We’re opening 2 (two) shows this week!
Melbourne Fringe kicked off last week and it’s been a whirlwind first week. I wanted to give you a little update on how everything’s going for the two shows we’re opening this week!
I Promise This Isn’t About You (Even If It Feels Like It Is)
On Saturday the I Promise This Isn’t About You team had our technical rehearsal at Trades Hall — our first opportunity to get in the space and see how the show will work with the lights, sound, and the space. The car park is so cool, and Georgie’s done a stunning job of lighting it too:
The day after that, so Sunday (yesterday), we had our very last rehearsal for the show. All of our props and costumes are currently stored away in the warrens of Trades Hall so it was a pretty chill rehearsal with a speed line run and a pared back final rehearsal with stand-ins for all our props.
I’m operating the show for the duration of the season, so I also got a final handover from Georgie on how she’d like the lighting fixtures set up in the space, and I made the below diagram in Instagram stories. Not the recommended method for technical plans, but it did work in the moment.
We’re off now for two days and the next time we’ll see each other as a team is Wednesday—when we open. I anticipate there’ll be a last minute release of ten or so tickets for opening night when Melbourne Fringe releases their allocated tickets for media to public sale, so keep your eyes peeled tomorrow evening if you want to come to opening!
Otherwise, our entire first week is fully sold out with only 74 tickets (at the time of writing) left across our final two sessions on the 15th and 16th of October. It’s been so amazing to see the response the show’s received so far, and I’m now so bloody excited to get to hear what everyone thinks.
Sarah — who wrote the show — and I were talking about how we hope the show gets reviewed, and truthfully we’re hoping for either five stars, or some bombastic one or two stars. Now that would be something to talk about.
Don’t forget you can use the code PIGEONPIGEON to access $33 tickets for the entire season, as a thanks to you for being on our email list.
The Shore Remembers
Our second show of this year’s Melbourne Fringe, the free immersive audio installation The Shore Remembers opens tomorrow at Abbotsford Convent.
I’m writing this on my couch while resting up for bump in tonight. I don’t think it’ll be too hectic luckily (installing one curtain, popping out some custom seats, and making sure all the wayfinding is solid).
If you’re looking for an extra show to stuff your Fringe stocking with, I’d recommend The Shore Remembers, it’s going to be a beautifully meditative chance to sit with the ocean and examine our relationships to it. Plus, it runs from 12pm to 6:30pm every day so it’s very easy to work around other shows.
Running daily from the 6th of October until the 11th at Abbotsford Convent.
That’s all for now!
I hope you’re having an amazing fringe. I know I am (having seen about 16 shows in the first week alone).
If you’re looking for recommendations for shows to see, the cast & crew of I Promise have put together this list of shows across the festival for your consideration. I hope you find something you love.
See you soon!
Ryan Hamilton 🏳️⚧️🇵🇸 (he/they)
Co-producer · Pigeon Pigeon