Making Creativity Pay

I spoke with Laura Horton about how a meeting with Viv Albertine of The Slits was a catalyst for the play that became Lynn Faces, a “punk meets Partridge” show that combines getting over a toxic relationship, punk music and Alan Partridge’s PA Lynn.

We talk about getting caught up with the difficulties her Edinburgh Fringe venue Summerhall had and how it seemed that she may never get paid her box office takings.

The show is now on a national tour (dates below) and we discussed the various challenges of putting on a show both at Edinburgh and then touring.

Laura also talks about the importance of having multiple projects on the go simultaneously given the precarious state of the industry and also other work outside of her plays such as writing for British Vogue.

See Lynn Faces:

Norwich (28 Jan - 01 Feb) https://norwichtheatre.org/whats-on/lynn-faces/ 

Exeter (11 Feb) https://exeternorthcott.co.uk/events/lynn-faces/ 

Plymouth (12-15 Feb) https://theatreroyal.com/whats-on/lynn-faces/ 

London (18 Feb - 01 Mar) https://newdiorama.com/whats-on/lynn-faces 

Instagram: Laura  https://www.instagram.com/laurachorton/ 

Lynn Faces: https://www.instagram.com/lynn_faces/ 

Vogue article about Lynn Faces and changing careers in your 30s: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/changing-careers-at-40 

Article with Laura about Lynn Faces by previous podcast guest Rachael Healy:  https://www.theguardian.com/stage/article/2024/jul/19/laura-horton-lynn-faces-play-breathless-coercive-control 

Find More about ‘Making Creativity Pay’

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beyond_the_Pod 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingcreativitypay/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjbarnett/ 

Making Creativity Pay Newsletter:https://makingcreativitypay.substack.com/ 

Cover Image: Dom Moore

"It's sort of about famous women who have died tragically throughout history and how many of them have ended up in rivers" - Laura Thurlow

In our second episode at the Fringe we hear from another three performers who are taking part in the Fringe.

Links

River Time!

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/river-time

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/laurelbrae/

Dinner

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/dinner

Twitter: https://x.com/dinnereutco2024

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dinnereutco2024/

Chameleon

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/chameleon

Twitter: https://x.com/Chameleonfringe

Find More about ‘Making Creativity Pay’

Website: https://podcasting.makingcreativitypay.com/episodes/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beyond_the_Pod 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingcreativitypay/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjbarnett/

With the Edinburgh Fringe up and running (for many it's been going since January or earlier with Work In Progress shows), I heard from a number of performers about their preparations and also tips for making the most of the Fringe experience.

If you're performing at the Fringe and you'd be interested in being on the podcast during August get in touch.

Links

Girlhood

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/girlhood 

Twitter: https://x.com/GirlhoodThePlay 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/girlhood_fringe24/ 

Sarah Roberts- Silkworm

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/sarah-roberts-silkworm 

Twitter: https://x.com/SarahRoberts_69 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahroberts_69/ 

Carol Joyner - Binocchio

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/binocchio-the-bisexual-liar 

Twitter: https://x.com/binocchio_comic 

Yola Jean Lu - Help! My Vagina is trying to kill me

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/help-my-vagina-is-trying-to-kill-me 

Twitter: https://x.com/yolajlu 

Amy Lever - Lost Girl

Tickets: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/lost-girl 

Twitter: https://x.com/LostGirlPlay 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lost.girlplay2024/ 

Find More about ‘Making Creativity Pay’

Website: https://podcasting.makingcreativitypay.com/episodes/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beyond_the_Pod 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingcreativitypay/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/danjbarnett/

"You can't interview a ghost on this show. But you can have a woman who has swallowed her whole forearm"

We also chat about their experiences with character comedy, drama and improvisation as well as discussing their experiences at the Edinburgh Fringe and Lorna’s experiences of winning Dave’s ‘Best Joke of the Fringe’ last year and the ensuing reaction to that news where it was described in the Sun as the Death of Comedy.

Time of The Week on BBC Sounds: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m0020hyr 

Twitter: https://x.com/lornlornlors https://x.com/jonathanoldfie 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jonathanoldfield_/ https://www.instagram.com/instalorns/ 

Website: https://www.lornarosetreen.co.uk/ https://www.jonathanoldfield.co.uk/ 

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lornaregionaltransport 

Lorna at Edinburgh Fringe: 

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/lorna-rose-treen-work-in-progress 

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/lorna-rose-treen-skin-pigeon 

Episode Photo: https://www.instagram.com/willhearlephoto/ 

Lorna’s Joke of the Fringe 2023 and previous winners: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Funniest_Joke_of_the_Fringe 

The Mosinee Project 1-25 Aug at the Fringe

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/mosinee-project

Find More about ‘Making Creativity Pay’

Website: https://podcasting.makingcreativitypay.com/episodes/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beyond_the_Pod 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingcreativitypay/ 

Rosie is a musician who's played Glastonbury, a Comedian who has taken multiple shows to the Edinburgh Fringe, as well as a British Podcast Award nominated podcaster for her Podcast 'The Breakup Monologues' as well as the author of 'Is Monogamy Dead?' and 'The Breakup Monologues'.

We discuss her experiences in these areas, the high and low points of each (both financial and emotional) and her future plans as a Fiction writer.

Threads @breakupmonologues

This episode is with Ian Adkins and Laura Rouxel of 800lb Gorilla a comedy media company who produce, distribute, and market stand-up comedy video specials and audio albums around the world.

We talk in particular about the work of 800lb Gorilla in the UK, filming and promoting specials for comedians such as Stuart Goldsmith, Fern Brady, Christopher Macarthur-Boyd, Ivo Graham and many more.

We talk about their relationship with artists, promoting UK acts in America and Australia, the importance of social media and finding the right clip or chunk of a show for the right platform.

You can also catch their stand-up alumni showcase at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe this year on 21st August - tickets here (https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/800-pound-gorilla-alumni-showcase).  

Established in 2016, 800 Pound Gorilla Media was started by managers of comedians in need of a company that would bring a modern focus of behavioural targeting, digital marketing and fan engagement around comedy albums, podcasts, and video projects.

The record label division has over 500 comics on their roster and works with Netflix, Kevin Hart’s LOL, All Things Comedy, and others.

The company has also produced over 100 stand-up comedy video specials both in the US and the UK; on various platforms including Netflix, Amazon, HBO, Showtime and BBC.  

Instagram:@800pgm (https://www.instagram.com/800pgm/)

Twitter:@800pgm (https://twitter.com/800pgm)

Site:https://800poundgorillamedia.com/

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/800poundgorillamedia

TikTok:800pgm (https://www.tiktok.com/@800pgm)

YouTube:800pgm (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJ9hfZ2sU7jFT9isA2rN58Q)

It’s impossible to move at the moment for think pieces about the future of AI and for better or worse you’re getting another one here.

In this episode I’ll talk a bit about examples from art, music, writing and coding and how what could be an incredible advance for some will bring consequences for others.

I show how with text to speech advances it's hard to tell real and AI adverts apart, how whole songs can be created from just a sentence and the argument around 'homeopathic robbery' in that if you train on so much data it's impossible to tell where you've taken from then is it really theft or just a paradigm shift.

Links:

Text to Speech with Eleven Labs: https://elevenlabs.io/

Text to Music with Udio: https://www.udio.com/

Full episode of 'Hard Fork' that includes discussion around AI art and copyright issues:

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/podcasts/20hard-fork-elon-empire-artists-ai.html

Full episode with Andy Stanton on his book

https://podcasting.makingcreativitypay.com/chatgpt-and-creativity-andy-stanton/

Find More about ‘Making Creativity Pay’

Website: https://podcasting.makingcreativitypay.com/episodes/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beyond_the_Pod 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingcreativitypay/

“It feels like people do have to almost have a second career to support themselves. And it's not clear where the kind of goals or the safe spot is anymore where you can just fully concentrate on that thing”

Rachael Healy is an award winning journalist and the current British Journalism Awards Journalist of the year for Arts and Entertainment.

Rachael is a freelance journalist working predominantly with The Guardian and the i newspapers and we talk about getting articles commissioned, from show reviews through to in-depth investigative reporting.

We also discuss the star rating systems of reviews, building a personal brand as well as her repeated focus in her writing on the financial impact of being an artist including the experience of performers at the fringe

Rachael Links

Rachael’s Best In Class article https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2024/feb/29/woke-tv-comedy-workshops-infuriating-right-wing-press 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/ohrhealy 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rachaelhealyjournalist/ 

Website: http://www.rachaelhealy.co.uk/ 

British Journalism Awards Winners: https://pressgazette.co.uk/press-gazette-events/british-journalism-awards-winners-2023/ 

Find More about ‘Making Creativity Pay’

Website: https://podcasting.makingcreativitypay.com/episodes/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beyond_the_Pod 
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingcreativitypay/

“...people who go into medicine, often it's not so much just pure science people, it's people who've got maybe a bit more of a broader interest range than your standard person who just wants to be a scientist or a mathematician or something like that. So I think often you find people going into it who've got a bit of a second interest, even at the point of sort of choosing what career they're going into.”

This episode is with Comedian Matt Hutchinson we talk about his experiences of the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe with his show ‘Hostile’ from promoting the show on Social Media and Flyering through to working with PR and Production companies.

We also discuss how being a comedian interacts with his day job as a Doctor and how he somehow manages to combine all this with studying for a research PhD as well as currently being in the middle of writing a book based on his experiences as a Doctor.

Matt Links

Twitter: https://twitter.com/hutch_up 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/matthutchinsoncomedy/ 

Find More about ‘Making Creativity Pay’

Website: https://podcasting.makingcreativitypay.com/episodes/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beyond_the_Pod 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingcreativitypay/ 

Ahead of the Glasgow comedy festival which runs from the 13th to the 31st March I spoke to comedians Jay Lafferty and Kathleen Hughes two Scottish comedians who are performing at the festival. 

We talk about Kathleen’s experiences as a relatively newer comedian who after a two week run last year is currently preparing for her first full Edinburgh Fringe run in 2024.

We also discuss Jay’s experiences as a full time comedian, going on a nationwide tour with her show ‘Bahookie’ and how the Scottish comedy has changed and the supportive nature within the scene.

See Jay and Kathleen Live

Jay Lafferty - Bahookie at Glasgow Comedy Festival (29th March):

https://www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com/performances/jay-lafferty-bahookie-special-live-recording/ 

Bahookie On Tour:

https://gildedballoon.co.uk/bahookie/ 

Kathleen Hughes - Cryptid (WiP) at Glasgow Comedy Festival (24th March):

https://www.glasgowcomedyfestival.com/performances/kathleen-hughes-cryptid-work-in-progress/ 

Cryptid at Edinburgh Fringe:

https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/kathleen-hughes-cryptid 

Jay

Website:https://www.watchthisspaceproductions.com/ 

Instagram:  https://www.instagram.com/jayjaylaffs 

Joy Agenda Podcast: https://pod.link/1719574893 

Kathleen

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kathleenwho_ 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kathleenwho_ 

The Humour Mill: https://www.humourmillglasgow.co.uk/ 

Find More about ‘Making Creativity Pay’

Website: https://podcasting.makingcreativitypay.com/episodes/ 

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Beyond_the_Pod 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/makingcreativitypay/

Episode Photos:

Kathleen: https://www.instagram.com/_dunkan_/ 

https://www.instagram.com/tjstade/