“Getting out of my own way to “just do it” is a constant, daily effort.”
WHO: Robin Rothman
WHAT: “Step back into the golden age of Las Vegas with glittering lounge legend Trudy Carmichael (portrayed by award-winning vocalist Robin Rothman). Channelling the sharp wit of Joan Rivers and the flair of Bette Midler, Trudy delivers a high-stakes, off-the-cuff spectacle straight from Sin City. Alongside her brilliant pianist, she blends powerhouse vocals with spontaneous musical magic. This unscripted cabaret features improvised songs based on audience Q&As and a musical roulette where pop hits meet random celebrity impressions. Let Trudy dazzle you in a once-in-a-lifetime floor show where cabaret intimacy and improv comedy collide. Viva Las Vegas!”
WHERE: Fingers Piano Bar at PBH’s Free Fringe @ Fingers Piano Bar (Venue 221)
WHEN: 22:10 (60 min)
MORE: Click Here!
Is this your first time to Edinburgh?
I was originally all set to head to EdFringe in August 2020 with my character-driven improvised cabaret, “Trudy Carmichael Presents The Improvised One-Woman Show!”, but we all know why that first attempt failed to launch. After a year of hunkering down in Las Vegas with my family and our cats, I was able to do the virtual PBH Free Fringe in 2021 alongside my dear friend and mentor, the legendary Musical Director Frank Spitznagel. It was especially meaningful because it was the first time we got to play together in the same room after a long year of online performances. By the time the 75th Annual Fringe rolled around in 2022, I was beyond ready.
There is truly nothing like Edinburgh in August. The city completely transforms into what I can only describe as an adult theater camp. Shows are happening everywhere – in pop-up spaces, flower-filled beer gardens, cozy pubs, and hidden attic rooms you’d never notice otherwise. The whole city becomes this beating heart of creators and punters who are genuinely excited to share, discover, and watch art happen. The locals in Edinburgh are some of the warmest, kindest, and most down-to-earth folks I’ve ever met, welcoming tens of thousands of artists into their town every summer. Beyond that, a great festival lets you seamlessly bridge the gap between being a performer and a fan. You can do your show, grab a pint, and then wander into a tiny back room to watch someone from across the globe completely blow your mind.
What are the big things you’ve learned since 2025 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?
Over the past year, my biggest takeaway has been learning to fully step into my own space as a performer without second-guessing myself or reaching for perfection which is the death of creativity!
Last summer, I competed in a cabaret competition as Trudy at Don’t Tell Mama in NYC, and that helped me rediscover who I am as a performer like never before. It helped me find my creative voice by giving me the opportunity to performing for new audiences and reminded me that what I bring to the table is valuable, funny, and unique. That experience even led to me writing my very first fully scripted cabaret show this year, which I performed at Don’t Tell Mama to some really wonderful reviews! I definitely couldn’t have done that without leaning into everything I’ve learned as a producer and an improviser. Honestly, it’s one of my greatest accomplishments so far because getting out of my own way to “just do it” is a constant, daily effort.
But every time I step on stage and feel that genuine connection with an audience, I am immediately reminded that taking these big creative leaps is not only worth it, but incredibly necessary to my growth as an artist.
Tell us about your show.
Trudy Carmichael’s Spontaneous Vegas! is a high-energy, completely improvised Las Vegas-style cabaret lounge act starring my sequined alter-ego, Trudy Carmichael. Because every single show is built entirely on audience interaction and improvised music, no two nights are ever the same. The brilliant singer, composer, and lyricist David Nehls – who is also performing his own Fringe show, “Do You Wanna Go?” – is providing the spontaneous musical direction.
I’m producing this show myself on barely any budget at all, which is why the PBH Free Fringe was such a clear choice this year. “Trudy Carmichael Presents The Improvised One-Woman Show!” (which made its EdFringe debut in 2022 at TheSpace UK) walked so this production could run! That 2022 show was in a more traditional black-box theater at 4:10 in the afternoon, whereas Spontaneous Vegas! will be making its Fringe debut at Finger’s Piano Bar at 10:10 at night. I think the show is going to do wonderfully with a late-night crowd, and I can’t wait to bring more of that gritty glamour of a real Las Vegas floor show to this incarnation.
My team consists of me, my husband, and David. The way David and I came together is a total Fringe miracle: I was matched with him through my friend Penny Cole, whom I met at EdFringe back in 2022. I had just begun putting out feelers for an improv accompanist when, as if reading my mind, Penny (who lives in Colorado) reached out and asked if I happened to be looking for a pianist. I was like, “How on earth did you know?!” I’m thrilled that a connection I had made at EdFringe four years ago yielded a brand-new artistic partnership for this year!
After Edinburgh, the plan is to bring Trudy back to New York for an encore – and then hopefully off to more festivals around the US and Europe!
What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?
Supporting fellow artists is my absolute favorite part of the Fringe—there’s no better way to make lifelong friends and discover future collaborators!
First up, you have to check out Peter Michael Marino’s Planet of the Grapes. Pete has been a lovely friend and a wonderful EdFringe mentor to me for years. Born out of lockdown, it’s a wildly creative, unhinged tabletop sci-fi parody told with damn dirty grapes (which are actually quite adorable). Please go enjoy it for me, because the show I’m co-producing and performing in (The Life of Pie) runs at the exact same time!
I’m also beyond excited for the indomitable Sarah-Louise Young’s The Bob Ross Effect. Sarah-Louise is an absolute powerhouse, and her joyful musical honoring Bob Ross is exactly the kind of theater we all need right now. I performed practically opposite her Kate Bush show in 2022, so you’d better believe I’m relieved not to make that same mistake again!
Then there’s Rachel Creeger’s Queen of the Jews. She is a phenomenal comedian with effortless sharp wit and a wonderful mentor to EdFringe newcomers.
I’m also really intrigued by fellow CIPA and Paradise in the Vault show, “If We Really Were Witches” – I love the premise of asking what happens if real witches were to drop in on historical witch trials. As venue-mates at Paradise, I can’t wait to cheer them on!
Finally, I’m looking forward to HAM by the Hotter Project. I love puns and anything Shakespeare-inspired, so a cheeky spin on Hamlet sounds brilliantly bizarre – the exact kind of bold, off-the-wall storytelling that makes EdFringe so FRINGE!
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