The nights are getting later and later as the Fringe starts to wrap up. I realize that I haven’t cried or screamed at anyone important to me this Fringe and that is a plus. I did the Fringe for 5 years while living in Japan and
I’ve realized the longer I’ve stayed away from Japanese culture, the more I enjoy the Fringe.
My family isn’t religious but if it had a religion, it would be Work. I am at my most comfortable when I am working every day and is one of the reasons I love the Fringe. Japan is a country of workaholics that take themselves too seriously. Similarly to Midwest America, if you love something, you have to still do it even after you squeeze all of the joy out of it. Only then can you can you prove you’ve truly loved something. It’s grit gone wrong.
I see Japanese performers and companies flyering their show for hours up and down the Royal Mile until they have zero energy for their show. I used to be one of them and it is soul destroying. When I see them, I encourage them to hire flyerers, see shows and talk about something other than how hard the Fringe is.
Oh God, my agent just asked me if I’m available for a spot in London tonight which means he doesn’t even know I’m doing the Fringe! Good to know he reads my blog.
The show went well. The last Thursday of the Fringe has it’s challenges. Everyone wants to see the shows that are getting notoriety and if your show does not have “buzz” you get more general tourists that don’t really know what the Fringe is and are taking a break from buying tartan.
I want to play more with the audience at the beginning of the show. There are a lot of audience members that have never been to a comedy show before and assume it is more like theatre. You have to hold their hand a little bit and if I’ve done my job hopefully they will go to more stand up comedy in the future.
I go see Luca Cupani’s show about the lives he never lived, including never moving to Japan to become a sword maker like he wanted. I was happy to be there and verify the ridiculous complexities of the Japanese language. It is a beautiful show that made me appreciate the immediate intimacy a small, dark room can create. A lot of comedian dream of filling a large lecture hall at the Fringe when a full small room can create something very special.
After a month of doing my show, a topper that completes a joke perfectly occurs to me and I’m annoyed I didn’t think of it earlier. I suppose that is natural effect of living with a show for a month. At least I’m not bored with it.
Afterwards, I have a drink with Stefano Rapone and a bunch of Italian comedians that as a group have gone out and seen a bunch of shows together. One of the anti-comedy shows they recommend is one about how to stop coughing.
I also learn that the American Italian family my sister has married into is “probably from the South of Italygiven that her husband, his siblings and his mother all live on the same street. It didn’t sound like a compliment.