Edinbugger.
Today’s show
started well then veered a little off-course, mainly because I'd been flustered by a string of tech problems that happened minutes before kickoff
that meant we had to go up late, so I had to cut things left,
right and centre to finish on time; all while being aware I had press in.
It didn’t help that the room’s tech manager was struck by the Curse of the Cancelled Train (something we’re very familiar with Down South) and didn’t arrive until after the show had started, which wouldn’t normally be an issue if the stage lights hadn’t lost power at precisely the same moment front of house decided to let the audience in without checking if we were ready; this meant I had to ask the people coming in to go back out again, knowing they’d just been told they could take their seats; classic Ephgrave.
The final nail in the coffin was my own technician also arriving a little late, which didn’t allow time to fix any last-minute issues that come up, when come up they did. This couldn’t be helped, but it still niggled, as a show that starts at midday shouldn’t go up late when I began setting up at 10:30am, which in Fringe terms is pure luxury.
Ever since I started running a comedy club I’ve learnt to kick off a gig just a step ahead of myself and get through it, but every time I do it, it’s luck of the draw whether I’ll be able to keep every problem at bay; all it takes is a few too many issues to come up for things to unravel by my standards. It gets particularly irritating when the problems that arise are out of my hands, or are down to someone not appreciating what’s at stake. Edinburgh's Ground Zero for this, as a lot of time and money is invested in it, so it’s galling when it affects my performance, as that's the reason I’m here; I don’t want it to be reflected in a reviewer’s write-up or in the audience's experience.
That said, I’m probably being hard on all concerned, myself included. I just care about what I’m doing and want it to be good, so when it isn’t, I get frustrated I didn't do a better job. I’ve got high standards and, perhaps occasionally, my expectations are unreasonably high too.
It didn’t help that the room’s tech manager was struck by the Curse of the Cancelled Train (something we’re very familiar with Down South) and didn’t arrive until after the show had started, which wouldn’t normally be an issue if the stage lights hadn’t lost power at precisely the same moment front of house decided to let the audience in without checking if we were ready; this meant I had to ask the people coming in to go back out again, knowing they’d just been told they could take their seats; classic Ephgrave.
The final nail in the coffin was my own technician also arriving a little late, which didn’t allow time to fix any last-minute issues that come up, when come up they did. This couldn’t be helped, but it still niggled, as a show that starts at midday shouldn’t go up late when I began setting up at 10:30am, which in Fringe terms is pure luxury.
Ever since I started running a comedy club I’ve learnt to kick off a gig just a step ahead of myself and get through it, but every time I do it, it’s luck of the draw whether I’ll be able to keep every problem at bay; all it takes is a few too many issues to come up for things to unravel by my standards. It gets particularly irritating when the problems that arise are out of my hands, or are down to someone not appreciating what’s at stake. Edinburgh's Ground Zero for this, as a lot of time and money is invested in it, so it’s galling when it affects my performance, as that's the reason I’m here; I don’t want it to be reflected in a reviewer’s write-up or in the audience's experience.
That said, I’m probably being hard on all concerned, myself included. I just care about what I’m doing and want it to be good, so when it isn’t, I get frustrated I didn't do a better job. I’ve got high standards and, perhaps occasionally, my expectations are unreasonably high too.
