The Limelight.
Over the last four years
at the Fringe I’ve sold myself as a performer with a wardrobe
Liberace would be proud of, and I performed at a plethora of
variety shows the festival offers. For this, my fifth Fringe,
I’ve ripped off the eyelashes and made a difficult but
strategic decision to step out of the limelight.
I’m making my Fringe
directorial debut at the age of 26 - even I admire my
audacity- with Unhappy Birthday, a party / show about Amy
Lamé’s obsession with The Smiths front man Morrissey.
With my new directors hat
on I was worried I might miss showing off at the festival.
Performers may not like to admit this but we have what my Mum
might call ‘ideas above our station’. I thought taking a less
public role would damage my easily bruised ego. On the
contrary I’ve found it a liberating experience and left me
wondering if it may be time to hang up my size 9 stilettos.
Being a director means you
throw all self adoration out of the window – please refer to
previously mentioned ego. Although I may not be the one
receiving the applause each night there is something
wonderfully gratifying about getting ideas out of my head,
into a show, and watch it
being played out just the way I like it. As a performer this
is a luxury you are rarely awarded.
I’m really enjoying
experiencing the Fringe through different eyes this year. It
has reinvented my relationship with a festival that, in
previous years as a performer, left me deflated, depressed
and in debt.
Will I ever perform
at the Fringe again? I don’t know, I’ve stepped out of the
limelight and so far, so good but I'm not ready to part with my
stilettos just yet.
No comments:
Post a Comment