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The Melbourne Fringe team are here to discuss any and all issues you may be having with online targeting, harassment, and/or negative feedback to your event. We encourage bold work, and sometimes reactions to this work can be intense. Whether the engagement you’re receiving is public or private, and no matter how much basis it has in fact, it’s important to look after yourself and let us know so we can be aware and assist where appropriate.

It's unfortunate that sometimes an event might cause controversy, or be at a higher risk of online targeting – just because it covers a politically divisive topic, or platforms marginalised voices. At Melbourne Fringe we don’t think human rights and empathy should be “controversial”, but these are the times we are living in. Artistic freedom and diversity is of the upmost of importance to us, and we will support your right to expression (within the boundaries of our Community Guidelines, of course).

Alongside the Artist and Venues team, which is here to support you, our Marketing and Publicity team is jam-packed with communications experts who are kickass at social media, public relations, crisis communication and navigating journalists and the media.

The mental toll of negative feedback

Negative feedback always stings. Particularly given the hard work that goes into putting on an event at a festival, getting negative feedback can feel frustrating and disempowering. It’s understandable that you can feel rocked by negative feedback, whether it’s verbal feedback received from a patron, a comment overheard in the hallway or online. In these times, we have a couple of tips:

• The old adage of “don’t read the comments” is a classic for a reason. Many of our Fringe staff are event producers themselves, and strongly echo the sentiment that reading the comments can be confronting at the best of times. If there’s a storm in your comments section that needs moderating, it can be a good idea to ask someone else, like a friend who is one step removed from the situation, to log in and remove comments on your behalf.
• If there’s a review in the media about your show try not to read it alone. On the occasion it is less than favourable, having someone to lift your spirits by your side is a great call. Or Some people choose not to reviews at all, which is also totally fine!
• Think of your favourite comedian, performer, actor or artist. We can almost guarantee they’ve received a bad review (or 10, or 100!) in their career. It’s a rite of passage for many.
• Focus on your self-care, however that may look for you. Give a friend a call, go for a walk in nature, channel your frustration into creative energy, blast your favourite Beyoncé album - whatever works for you!

Check out our Guide to Mental Wellbeing

This is a wellbeing guide designed specifically to help Fringe artists maintain good mental health and self-care during their Fringe journey. It includes many ideas that could be helpful to anyone working in the arts who is interested in maintaining good mental health. It has been written by Chris Cheers, a psychologist who specialises in working with artists, in consultation with Melbourne Fringe staff.

A couple of handy resources

Entertainment Assist provides a range of resources available to assist you with your wellbeing and mental health.

Fringe Festival Support is a YouTube channel from Edinburgh Fringe Festival featuring interviews with artists about wellbeing and strategies for making it through a festival.