Too Many Pieces want to Fit in the Same Spot...

So yesterday I wrote about my love for the Fringe Program... today I write about my frustration with the BYOV scheduling I discovered in the Fringe Program.  One of the things that the people with BYOVs tend to do is schedule all their shows in the 7-10 p.m. window... ALL THEIR SHOWS in that window.  It sucks.  It means they are programming for the casual Fringer - the Fringer who comes to the Fringe Village during the 'high hours' and sees one or two shows and then hangs out in the beer tent.  It does not work well for the die-hard Fringer - the one who wants to see a lot of shows. 

I go through the program and circle the shows I am interested in - I come up with about 57 - about 1/3 of those are indoor shows and 2/3 are BYOVs.  Can you see the problem?  Consider as well that the BYOVs are not all in the Fringe Village area.  Some of them you have to drive to.  So I am finding myself with a challenging schedule.  I can't make it work.  And because there are some at off-site venues this means that travel time is reducing things even more.  Plus, if I leave the parking lot to see another show I am less likely to come back and pay again to see a later show on site.  I will be more likely to just head home.

How to fix it?  You can't.  Not at this point, however, I would encourage some of the BYOVs to mix it up a bit in the future - add one or two afternoon shows to your schedule so that those who like to fringe a lot can get to your show.  I know for some of the spaces this is not possible but if a few of you do it you might actually find it works in your favour. Instead of competing only in the dense time, spread it out a bit. 

Oh well, perhaps this will benefit the indoor venues who do have afternoon times and are on site.  I know that for me I have chosen a few shows because they were more convenient to get to in terms of location and timing, whereas if I had more options at that time I might have seen something else.