Edinburgh Fringe 2014 schedule for acts

The Edinburgh Fringe may be eight months away at the time this is published, but if you're thinking of performing at the festival in 2014 you need to start your preparations now.

Ian Fox, the author behind the highly regarded book How to Produce, Perform and Write an Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Show (pictured), has come up with the following rough schedule to help acts prepare for the world's largest arts festival...

January to March - Book A Venue

One of the first things to do is find a room to perform in, as many spaces are already taken by March. You could opt to perform in a 'free' venue like...

Laughing Horse Free Festival
PBH Free Fringe
Heroes Of Fringe
Freestival (aka Project Free)

Or with a venue that will charge you to use the room for an hour, but you can then charge for tickets. The main chains are: The Stand, Just The Tonic, Gilded Balloon, Assembly, Pleasance and Underbelly.

Choosing the right venue to fit your show is crucial to how well your show will go and how much money you'll make or lose. If you're new to performing at the festival seek out more advice before applying to any venue!

March - Discount Listing Deadline

You'll be able to find the registration form to list yourself in the programme on edfringe.com

Approximately two weeks before the final deadline for listing a show is the discount deadline. This is a saving of nearly a hundred pounds. Better to save the money now and make better use of it whilst you're in Edinburgh. Once a show is registered you can still make adjustments to your forty word blurb and change artwork up to a week after the final deadline for show submissions.

April - Programme Deadline

The final deadline for listing in the Fringe programme.

April to May

- Find somewhere to live for the month. Now this is a stressful one! Ringing up estate agents and trying not to get ripped off or ending up with a place in the middle of nowhere.

- Start looking for cheap train or plane tickets to Edinburgh.

May to June

- Write a full press release so it is ready when the Fringe programme comes out.

- Prepare websites and any additional material such as YouTube videos to seduce audiences into your show, again so they're online when the programme is published.

- Order promotional material for your show such as T-shirts and hoodies. The cheap deals usually have a long delivery time as the merchandise makes it way from Eastern Europe.

- Start previewing your show so when you reach Edinburgh it's ready for the spotlight.

June

- The Fringe programme is published.

- Start approaching publications for publicity. Include press release, web links and videos etc.

July - Publicity Materials

- Prepare poster and flyer artwork files to go to the printers. Schedule delivery for about a week before you arrive. Too early and it might get put into storage and forgotten about. Too late and it might not get put up in time. Check with the venue when they want to receive stuff. Posters and flyers need to arrive before you do.

Monday 27th July - Tech Rehearsals

Venues start technical rehearsals which carry on until the first shows start. Venues won't be open to the public during these times.

Tuesday 28th July - Travel

The day most acts will travel to Edinburgh. It's the most likely day to bump into comedy's superstars at motorway services and train stations. It is also the date of my annual "As part of the 2014 Edinburgh Fringe festival I shall be appearing at Tebay services for the next 30 minutes" tweet and FB status update.

Wednesday 29th July & Thursday 30th July

On Wednesday preview shows start in the Pleasance and Gilded Balloon, plus press launches for other venues.

On Thursday there's preview shows at Assembly, Underbelly and The Stand. Free Festival shows also start.

Friday 1st August

The Fringe officially begins and it's the start of PBH Free Fringe shows.

There then follows three weeks of mayhem.

Tuesday 12th August

This is usually the day most acts choose for their day off. Typically a slow day for ticket sales and approximately the half-way point.

Saturday 23rd August

PBH Free Fringe shows close.

Sunday 24th August

Shows at the Caves and Free Festival close. Closing party for Free Festival.

Monday 25th August

Final shows. Closing Party at The Stand. Performers start to go home, as they only rented accommodation for 28 days.

October

The Fringe box office usually pays out at the end of September, so early in October you'll either receive your payout from your venue or an invoice.

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Ian Fox is a Comedian, Writer and Photographer and has produced a show every year at the Edinburgh Fringe since 2003. His book How to Produce, Perform and Write an Edinburgh Fringe Comedy Show explains everything in much more detail. You can get a copy from Lulu.com for a bargain £6.65