The Edinburgh adventure

And so after six months of immeasurable anticipation and excitement, the week has finally come. As a famous musical goes, for myself and the fifteen or so others soon to be travelling under the banner of Gone Rogue Productions, “The time is now, the day is here!”

For in just a few days we’ll be opening the first performance on tour of our hour-long comedy play, Hanging Bruce-Howard, at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, widely considered to be one of the pinnacles of the performing world.

It’s a place where many on-stage greats have taken their first steps towards fame, hundreds of careers have been launched (put into Google “Cambridge Footlights” – wow!) and thousands annually descend to revel in all things theatrical, comedic, musical and, in some cases, just plain weird, hailing from all corners of the country (and beyond!).

Having never been before, I’ve only the stories of siblings, friends and the newspapers to infer from what the experience is going to be like. But just as with all adventures into the unknown, like those first few days at University and an awe-inspiring trip to the London Olympics last summer, it’s been overwhelmingly difficult to try and contain my excitement: I’ve been fidgeting for ages to get up there and get involved!

I realise that I tend to write fairly frequently (if not all the time) about personal goings-on in the theatrical world, indeed to the extent where, when somebody was asked if they could deduce from my blog posts which subject I study (Software Engineering!), they replied “Errr.... theatre?”!

But ever since my first appearance in a play, a minor role up North in the old school hall, the world of the Performing Arts has been an immersive and abundant source for me of not only entertainment and socialising, but also personal development. There’s simply so much that performing, and the multitudes of people involved with it, have done for me, both on and off-stage.

The Performing Arts at University have granted me some of the best experiences 

of my life, such as June’s 24 Hour Show this year!

From the confidence it’s bestowed upon me in various aspects, for example in giving presentations (or indeed Open Day talks!), in social situations and in working as a part of large groups, to developing my skills in improvisation (although we always try to avoid making use of it on-stage!) and problem-solving, budgeting and general organisation through directing, there are countless ways that getting involved has helped me both as a potential professional (embellishing the CV, for one!) but also as an individual.

And this is largely down to the encouragement of the University to do just that: to make the most of the experience while you have it, and try and round yourself out as a person – I’ve now many a story to tell in job interviews, for example!

Earlier this year I attended a workshop in how to safely perform stage combat for a 

scene in Great Expectations – a skill I’d love to use again, given how fun it was!

Through encouraging active engagement across with a number of strands of student life, the University is a wonderfully supportive framework which gives a keen and energetic student body down here in Southampton the chance to achieve as much as they can whilst simultaneously grounding themselves in real-world-esque experiences – the only limitation tends to be your imagination! I’ve been lucky enough to be aided by this framework in terms of the Edinburgh trip via the benevolent assistance the ECS (Electronics and Computer Science) Student Development Fund has afforded me in easing the financial burden of the trip. I can’t thank those involved enough.

Furthermore, it’s not just the acting world that offers such opportunities to further your own interests and development; they’re everywhere at Southampton! Many dance-based societies participate (often successfully) in national competitions and events, sports teams remain consistently and healthily competitive (with an infamous annual bout against our counterparts from Portsmouth called “Varsity” always generating anticipation aplenty!) and other activities and clubs, such as the Debating Society, are often putting on well-respected and attended events. And should there be something missing (there’s not a lot!), it’s remarkably straightforward to apply to have your own society created, affiliated with the Students’ Union... and funded!

But regardless of the level to which you pursue your interest, I’ve found that through just going along to meetings, open training or practice sessions, I’ve picked up plenty of opinions, skills and knowledge which I can apply elsewhere. So although, for example, I’ve not taken as active a role with the Students’ Union’s TV station (SUSUtv) in my second year as I did during Freshers’, I’ve still gained a much better understanding of the operations of a live streaming broadcast and just how much goes into piecing together such a programme, not to mention bonus video editing skills, plenty of experiences (attempting to totally improvise the co-hosting of a live show isn’t something I’ll easily forget!) and a number of friendships to boot.

But despite the experience I’ve garnered, it’s certainly not the case that I don’t find the prospect of acting in something as vast in scale as the Fringe intimidating: I still get hugely nervous before any and every show – apologies to anybody who’s ever tried to talk to me before I’ve been due to do any stand-up comedy! – and can usually be found pacing around before a performance in the dressing room, reciting lines or the like to myself urgently!

Ultimately, however, it’s the sheer buzz of a well-received performance, the electric feeling of energy and adrenaline that comes across to the performers from the audience when they’re enjoying themselves, that’s constantly driving me to want to achieve more and improve further – it’s very addictive! So taking part in the Fringe, with audiences consisting of complete strangers and entirely neutral reviewers, matches that description quite nicely – it’s going to be a massive test of what we can all achieve, but an incredibly exciting one.

I’m therefore eagerly anticipating the chance to play the character of a Russian billionaire, Igor Lupowski (with accent picked up from watching old movies!), as part of a talented ensemble. If you are around in Edinburgh at all during the course of the Festival, it’d be great to see you at a showing of Hanging Bruce-Howard sometime if you can make it – you’ve only the sixteen to choose from! After all, buoyed by the positive reaction to our preview showings last week in Southampton (thank you if you attended!), I think I speak for us all when I say we, as a cast and crew, are more than ready to embark on what could turn out to be quite the journey.

To Edinburgh!

Robin