This August, the Oxford Alternotives joined the ranks of Oxford performers heading to the Edinburgh Fringe. For our twelfth Fringe performance, we brought a BBC-featured acapella show to theSpace Triplex at 16:05, with hits for all ages from a Frozen mashup to Billie Eilish to Queen and much more.
Those were the lines diligently drilled into our heads as part of our ‘elevator pitch’, delivered to those wandering along the Royal Mile this summer – along with the occasional “Roll up! Roll up!” (declared theatrically whilst balancing on a bollard) and “Have you seen Pitch Perfect?” as a last resort. These marketing strategies, on top of some impromptu busking, played a key role in the success of our run. The Fringe website states that selling 33% of tickets should be a ‘benchmark for success’ for performers, so it is fair to say that we were delighted at our final figures: 95% of tickets sold, with 6 of 8 shows sold out (which you might have guessed from the number of #soldoutselfies on our Instagram stories…)
However, creating a show that will “send you on your way humming with a smile on your face” (according to our professional reviewer) is no easy task, and preparation began early on. The executive team put in an incredible amount of work throughout the year; our co-presidents Augustine Luk and Liv Fisher led the project with passion and flair, designing our eye-catching flyer and supporting us throughout the year. Our musical director, Hattie Twigger-Ross, helped to bring all of our arrangements to life, and our welfare officer/secretary (otherwise known as ‘Dad of the Group’), Gianni Tam-McMillan, provided the organisational glue.
There is no denying that taking a show to the Fringe is an expensive venture. All the proceeds from our concerts this year went towards funding the performance, with college art funds and a GoFundMe helping to ease the financial burden. These initiatives enabled us to make the Fringe a reality, supported by the kindness of all of our family and friends. The final touches for our show were perfected at our Fringe Boot Camp in Oxford just before we headed up to Edinburgh. It was much like the boot camp in Pitch Perfect 2, but without the drama, or the bear traps…
The team worked tirelessly to ensure that everything was ready far ahead of time: accommodation and venue were booked by January, our show was listed by February, and train tickets booked by May. Waking up at 6 a.m. to a Trainline cancellation alert promised to put a spanner in the works, but in true Alts spirit, we merrily boarded the next service and arrived only an hour late to Edinburgh station.
Highlights from our time in Edinburgh must include when our show’s title became a little more real than expected; ‘Acapella Off the Rails’ became ‘Acapella Onto the Street’ when a city-wide power cut forced the cancellation of our first show. Nonetheless, we performed in our venue’s fire evacuation area to an incredible audience, prompting a headline feature for the Oxford Alternotives in a BBC article! We were also fortunate enough to be able to see all the other shows at our venue for free, enjoying everything from mind-reading lawyers to Elvis impersonators. We loved making connections with the other performers whilst we were there, and even organised an acapella social with another (fantastic) Oxford-based group, Out Of The Blue.
However, if you asked any member what was most memorable about the Alternotives’ trip to Fringe, they would undoubtedly say the close bonds forged within the group; our sense of cohesion was strengthened immeasurably after two weeks together. On the evening of our last performance we embraced our inner tourists, climbed Arthur’s Seat, and shared a bottle of Prosecco at the summit, recounting our favourite moments of the run. Our experience of the Fringe is something that we will always treasure, and though we have said our goodbyes to departing members of the group, there are already plans underway for a Fringe 2024 reunion. I have no doubt that we will sing our Fringe classics together again soon.
