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Editor’s Letter: Here we go again!

By | Published on Wednesday 1 August 2012

Caro Moses

Few things are precise about the Edinburgh Festival, but I think today could be accurately called Day One, with the Fringe previews kicking off and the Edinburgh Art Festival opening its doors again for another year. Certainly it always feels like Day One proper here at ThreeWeeks, as our massive review team head out onto the streets of the city for the first time to take in as many shows as is humanly possible.

This year’s team – participants in the ThreeWeeks media-skills programme – are a particularly fine bunch, and you can see what they look like here. Once again our reviewers will be visiting every nook and cranny of the Festival, from the biggest to the most intimate venues, taking in big name acts and theatre companies, plus more alternative shows and, of course, a plethora of new talent and lesser known acts, where we will almost certainly find some of the best shows of the Festival.

Reviews will start appearing in our Daily Edition reviews sheet and online on Friday evening. For regular email alerts with links to all the latest reviews once we are fully up and running, sign up here.

But back to now, and have you picked up a copy of the ThreeWeeks preview edition yet? It’s packed with interviews with some of our favourite Fringe performers, including Rhod GilbertDoug SegalChilly GonzalesThom Tuck and Phill Jupitus, plus Simon Evans contributes a great column, we find out about Mark Grist‘s journey from full time teacher to full time poet, and meet Angelin Preljocaj, the choreographer behind two productions at this year’s Edinburgh International Festival.

On top of that, I’ve picked out 90 shows I reckon are worth checking out this Festival. Some are from performers who have been highly rated by ThreeWeeks reviewers in recent years, others are personal favourites, and others just jumped out at me as I ploughed through the various programmes and our press release mountain last month. Grouped into convenient sets of three – there are Dans, doctors, dramatic dance shows and three particularly tall stand ups! Check out all the recommendations in the preview edition, or online here.

Though to be clear, you don’t have to go along to all of these shows, not least because to do so would, in my opinion, be to miss the whole point of this Festival. The Edinburgh Fringe is not just an opportunity for performers to experiment, it’s your turn to experiment too. So turn up and see something you have never heard of. Yes, you can take in a few TV comedians and big name theatre shows, but the real gems you don’t know the name of yet. Take a risk and you might discover it.

Copies of our preview edition have been popping through the letter boxes of thousands of Edinburgh homes this week, plus you’ll find it at numerous cafes and box offices, and as they open at loads of Fringe venues too. Do pick up a copy if you can.

ADVERTISE WITH THREEWEEKS
Now the preview issue is on the streets, we are already hard at work with our Week One edition, out next week, and have a very small number of ad slots available at special last minute rates. Get your shows in front of tens of thousands of Festival-goers! Email my colleague Sam at tw.advertising@unlimitedmedia.co.uk to discuss a deal or leave a message on 07858 939 424 and he will call you to discuss the options.

Plus, don’t forget the other ThreeWeeks media. Our Daily Edition will be in twelve central venues from Friday, and you can advertise on that from just £50. Book your spots now. Rates are on the website, and again email tw.advertising@unlimitedmedia.co.uk to book.

Plus we also have ad spots available on the ThreeWeeks website itself, which is in the process of going crazy again traffic wise. Last year we had over 350,000 unique visitors to the website over August, and we’re expecting that to be even higher this year. Ad packages start at £25, again call or email for information.

FREE ADS!
I knew that would grab your attention! Yes, for those of you on a very tight budget, once again this year we are bartering 5cm box ads (worth £50) to any company willing to spend an hour delivering our daily sheet to ten venues at 10am one morning. If you are up for this, email the dates you could deliver the sheet to tw.office@unlimitedmedia.co.uk with FREE ADS in the subject line and we will get in touch – slots will be distributed on a first come first served basis.

GREAT EVENTS FROM THREEWEEKS AND FRIENDS
And finally, for this first email of the Festival, some plugs for events that we or our friends are involved in this Festival.

First up, our sister music business website CMU is staging an event at Fringe Central this Sunday, offering tips and insights for aspiring musicians, or music managers. My Co-Editor Chris, in his CMU and Great Escape guise, will lead two panels on launching yourself as a DIY artist and then building a profile for yourself. Details here.

And for grass roots music makers in Edinburgh this August, that’s not your only opportunity to gain insights into making it as an artist in the modern music industry. The following weekend the CMU Training team will present the first ever CMU Music Business Bootcamp at StageTime, a new two day event for artists about live performance taking place from 11-12 Aug.

This event will also feature sessions from the Music Managers Forum and Musicians Union, plus a series of great panels from leading industry experts, covering everything from the DIY approach to music and fan funding, through to how to protect your career. And ThreeWeeks is able to offer discounted tickets at just £15 – which will get you in on both Saturday and Sunday. Click here to book at the discount.

Finally, ThreeWeeks will join with the other Festival Media Network publications on 22 Aug for a debate on Media At The Fringe, again at Fringe Central. Join us to discuss the role the media plays, and could play, at this most wonderful of festivals. Details here.

And that is enough plugging for now! Enjoy the preview days of the Festival before the Fringe launches properly on Friday, and keep an eye on the ThreeWeeks website for all the latest newsreviewsinterviews and more.

Caro Moses, Co-Editor, ThreeWeeks



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