OK, let’s face it. Summer 2012′s been a bloody outrage. It’s been about as summery as a soggy Wellington at the end of a thoroughly ill-advised trek through South Wales. Fed up of squelching your way through roadside swamps? Struggling to remember the last time you smoked out the neighbours with the wondrous scent of sizzling meat? Or left the house in that horrendous Hawaiian shirt you’ve been saving all year? Maybe this summer’s destined to be nothing but a big damp squib. Or is it?!
With just THREE weeks to go until the Edinburgh Fringe Festival kicks off in, well, Edinburgh, we’re working with two more ambitious young acts to help them secure the funding they need to make the trip.
For many, the act of getting to Edinburgh in itself can be something of a pricey undertaking. But if only it were just a case of getting there… A variety of additional costs somehow need to be covered. (And by some of the universe’s well-known richest people – students.) Just to give you some kind of an idea:
1. Accomodation costs throughout the three-week festival. Given the Fringe attracts not only a host of different acts from all over the UK but throngs of people hoping to soak up all the entertainment, cheap accommodation can prove tricky to come by.
2. Registration fee with the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. This guarantees early-bird entry into the Fringe Programme – something essential for advertising a show to the public and getting reviewed.
3. Deposit on the venue at which you’re performing.
4. Advertising costs such as the cost of printing posters and flyers. If you want people to actually come to your shows, as well as hopefully remembering who you are or how to find you and follow you when they get home, these can be crucial to the success of your trip.
5. Props and technical equipment.
6. Preview shows.
7. Transport to and from shows.
8. Day-to-day living costs.
Enough to put you off? We’ve already helped two exciting acts fund their shows at this year’s festival.
Let’s begin with The Oxford Belles – Oxford’s original all-female acapella group. They put a project on Sponsorcraft back in April and raised over £1000. The Belles perform such timeless classics as Hotel California (The Eagles) alongside more modern flavours such as Just Dance (Lady Gaga) and Disturbia (Rihanna).
Aside from the Belles, we’ve also helped ‘Bristol Improv’ (-ised Comedy Society) who successfully raised over £300 to pay for their membership of the Festival Fringe Society. This gave them an entry in the official programme, the chance to be reviewed by the press, and access to essential performer facilities.
“We need this membership to bring in an audience, get critical recognition, and have something to show our mums,” said Crafter and society president Emily Cawse.
“I am really pleased with the success Bristol Improv has had on Sponsorcraft. The Edinburgh Fringe is an unmissable experience, and being a part of it last year was the best thing I have ever done. I wanted the new Bristol Improv-ers (most of our cast only started improv comedy this year!) to have that same experience.”
Following in the footsteps of greatness are Straight Line and Rag & Bone Productions, two up-and-coming theatre groups also hoping to make their mark on the Fringe this year.
First, the Univerity of York’s ‘Straight Line’ are performing Jason Robert Brown’s first musical, Songs For A New World.
“Although we have planned various fundraising activities already, in order to cover the immense costs of taking a musical to the Edinburgh Fringe (rights and musical rehearsal material, venue hire, registration and admin fees) we need to raise as much as we possibly can,” explains Crafter Gabrielle James.
The cast have a strong experience of performing in musical theatre having put on productions of Cabaret, Guys And Dolls, Jekyll And Hyde, Thoroughly Modern Millie and Return To The Forbidden Planet and many more over the last few years.
For more info, you can follow them on Twitter.
Also on Sponsorcraft at the moment are Rag & Bone Productions, a Durham Student Theatre company aiming to make their first appearance at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with a dark and innovative take on a classic Greek myth. This tragic story of hurt, rejection, pride and vanity, ‘echo & narcissus’, follows the disastrous consequences of a man falling in love with his own reflection.
“Without your support, we would struggle to create the onstage spectacle that is so important in making our play truly outstanding,” Crafter Imogen Beech tells us. Any generous donations will go straight towards costumes, set, props, make-up and lighting. Any donation will be incredibly appreciated. Please also feel free to share our fundraising page amongst others who may be interested, or follow us on twitter.”
If you’re around Edinburgh at all in August, you may want to drop in on a bunch of these shows! But, if not, all these guys would be grateful if you’d spread the word.
Tickets to all of the above can be booked at: http://www.edfringe.com/whats-on.
It’s worth mentioning that all of these acts are offering tickets to their shows (and a range of unique souvenirs) as rewards for donations so, if you are going, you may want to consider pledging too. 
Thank you for all your support!
And students! Remember: if you have something that needs sponsorship, Sponsorcraft will be happy to help.