Looking Back on The Edinburgh Fringe Podcast
It’s been a week now since I put out the last Edinburgh Fringe Podcast from the 2007 Fringe, and I think that’s enough distance to step back and think about what worked, or didn’t work, with the podcasts. Some of this is not going to be public (so if you’re looking for criticisms of acts, agents, management or venues, you’re not going to find that here), and some of it will be clouded by business concerns, but do feel free to pitch in with your thoughts, either in the comments, or to ewanspence@gmail.com.
The Interviews On The Show
One of the things that I’m most proud of, looking back over the master list of which interview was on which show, is the increased presence of acts that weren’t stand up comedy. While a third of the Fringe program (roughly 650 out of 2000) are comedy shows, by going for acts such as Improvera (Improvised Opera), Gods Pottery (Christian Comedy Benefit Gig),and The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theater, the comedy quotient was spread over many disciplines. And I had a lot more theatre, drama and music in the show this year as well. It felt more ‘Fringe-y’ than 2005 and 2006, and I think a lot of this is that because this was the third year, many people were more inclined to talk to me, or put me towards first time fringe directors and writers than in previous years.
In other words I’m becoming a known quantity.
My Own Interview Style
I know the book says research, come up with a full list of questions and topics beforehand, but sometimes that just isn’t practical, especially when many of the interviewees on the show are so new, with little or no presence online or in research areas. So that means what I have to go on is generally the forty words they supply to the Fringe guide and (maybe) some of the reviews of the shows if they’ve managed to score some. With the more well-represented acts there might be a press release as well.
This puts a lot of pressure on those first few minutes of chat before the microphone turns on, putting them at ease with myself, and getting over the sort of level and style the Fringe Podcast is looking for. You’ve all heard the results by now, and I’m a lot happier this year with the results. One or two of the interviews I think came out extremely well, but I’d be interested to see what you think were the best interviews.
The Loss of The Recording Studio
Last year, I used the studio at Leith FM for the majority of the interviews. This year, with Leith FM broadcasting, that wasn’t an option and I organised space at C Venues on Chambers Street. But because of the inclement weather at the end of July, it was never going to be ready in time, so I switched to my portable kit, and ran interviews in a number of pubs, clubs, interesting places, and a graveyard. Over time, I think this tour of Edinburgh, introducing each landmark, was a great soundscape of Edinburgh – a few people even asked for a map! So a good fortuitous use of a problem to enhance the show.
The Promised Shows That Never Arrived
Actually I never publicly said about the ’special’ shows so in the grand scheme of things most people never missed these as I replaced them with other shows, other quirks, and re-jigged the ever changing interview schedule to accommodate changes that happened on a real-time basis. So while I know some backstage stuff was sacrificed, the front of house always sounded on course, and delivered all the promises made on air – bar one. I never did a second walk down the Royal Mile, instead I went to Helsinki for a night.
Involvement from The Stage
I don’t think I could ask for a better or more appropriate sponsor for the Fringe Podcast than The Stage. Not only are they highly relevant to the audience (as the only weekly theatrical newspaper in the UK), but they are incredibly hands-off in terms of editorial content. Probably the only thing they ask is if I can attend their Acting Awards at the end of the Festival – given it’s a perfect narrative closer I think that I’d be covering it in any case, just as I cover the Comedy awards. I’ve certainly made sure that it’s transparent. And it’s nice to read in emails that people thought the adverts were more varied and interesting this year.
Closing Thoughts
Quite simply, I felt incredibly comfortable doing the Fringe podcasts this year. There was less stress than in previous years, I was confident that the content was interesting and engaging, it was reaching more people, and it was fun. Is there room for improvement? For sure. Am I back next year? For sure. Is there any other event quite like it on the planet? Nope.
September 4, 2007; Daily Links;
Possibly Related posts:
- Here Comes The Edinburgh Fringe Podcast for 2006
- Edinburgh Fringe Podcast Planning 2007
- Nica Burns, the Eddies and the Edinburgh Fringe
- Hitler on the Edinburgh Fringe Podcast
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2 Responses to “Looking Back on The Edinburgh Fringe Podcast”
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“any otehre event” – shurely you means “autechre” ?
joking aside, i agree that the on location stuff worked really well and i particularly enjoyed the interview with Stephen K Amos.
Dean. “I am typing all the right letters, just not necessarily in the right order.” Thanks for the comments. I’d need to check, but I think Stephen K Amos is the only guest to have featured in all three years of coverage from The Fringe. A naturally gifted storyteller with the stories to back up the skills, and an interesting look at life every time I bump into him.