Andrew J. Lederer

So, rather than being part of the "Edinburgh Comedy Festival", which seemed a real possibility, I am now part of no comedy festival.

I don't regret waiting and not contacting other venues, however, as that would have been contrary to the notion that I sincerely wanted to make an arrangement that would make good on a debt.

I did consider asking Alex Petty for a slot at The Counting House when it became available a couple days ago, but then I risked alienating Peter Buckley Hill, to whom I have also been quietly trying to prove a point, that I am not merely an opportunistic venue-seeker, rather a believer in higher ideals.

Actually, I am an opportunistic venue seeker and a believer in higher ideals.

Earlier this year, I asked Peter for a slot at the Canon's Gait, where I've worked twice before, and only the Canon's Gait, because, quite frankly, it was the only one of his venues that seemed suitable to my needs. (Now my needs are simply to have a venue -- oh, how the world has turned.) He rejected my request because, among other things, he felt I was not a "team player".

That's not entirely true but certainly Peter and his "Free Fringe" do not take priority over professional concerns when I'm making Edinburgh plans. Also, when I went with Laughing Horse's "Free Festival" last year, rather than Peter's operation, I knew neither the extent nor the actual nature of the rift between the two.

Even now, I have no idea who's "right". It's entirely possible Alex said or did something truly terrible to Peter (or not) but I've not been made privy to any of the details. I do, however, believe that Alex seriously exaggerated the merits of Berlin, the venue I was in last year, so my orientation in the realm of free venues has turned increasingly toward Peter. (An orientation it became easy to maintain when Alex lost his most compelling venues).

Whatever.

To prove my essential goodness (though I don't think I should be required to prove it), I decided I wouldn't even investigate Laughing Horse opportunities for this year. I didn't say anything about it. I just figured it would ultimately send its own message.

So with free venues off the table (but no money) , I resurrected a plan I'd submitted to a major venue two years ago which would have paid them back money I owed them without upfront cash from me. (A win-win.)

They weren't interested then, but as I said in my previous post, they were, they said, interested now.

Well, that interest was apparently not enough to make it a reality. And I'm not fool enough to have missed the potential downside of waiting for the deal to come through. Still, I didn't want to appear anything less than sincere (which I was), so except for a note asking what was going on because another potential venue had come into the picture (The Counting House, which I never inquired about but, after seeing it had come available and with the major deal still in limbo the day before the deadline, I figured maybe I should), I kept myself available to the last and beyond. ( I did submit notions to a couple of other venues but for a show other than the one I'd held for the major venue and those proposals remained simply proposals.)

Anyway, in case I had to make a last-minute play for The Counting House, I reached out to a name comic close to Peter Buckley Hill, to see what his opinion was of the Peter/Alex thing. Was I being a fool, I asked in a note tho him, for having resisted contacting Alex? Did he, as a friend of Peter's, think that Peter was being unfair to people and that I should do what was right for me? Maybe this guy knew something I didn't that would help me judge this thing.

Well, if he did, he didn't tell me, having failed to respond to my inquiry, though we had exchanged messages about something else just days earlier.

So, on the day of the Fringe programme deadline, while trying to prove my good character on two fronts, with the possibility of venuelessness looming, I had to decide whether to antagonize Peter Buckley Hill by trying to get one of the Counting House slots. (And they were apparently going fast.)

Except it wasn't just a Peter/Alex thing. What about Peter's influential friends (who would never do their own shows in a free venue but whose integrity is apparently not in question)? Could I risk antagonizing them?.

My storytelling show needs a continuing supply of guest acts. What would happen if some of the "hippest" were unavailable to me?

So, no venue.

Man Without a Venue.

"The Man With No Venue"

(Cue Ennio Morricone music here.)