‘TO YOURSELF BE TRUE’ - Inspiration......

Over the last few years I’ve spent at least one day at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. After seeing some of the shows at the festival, If you have any writing in you at all you can’t leave the Fringe without coming away and being inspired. That’s what happened to me in 2008. I came back that evening, went out for a drink with my grandson Ryan, and coming back after my daughter and family had gone to bed for the night I sat at the computer and rattled off the play ‘To Yourself Be True’ in two hours – mind you, I spent the rest of the night making corrections…lol!                                                                                               

The actual inspiration for the play itself came from a song by the Burns Sisters ‘I Love You Anyway’ in which the second verse starts “…See the look on my brother’s face, he thinks this love is a big disgrace…”

What's It All About....

The play is a drama about a love/family relationship, and has a leading lady and three guys. It looks at the relationship from the woman's point of view (maybe 'tis the female side of me coming out). Jenny lost her husband about four years ago and now has a new man in her life. However, protective brother Michael doesn't think the new guy David is good enough for his sister. David goes round to pick Jenny up to go out for dinner, and as they are killing time, brother Michael turns up unexpectedly...and it all kicks off from there....suffice to say...sparks fly.                                                          

Next Steps….

Being well pleased with the result when I got back down south (London) I sent the raw script out to three local theatres – remember, I had never written a complete play before in my life and it was full of ‘past tense’ situations and a very long intro explaining what the play was about (most of this was later to become the monologue at the beginning of the piece). No wonder then that I only got two responses, one saying they weren’t taking any new stuff and the second – Soho Theatre – giving some very positive feedback, although they thought with the long descriptive intro it would make a very good book. I was chuffed with their response none the less.

Should I Bother….

I put the work away for a few months and revisited it again in December. It was then that I decided; right, I’m going to put this on at the Edinburgh Fringe. Realising that at age 64, If I don’t do it now, I’ll never get it done and like all the other writing ideas I’ve had over the last few decades, it’ll just go in the drawer and never see daylight again.I mentioned this to my other half, Wendy – both being widowed, we’d only just met up about six months previous – and with her background in amateur dramatics, she helped no end in tweaking the script and getting the background more into the present tense. She was/has been very supportive throughout the whole experience.

Cost: Funding – Sponsorship….

Then I looked at the cost of putting on such a project and almost had a coronary…lol! I went after funding through a number of organisations, each time drawing a blank. It seems if you are not a member of a group, charity organisation and with no proven track record, you don’t stand a hope. I also felt (wrongly/rightly) that ageism might be at work in the background. I also checked out a few organisation for sponsorship, again drawing a big blank.I decided to try and fund it myself and somehow allocated the last £1500 I had in savings. This would cover the Fringe participation cost, printing and travel costs. I was also determined that I would try and pay the actors and director a small amount to help towards their expenses. To help contain the cost, Initially I was looking for an amateur company to take it on, preferably a group based in Scotland. But these things never work out as planned.   

Sponsor – Think Again Fund (Stannah)

My partner Wendy and I went to an Ancestry/Genealogy exhibition at Olympia in London (this is Wendy’s are of expertise and she runs a class on the subject in Derby). As we left the event she happened to pick up a leaflet about the Think Again Fund and how this helped people achieve some of their dreams. In a very excited fashion she was sure this could somehow help me. Being a little less enthusiastic, I took the leaflet anyway and sent it off a little while later.                                                                                                              

Wow…what a surprise it was when I received a call from the Think Again Fund to say I was being considered as one of their winners for their May draw. And having actually being picked as the May winner, I can’t begin to describe the feeling of elation that I had. Excited would be a more apt word. The fund has managed to provide 25% of the overall cost. I have to thank the backing company to the Think Again Fund (Stannah), and their PR company, Resonate, for all their help. Without this help I would not have been able to proceed with my dream of having my first play performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.                    

Check out their website for yourself on www.thinkagainfund.co.uk 

Edinburgh – A Helping Hand….

During all this period I was now in full contact with the Fringe Festival office in Edinburgh, and the amount of assistance they provide is phenomenal – they had answers to all my ‘stupid’ questions. They really do go out of their way to help in every aspect possible, including sending an email out on their site, plus Facebook and MySpace, advertising for actors for the play.  

The Free Fringe…..

I soon found out also that there was/is a section of the Festival call the ‘Free Fringe Festival.’ This is where you get a venue at no cost to you, and customers are not charged admission to enter your show (but you can take a collection as the audience are leaving). Ideal for a first timer like meAll I had to decide on then was the poster format for the show, which printers to use – I was given a useful selection – how many posters and flyers to get printed (how much could I afford to get printed would be more like it…lol!). However, before I go any further I feel I must mention the main organiser of the Free Fringe, one Alex Petty. Alex is on the case 24/7 before and during the show, and is a tremendous help. The amount of useful information he gives out is priceless, and always available on the phone. A true star in his own right among a plethora of stars at the festival. 

Casting….Auditions.....

This was one of the biggest tasks. I had no luck trawling through the amateur section as most were already engaged in productions of their own at the Fringe. I went on a couple of professional casting sites, input all the show details (including the fact actors would need to secure their own accommodation, and be paid very little). Then I just sat back and waited. Having received more than 40 responses – performers see involvement at the Fringe as something positive that they can use, and it’s good on the CVs. However, I needed a director for the play before choosing any character role players (the director would need to be present/involved in the selection and auditions). Having always wanted to have a female director for the piece (as the play is from the woman’s point of view), I was fortunate in getting Glynis Wozniak on board as director. Once she'd read the play, her passion for the project thereafter was unlimited.   

Having arranged auditions in London and Edinburgh, I was very taken aback by the behaviour of some of those who applied for parts in the play.. Nearly half of those who applied gave very short notice (just a couple of hours), and in some case no notification whatsoever that they would not be attending the auditions. And when I was told this was the ‘norm’ in casting, I remain amazed at the lack of some common courtesy by certain individuals.

But we succeeded in getting our cast, and from the outset their respect and teamwork together was simply wonderful to observe. For me watching rehearsals was just mind blowing. Seeing the words come alive from the paper….nerve tingling and very emotional.

            THE CAST:               Jenny – Marion Shortt

                                             David – Pab Roberts

                                         Michael – Mark Prebble

                                             Mark – Scott Campbell

                                         Director – Glynis Wozniak

Rehearsals went from the 1-6 August and the actual show ran from 7-10 August. On one day the author/producer (yours truly) – plus co-producer Wendy – were banned from attending the rehearsal altogether. From what I’ve learned since this is quite a common practice with directors, in case we interfere too much….as if I would…lol!

Press Release....                                                                                                          The press release was sent out on 26 June to over 100 members of the media: newspapers, magazines, TV and radio. And follow-up calls were made, but with so much going out from all the shows at the Fringe – plus the Edinburgh Art and Film Festivals were going on at the same time – the press is inundated with so much stuff is it any wonder that a very small production can go unnoticed. However, we did manage to get one review in the Scotsman (Google “To Yourself Be True” and you can see the review for yourself). The review is quite encouraging for a first time out play. Also, another publication showing the top ten recommended shows at the Free Fringe listed ‘To Yourself Be True’ at number three to visit. Not bad eh!

Highlights….                                                                                                                One of the highlights for me has got to be when my daughter Paula and her husband David and family came over to see the show on the Saturday. Along with my son Alan, grandson Ryan and grandaughter Kayleigh, this was a very special 'first.' I even had a special t-shirt made for my five year old grandson Liam with the play logo on it, and he was so happy handing out flyers – he handed out more than anyone else on the day...nothing better than child labour to attract the customers...lol!!

Audiences…..

We had 13 people turn up on the first day, and for the next three shows we had twenty-five plus on each day. Quite a good result having over 90 people overall to see the show at such a small venue.

Flyering…..bloody exhausting work….                                                                     This is such an important part in helping to attract customers to visit your show. My partner Wendy and I were out every day from 5^th, and before each performance to the last day of the show – and every evening – handing out flyers. I must also thank Glynis and the cast for their help in distributing flyers, and to our friend Chris.

The Dream Goes On…..                                                                                               The dream has been achieved now - but you do get fired up to do more. However, I don't know if I will be doing it again next year. I would love to....but the money needed to do the new show I'm thinking about would just be too much. I'm going to complete the second half/act of the current play 'To Yourself Be True' and see what happens from there. The new project i've got which is tentatively titled 'GrayTech' (based loosely around the G20 meeting held in London in 2008), I would dearly like to present it as a full play at next year's festival, but because of the budget it would require I think I may have to sit and write it as a book first. The creative juices are flowing now and I feel I've just got to try and do these things....as the song goes...it's now or never…..and you just never know…….

Finally; thanks again to my other half Wendy for her unswerving support during this project.

 For future updates bookmark the website   

www.to-yourself-be-true.com 

Contact:  johnny.s@to-yourself-be-true.com