Hey again,

I’ve spent much of this morning trying again to make contact with local schools to invite them to take part and contribute to the Fringe, and to make sure that staff and pupils know about our Open Days.  It’s not the fastest process, so if any of you want to mention it when dropping off or collecting children and help spread the word, we’d be very grateful!

One thing I’m being asked about is musicians being able to audition at the Open Days…in theory, yes, we can give your songs a listen.  BUT, we’re not setting up a PA or anything, as we don’t want to disrupt the rest of Benson Blakes, and anyway, it’s an awful lot of kit and kerfuffle when we’re not sure how many people will show up!  That said, we will be more than happy to listen to unamplified/acoustic performances, or just bring along a CD/DVD, or info on where we can find your tracks online.  (So please, don’t go lugging along your amps, drumkits and groupies!)

We would like to see audition pieces from actors, comedians, dancers etc, to give us an idea of style and compatibility with projects, and visual artists are encouraged to bring along their portfolio.  If you’re not sure about what to bring or do to demonstrate your talents, get in touch ahead of the day, or come along and see us on the 16th, as you can always come back with more on the 30th.

We may well take video of auditions for reference purposes, and with permission from the performers may use footage for Fringe publicity purposes.  We won’t publish anything without asking first though!

Please feel free to email or call me with any questions about the Open Days.  It’s the first time we’ve used this method for spreading the word, and as always, input from everyone in general is very welcome.  We’re having a team meeting this evening to discuss things ahead of Saturday, so there may be more updates to come tomorrow.

One last thing – we’ve amended section 3 on our FAQs page with some updated information on our financial position as festival organisers.  The change should not affect anyone bringing a ‘ready-to-go’ event to the programme, but may apply in other situations.

Thanks for reading, taking an interest and supporting the Fringe!

Cheers,

Claire x