The ups...

So... the down's have been pretty bad. But what about the positives? What's been going great for us?

Well, how about this?

- Many, many wonderful compliments about the show, the poster, the flyers, the style, Rick, t-shirts, merchandise, the writing.
- Having the backing of the Underbelly to help push the show. David Michel (venue manager) has been in particular a massive help.
- We've sold three Rick Chester Dolls! And they're awful! People will really buy anything!
- The mighty mighty talent of Julia Scott-Russell in helping us promote the show.
- Two additional days of our promotion team at no extra expense.
- The opportunity to perform a lunchtime slot on a 'festival taster' show, where we could plug the show.
- An steadily increasing size of audience.
- The opportunity as performers to be able to respond to a variety of differing responsive audiences.
- Chatting with other performers and having them come see our show, and ours theirs. A sense of comradery.
- Reading one-star reviews. That always cheers me up.
- Having a man ask me for a poster whilst on the Royal Mile, he said he was a drama teacher and that every year he comes to the fringe and takes back the best looking poster he can find with him to put on his theatre wall.
- The satisfaction of still finding the script amusing.
- The satisfaction of having the freedom to amend, tighten, and re-write elements of the script based on our experiences so far.

The downs..

Producing a show at the edinburgh festival is never easy. A lesson i've learnt twice already.

A lesson it would appear i am still learning.

It's a fabulous experience - honest! But boy, when things go wrong... things go wrong.

Here's a list of the disasters faced by the team so far:

- A low audience. One night we had three people. Another - none.
- We lent our Rick Chester chair to another show and they managed to have it stolen by a punter in their audience.
- I've lost my digital camera, and memory card full of pics.
- We've had a two-star review.
- We've been reviewed by The Scotsman and the Metro and as yet, nothing.
- We were due to be reviewed by BroadwayBaby.com and they didn't come because we had a fire in the building 5 mins before curtain up.
- We've lost a Rick Chester 'Get Famous' t-shirt.
- We had a group of 6 walk out of the show, shouting 'Shit' on their way out.
- Laura has a shiner on her right eye from a fall.
- 'The Tylwyth Teg' (a show at the underbelly have made it their mission to cover our posters within minutes of us putting them up. A fight to the death must surely only be the only reasonable response.
- Inviting a whole bunch of influential people to a show and it being just plain dreadful.
- Postering at 4am and having a drunk guy get annoyed with us and walk away ripping off all the posters we'd just put up.
- i have a blister on my right foot.

FIRE!!

Well, the Underbelly faced meltdown last night.

A fire alarm was pushed with 5mins before our 'curtain up' and the building was evacuated. (A dodgy fire-sensor reacting to a smoke-machine)

Everyone waited outside the entrance not knowing whether the show was gonna be allowed to carry on or if we were going to have to abandon Rick's show for the night. Eventually the U-belly staff let us back in and 40 minutes late the show began.

Our opening preview nights hadn't been the most full (to say the least), but we had the largest audience so far which was an incredible boost.

in edinburgh

It's been a long time since Golden Prospects had it's opening night on the fringe. Exactly a year in fact. Well, last night was the premiere ed fringe fest showing of 'Rick Chester's Five Steps to Stardom'.

Nerves were high. But with a massive number of 8 people in the audience, Rick took to the stage and delivered a fine performance.

One night down, 23 left to do.

The Crazy Crew

DAN - Rick

IAN - Exec Producer





LAURA - Miss Peabody





ELIZABETH - Exec Producer






RYAN - Director

Who are The 'Eddies'...?

The Perrier Awards are no more.

After 25 years of sponsoring the Edinburgh Festival Comedy awards, they
are making way for new guys: Intelligent Finance (If)

The new awards will be called the 'if.comeddies', but they say they hope
(over time)it will become known as 'The Eddies'.

Hmm..

Will it catch on. I dunno. Not straight away.

'If.comeddies' .... Rubbish name.

Give us an award though. Please.

Thanks.

Rick's PA leaves to become a Star!

Tallulah Sheffield - Rick Chester's PA and secretary - has broken into the movie industry!

Playing Ophelia in the new Motion Picture of 'Hamlet', Tallulah claims she "was inspired by Rick to become an Actress. Listening to him talk so positively about being a movie star made me decide to pick up the challenge! I'm going to be in Hamlet the Movie! I can't believe it!"

Rick is currently looking for a replacement PA, and the queue of female applicants at RickFair Manison is said to be up to 2 miles in length.

I'm sure whoever is given the new job, she will have to work very hard to be as good as Miss Sheffield.

Good Luck Tallulah! Get us some tickets to the Premiere!

Ry & Dan
x

p.s. go to http://www.hamletmovie.co.uk to see Tallulah in action!

DESIGN WARS!

It would appear that the two different poster designs pictured below are causing major divisons in the ranks.

Everyone is sure which poster design to go with, it's just that not everyone agrees with each other.

The main points of argument so far include:

The silhouette photo design is too moody. Too 'Tenessee Williams'. It doesn't adequately show what the show is. Despite the half naked Rick splashed across it.

The arty motif is too out of synch with the rest of the production so far. As a small unknown show we need to maintain a strong visual sense of identity. All the publicity needs to be similar - have the same 'look and feel'. The motif is too different to the other imagery we have used so far.

And so... 'The Arty Motif or Photograph Silhouette' debate rages...

Stay tuned for the next... uh hum... exciting chapter of DESIGN WARS!

Dan in India...

Dan is in India. He has been gone for about a month.

He returns to the UK on the 9th June and i will press him to write a short synopsis of the trip.

Whilst out there he has had Rick's clothes tailor made. Only the best of materials too by the sounds of it.

Here is what £140 can buy you:

• 2 x three-piece suits (1 x double breasted, 1 x single)
• 3 x shirts (2 x pearl colour, 1 x white)

I'll upload pics when Dan is back.

In the meantime.. i suggest you read his travel blog at this address:

http://blog.myspace.com/daggley

Could this be the poster?

New poster design concept released:

Quote from Colin Campbell...

The writer (and Oscar nominee) Colin Campbell has this to say about Rick:

"I love Rick as the Black Buccaneer!"

Rick loves you right back Mr. Campbell. He loves your work and says that he is your biggest fan.

Here's the competition...

When an audience member decides what late night show to see at the Underbelly here are the options available to them.


Iron Belly:
23:50 - Rick Chester's Five Steps to Stardom

White Belly:
23:15 - Talk of the Fest - Paul Provenza

Belly Laugh:
23:50 - Dirty Book Club
23:50 - Rude Girls

Belly Button:
23:45 - Fallen Angels Cabaret

Delhi Belly:
23:10 - Winston Churchill was Jack the Ripper

Big Belly:
23:30 - The Juggler's of Notre Dame

Belly Dancer:
00:00 - Spank

Baby Belly 1:
23:55 - Maxwell's fullmooners

Baby Belly 2:
23:40 - The Murder Show - 24 ways to die

Baby Belly 3:
23:40 - The Murder Show - 24 ways to die

E4 Udderbelly:
23:15 - Moovers and Shakers
23:15 - Set your comedy free

Cow Barn:
00:00 - Free Beer Show


I think you will agree that Rick outshines the rest like a solitary beacon of wholesomeness and gentitlity in a quagmire of smut and filth.


(We wish the other shows well... sorry we won't be able to come and see you..)

Preview mention on-line..

Go to http://broadwaybaby.com and check out the on-line preview of Rick Chester.

It looks great.

Preview of poster image...

Here's how the image for the Rick Chester poster might look.

Love it / hate it? Let me know your thoughts..

So... Who is Rick Chester?

Forget Tom Cruise.



And while you’re at it - forget Brad Pitt, Robert De Niro, Brando and Bogart.



Because if you’re talking Hollywood royalty, there is only one celebrity superstar worthy of the title ‘King of Hollywood’ and he might be someone you’ve never even heard of. Or even heard. As the greatest film star ever to grace the Silver Screen is Rick Chester - a silent movie legend.



Famous for his swashbuckling and stunt filled picture-plays ‘Escape from Big Mountain’ and ‘Gunfight at Rocky Ridge’, Rick Chester is an actor as famous to the City of Angels as those bright white letters that proudly spell out the name of the city it looks down upon.

He is the author of the best selling self-help books:

• Giggle & Get Along!
• Matrimony Forthwith!
• Make Being Meaningful (released soon)

He is "the astounding wonder of the world" (Pictures & Picturegoer)

He is "Americas greatest exponent of the smile" (Picture Show)


He is simply... Rick Chester.

Welcome...

Well, Hello..!

Welcome to the official online blog for the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2006 show ~ 'Rick Chester's Five Steps to Stardom'

Over the coming pre-production months this blog will chronicle the on-going activites involved in getting this show to Scotland in August. Then throughout August this blog will become a diary of the trials the production will inevitably go through during the festival month.

I hope that you stick with us.

Oh, and come and see the show.

Yours,


The Director, Ryan.