Key skills I have gained from covering Edinburgh Fringe...
Since starting my website The Phoenix Remix, I have covered the Edinburgh Fringe every year. Each year the coverage I have done for the festival has increased each time.
Hello, my name is Holly and I am a Video Editor and Motion Graphics Designer. I interview around 200 acts each year for the Festival as a hobby.
Every time I have covered the festival, my interview list has dramatically increased as I am now collaborating with a lot of PR companies. From those that promote the established acts to others that have acts from all over the world performing for the first time.
It is probably important to mention here that I do this all in my spare time (for free) which means that to make sure I can fit it in around work, organisation is key.
Getting 200-300 articles formatted (As I also cover Camden Fringe around this time as well) and scheduled by the beginning of July, as that is when the coverage starts, can be really tough. You find any time you have spare - on the train, in front of a television show, you are there reading an interview and formatting it.
I don’t complain, I enjoy it and find it an achievement. The hard work pays off and the acts and PR companies really appreciate it.
Working on huge events like Edinburgh Fringe allows me to transfer skills into my normal working life. These are core skills that I have picked up along the way working on the Fringe:
Experience working with PR
I now have a lot of experience working with PR agencies. I never had any idea of how they worked or knew anyone in this industry so it was all new to me when they started to reach out. Due to the fact I have now gained trust with these companies, they now message me every year to ask for help promoting their clients.
The Walking Wiki
From June I became a walking Encyclopedia about the Edinburgh Fringe - I know a lot of the shows and can always recommend acts for people to go and see. I have even spoken to random strangers in the street of Edinburgh and told them about shows they should watch.
Hashtag Trends
Reading hundreds of interviews means that you start to understand what is going to be the common trend for shows that year for theatre, comedy and circus shows. This can be anything from the themes of the show to issues that will be a main discussion point, it is really interesting how much you can learn from words on a page.
Learning Something New…
One thing fantastic that this job has allowed me to do is discover many new acts and learn about the up and coming comedians on the circuit and also theatre shows that are trying to break and be the next big thing.
One thing I find a proud moment is that established online publications like the British Comedy Guide share my interviews throughout the month and acts even put my website on their website with my review ratings (I was on a huge poster last year that covered the whole of a board of a wall of a building).
Edinburgh Fringe is not the only Festival I cover in my spare time, I also cover Camden Fringe. Over the years. I have gained a good working relationship with the founders of the festival that they help promote my website and in return I interview their acts.
Hard work and determination has led me to this and I am really happy that I am able to help others promote their shows.