What is the point of Fringe Theatre

Convener: Andrew Piper

Participants: Laura Macdougall, Tom Latter, Scarlett Plouviez-Comnas, Lucy Avery, Nir Paldi, Jen Lunn, Sally Christopher, Randy Ginsburg, Sarah Johnson, Nicola Sanhope, Katheryn Worthington, Sarah, Oli Townsend, Lyn Gardner, Daniel Pitt

Summary of discussion, conclusions and/or recommendations:

Convener’s note: I wanted to discuss this because I have found the fringe a deeply frustrating place to work. Each job I would approach with the hope either of artistic satisfaction or a showcase that would lead to more work or better representation. Out of about 10 unpaid fringe projects I’ve done, only 1 (poss 2) have been artistically satisfying; none has led to more work. Venues such as the Finborough, 503, Arcola, and Southwark Playhouse are attracting critical acclaim; many other venues blur the distinction between amateur and professional in a dispiriting way. What, then, is the point of theatre where no one gets paid?

• Development of new writing
• Showcase for new talent
• Exposure for actors struggling to get paid work
• Develop body of work for directors & writers
• Why does someone work for no money?
• Want exposure
• To keep working/maintain skills
• Artistic satisfaction lacking in commercial work
• (But does that make an actor’s artistic satisfaction dependent on other people?)
• To develop new projects that will have a commercial future.
• Fringe can be both about artistic development in a low-risk environment, and also about exposure to the industry.
• Anything is possible on the fringe – no commercial constraints
• Actors (and all involved) need to have a clear sense of what they want to get out of it.
• Important to play the long game: how does this project fit into where I want to be in 5 years time?
• Fine-tuning your craft. BUT the saying is that you’re only as good a tennis player as the people you’re playing tennis with: if you want art, but you’re in a showcase then you’re going to find that frustrating.
• Best chance of artistic satisfaction for actor if involved before start of rehearsals; know the director and/or writer’s work
• Seek out creative ensembles to develop a long-term relationship with
• Edinburgh – showcase for shows to be picked up by tour producers
• National Theatre of Wales: travels around looking for small-scale (not just fringe) shows looking for talent
• Some language discussion: some prefer ‘studio theatre to ‘fringe’.