The last six consecutive summers I have left sunny SoCal to venture to the often cold and rainy Edinburgh Scotland for the International Fringe Festival. Initially, performing at the Edfringe (the short hand title) was somewhat of a bucket list quest. I’m a huge Eddie Izzard fan and he was an Edfringer for many years. He more or less stated that the Edinburgh Fringe was a must for any self-respecting comic. It’s not an exact quote. But you get the idea. If Eddie said it—then by golly I must do the Fringe.
For my first Fringe I brought my one-woman show, “I Didn’t Mean to Be a Virgin in the 80s”. It was a huge learning curve for me as a performer and it was also the first time my luggage went on a walk about. Thankfully I was reunited with my case in less than 24 hours. However, it was a teary stressful day. I had a very specific costume for the show, and of course that was the suitcase that was missing.
Edinburgh and the Fringe is a magical maniacal experience. I could share in detail all the fun crazy adventures I’ve had here and it would fill a novel, but until you experience it yourself —you will truly never understand. It’s a drug. It cost most/all performers a lot of out of pocket money to get here, performing everyday; often multiple times a day (my record is 11 shows in one day) is brutal. You will eat loads of unhealthy food, drink too much, sleep too little, arrive back to your flat as the sunrises more times than you did when you were in college and be completely wrecked by the end of the month. But by the end of the last week you will be talking about your grand show plans for next year. Its complete insanity, addictive and wonderful. Nothing- truly nothing like it in the world. I have made dozens of life long friends who also make the trek to performance mecca every year. It’s like coming home to a loving nutty family.
My travels getting to Edinburgh this year was an adventure in its own right. And I knew even before I left the United States (many airline snafus) that I would again arrive in Edinburgh without my suitcase. Gratefully, I didn’t have to worry about a very important costume this year—so I just got very Zen with the retrieval process. I knew in time we would be reunited. In the interim I purchased a new pair of shoes, compliments of British Airlines. Thanks British and American Airlines for the adventures in travel, not smooth, but memorable and of course I love the shoes.
Laura
