PUTTING TOGETHER YOUR HOUR FOR THE EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL.
So, you’re doing the Edinburgh Fringe. This might be the very first time you’ve written an hour. Or, the second, which is arguably even harder.
Even if you’ve written many hours of stand-up, this still might help. Or, if you’re doing a split bill, this can still help shape a 20 or 30 min set.
You may already have 60 minutes. Maybe just a pile of material. Maybe only vague themes. Or maybe just panic so far.
But, you want to write something that feels like a show, not just a selection of bits. If you want your hour to be funny and cohesive, something that sticks with audiences and gives them a reason to care, this will help.
This is one of the tools we use with directing clients, and it’s especially useful if you feel stuck between stand-up and storytelling, or if you have a lot of material but can’t get it all to slot together nicely.
It’s called The Quiet Question, and it’s a subtle shift that can shape your whole show and help the writing process.
WHAT’S THE QUIET QUESTION?
A quiet question is a soft, emotional question that sits underneath the show.
It’s not shouted at the top. It’s not even necessarily said out loud. But it’s introduced gently in the first 5–10 minutes, and everything in the show quietly wrestles with it.
It’s the kind of question that adds conflict, which in turn adds structure. That structure keeps your audience engaged for an hour because they’re subconsciously following a thread. It’s kind of a subtext or a B-story or many other terms but basically it’s a yes or no question for you to argue back and forward throughout the hour.
Some vague examples we’ve used before
Are we owed anything in life?
Can you be a mess and still be okay?
Does accepting mortality make you better at life?
WHY IT WORKS
Think of a kid telling a story. They’ll be like “and then this happened, and then this, and then…”
It’s just a list of stuff that happened, not a story. But stories need conflict. Without conflict, there’s no tension or momentum.
The Quiet Question creates the conflict and the stakes.
Each joke or bit becomes a little argument for or against the answer. “Yes, things are going well – maybe I do deserve a good time.” “Oh wait – nope, total disaster, actually.”
This rhythm gives each of your jokes or bits a purpose, which will in turn help you write them or beef them out accordingly.
It will also give your audience a through-line and a story to follow. And, it sets up a satisfying conclusion where you wrap your show in a bow and answer the question, subtly.
HOW TO FIND YOURS
You can’t always force it. But here’s what to look for:
Patterns in your material. What keeps coming up, even unintentionally?
Frustrations you rant about. Where do you spiral?
Contradictions in your life or point of view.
You might already know what your show is “about” or what you want it to be about. This might create your quiet question or the question might live underneath that.
So if your show is about your experience growing up, your question might be along the lines of “can a person fit in if their background is different to everyone else’s” If your show is about breakups, maybe the real question is “am I hard to love?” (soz that ones dark)
WHAT YOU NEED TO DO NEXT
Depending where you are in the writing, this varies.
But, let’s talk about work in progress shows.
If you’re doing an hour at the Fringe, you’ll want anywhere from 10 to 30 previews as part of this!? This varies person by person, but aim for loads and loads cause they can be hard to book in.
But if you’ve got a list of ‘bits’, write them out initially as an overview. If you have a question in mind, see if you can divide these up in to a ‘yes’ answer pile and a ‘no’ answer pile. And then, see if they fit into a yes then no then yes then no structure.
Obviously this doesn’t have to be perfect. But, it’s worth checking if the show already falls quite nicely into this.
Don’t overthink it or get too stuck in this. Only use this as a tool if you find it helpful. But, if you find this helps give you a bit of structure, then you can start to beef out each ‘bit’ based on what side it’s fighting. And then slot in transitions between each bit. What makes you change your mind. And, where do you want to ultimately land?
THE BUDGET IMPACT
You also at this point should have also received our guide on budgeting for the Fringe based around your goals.
It’s worth noting that if you think that assistance in writing and structuring the show is up there with your priorities, then working with a director could be for you. Either long-term or as a one off.
And I’m not just saying this because we offer directing… but we do offer directing…
We do sessions at £125 per session for a one-off look at the show, or we can work longer term.
But there’s loads of great directors out there and loads of great comedians who also offer directing.
A director isn’t a necessity, but if you have room in the budget, they’re super helpful.
STAY TUNED
Hopefully this is another helpful instalment in our Fringe series. Stay tuned next month for promoting the show.
