Classic Fringe Moments
It's hard to accurately describe the Fringe. An entire city devoted to the arts? 3,000+ shows in 350+ spaces? How does anyone manage to wrap their minds around it?
The key to the Fringe isactually to ignore the Gestalt: you're never going to see 1/500 of it; let alone see it all. So you go for the little moments, the adventures. You enjoy the bizarre (a man walking down the road dressed in a business suit and carrying a 2 meter long iguana puppet), you delight in the beautiful (the flying fish puppets at the Polish Circus) and you take advantage of the moments when it isn't raining. (which occasionally does happen!)
Here is a brief traipse through some of our better "Classic Fringe Moments" of the first two days:
(note that we break into smaller groups each day, so none of these stories have all happened to one person)
We saw a show where audience was handed a set of headphones and given a seat number. The audience was then plunged into the dark and the entire play happened over the headphones. It was the deepest blackout I've ever seen. A strange sensory experience.
While wondering what to see next, Leo said "I think we should look for a free show!" Out of nowhere popped a man in a dapper blue suit and pink bow tie. "Did someone say free show?" He asked. He then offered 5 comp tickets (theater speak for "complimentary" or totally free tickets.) Since those tickets normally sell for the equivalent of $12.50, it was a massive score for us!
After seeing a stunning one-woman show, Lydia was really hoping to meet the star, but was kicked out of the theater before any meeting could go down. Later, while standing outside a Crepe Stand, the star was spotted. Lydia, Brooke, and Montana all got to thank her for her brilliant performance and writing.
A group of Mainstage kids made friends with kids from Ridgewood New Jersey. "You're the first normal people we've met at AHSTF," the NJ kids said to us. To US!
Julia and Kathleen had a great experience at 'Shakespeare for Breakfast.' They were served a croissant, coffee, and a lot of Shakespearean hilarity. This is a long-running and wildly popular show at the Fringe. Later in the run, this show will be sold out!
While discussing which bus to take to a venue, we were stopped by a loal who told us to just walk. "Edinburgh is a lovely city. Nothing is that far." We told him we agreed, but were trying to catch a show that started in 20 minutes. He suggested that we walk. A 45 minte walk. We smiled, thanked him and walked away, but he called out to us to let us know that the bus we wanted was on its way, and we could catch it ahead if we hurried. (and if he stopped talking to us and stopping us?!) We caught the bus and the show!
Some of us saw a clown/hip-hop/Japanese reinterpretation of Macbeth. "If you didn't know the entire play," Tim said "you would be lost. But you might guess that the lady who wraps herself up in red fabric for a while is Lady M."
