Ruaraidh Murray will lead the informative, no-nonsense workshop To Edinburgh Fringe and Beyond! on Thursday 7 November. Here, Ruaraidh explains why the chance to create a piece for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival is an important opportunity for a professional actor and how the workshop can open doors. 

Carpe Diem, Motherf***er!

Want to make it happen?  Want to take control of your acting career?  Want to showcase you and your work at the world’s biggest arts festival?  Want to write your own solo show or play and take it to Edfringe and beyond? From the lightbulb moment of your initial idea for your show, to the creative process and production hustle, to lights up on the first performance of your Edfringe premiere, I will show you how it can successfully be done. All you need to do is bring yourself. I will break the workshop down into the SHOW process: a strong original idea, writing your show, getting it up on stage, rehearsals, London Preview, and your run itself. We will also explore the the BUSINESS side of things: raising funds, venue, applications, with whom you’ll be working, marketing, social media, exposure, where to stay, what you do/don’t need to spend money on, and reviews.  

And Beyond!

This can not only be a brilliant career move, but also a very cathartic process. My first show Big Sean, Mikey and Me not only played to sell-out audiences and critical acclaim but also saw me turn my life around. You can do this too!

What makes this workshop different?

What makes this workshop different is that I will be passing on my knowledge, experience and guidance from my first hand experience of writing/acting/producing five critically acclaimed shows which have gone to Edfringe 2012-16 and beyond. My workshop will be looking at the creative, business, and well-being side of making and taking a show to arts festivals and theatres while using Edfringe, Vault Festival and Park Theatre – among others – as examples.  For the creative process, I will be drawing from my experience as a writer/actor working with directors including as Paul Robinson, Tim Stark, and Joe Harmston. For the business process, I will be drawing from working with producers including Sophie Watson, Suzanna Rosenthal, and Karen and Katy Koren. For well-being, I will use my first solo show Big Sean Mikey and Me as an example of how you can turn an unhappy life into a happy one! 

To Edinburgh Festival and Beyond is open to Actor members and runs on 7 November. For more information and booking links, click here.

About Ruaraidh Murray

Ruaraidh’s work as an actor/writer includes three critically acclaimed solo shows: Big Sean, Mikey and Me, Bath Time and Boxman, and plays Allie and The Club, which all premiered at Gilded Balloon for Edfringe 2012 to 2016. Allie was a BBC Scriptroom Drama 2016 Finalist and Big Sean, Mikey and Me was an Academy Nicholl Fellowship in Screenwriting Competition Quaterfinalist 2019. Dame Diana Rigg saw Boxman at Edfringe 2014 and awarded Murray her top festival prize. Murray’s shows have toured Scotland and England, playing at Vault Festival and Park Theatre among others. Murray studied at Oxford School of Drama and was a member of Traverse and Royal Court Theatre’s young writers groups.