We’re going to be reviewed!

Having done the first show to a grand total of, albeit friendly, two people, it was quite a challenge to find the motivation for getting up and psyching up for a show day. That was until we learned we were being reviewed for our sketch for that evening.

Therefore, there was one key word of the day: flyering.

Now as a general spectator, flyerers can seem annoying. You want to walk from point A to point B on your journey with little fuss or complication, and any intrusion of that is an irritant.

However, Edinburgh Fringe is somewhat renowned for being a place where you are just bombarded with flyers. And as someone who is in involved in putting on a show, flyers are a main source of audience draw.

Sadly though, there is so no scientific way of telling if someone is ‘sold’ on your flyer pitch, or if it will indeed lead them to come to your show. Indeed, it is purely based on luck, timing, and whether you made that good first impression.

So to get people to take your flyers, you need to do some unique.

Obviously, the best way for anyone to take a flyer from you is to be friendly. Rejection, like applying for jobs or asking out someone out on a date, is common (in my experience anyway), so it’s best just to take it on the chin and keep up the positive attitude.

An alternative method is to try to be (god forbid) funny and make the public laugh so hard that, while distracted, you hand them a flyer. Lines I was particularly proud of was between “If you want to add to your Edinburgh Fringe flyer collection, I have the perfect thing for you” and “If you love the sweet touch of paper in your hand, then have I got a deal for you”.

As previously mentioned, this does not guarantee an audience, and with reviewers coming in, my initial anxiety of low numbers was still quite high.

As such, we sent out a general message to the Bristol Comedy community that was basically “There’s a reviewer coming in, please come and see us and we will love you forever.”

Even when this happened, I was sceptical. What if we didn’t get the numbers? What happens if no-one turns up? Could they just not make it or does this indicate they don’t like us? Does this mean the reviewer won’t like us?

Luckily for me, I was completely wrong.

Around 25-30 people came in to support us, filling out the venue, and it was our best night of the run so far, and as a collective.

This highlights the bonds you have people in comedy, and how supportive a network like this can be, particularly in an event like the Edinburgh Fringe.

So, in short, be nice to flyer-givers and know that you have the an entire creative network behind you should you ever need help.