It is Edinburgh Fringe Festival time again, the month of August where for almost four action-packed weeks, the Scottish city becomes a maelstrom of innovative, provocative, and entertaining new theatre and performance, with works embracing all genres.

Over 100 Zero 88 lighting consoles, including the award-winning FLX range and a variety of legacy products, are working hard across the 300+ venues running in and around the city during the event, and the company has once again been at the forefront of offering comprehensive on-site training and support.

The team fully embraced the vibe, buzz and excitement of the Edinburgh Fringe Festivals, where they are always – again – on the ground with training and technical support for a range of Zero 88 lighting consoles and control solutions.

Recently they also embraced the sociosphere with the creation of #behindthefringe – a fun and informative forum for anyone into fringe performance and involved with a show using Zero 88 products.

Vari-Lite Product Manager, Jon Hole, believes that the fringe is a fantastic place to meet and train potential new technicians and users and get them into the Zero groove. In recent years, he and his team have maintained a strong presence through the event, ensuring that anyone using a Zero 88 product has full access to hands-on support.

"At a fringe event, you need a product that a wide number of people will be familiar with and that is easy to learn and use for those who aren't. And of course, it has to be cost effective for the venue provider." - Dan, White Light

Every year, the team provides unprecented free training and support to hundreds of venues running Zero 88 conrol, data, and power during Edinburgh Festival Fringe. Meet some of the venues, suppliers, and technicians benefiting from the speed, simplicity, and reliability of using Zero 88 products #behindthefringe:

"So far, the fringe has been going very well. Companies have been happy and I've really got into the pattern of the day. My favorite show so far is 'Brendan Galileo For Europe' - funny and very relatable as it's based in my hometown. I'm glad to have the opportunity to work with Zero 88 FLX. It's easy to explain how it works to techs during rehearsals." - Daniel, George Square Studios. George Square Studios hosts six performance spaces along with the Studios Bar, Club Bar, and Container Bar.

"Edinburgh is beautiful and welcoming. I love the vibrancy of the people at the fringe, from the audience members to the producers and technicians; everyone you meet has a story. The food is also a plus!" - Catrina, Venue Technician. Catrina, who travels over 400 miles for the Fringe, continued, "The team provided extremely coherent Zero 88 training. I feel really prepared for tech rehearsals."

"Edinburgh is always such a lively and gorgeous city, that you can wander around for ages. Everyone is always so lovely and chatty, it's so easy to meet people you'll be friends with for life. Every year I've been at the fringe, the team has helped me brush up on my desk knowledge, and the Zero 88 product support is always amazing." - Millie, Deputy Venue Manager

"The variety of individuals and shows is amazing," mentions Alexei. Fiona adds that she loves "being able to be in the city and still be surrounded by parks and hills." Alexei likes "the simplicity and flexibility" of Zero 88 consoles. They "allow for an interesting design mix." Bristo Square is one of 21 separate performance spaces across the Fringe run by Underbelly.

Sarah is a Brooklyn based designer who lit 'Monsoon Season.' She loves "the gigantic number of artists that descend on the city - people from all over the world united by their passion for art." The touring showfile from 'Monsoon Season' was imported onto a FLX console in Underbelly. "The company's customer service and Zero 88 product support has been extra ordinary." - Sarah, Lighting Designer

"The Fringe has been a great experience." - Charlie, Venue Technician

2019 was Charlie's first Fringe, but he loves "the diversity" available, and was thankful for the opportunity to "learn something new" by attending Zero 88 product training. Teviot houses half of Gilded Balloon's 18 performance spaces. The gorgeous, castle-esque Teviot building is hard to miss.

"We needed a console that was straightforward and easy to use with the power to control a reasonable amount of moving and / or LED fixtures with all their parameters, and FLX was a perfect and cost-effective solution.” - Ruari, SLX

FLX S range has a "powerful feature set and a superior theatre cue stack compared to most others. The Zero 88 support and training is vital for events like Edinburgh Fringe. We have numerous users of various abilities and very little room for error or downtime." - Brian, Production Manager

"The chance to see ground breaking theatre" in a city of old, historic architecture, beautiful nature, and modern culture" is why Verity, Venue Technician loves working at Summerhall. Her role included programming and operating the mixture of FLX and FLX S consoles.

Fringe is "a time for performers and companies from all over the world to show their work in the freest and most welcoming environment possible," says Rob. Alex's favorite thing about Edinburgh is "the vibrancy and culture this city exudes." Maria from Argentina, celebrates "great Zero 88 training," with Alex highlighting, "the ease of use and the brilliant support." Rob noticed how "versatile, reliable, and easy to use" Zero 88 products are. Alex, Maria, and Rob are Venue Technicians

"The history and architecture of the City" stands out to Neal, along with "the atmosphere of everyone having a great time." Neal was operating FLX at The Stand's New Town Theatre, enjoying "how easy it is to use, and how well it is designed." - Neal, Venue Technician

"We alll love the Fringe Festival for many reasons, including the lively atmosphere, together with the ambition and excellence of so many of the works. It's great to be a part of all that, as well as seeing the consoles pushed to new levels by multiple lighting designers, programmers, and operators from all sectors of the industry, and with assorted levels of knowledge and experience." - Jon Hole, Product Manager, Vari-Lite