Blanche began directing theatre, aged 15, whilst at school and continued this through university. She stuck with directing after graduating and started putting on fringe shows by raising the cash and her overdraft limit, performing them then doing it again. From here she went to study directing at The Drama Studio, gaining experience, contacts and confidence. After graduating, Blanche returned to fringe theatre putting in the graft and taking everything going as contacts were made in every one. She eventually applied for the The Leverhulme Bursary for Emerging Directors at the Finborough Theatre and National Theatre Studio; she went on to win. Blanche is now continuing to make work for producing theatres and, keeping to her roots, is a fully paid-up member of the fringe theatre fan club. Here are her tips on directing for the fringe.
Blanche: The two great things about fringe theatre is that its a jungle so you have to make your self stand out as there will be loads of other people trying to get audiences too, the other, more a piece of advice but its also one of the best things about fringe, is learn everything as you may end up having to be the lighting designer/sound designer/technical operator but this will help later in your directing career as you can tell your tech team exactly what you want, you will know if there's too much back light and be able to get that across.
The first things to consider are the practicalities of getting a show on, especially the venue. The thing about venues is that although not an absolute certainty, you might get some mad-cap Artistic Director who gives you a fantastic theatre on the cheap, is that you get what you pay for, the more you spend the greater level of support available. It's also useful to get on the good side of the venue's staff - they can give you pointers from their experiences at that theatre and warn you of potential problems before they arise. You can often do this before arriving at the venue or even before choosing where you are going to perform by researching what theatre's are into, what they usually produce and what their artistic interests are. Other non-theatre spaces are available for you to mount your work in and are usually a bit cheaper as you have more ability to negotiate but these come with their own small setbacks - pubs, for example, often have upstairs rooms which can be used as impromptu theatres but will be unlikely to have any tech equipment. Also with site specific work, although you may not need much in the way of lighting or sound gear there and they can often be free regarding hire, there can be problems with licences and insurance. In the case of venues there is always a trade off between the cost to you and the support you receive from where you are putting on your work. One of the best things to do regarding all of this is to team up with a young, switched-on producer who is in the same position as you careers-wise and let them take the logistical and organisation strains off you, leaving you free to be creative.
Next comes funding. This is always a difficult part of putting on theatre as it does cost money. There are various places you can apply to and try and get them to fund you. If your show has a possible educational angle then running schools workshops around the text can make you money and be really rewarding. Also, educational charities and local funding bodies are a more likely to give you some cash toward the project if it can demonstrate you are doing more than just putting on a show, you're providing a learning opportunity too. If you're a student then applying for money from your university's alumni foundation can be a great source of cash toward taking shows to fringe festivals. Sponsorship and links with businesses can help with cost but you have to be careful with this and work out how much money is worth a small logo on your marketing or in the programme. Don't harm the artistic integrity of your piece by having to use it as an advert for the company who've helped you get the funding for the show. If your show is based in your community and uses local people and their skills then your district council or other public bodies may offer funding too. The Arts Council are another group who you can contact and ask for funding but they are likely to give money to projects which they deem artistically exciting and worthwhile. One of the best ways to see if your work would fit this brief is to download the Arts Council's accounts from their website, as this information is in the public domain, and then you can see what projects have gotten funding.
After getting funding you need to decide how you're going to spend the money. Fees will be crucial to this budgeting and whether you pay your actors or ask them to work for free. In this profession many people are willing to work for free but in my experience you get better work from people who are paid as they feel what they are doing is valued and I've have always paid my actors as much as I can afford to. Profit sharing is a good way to offset some of this expense until the end of the run and getting them to agree that you will evenly split the takings between the team does bring the group together knowing that the better they do the better reward they could receive. Always try and pay them in other ways too, this can be a sandwich, a cup of coffee, a travel card or a beer down the pub but it all goes toward making your actors feel valued and that their work is important to you. Try and do the same for your tech team but in my experience there are fewer technician and designers than there are actors and even fewer willing to work free as they know their skills are more specialised, this allowing them to ask for payment. Other costs that can catch you out are public liability insurance as some venues don't have this and PRS fees which relate to any recorded music you play in the performance so be wary of them.
Rehearsal venues are similar to performance venues in you get what you pay for. Try local colleges and schools for spaces or, like performance venues, the upstairs rooms of pubs - sometimes these can be free or a landlord will ask that you have a drink afterward - and willing keep costs down. Professional rehearsal spaces do exist and can be hired; some like the Jerwood space in London can knock money off your hire costs if you explain your budget to them as they are a charitable foundation and you can get a room next to where the Donmar are rehearsing which is exciting.
Next: marketing. This is where you've got to sell your play and it is important to know who you're aiming it at. Your blurb on the play is key to this and in my experience there's no harm in selling your play on one core aspect. It's also important not to scare your audience with the blurb, don't be over-wordy as people will switch off and think the play will be too intellectual. I've found that flyer distribution companies aren't really worth it and I've never seen a show because I pulled a flyer out of a rack. One of the best ways I've found to market is free, the internet. Using Facebook and sending out emails to people is a great way to get the information directly to an audience. With a venue, a rehearsal space, funds, a team to put the show on with and an audience to watch it then you should have a piece of theatre.
Finally, always remember that your role as a director is as somebody who reminds an actor of something they know but might have forgotten; this is my approach to the work. Otherwise, I'd also recommend that although you can learn everything in theory nothing beats seeing how it works live so get out there and do it.
Image courtesy of Elixir Theatre Company
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