Vacuum Girl: From Storefront to Scotland - FRINGE FUNDRAISER

ABOUT THE PROJECT:

Vacuum Girl is a live presentation of a television pilot written and performed by Erica Bitton. It follows Jane, a 30’s ish woman, living through consistent, surreal dissociations in New York. What begins as a straightforward “Tell me if you see what I see” tale soon blurs the lines between theater and film writer and character. Erica serves as both narrator and performer, delivering every line spoken by each role while operating from behind a booth equipped with LED lights and a mixing board. This fast-paced, meticulously timed performance invites the audience into a fresh, immersive experience where she masterfully controls the unfolding story, blending dialogue and stage directions into a seamless whole.

ERICA BITTON: 


I started developing the story of Vacuum Girl and the character of Jane back in 2015. I remember the first spark of the idea while I was parked in my car after working a double at my restaurant job, too tired to get out and walk the few feet to my front door. Shoutout to all my food service people—I wish you nothing but ice, sleep, and fat tips.

By the fall of 2021, I was ready to take the next step. I was supposed to start shopping the pilot around, but I’m an Aquarius, so I had to go the punk rock route, doing it on my own terms and with full experimental energy. With the guidance of two incredible friends—Sonny Valicenti (lighting designer and director) and Brad Culver (sound designer)—we rented a small storefront in Silver Lake, set up 40 chairs, and pitched the show ourselves. What started as an experiment quickly turned into a full-on piece of theater, and it’s been the most fun I’ve ever had in my life.

Now, four years later, Vacuum Girl has been performed at amazing venues across Los Angeles, including Trópico Beauty, PDA, The Elysian, REDCAT, The Lyric Hyperion, and Dynasty Typewriter.

And now… we’ve made it to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival! I can hardly believe it, but it’s really happening, we are doing this!! This has been a dream I let sit silently in the background because the HOW was so intimidating. Well, do y’all believe in damn angels? Because along the way, I’ve had the incredible good fortune of meeting Meghan Dineen, who has become an invaluable part of this journey as our producer for the festival. She’s helped turn this dream into a reality in ways I could never have done on my own.

MEGHAN DINEEN:

Website

It was 2021 ish and a friend of mine asked “do you want to come see this one woman show that my nanny is doing?” and if you know me, you know I said “of course!” And that is how I found Erica and Vacuum Girl. After watching the show I was just so blown away but what I had seen and over the years kept in touch with Erica with the idea that if and when I had the capacity, I was going to reach back out to her to produce something incredible together.

I have worked in television and live comedy for over 10 years and throughout that time I have had the privilege to attend the Edinburgh Fringe festival three times as a patron. After a long career in corporate TV I have finally embarked on my own creative journey as a producer and very much like Erica, it has been a dream of mine to bring a show to the Fringe for quite some time.

WHAT WE NEED FROM YOU:

Erica and Meghan are taking Vacuum Girl to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2025 (7/31/25 - 8/25/25), but we need help to get there. As you may or may not know, Edinburgh Fringe is an international arts festival in Scotland that features thousands of live performances throughout its month long run every August. Performances range from theater, circus, and cabaret to standup comedy and storytelling and the festival has been the launching point for many successful shows such as Fleabag & Baby Reindeer.

Edinburgh Fringe Website

Over the years, the cost to participate in the festival has gotten extremely expensive, mostly due to lodging costs throughout the month. But aside from travel and lodging, artists are required to pay up front for their venue and also lay out all the costs for marketing and PR support, two items that are critical to success at the Fringe. So in an effort to help offset some of the major costs of attending the festival, we are looking to our community for some financial support.

No matter the amount, every single donation will make a real difference in getting us there and ensuring that Vacuum Girl gets the chance to be seen by a whole new audience. Anything you can give is appreciated and we ask that you help share this fundraiser with your artistic communities as well. We hope to gain recognition for Erica and the show at Fringe so that we can, hopefully, take it off broadway and beyond.