EDINBURGH 2017: A Day At The Fringe- Danyah Miller

It seems to me that being a performer at the Edinburgh Fringe is an exercise in paradox, a meditation on opposites.....Elation and disappointment are just two of the many emotions that I feel when I'm performing at Edinburgh Fringe. Each day brings something new: excitement, rain, unusual conversations, sore feet and plenty of flyers and badges to give away - hopefully to people who will then turn into audience members - preferably today! There is an urgency about the fringe and yet it is languid too as the hours turn to days and into weeks... In Edinburgh I find it helpful to always be optimistic and to sweep clear the day before, begin again afresh. For me, the beginning and end of each day contain two rituals; one is stretching out and relaxing my body, the other is 'what are our ticket sales?'. This is a burning question not only as a performer, because the number of audience members definitely affects my performance, but also because I'm one of the producers of our show. The numbers matter...

Each day brings something different and yet Fringe 'habits' are strangely rhythmic. Once I'm up and dressed, with stage make-up on, I wander (that's a lie - I stride!) up to the mound, passing out flyers en route up to Royal Mile. During the first few days of the fringe, whilst everyone is finding their feet and working out their strategies there are more people flyering on the High Street than there are punters.....It's intense as everyone clamours to speak to people who might be interested in their show. I do the same, putting our posters in shop windows and on the large columns down the Mile, which are in themselves works of art... knowing that within 20 minutes posters will be covered by others, futile yet essential. As I sellotape my flyers I'm warming up my voice with tongue twisters, chewing, stretching, humming... I feel a little odd, but I'm certainly not out of place... 'odd' is normal here. I walk past a large walking duck man, a giggling mass of blue clad students singing a cappella and a lone bagpipe player.

Our show 'Perfectly Imperfect Women - a Biographical Wonder Tale' is at Pleasance Courtyard (That) at 12.45pm daily so the first half of my day is fully focused on the preparations leading to the show, particularly in this first week before word of mouth and reviews kick in. If these are good they allow me to relax a little later in the run - wander amongst the craft and jewellery stalls, have my palm read, even a squeeze in a show before ours. I'm interested in how common themes and threads weave their way through each festival... this year I notice how interested I am in the stories of women, there are many of them and it makes me want to collaborate.....

I head backstage 20 minutes before we 'go up' to get into my costume, squashed into a tiny portacabin, trying to be discreet. I get our set and props out so that I'm poised and ready for the 'swap over' from the show that is playing before us. We have approximately 15 minutes to get their audience and set out and ours in, thank goodness for the tech team who help me to do this.... It's a far cry from last summer when I was in the number one dressing room at Vaudeville Theatre in London's West End! I laugh and wonder which I prefer... I love the camaraderie of the Fringe, the hustle and bustle and the intensity. It feels like I'm part of something extraordinary and magical, but it's certainly more pressure, more risky.

At 12.43pm I have a moment to breath, everything is in place, I've checked my props and my face in the make shift mirror behind the stage, the doors are about to open. Is there a queue of people waiting? Yes I'm told, 'it's quite a long queue'. I smile and relax a little, whilst my heart beats faster as I know I'm about to perform. I close my eyes and centre myself, internally I say 'I give this performance to the audience, may I be in service to this story'. Everyone bustles in, sometimes dripping wet, sometimes full of sunshine. The show begins, I'm in my element, but it seems over in a blink of an eye. Applause and a few snatched conversations with people as they leave, thanking me, speaking about their story.. I want to continue to listen but I have 7.5 minutes to get out and change before the next show comes in - they're at the backstage door waiting.

It's 2pm as I emerge into the air. I breathe deeply. I have to wait a whole 23 hours before I can share my story again. I decide 'what next'? Food, sit down with friends, new and old, for a cuppa and catch up, take in a show or three, more flyering? I know that it will be a combination of all of these as the early afternoon turns to late night. I love to see as many of the other shows, street theatre, music, stand up as I can... Some are incredible, others leave me cold....

I walk home, satisfied, tired and wired from the stimulation. I ponder on what tomorrow will bring, the same and totally different. I cast my mind back to my very first fringe experience in 1984, the same and yet totally different. Here is the joy of Edinburgh Fringe and the paradox of it.

I check the sales figures, stretch out my body and fall into a deep sleep. Tomorrow is another day...

Timings and ticket information for Perfectly Imperfect Women are available on the edfringe website.

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