Companies

Operating Information & Services Provided

Official dates of the Festival Fringe are 3-27 August 2008
Assembly will run from 31 July -27 August 2008

Venues
The venues we run during the festival are:

Applying to perform at Assembly
Applications for Assembly's 2008 season are now open. We travel all over the world looking for fantastic, great new shows to perform at Assembly year round.

Please submit your application either online or directly to the Assembly office, 50 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 2LE. We do not use an application form but ask instead that you supply as much relevant material as you have available - script/DVD/reviews etc - and a covering letter indicating your preferred space.

Contact Mary Shields - Programme Director - mary@assemblyfestival.com

For comedy contact Rebecca Austin - rebecca@assemblyfestival.com

Services Provided
Assembly is able to provide basic theatre facilities most with raked seating, general lighting and sound PA rig – precise details available on request. Most of our theatre spaces are built specifically for the Festival so of course there are some restrictions. Each year we aim to improve and enhance the theatre spaces we provide. If you require more information please dont hesitate to contact us for further details.

Scheduling
Performances run from 10.00am until 2.00am the next morning and each of our theatre spaces may present up to ten shows every day. Despite the technical restrictions and tight turn-around times which this imposes, we can only fulfill specific requests if given enough warning so it is imperative that you return your technical questionnaires promptly. Rehearsal times are also similarly constrained. Whilst we encourage new work at the Festival, we must stress that we can only allocate each company enough time to familiarise themselves with the space and there is little if any time for rehearsals. Although some times of day are perceived as better slots than others, its well proven over the years that the success of a show depends primarily on its quality and not on the time slot provided. Most shows programmed are advised to appear for the full duration of the Festival (25 days), have previews in Week 0 and have a maximum of 3 days off (usually Mondays). Assembly does however programme one off events and sometimes shows appear only in weeks 1 and 2. Opening a show midway through the Festival has often proved to be quite difficult so please think about any such request carefully. Shows generally run between 50-70 minutes without an interval. Once the timings have been set, this cannot be altered. The essence of the Fringe is to have strong and powerful yet short shows.

Staff
Assembly has the best technical staff at the Edinburgh Fringe and ensures that all of the theatres run smoothly and effectively. It is your responsibility to provide experienced technical staff to operate the shows although this service for a fee.

Box Office and Ticketing
Ticket prices are set by the venue after consultation with all parties. The ticket price set includes VAT at the current rate. Please advise us of your VAT status (applies to UK registered companies only). Assemblys Box Office is linked to the same ticketing system as the Pleasance, Gilded Balloon, Underbelly and of course the Festival Fringe. This enables Assembly to offer customers a wide range of options for buying tickets. Assembly charges a small fee for ticket printing and credit card sales. Please see the Mandatory Costs for further details of charges.

Marketing and Press
Assembly has both press and marketing departments which are responsible for promoting Assembly venues and the programme that Assembly has on offer. This dedicated team of staff is on hand to provide valuable information with regards to gaining press coverage, print, promotions and all marcomms. Assembly has an experienced in house Street Team that, for small charge, will promote your show. Whilst wanting to provide you with the best service possible, Assemblys the Press Office and Marketing Department cannot be solely responsible for the promotion of our show. This is a strenuous and extremely important task that the company must be willing to take on board and fulfill to ensure the success of the show.

Publicity
In 2008 Assembly has produced a joint brochure with the Pleasance, Gilded Baloon and Underbelly to showcase our programme. The 400,000 copies we produce are distributed by Assemblys media partner The Scotsman newspaper, by distribution companies across Edinburgh and the UK, National Express and to venue databases, press and the media. Shows at the Queens Hall also benefit from being in their summer brochure too at no extra cost. Each company is charged a fixed and mandatory rate to appear in the brochure - please contact us for further details. The brochure will be an image, sponsor logo, website addresses, copy and show details.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe Brochure
It is essential that your show registers with the Fringe and places an entry in their Fringe brochure. To do this call the Fringe Office +44 (0) 131 226 0026 or register at www.edfringe.com They also run Fringe Sunday which is a huge event thats free to the public, as well as stages on the High Street in Edinburgh – both are great ways to gain public exposure.

Sponsorship
We depend on sponsorship and usually have a headline sponsor. This does not prevent individual companies carrying sponsorship of their own, but it does need to be approved by us. You should note that our sponsors usually include exclusion causes re competitive branding and in the event that this becomes a problem we have to retain the right of veto for visiting company sponsorship. If we raise sponsorship which is to be directly attributed to a visiting production we expect to take 40% of the money raised as commission.

Television
All television recording during the Festival must be cleared with the venue and facility fees agreed. The venues would appreciate discussions concerning the first option on developing any performance presented with them for television, radio or recording purposes, and if an independent producer gains a commission to film a production as a direct consequence of it being seen at any of the venues, then we expect to take a percentage of the production fee.

We Provide

• The theatre space for a time agreed between us
• General lighting rig and PA sound rig - precise details available on request
• Box office and front of house arrangements
• Venue production staff
• Public Liability Insurance for the building

You Provide

• Rights to the show 
• Your own crew and cast
• Your own insurance and Public Liability Insurance
• Your own promotional material