On The Nose @Camden Fringe - by Jonah Fried

We asked writer and performer of On the Nose Jonah Fried to write us a blog post about his experience putting up his incredible show at Camden Fringe with us! - See what he had to say :)

Day 1: Let’s get it started in here

Good news- the Courtyard Theatre Studio has air conditioning

How does one start their first day at Camden Fringe after a weekend of prop making, crafting, wig sewing and dance rehearsal?- by meeting as a team on the hot tube to Camden of course! Take two baskets, fill it with balloons, wigs and acting books, a suitcase, some clown signs, and of course, a camera to capture the magic of the theatrical process. While riding said tube at 9 am in the summer heat, I for one, your playwright and cast member, Jonah Fried (Buddy), couldn't help but think “Now this is fringe theatre!”.

Upon arrival at the Courtyard Theatre, we dropped our stuff off and, as a team, promptly braved the outside world of cafés and local businesses, passing out flyers to anyone and everyone who might look interested in seeing our show. A round of applause to local businesses who kindly took a stack or helped spread the good clown word.

12 pm- Tech time

And so tech begins- with a flurry of lights, Haley Sliker, our trustee lighting designer/operator, must learn a brand new system on the spot. While Haley and our fierce leader, Izzy Ponsford, director/producer, worked on the sound and lights, our resident Dorothy, Catherine Clay, set up the baskets onstage, making them overflow with confetti and balloons- creating a sort of clown chaos glittery aesthetic. I sat on stage, acting as a body in space for Haley to check the colour balance of the lights. Let me tell you, one always forgets just how bright the lights are while on stage until you’re up there again, unable to see the front row.

Cut to some more tech, a photographed dress rehearsal, some more flyering, and a lot of hectic last minute solves- and colour us ready for Opening Night!

The show was a blast- not without its mishaps of course. The good news is there’s no proof of said mishaps after I ran into the camera that was trying to film said opening night (oops!).

Day 2: The reviews are in!

Good news- Choreo gets easier as the run keeps going

After a successful opening night, the cast and crew went about the next day as any normal people would- they woke up, went to work, and refreshed the internet in hopes of a review. I confess to such actions unabashedly. On a personal note, this is the first play I’ve written to get reviewed and I was so excited. With a call time of 6pm- the team met up at the AC filled Courtyard Theatre Studio with a pep in their step, a hint of tiredness and ready to fix any missteps from the night before. Theatre is a live and everchanging artform folks! Another night is another chance to make a joke sharper, a mimed door opening more clear, a scene feel more alive. And feel alive it did! The audience felt like a warm hug- a room full of laughter, compassion and a reminder that theatre needs an audience to survive and excel.

In true theatre magic- Haley revealed after the show that at a certain point- the lighting desk did a system restart and missed 2 cues before she was able to reset it. A terrifying moment only shared between her and Izzy. Due to their professionalism and Haley’s impeccable talent- Cat and I, along with a supportive audience, had no clue. Again, the joys of live theatre!

When the show was over, after kind applause, the team and I cleared the space and decided to go for-you guessed it-  a post show schnitzel. 

Warning: Beautiful movie moment about to be described!

On our way to Schnitzel Heaven (shoutout) Cat, Izzy, and Haley paused abruptly on the sidewalk when they heard me gasp. For you see, as we were walking, I absentmindedly refreshed my phone to find our very first review. I read it out loud on the street and the entire team held hands, teared up and jumped for joy at On the Nose being described as what “must be the most endearing show at Camden Fringe this year.” That is a feeling we will never take for granted. Hard work paying off- our show being understood for what it is and where it can go. The feeling of care that comes with helpful notes on things to look out for while developing the show further. Here’s to being seen, to being considered, and to being “impossible not to like”.

Day 3: Get in! Get out! It’s Fringe!

Good news- Izzy designed this show to have mimed props and thank Claude.

Still buzzing from a kind review we sent to our parents, supporters and promptly used for marketing the rest of the run, the team gathered in the green room at around 7 before the 8:30 pm show. Our musical maestro/arranger, Falk Meier joined us- excited to finally see the show he helped prepare! There was a show before ours in the space- so we warmed up in the green room, gabbed about how things had been going- and then had the quickest get in so far. Thankful once again for Izzy’s stylistic choice for minimal/mimed props that allows for an extremely easy preshow preset.

While the show went well, we hadn’t realized before starting that the show before us had readjusted the barrels on the profile fixtures, so this is the night the lights didn’t fully fill the stage. Luckily, when Cat and I entered, as the professionals that we are, we did our best to adjust the chairs onstage and our blocking to the new lighting- and no audience member was the wiser (hopefully). Also, I believe this was the show where I bumped my head against a light- I am tall and my clown wig cushioned the blow. After the show, like the other nights, we met with people in the pub area, and had wonderful conversations about the show- thoughts, reactions, likes, confusions- all extremely flattering and helpful to developing the show for future runs (PSA to please fill out feedback forms after shows- it is so helpful to the creatives!)

Day 4: A finale flies by!

Good news: A finale is always fun

What can I say about finale night? It’s like taking a test where you know most of the answers because you’ve studied so hard- and after the test you know you’re going to get ice cream.

My challenge to myself for this run- just truly have fun. The other three were fun of course, but one can get caught up in mistakes or wanting to get a monologue right. And throughout finale night- I just kept thinking- “Jonah, just have fun”. Too bad this clown show is so hard to have fun at (he wrote sarcastically). 

At one point in the show, we were about to start a dance number and as I stood there waiting for the opening notes- here are the exact thoughts that ran through my brain:

“Oh wait, what are the words here? Oh no oh no ok wait I know it wait oh no - wait Jonah, just trust that your body will know it- see what happens”.

By the grace of Claude, the correct words came out of my mouth and my feet danced the correct steps. Trust yourself, trust yourself, trust yourself- an ever challenging practice.

I also wanted to note that Cat made me laugh so hard in one scene that I’m still thinking about it a week later.

Despite the ups and clowns of this week, we learnt so much about the show, ourselves and the importance of embracing the clown in everyday life. Sure we messed up choreo. Sure the lights completely stopped working. Sure a million other things went wrong. But that’s fringe- that’s live theatre!

Not to get even more preachy but, at the end of the day, it’s the audience saying “This show made me feel so much better”. It's jumping up and down on the street after a good review. It’s the laughter after a bit goes well onstage. And it’s the laughter in the pub after the show. Because as Dorothy says- “Laughter is always the answer”.

Thank you so much to The Courtyard Theatre, to everyone involved, to Camden Fringe, to the audience, and to our amazing team,

Jonah Fried