Quantifying August 2011

In August I took a holiday and went to sunny Edinburgh for a month. I did approximately 61 shows in 26 days. Claire operated the lights and sound, made sure we had an audience, invited important people, encouraged me when my head was down and critiqued me when my head was up. She also kept me alive by feeding me coffee and various cheeses.

I was performing my solo show in the afternoon, two lounge room shows in the evening and a kids show in the morning on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, plus flyering and performing the occasional spot. 

I will now quantify my Edinburgh experience:

I performed approximately two hundred and two thousand, eight hundred and thirty nine words (am I saying it right?) it’s 202839 words, based on a word count of the scripts. My solo show had an average audience size of 25, I almost fell causing serious injury to myself during a performance twice, I garnered a total of 70 stars: Four 5 star reviews, nine 4 star reviews, four 3 star reviews and a 2 star from a twitter review, I destroyed two tape players, I ate three meals I regret, I climbed Arthurs seat once, I had around 60 coffees, I cried once, I appeared on BBC TV once, I stood in poo twice, I lost two pieces of clothing, I saw four shows that changed the way I think about theatre, I was kicked in the shin on the same spot twice, I swore I would never do another festival three times, I committed to doing three shows in Adelaide next year, I performed to gnomes and fairies in a basement on a floor covered with plastic once, I heard fireworks at least 15 times, I saw fireworks twice, I caught 19 taxis, I signaled for 16 taxis that didn’t stop, I almost lit a prop on fire during a performance twice, I was followed by a photographer once, I performed to an audience made up of 12 reviewers and one punter in a small lounge room once,  I ate 6 Panini’s from the café over the road, I was nominated for one award, I received zero awards, I ate haggis three times, I walked through a cemetery 4 times, I had 5 breakfasts in the sun, everyday was filled with hundreds of disappointments and every disappointment was surrounded, encrusted and overcome by pure joy.