The Fringe Theatre landscape is risky. Making a show is very expensive, and if you do manage to get your show made, there is often a real risk you’ll struggle to find an audience without significant further marketing spend. Even then, it’s not guaranteed. The vast, vast majority of Fringe Theatre artists have day jobs, because they simply wouldn’t be able to survive on their income from making work alone. And then, of course, this disproportionately effects those form low-income or global majority backgrounds, who may not have a safety net to fall back on should things go badly. It’s tough out there.
The institutions at the centre of these ecologies are the venues. The ones that try to give a home to these artists and their work, and the place where these artists meet their audiences. Most of these venues have been around for decades, and have salaried staff, with hands-on, practical experience in marketing the hundreds of shows that pass through, as well as experience with fundraising, and kind of everything else needed to make a show successful. Some of these venues are lucky enough to have whole people dedicated to those roles (gasp!)
Given how much these venues depend on artists for their very existence, and given the somewhat more stable position we find ourselves in as a venue (it’s not exactly stable but it’s definitely less precarious), it would be fair to assume that venues are doing everything in their power to make the life of their artists as easy as possible. Working to remove risk, to support development, and lend expertise. Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.
To be fair, fringe theatre venues aren’t exactly the most lucrative business in the world (Elon Musk isn’t banging on my door, begging to invest. And even if he did, there’s no way I’m taking his money. Fuck that guy) But generally, they’re more stable than the career of a freelance artist. Yet Fringe venues often shy away from all of the risk involved in the production process. Unfortunately, that risk doesn’t go away. Which means it ends up getting shoved on to the shoulders of artists.
Artists are asked to pay high hire fees or accept onerous box-office splits for their work – work which, ultimately, the venue doesn’t really have a hand in creating. And what’s more, they’re expected to produce, tech, and market their shows. This means artists are often expected to be experts in a number of different fields – from marketing to graphic design to financial management. And it means they don’t get a lot of time to do what they do best – make brilliant art.
To us at LowMAC, that doesn’t make a whole amount of sense. From a financial perspective, if these Fringe Artists are at the centre of our business model – they make the shows that bring in the audiences – shouldn’t we be helping them to make the best show possible? And in terms of impact, if we want to help artists grow and develop, shouldn’t we be striving to take some of that risk off their shoulders?
We think so. So, we’re trying a new programming model, and going back to a guarantee. Rather than asking artists to pay us for the privilege of using our space, we’re piloting a model that offers them a £8,000 guarantee, plus 60% of the box office takings above 60% capacity. On top of that, we’re going to do everything we can to help them develop their show and make it a success. We’ll be leading on all the comms and marketing for these shows, and will be offering artists ongoing creative support, as they develop their show from conception to performance. We want to be a venue that says “yes” as much as possible, and we’ll be encouraging artists to think ambitiously with how they can use our space.
For many artists, particularly in Fringe Theatre, the idea of any amount of guaranteed income to make a show is a luxury. Often, they are stuck in a cycle of repeating one successful show that just about pays their bills (if they keep trotting it out, year on year), or striving to put food on the table, and so not having the time and space to make something new. We want this model to give artists space where they don’t need to worry every second about making ends meet. We want it to help them make their next show – their dream show. We want them to ask “what brilliant, inspiring, amazing thing would I make if I didn’t have to worry about money for a couple of weeks – if I could just spend that time being an artist?”
We’re piloting this with four shows next year. And, to be clear, it is a pretty big risk for us. If it doesn’t go successfully, it will have serious and long-term effects on our organisation. But I have faith. Because happy, comfortable, stable artists make better art. And better art sells more tickets. And, anyway, it’s our job, as venues, to help artists make the best art possible.
We know it’s not a million pounds. We’d really like to increase the pot for every show, and we hope to do so in the near future. But we hope it’s a start towards something. A movement that says – this industry is hard, but it’s a lot easier if we’re clear about the risks and challenges, and try to tackle them head on. Together.
If you’d like to learn more about the LowMAC guarantee programme, or have any questions, you can check out their website here: https://lowmac.org/headline-shows/
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