We’ve been getting some really good press (4 and 5 stars), and the show has been nominated for a Total Theatre Award (Innovation category); as well, Kristen is one of 6 people nominated for a Stage Award (Best Solo Performer category)!  http://www.totaltheatre.org.uk/awards/index.html

On Monday, the show that’s usually on before us had the day off. So I came at my usual time (3:10pm), expecting to wait outside the theatre for 15min, gearing up for the changeover. But, there was Ian’s smiling face inviting us right on in. What a difference time makes! As Ian put it: it felt like doing proper theatre. It also kind of  felt like the day off we were all pretending to have! We had so much time we were all convinced we’d forget to do something integral… And when Claudia’s tam fell onto the deck at the top of the show (unbeknownst to me), and she had to look for it, there was a heart and stomach-lurching moment when I thought I’d missed setting it… Gulp.

I’ve been getting oot and aboot a little bit more, now that the dust has settled. I love walking around and people watching. I really admire and applaud the women of Edinburgh. Not only are there lots of cobblestones here (and the cobbliest I’ve ever come across), but there are lots and LOTS of steep hills! But these women fearlessly wear high heels anywhere. Up and down, and along the cobbly streets. I ended up sending the heels I’d brought with me home with Gillian. To manage this terrain I’d definitely need to be clinging on to someone for dear life, at all times!

Well it’s a beautiful sunny day today and it looks as though it might stay that way for a bit. And holy moly, the clouds are something else in this town! Always changing, and always beautiful.

Edinburgh is a lovely town, and I’ll be sorry to leave it.                                                                                Och Edinburgh, we hardly knew ye.

By now it’s a well-choreographed routine accomplished by two technicians – Ian and Penny, our two amazing angels -Rachel and Kyla, our publicist Jo and our incredible stage manager Arwen.

Arwen here . It certainly was absolute mayhem in the beginning. We have to get the lockers, table, shelves, crates, curtain, mirror ball, footlights, mylar, and hanging lights into place. Which is where Ian, Penny, Kyla, Rachel and Jo come in. There are practical lights to check and gels to change, haze to set up and test; and we’re all running around for 10min straight, shouting out directions and what jobs we have finished: “Am I clear to set the fish?”… “There’s water in the kettle!”, so someone else can move on to their next thing (e.g. the kettle can’t be tested until there’s water in it, etc.). As you can see, most of the pictures above are blurry. This is because we’re all moving so fast! .. The first thing I do is to give Kristen the top of show character mask (Drachman), and then I take the sound computer to the “booth” straightaway. Normally, I run into the stage manager from the previous show and hover anxiously until he vacates the tiny area. But today, he was ready for me and had cleared a path for me to plug in and boot up the computer (sweet). Then I run back down to the deck and start setting the hand props, wardrobe, and the other 3 masks. We were knocking into each other and getting in each others’ way for the first few days, but we’ve got it down to a fine science now, which feels a bit thrilling. We know how to keep out of each others’ way, and what needs to be done next. After I set all the props, I test the sound to make sure it’s running properly. The audience is let in whilst I check my list to ensure everything is there. Then, after a short conversation with Drachman I run up to the “booth”, and we start the show.

We’ve been playing to relatively small houses – and by relative I mean, small relative to our hopes.  Arwen and I have both felt quite good about the shows.   Playing for a smaller audience requires a slightly different energy focus and that adjustment has been made in increments.  We’ve begun to receive some very good press — from two sources.   We’d like more press, but they’re busy folks with 2500 shows to see!  Crow’s and TTI have got some strategies up their sleeves to get out on the street and invite more folks in. So, I’ll keep you posted on how things evolve.

We’ve been seeing some Canadian friends here.  Anthony Black and Christian Barry  are here with their brilliant “Invisible Atom”  and Alon Nashman is also here with his jewel of a show, “Kafka and Son”.  They’ve got his family with them so we had a picnic together this past gorgeous warm Sunday morning – precious here.  The kids ran around, played “What time is it Mr. Wolf?” and ate a lot of smoked salmon.  The grown ups shared stories about the festival — the shows, the uncertainty, the fun, the craziness — and also, not about the festival, for a change!  What a treat it was!

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Arwen here.  My morning (like most mornings) started with a little chuckle. For those of you who have seen the show, you know that Claudia packs a juice box into a sock and brings it to school with her. To get ahead of the game, I have pre-packed dozens of juiceboxes into socks, and they are all nestled in neat rows on the bottom shelf of my fridge. Whenever I open it, I get a little laugh.

Day off yesterday! So THIS is what Edinburgh looks like between 3:15 and 5pm! I just wandered around the city all day. Stopped in a sweet and tiny pub for a spot of lunch and postcard writing. Later I met up with Ross Manson, another Canuck (and Director), at another pub called Sandy Bells (I always want to call it Sally Bowles). Cute pub, and wonderful wee band playing traditional music. Ross has been to the Fringe a couple of times and it was really good to get some of his insight as to how it all works. It was a fun night. Walking in the rain at night is one of my favourite things because it makes me feel secretive and happy. And walking home last night, I really felt connected to the city. Edinburgh in the rain smells like the sea, and coal, and cement, and beer, and earth, and cigarettes, and songs.

But not too much.  It might be a warm, breezy, snowy, rainy, cloudy day tomorrow.  Or it might be a humid, drizzly, dry, blizzard.  All I know is, I’m doing my show at 3:40 for whoever shows up.  And I’ll be glad to have them there!

I’m going to tell you a little story, just to give you a flavour of the way we roll here at the Fringe:  Yesterday, a little into Claudia’s first monologue, one of the lights fell down and dangled on its cord right in the middle of the stage, about chest height.  And then all the stage lights went out as house lights came on.  Claudia was on about gerbils and ecosystems as it happened and it was getting pretty darn hard to ignore.  But I really couldn’t figure out what to do.  So, I asked – in character –  ”What do I do? Do I just continue?”  Silly question.  Guy Masterson, who was present again at the show (to provide his support, both moral and practical) gave me a cool and reassuring nod “yes” and so, continue I did.

And then everything went black.  (Apparently the fallen light caused the board to short out, if I understand correctly. )

Coincidentally, Claudia had flashlight in hand just at that moment and showed the audience all her basement treasures by its mysterious glow.  Slowly, back came lights and sound — and by slowly I mean, within the eternity of a few moments.  The infinite within the infinitesimal — it happens in theatre when things go wonky!    And within a short time, all was forgotten — and by short, in this case, I mean by the time Claudia was rocking out and shooting speed!  We were all shaken AND stirred — but not the audience!  I think they may have felt privy to one of those truly LIVE moments that makes theatre a bit of a “blood sport” as our director friend Michael Allen put it — from another TTI show, “A Solitary Choice”.   We were given a very warm and enthusiastic curtain call.

Arwen, Gillian, and Brian had a meeting to clarify and solve the issue — which they did with the fab folks here.  Everybody is working so hard and doing all they can to perfect the show technically within the slivers of time available.  The moment our curtain call ends, the next gang races in.  Our show is dismantled and the next is assembled and begins.  So, as folks race around tomorrow getting our show set up, that dangling light is going to get a little extra TLC and we’ll go at it again!

Kristen here:  It’s day 4.  We arrived on Monday jetlagged and excited to be in this beautiful city.  We did our tech in 5 bloodcurdling hours at our venue with all hands on deck — the folks from Theatre Tours International, the festival staff, and our own gang: Arwen (SM), Gillian (Producer), Brian (producer, too!), Chris (barely thinking after arriving that morning), and me (pretending that I wasn’t terrified).  And, my daughter, Nyla, who was with her intrepid babysitter, Amy McPhail.  We made it through and then got a day off on Wednesday which we spent sleeping, getting mobile phones, and eating.  A little sightseeing was also on the agenda.  And today —- are you ready?? — first preview.  And only preview.  Tomorrow we open.  We all felt good about how things went.  A friendly crowd of about 72 Scots and whatnots and we felt like they enjoyed it despite some technical, shall we say . . . challenges.  But, we had only 15 minutes to set up the whole shebang and welcome our audiences, so we were shaken, but not stirred.   It’s THE fringe experience and we’re all learning a ton and excited about our opening tomorrow night.

And now, a note from Arwen (our stage manager):                                                          Peeps, this has been a harrowing and exciting experience. 15 min is not much time to get the set, costumes, lights, etc. into place, for one thing, let alone giving forth an amazing show from all that chaos. But we got to the other side, thanks to the awesomeness of TTI, and one  K. Thomson.  Chris has been giving Kristen notes (an amazing thing to be in on), and the fireworks from the Edinburgh Tattoo are going off over the city. As I write this now, we are enjoying a late night beverage, and are decompressing about the day… I feel privileged, happy and connected. We’re effing, EFFING tired, but happy.

A further note from Gillian (our Producer): Day 4 Edinburgh already feels like we’ve been here for so long –  what a beautiful and energized city! I can’t believe we made it here and with so many blessings along the way. Truly (despite the challenges) we’ve had many, many  helping hands along EVERY stage of this journey. Where do we begin? First in Toronto by all the amazing supporters who came out to the theatre centre, then Rick Banville and his beautiful family who hosted our 11 hour stopover in Ottawa, then our festival compadres  - the gang at 2b theatre – who not only helped us sneak the masks onto the plane at heathrow but were also one of the first to break bread with us in edinburgh –  and last but not least, the amazing folks at Theatre Tours International – Guy, Bex, Jo, Penny, Kyla and Rachel as well as the crew at Assembly Theatre  Ian, Luke, Gareth and Paul  - without them we would have never made it through that intense 5 hour tech. Phew, now we just have to open. Stay tuned….