nicer. Maybe this time I'll be able to enjoy it!

Third time lucky

Three shows in, and I feel like I'm beginning to hit my stride. Last night we managed to get the heat/noise balance just right so the room was actually quite cool and I could hear the audience. Bonus!

I tried a slightly different opening to the show as well, chatting a bit to the crowd before launching into the show, and that seemed to work better. It's strange getting used to doing an Edinburgh show after working in clubs: the atmosphere is very different. Audiences in Edinburgh seem to come in and sit back, expecting a theatrical "show". Audiences in clubs are often just there for a night out, and usually come in bigger groups and are already in a good mood before the show starts. Both types of audiences have good and bad points, and I'm beginning to work out how I need to approach the Fringe shows in a different way to my club style. My show felt a lot better generally, although it still took a bit of time to warm up. I can feel myself getting more confident though, and that can only be a good thing. I'm relaxing into the festival a bit more, and I think that is translating into a better performance.

I also managed to catch my first other show last night: Dan Antopolski's Penetrating Gaze. I really enjoyed it. Dan is one of my favourite comedians, and his shows are always a great mix of cleverness and silliness. He's also added some "white rapping" to the show this year, which is both hilarious and genuinely impressive.

The PR stuff is beginning to kick in now as well. I've done a couple of interviews for podcasts, which were fun, and have got a radio interview today before the show. It's all useful practice, even if you never really know how much it leads to actual increased audiences.

The city feels busier today. It feels like the Fringe has finally begun. Only three more weeks to go!

Fans

The big news for the second show was that I managed to get a fan installed on the side of the stage, which made the show a lot cooler. Unfortunately it also made it harder for me to hear the audience, which considering that it was a slightly quieter show anyway, made it a bit disconcerting to perform. I concentrated on performing it with the correct pace and timing, and felt like I did a good job, even though it was sometimes difficult to tell what was going on in the audience. People tell me it was a good show though.

I'm looking forward to the weekend - so far this year has been very quiet across the whole city. It's an early festival this year, and I get the feeling that a lot of people don't really know that it has started yet. With any luck that will change soon...or we'll all be having a very quiet year!