Get Rebecca to the Edinburgh Fringe 2025.

Hi, my name is Rebecca, and I am a solo show creator and performer. I have been offered an exciting slot for a month of performances at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 at the prestigious Gilded Balloon venue, and I am fundraising for approximately 25% of the total funds on GoFundMe required for me to be able to make this happen.

It is Gilded Balloon’s 40th anniversary this year, and so not only is any show presented there already able to stand out among the 3,500+ other shows at the world’s largest theatre festival - yup, Edinburgh Fringe is massive! - but they'll get extra exposure with the venue's celebrations.

Getting to Edinburgh is a HUGE endeavour, but VERY worthwhile. The Edinburgh Fringe is one of the greatest marketplaces in the world for selling stage shows to international theatres and theatre seasons across the globe. I have performed in the festival three times before (2015, 2016 and 2019), and each time I have garnered more and more attention from presenters and fostered connections in more and more countries. I believe I could make this my strongest year yet.

To give you an example, after the Edinburgh Fringe in 2019 I had a 3-month tour of the UK booked and trips to Hong Kong, Australia and New Zealand being organized when of course the unthinkable happened - a global pandemic. Unfortunately all of that got cancelled, and many of those connections were lost as a result - sadly not all of the venues made it through or have had massive changes in personnel - but I am very hopeful that a strong showing this year will put me in a position to get another such tour arranged for early 2027 or even late 2026.

This year, I intend to take my OG solo show, "Confessions of a Redheaded Coffeeshop Girl", which sold out its run at the Edinburgh Fringe back in 2015, so this is the 10th anniversary of the show's sold out run on top of the Gilded Balloon’s 40th anniversary - you can see why I think it’s a great year to be back!

Before I get into the details of funding this crazy adventure, here's the ticket link in case you or anyone you know would like to come and see the show in Edinburgh: https://tinyurl.com/38xnyen4

There are many expenses involved in attending, and several of those have to be paid well before leaving - and, to be transparent, with financial deadlines starting as early as May 15th. In order not to lose my spot, I need to be able to pay about 40% of my venue rental in advance, secure advertising through the Fringe's postering scheme (you have to buy in), and secure myself accommodation for when I'm there. Ideally I would also like to get flights as soon as possible too, before the prices start to skyrocket. All told, this amounts to an ungodly number that is bananas, which is why I’m trying to source 1/4 of it through crowdfunding, and that's where you come in.

I've already put down about 25% of some of the costs, all of which are non-refundable, and after that I still have so much ahead of me to raise. I have already signed and committed to a venue, secured exciting marketing opportunities, and engaged people to help maximize both the commercial and production success of the run, such as a wonderful PR agent I've had success with last time I brought a show over.

Shortly after I did that, the rejections for literally any grant application I qualified for started coming in from a national, provincial and municipal level (there's not much grant money to go around anymore unfortunately, thanks to Dougie Ford) and so that is I'm asking for help to get me and my solo show to Edinburgh. As you may well know, since the pandemic, many granting bodies have had their budgets slashed. This makes competition to secure a grant incredibly fierce, even compared to 2019 - the last time I was able to secure the required grant funding to go.

It has also been a shock to see the hike in prices at Edinburgh Fringe since I last performed there - some things have doubled, but accommodation for example, has literally tripled since 2019! It's much harder for an international performer now than it used to be, particularly with the exchange rate not being in the favour of the Canadian dollar right now.

Donations of any amount will be incredibly helpful at this point. Truly. Every dollar puts me closer.

The show is scheduled to perform at 4pm each day for the duration of the Fringe, with one day off per week - that's 24 shows between July 30th and August 25th. I've had a very good history with my shows, and while success at Edinburgh involves working one's tail off, after my past years of experience, I know how to do that efficiently and effectively.

I would be very grateful for any donation, large or small, and every cent will go towards making this adorkable piece of Canadian theatre a huge success in Edinburgh!

UPDATED as of June 5th - Our Budget: *Thanks to all of your help, I've been able to pay down the majority of the deposits that need to be paid before I leave, with just 4 left - I'm so close! Here's what has been paid so far, over $7,200 of which is thanks to all of you, my generous donors so far:

* Edinburgh Fringe Participation Fee: $552.23

* Compulsory Venue Marketing Fees: $930

* Venue Rental Downpayment: $2575 Payment 1 of 5

* Ad in printed programme: $1702.56

* Travel and Flights: $2,421.26

* PR Agent: $1676 Payment 1 of 3

* Accommodation: $2822.55 Payment 1 of 3

* Out of Hand Postering Scheme: $2586.25 Payment 1 of 2

* Public Liability Insurance - $139

Here's what's left to come before I leave at the end of July ($ values estimated based on xe.com today, since the exchange rate is changing all the time):

* Venue Rental: $2570 Payment 2 OF 5

* Flyers and posters printing: $800

* PR Agent: $1650 Payment 2 of 3

* Out of Hand Postering Scheme: $2,586 Payment 2 of 2

To fill out the rest of the budget, the following will have to be paid later in July or in August - this will all be covered by sponsorships, organization sponsors, a co-producing collab, the next round of grants and other various funding opportunities:

* Venue Rental: ~$8,000 Payments 3, 4 and 5 of 5! Oof!

* Set Purchase in Scotland: $300

* Additional Luggage (Set and Props): $113

* Accommodation balance: ~$4,140 Payments 2 and 3 of 3

* Estimated Team Royalties: $679

* PR Agent: $1,650 Payment 3 of 3

Estimated Total Budget: $37,893.25

No raffles, sweepstakes, giveaways, or promotions are offered in exchange for any donations made to this GoFundMe.