It’s been a while since I’ve been able to get back on the computer to blog. It’s been a pretty busy period for us. But the time has been very productive. We have been doing very well with audiences. We are averaging more than 100 people a day, which is pretty good considering we haven’t received any reviews. Many shows in smaller theatres in the venue are happy with 15 or 20 people, so this is quite good.
But it’s very disappointing and a bit puzzling as to why we aren’t getting the reviews. These certainly help business. Last year we had at least four or five reviews by this time. We have had two of the major papers in, but nothing has been printed. One of the reviewers has asked for photos, so we are hopeful the review will come out soon.
We have been appearing on the stage at the royal mile each day at around lunchtime and have been attracting large crowds. This really helps our ticket sales. Also, each day members of the company leaflet for an hour or so at various locations throughout the old town of Edinburgh. We try to target spots where there are people who we know are in town to specifically see shows. There are many people who come to Edinburgh just for the sheer joy of being around the activity. They walk the streets to see the free buskers and other free events that go on. But they aren’t really theatergoers. It’s important to hand leaflets to people who are potential customers.
We had 20,000 leaflets, or flyers printed. These are two-sided attractive color flyers that promote the show with photos, previous reviews and information about it. This is the standard that everyone hands out to potential customers. We also had a thousand posters printed up. We do all of our printing here. It is arranged so that when we arrive, it’s ready for us. We give half of our printed materials to a company that distributes the flyers to boxes around the city that they set up. They also put up posters for us around town. It’s hard to gauge the effectiveness of this kind of distribution, but for our past two visits we have used them and have had success at the box office. We just now have had to get 10,000 more leaflets printed because we ran through all we had. It’s amazing how much printed matter gets produced for this festival. The walls are covered with posters and everywhere you go you are handed a leaflet.
Today we look forward to the arrival of our provost, Linda Rinker. I know she will at first be a bit overwhelmed by all the activity. You can’t help but be. There is so much going on it is easy to get swept up by the action on the streets and in the theatres. You are presented with so many options for things to do and see that it takes a while to catch your breath. In addition to the many festivals that are taking place here, there is so much to see and learn of Scotland and its culture. Edinburgh is a majestically beautiful city. People don’t realize that Edinburgh is as beautiful as any of the great capitols of Europe. We are excited for her to see the show and experience Edinburgh first hand.
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