The Horrors of Handbilling (And How It's Not That Bad)

So the Fringe continues, having finished the first weekend of the festival. It's been pretty eventful, with tons of people filling the Fringe grounds to an astounding degree. For a performer like me, that means more people to attempt to entice into coming to see my show, and in order to do that I have to- gulp! - handbill. 

Yes, handbilling, the ancient Fringe tradition of coming up to strangers, interrupting their conversations and giving them bits of paper in hopes that your brief interaction will be suffiicent to win them over to the idea of paying money to see your show. I am not a good handbiller. Which is not to say that I am bad at the act in particular, but I really do not enjoy doing it. Which probably makes me bad at doing it, but hey, let me live in denial a little while longer. The problem with handbilling... well, there are a bunch of problems. 

First and foremost, there is the simple fact that I did not get into acting because I loved foisting paper onto unsuspecting strangers. Yes, promotion is certainly part of the business and all that malarkey, but the simple fact remains that most actors will have handbilling moments where they can only stop and think "This is not what I got into acting to do". Another issue is the fact that it plays into the common actor need for approval. Having a room full of people applaud you feels fantastic. Having someone turn you away rudely when you just want them to take a stupid handbill does not. Here there are tons of stories: For instance, during my first day of handbilling, first day of the festival, I was quickly turned away by a couple of me who quickly barked "Seen it!". Since my show had yet to play, that kind of played poorly with me. 

I think what may have added to my dissatisfaction with that moment is the simple fact that handbilling is something that requires a little momentum, at least as far as I am concerned. I need to start with some easy targets- people looking at posters and holding programs for instance- get in, get out and re-assure myself that it's not so bad as all that. Which is hard to do when it is. My favorite handbilling moment of the festival so far was when I was walking through the main grounds with Ryan Paulson (of the fantastic show "I'm Uncomfortable") both of us having just finished some handbilling. We passed a homeless man who stood with his hand outstretched, into which Ryan placed a handbill for his show. The man looked at it, confused, and asked "What is this?" Without turning back, Ryan replied "It's a five star comedy."

Which brings me to the people. Because really, handbilling is all about making connections with people, giving them a real reason to see a show over all the other shows playing at the festival. Some people are rude, some people lie (as pointed out above) and worst of all, some people just give you as much rope as you need to hang yourself. On more than a few occasions I have found myself giving my show pitch to someone whose only response is to stare right through me, giving no real feedback or emotional response. It's like they are wishing for me to vanish and only if they concentrate hard enough will their wish be granted. Unfortunately for us both, I use these occasions to go through every aspect of my pitch, until I am certain we can both walk away feeling a little bit violated. Again, not what I went to school for. 

The handbill pitch is also a whole area that should really be taught in theatre school, as it is an important tool that requires a fair degree of skill. You have to be friendly and being funny helps too. You have to be able to answer any questions about your show and present information in the right way so that your audience has questions they want to ask in the first place. You need a great description of your show that will draw people in. And on top of that, it helps to have multiple variations on all of these, so that a) You don't get bored of doing it over and over and over again and b) So that people waiting in a line don't get bored/annoyed/disillusioned by hearing you do the same bit on either side of them. It really is a whole different animal, yet another performance that must be prepared and one that some people really just don't want to see.

The pitch for my show is pretty simple: "It's a comedic drama about a guy who receives a phone call from a young boy who has spent his entire life inside a sealed chamber. He is shocked by this, because as far as he is concerned, he invented that boy in a story he wrote years ago." It's not ideal- Sadly, my show is not exactly simple to explain. Good ones I've heard include: "Stand up comedy and songs about leaving the fundamentalist church and learning how to sin in New York City" (Ryan Paulson's I'm Uncomfortable), "A one woman comedy about weight and body issues" (Amy Salloway's Circumference), "My cat is really sick and I need a thousand dollars for an operation." (Jayson McDonald's Boat Load). Some shows do the selling simply by title- pornStar comes to mind, along with (my favorite title at the fringe) nggrfg.

But I don't have anything quite like that to sell the show, so I use my little plot synopsis and follow it up with follow up banter. Here is where my pitch with vary from person to person, depending on what kind of vibe I am getting from them and how responsive they are to my bullshit. First and foremost, you can mention reviews, if you have any good ones. In Winnipeg I frequently mentioned my Uptown review which is highly quotable, whereas in Edmonton I have four stars in Vue Magazine which I am more than happy to wave around like a drunken sailor. Then I have a bunch of personal tidbits- I was actually born in Edmonton two months pre-mature (which has led me to discovering a lot of people here who are either premies or born in Winnipeg although nobody yet who is both), I didn't know what I was doing when I filled out my forms for the festival and as such am one of the cheapest shows ("At the very least, come for the savings!") and the fact that I'm from Winnipeg and the most friendly way for Edmonton to beat our indoor attendance records would be to fill up the seats at a Winnipegers show. This last bit got me into a little bit of trouble the other day, when a woman responded back with "Oh, I don't think Edmonton has anything to prove, Fringe wise." Uh, okay, fuck you too lady. I'm being facetious.

Maybe I just take the whole thing too personally.

Talking to some of the other touring performers, particularly the ones like me who are new or newish and don't have any real following, the hardest part sometimes is dealing with people's gross indifference to you. Until (and unless!) you have a great review, some people won't even give you the time of day. And then there are the first performances, where many of us "Pumped up the Volume" and took to comping audience members, handing out tickets in the streets. To have complete indifference when you're GIVING AWAY tickets to your performance, something you've slaved away on for months and you NEED to make some money at the festival... a part of you dies each and every time someone says "no". Not to mention the utter disdain artists feel when they realize that they are selling themselves cheaply for no perceivable gain. At least actual prostitutes get paid.

But again, this is all part of the game, and if you don't play, you can't win. There are great moments in handbilling- meeting other performers and sharing the "we're all in this together!" feeling. Meeting fantastic festival goers who are geniunely interested in hearing what you have to say and maybe even actually go see your show! And while yes, again, this is not what I trained for, when it is working, when you're moving down a line, leaving laughing, smiling people behind you, carefully reading your handbill... there is something not unlike the feeling of having a great show that washes over you and it can be enough, just enough, to push you forward on to the next group of people. But best of all is when you see those people out in your audience, people who came because you did something right. Their laughs and sighs and applause feel so much belonging to you, something you worked your ass off for, not to be taken for granted, but treasured for every second, a gift that is unique to that expirience- That can make it worth it. Or at the very least, make it not that bad.

Next time: The Bar that will be the end of me and other tales of the Edmonton Fringe.