Bob Wiltfong

Anchor's Away!

What is your show all about?

My show is a first-hand, behind-the-scenes account of why American TV news sucks. For 10 years I worked as a reporter and anchor at different TV stations across the U.S.A. In "Anchor's Away!" I detail for you my experiences in the business and show you examples of my work through the years, good and bad. Those examples range from me reporting naked on air to covering 9-11 in New York.

By attending a show, you will learn why I threw away a 10-year career in the TV news business to pursue a life in comedy and acting. That choice has led me to recently taking a job as a correspondent on Comedy Central's "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" here in the States. "The Daily Show..." is a very popular national comedy show taped in New York that makes fun of the day's news.

I plan to show you some of the reports I've done for "The Daily Show..." in my performances of "Anchor's Away!" at the Fringe.

Where and when can we see it?

You can catch "Anchor's Away!" August 6th-30th (not 17, 24) at the Gilded Balloon Teviot - Balcony. Show time is 5:45pm.

Do you love Edinburgh or is it a chore?

Do I love Edinburgh?! You have no idea how excited I am to be performing in the Fringe! I'm a virgin to the whole experience so I can't wait to take part in what everyone who's ever experienced it has said is the most incredible theater festival in the world! Even when I'm worn out from all the fliering and performing, I will consider myself fortunate to be here and look forward to having a great time (GO HEARTS)!

What will you be doing with the other 23 hrs of the day?

Besides "Anchor's Away!" I'm also performing in another show at the Fringe. This one is with my improv comedy team. It's called "Neutrino: The Instant Movie" and it'll be taking place every night at 8:45pm in the Gilded Balloon Teviot - Debating Hall (August 6th-30th -- not 17, 26).

So, yes, that's right. I will pretty much be performing in two shows every night at the Fringe: "Anchor's Away!" from 5:45pm to 6:45pm and "Neutrino: The Instant Movie" from 8:45pm to 9:45pm. It will, no doubt, either be the greatest performing experience of my life -- or the most exhausting! Either way, I'm up for it!

You should check out the Neutrino show if you get a chance as well. It's a very cool show that's gotten rave reviews here in the U.S.A. It's basically what it sounds like: an instant movie. We take objects from the audience and then use those objects to shoot short comedy scenes in real places (sometimes using real people) on video. Those scenes are then, in turn, shown to the audience *right after they're shot* on a projection screen in the theater! Like I said, it's a very cool show. You've got to see it to appreciate it.

Besides that, I plan on eating A LOT of haggis and tatties, drinking a lot of beer and seeing a lot of shows!

What's the best thing you've ever seen on the fringe?

Since I'm a virgin to the Fringe, I can't answer that question except to say that I've been to Edinburgh before (October 2003) and that the coolest thing I saw while there was a Hearts match.

What's the worst thing you've seen?

The worst thing I've seen is how haggis is made.

What's the most curious thing that's happened to you in Edinburgh?

The most curious thing that's happened to me in Edinburgh is going to Jongleurs one night for stand-up and needing an interpretor to understand the punchlines of the comedians! I'm afraid we Americans sometimes need an interpretor to understand the Scottish accent. It's a wonderful accent but, sadly, sometimes I have no idea what people have said. It's not unusual for me to talk to someone on the phone from the Gilded Balloon and tell my wife later "I think they said I should go f*ck myself?"

If you could persuade one VIP to come to your show who would it be? Why?

I would love for any member of Monty Python to come to "Anchor's Away!" I grew up in America watching their shows and loving their movies. It would be an honor to perform for any one of them.

Failing that...I would love to have any prominent member of the Scottish/U.K. media in the audience one night just so we could compare notes on what's right and wrong with TV news right now.

If the Edinburgh fairy could grant your wish, what would your wish for?

I would ask the Edinburgh fairy for sell-out shows at both "Anchor's Away!" and "Neutrino: The Instant Movie."

What advice do you have for first time Edinburgh punters?

To be honest with you, I really don't know what you mean by "punters." See, in America, a "punter" is someone who kicks the ball in football (American football -- i.e. NFL).

Chalk this up to one more thing I have to learn about on my first-ever trip to the Fringe. Please be kind with me? I'm a virgin to the whole thing afterall and, even worse, I'm an American... :-)