First draft of my poster
In September last year I wrote about planning to do a one-woman poetry show on the theme of ‘permission’ at the Edinburgh Fringe. (Original blog post here.) My aim is slam poetry crossed with a TED Talk crossed with some funnies. It will look at how, why, when and where we ask for permission – looking at it through an intersectional feminist/sociological viewpoint.
Anyway, it’s now March, with the festival looming in August, so I thought I’d give an update. I have been organising my ass with a mixture of panic, procrastination, previous Fringe-going experience and also reading the (very good and very thorough) book Cracking the Fringe written by veteran Fringe goers Jon Gracey and Viv Egan. I will write a proper review of that shortly.
What is sorted so far:
- My show is called Asking Nicely. I also toyed with calling it Pretty-Please, but because of alphabetical listings, Asking Nicely won out.
- It’ll be part of the PBH Free Fringe
- I’ll be playing at the Stafford Centre in Edinburgh, 14-24th of August. 6:15-7:15 PM.
- I’ll be staying with some lovely people who I’ve already stayed with at previous Fringes so thank God I don’t have to faff about accommodation. I can just piggy-back on more organised people’s plans.
- I have booked and paid for my listing in the main Fringe Guide. It will say this:
Asking Nicely: a one-woman poetry show about the power dynamics of permission and politeness, with rhymes and reasons. Hannah Chutzpah looks at consent, kicking ass, and when asking nicely turns nasty. Contains: feminism, funnies, psychology, sociology, wit & wordplay. - My Edinburgh poster is half-done (see image at the top). I got a lovely friend to take a bunch of photos while I posed/grimmaced, and I coloured in the background with my just-about-functional knowledge of PhotoShop. I need to add logos and info about times/places to make a poster and a flyer, but I’ve got the basics sorted.
- Branding, dahling: I wil rely on a strong colour theme which will be (you’ll be amazed to hear) deep teal. I like it, it’s pretty, it makes my hennaed hair look awesome, and I have a few items of clothing in this colour already (incl. crucially: a raincoat). So: I have an excuse to buy a few more things in one of my favourite colours, and I’ll always look a bit like my poster when I’m kicking around Edinburgh. Sorted.
- I’ve bought supplies to make a large speech bubble I will have rigged up above me for flyering to grab people’s attention & make sure I look like the poster.
What is not sorted yet:
The complete show. Jesus, you have no idea how scary it is shelling out £300 you can barely afford on a listing for a show you haven’t finished writing yet. I have 10 pages of notes/links, 20 minutes of material finished, and a lot of ideas on the boil. It’s really scary and really exciting, too.
So, I’m writing a few blog posts to get my thoughts on track a bit. They are in this next post: ‘Big Thinky Post about Permission‘.
Hannah Chutzpah 