PREVIEWS
It’s always useful to organise a preview of your work, whether it’s a performance or an exhibition. Put on an invite-only first night, sending out invitations to special guests, industry professionals, reviewers and the press. Make the week before the festival or 1 May an opportunity to open the doors to your venue and promote your programme of events. Work closely with your venue to organise an open venue preview night. Tip: The mention of a free glass of wine and nibbles is usually enough to get people in. Have the artists and performers available on the night to talk about the work, hand out flyers and perform.
REVIEWS
Brighton Fringe is an excellent place to pick up reviews; most of the major Edinburgh review sites come here (Fringe Review, Fringe Guru, Broadway Baby) plus local publications and sites like The Argus and Latest 7. The national press is becoming increasingly interested in Brighton Fringe events too, with Lyn Gardner of The Guardian saying Brighton Fringe had: “plenty of tantalising shows”.
Don’t be disheartened by a bad review - even the most successful of events will have received negative feedback somewhere along the way. Look at how the review can work to improve the performance and then focus on getting a second reviewer in.