Roots and Wings

Perspective is a funny thing. It has this nasty habit of altering itself based on where you're standing.

For example, if you're two women, standing on a little island, about to fly across the seas to visit the world's largest arts festival...alone... that's BIG... right? 

BUT, if you're two women standing in the world's largest arts festival, trying to make yourselves heard amongst millions of others doing exactly the same thing... well, that's... small, right?

That's kind of how I remember it last year. Like this really big thing we were about to leap into, and, once we took the leap, we felt very...well, small. Because suddenly everything around us was so big. And loud. And fantastic. We kind of faded into the grey a little bit; the colours were just too bright.

But if it's all about where you're standing, maybe the trick is to learn to fly without uprooting your feet. To have roots and wings. To never lose sight of how big you think you are, no matter how much bigger those around you might get. To glide amongst them, fitting in perfectly, yet always holding on to what you know yourself to be. 

It's not about being the loudest or the best. You need to be heard, for sure, and every positive review with four or five stars gleaming off the page is a HUGE blessing. It's why we go. That's what gives us wings. (By the way, anyone who wants to exercise their powers of mental attraction is more than welcome to visualise stars for us. Really. Feel free. Five's a good number. Here's the image, to help you out: "The Jhiva of Nietzsche" ***** Now just picture it.....)

But, stars aside, retaining our roots in the midst of complete chaos, is possibly the biggest achievement of all. Believing in ourselves, and in what we're doing, in the work we're taking there, without even the slightest intimidation on account of our surroundings, without ever once feeling like ants amongst giants... Well, I think that's what the Fringe is about really. 

It is after all, the only festival that doesn't have any kind of selection process for its participants. You take yourself there, and no one promises you anything. If you're going to take that kind of risk... you'd better make sure your roots are as firmly implanted as possible. 


COUNTDOWN: 5 DAYS TILL FRINGE!!!!!!!!!!