Nerds & Canal Boats

We're always happy to see Fringe performers spreading their wings. Two notable events that might interest you to report.

At Fringe 2012 and 2013 Helen Arney charmed and delighted with her songs, science and storytelling. She is on tour with a couple of mates this spring. For Buxtonians you can catch-up with them in Derby, at the Lowry or in Nottingham. (Also Sheffield and Leeds in you're willing to cross the Pennines). Here's what Helen says: 
Just wanted to let you know I'm heading your way on tour this year, with our new Festival of the Spoken Nerd show - "Full Frontal Nerdity" - yes, we can't resist a geeky pun. 

It's the show we did at the Edinburgh Fringe last year and now we're taking it around the country. It's our biggest, most ambitious tour, and we don't just mean the size of our flame tornado... We electrocute an innocent pickle, smash a glass with just the power of the human voice (plus a heavy duty amplifier) and do things with spreadsheets you've almost certainly never seen before in your life. We've also just realised there are more than 10,000 tickets on sale across 27 venues. If you could help us fill one of those seats with yourself, or even fill a whole row by "Spreading the Nerd" near you, we'd be very grateful.   

There's a full tour schedule with tickets links and facebook events here, and the usual press release blurb below to make it easy to pass on to friends and colleagues. Our good friend Colin Wright has even made a postcode checker so you can find your nearest venue - in full glorious HTML!

At Fringe 2012 one of the top musical performances came from Hat Fitz and Cara - an Australian/Irish duo playing and singing rootsy blues and folk with passion and verve. They are playing at the Middlewich Folk and Boat Festival which runs from 13-15 June. There are many free events and it is a lovely, relaxed weekend. Here's hoping Hat Fitz and Cara are touring and will be in Buxton sometime over the summer.

 

You may say I'm a dreamer...

As TS Eliot recognised, ‘between the idea and the reality… falls the shadow’ and for would-be Fringe performers there is often a big difference between dreaming up something really exciting to do in July and actually taking all the steps necessary to make that happen.

But before we get all sensible on you and start offering advice, just for a moment imagine a situation where you simply didn’t need to think about budget, health and safety, insurance or sheer logistics!  Fringe Arts Bath has got us thinking this way after announcing their Water Monument touring exhibition which will show selected entries for a fantasy public artwork commission. The idea is to satirise the lack of funding the public and art sectors but also to set creative imaginations free.  With any luck the exhibition will be in Buxton during our Fringe but in the meantime, Fringe Arts Bath is looking for artists to tender for their fantasy public art commission initiated by Nomoneyforart Town Council to celebrate the significance of water to the fictional town. Very apt for Buxton as it happens and, stranger things have happened, maybe it will inspire something real!  Artists are invited to submit a brief outline of their Water Monument idea including sketches plus a CV and examples of recent work by March 16th. Check out http://www.fringeartsbath.co.uk/water-monument-a-public-artwo/ for further information.

Too surreal? ‘Vive la difference’ we say but for those of you pursuing your own ideas of putting on a show or event at the Fringe, keep focused and make the most of a wealth of guidance on the Fringe website.  The comprehensive entrants’ info section also includes handy links to Venues (including managed venues) and topics such as How to Grow Your Audience. We know past entrants will have their own tips so do get in touch if there are things you think we should be telling people about.

The entry pricing structure means there are some galvanising Fringe deadlines to work towards – if you want to enter for just £45 you will need to have all your details sorted and to have entered them all online by the end of February. There is no-one to email – you just follow the Fringe website’s online entry procedure with its easy Paypal payment method.  Remember, though changes can be made up until the final deadline, it is so much better for us, the punters and yourselves to get everything right from the outset! If there are gaps in your entry, you are probably better waiting till the next deadline.

We are excited by the entries up there already – keep ‘em coming!

Strange Music in July

One of the plusses for entrants being organised and submitting details of their Fringe 2014 shows NOW is that they gets lots of potential audience attention in a pretty uncluttered Fringe environment.
As I type we have just 5 confirmed events Fringe 2014 - which is about what we would expect in early January. That means about 160 more events will be confirmed over the next 15 weeks or so and things get quite frantic the closer we get to our deadline.
Anyway, let's draw your attention to the two most recent entries both of which are 'musts' so far as I am concerned. Local trombonist (and increasingly occasional hockey player) Sam has been promising/threatening to do a Fringe show for years. Anyway after a bit of a try out last year in Sheffield he's convinced that he is ready for Buxton. Let's hope that Buxton is ready for him. You can hear Sam (and friends) playing and perhaps singing at the Old Clubhouse on either 15 or 22 July, 7.30-8.30pm. I reckon it will fascinating and fun.
Two years ago (Fringe 2012) a music award went to John Kilpatrick and the Sheffield Lydian Ensemble for their charmingly bonkers (this is 'bonkers' used in an entirely complimentary fashion) show. John has been doing this sort of thing for quite a long time now and says this year might be his swansong. Whether it is or not "Festive Fancies" - Methodist Church, Saturday 26 July 3.00-4.30pm - is likely to be nonsense of the highest order. Playing and singing of quality is assured and John's "Jumblies Suite" (based on the Lear verses) is part of the programme. This is a rare - maybe last - chance to see and hear this. You won't regret being there!

Out with the old, in with the new

Things being what they are the Fringe blogging team will probably fail to work out who is doing this and multiple messages wishing you a Happy New Year will be posted. But better two or three good wishes than none at all?
With the Fringe we don't expect many entries before January and then things pick up steadily. So thanks and congratulations to Tideswell Male Voice Choir for getting the ball that is Fringe 2014 rolling. The Choir has deservedly built up a huge and loyal following over the years and we can confidently predict a sell-out for their show in July.
If you can't wait until then there is much in the new Buxton Opera House programme that is Fringe-related. The Kaleidoscope Community Choir has its origins in Local Vocals which was established by Carol Bowns and performed at the Fringe on two occasions. Carol directs KCC which meets on Tuesdays (1-2pm in the Pavilion Arts Centre) and on Monday evenings (7-8pm) upstairs in the Old Clubhouse on the following dates:
Feb 10 & 18; March 4, 10 & 18; April 1 & 15; May 6, 12 & 20; June 3, 9 & 17; July 1 & 14. There is a promise of a Fringe Concert on July 15th!
Buxton Film runs an annual short film competition and screens the best entries during the Fringe. From March 25-30 it also screens, in collaboration with the Opera House, a Festival of World Cinema. 17 films, in 9 languages over 6 days in 2 venues. This year's programme includes at its core, films about the lives and experiences of children as well as recent box office successes such as Blue Jasmine, Le Week-end, Philomena and Sunshine on Leith.
Crimes Against Taste went down very well at Fringe 2013 and they are at the Arts Centre Studio on Friday February 14th at 7.30pm. A mix of song-cabaret-satire their new show is "Tales of Lust, Love and Heartbreak" a mixture of original songs and comedy classics this will be a memorable Valentine's Day!
Regular Fringe visitors are theatre companies Library Theatre, Cotton Grass Theatre and Black Box Theatre Company and all are at the Arts Centre Studio in March and April.
Library Theatre will be doing two of Alan Bennett's much-loved Talking Heads extended monologues. Cotton Grass is doing "The Unknown Land" written by Buxton playwright Caroline Small. A play for one actor and many characters it is a compelling tale of extreme survival with musical accompaniment by singer/accordionist Keith Kendrick.
Black Box have a history of innovative Shakespeare productions and it will be interesting to see their account of "Romeo and Juliet".
Fringe (and Buxton) favourite Matt Pritchard will be presenting his show "Extra Sensory Deception" at the Arts Centre on Sunday 1st June - an entertaining mixture of magic, comedy, deception and silliness suitable for all from 6 upwards.

Shouting about the Fringe

My new role as marketing officer has thrown up a few dilemmas. Just how much do we want to shout about the Fringe – to the tune of 14, 18 or 20,000 Fringe flyers? Despite our meagre budget, can we pass up the chance to take an ad in the Tourist Board’s new Welcome Brochure with its massive print run of 150,000? Do we keep up with the big boys and renew our membership of BAFA (the British Arts Festivals Association)? The short answer to these questions, if you are interested, is 20,000, ‘No!’ and ‘Yes!’

In truth, as our logo might suggest, we are always involved in a juggling act to wring the most out of the money we have and to spread the word about the Fringe and the arts generally to as many people as possible at as low a cost as possible. So we have a hard-working Fringe press team and thankfully a very supportive local media – the Buxton Advertiser, Pure Buxton, Radio Derby, Artsbeat and more – who help us publicise everything we do for free! We also do a lot of work on the ground networking. Tonight for example I’m putting on some orange and representing the Fringe at the presentation evening for Buxton Community School, whose students regularly help us at the Fringe desk. For those of us on the Fringe committee it becomes second nature to tell people what we do and more importantly what our performers do.

And that’s where you come in really. Will you help tell people about our friendly festival and encourage them to put on a show, become a Fringe Friend or just come along and swell our audiences in July? With the panto season beginning (and I can’t wait to see Cinderella at the Buxton Opera House this weekend) ,  I guess we’re just encouraging our own kind of audience participation. That way we all get to have a ball!

Beyond the Fringe

With Keith having taken up the reins, what's a former Fringe chair to do? Take up blogging of course. What to say is another matter but in my new role of Fringe marketing officer it is probably not inappropriate for me to announce that as of last night, the committee has approved our new cover for the 2014 programme (above), a lovely piece of art from Helen McIvor, chosen from a number of excellent designs produced by third year illustration students at the University of Derby. The printed programme does not come out till next June but you will see a cropped down version of Helen's design on our flyer which will be in tourist information centres by Easter. We think she has captured the Fringe's sense of fun, variety and inclusivity as well as some aspirational sunshine!

As you know we are now open for entries and are eagerly waiting for somebody to take the plunge and enjoy the kudos of being the first event up on the website. I may seem as wrapped up in the Fringe as ever but I have been playing hooky from a few committee meetings and indulging my interest in some of Buxton's arty goings on, from sketching burlesque dancers at a Dr Sketchy session at The Old Clubhouse to attending preview nights at The Green Man Gallery and tonight at the Jarva Gallery in Whaley Bridge where Rob Wilson will be unveiling his latest mixed media works. Way back in his career, Rob won the Fringe Artist award in 2006 and is decent enough to mention it in publicity. We certainly backed a winner!

The Fringe may be a way off but there is plenty to do in the town in the meantime. I'm involved in Sensational Salsa's dance classes at The Clubhouse on Tuesday nights and am part of the Kaleidoscope choir which will be having its Christmas showcase at The Octagon on Tuesday December 10, 1-2pm, with mince pies and mulled wine. Come along. It's only £3.50.

Our Fringe party at the Green Man on Sunday 1st is already seeming a while ago but we had a great time thanks to the swinging presence of Basin Street Jazz and Blues and a festive sing-along. So the Fringe has probably done Christmas now. Roll on summer!

A poem for Buxton

Buxton was recently shortlisted by the Academy of Urbanism for the Great Town Award 2014. The award went to the Irish city of Cork.
Buxton did get a poem from Ian McMillan though - Ian performs in Buxton regularly and was part of an award-winning Fringe event in 2011. Ian is welcome back any time he wants to come.

Buxton by Ian McMillan

Stretch out in Buxton and you touch the sky,
Walk uphill in Buxton and you hear the sound
Of history dancing and learning to fly
And holding you close to the Derbyshire ground.
A stroll to the Opera House: an aria in itself,
A three-act-drama involving shopping and cake
In a town standing proud along a rocky shelf.
If you've a cultural, artistic or literal thirst to slake
Then this is the town on the North's solid roof
This is the town where it can snow in June
This is the town that is never aloof
This is the town that is always in tune.
An evening dress and a pair of thick socks on:
That's how you should dress for the nuance of Buxton!