Hollywood Fringe Festival

A big congratulations to Jordan Monsell, the winner of the first...

Mon, 11 Feb 2013 20:07:54 -0500

A big congratulations to Jordan Monsell, the winner of the first ever Fringe Design contest! We had a lot of really great entries and want to give a big “Thanks!” to everyone who participated. It went better than we could have possibly imagined!

We received well over 100 design concepts from over 30 talented designers and it was a very difficult choice, but in the end, Jordan’s vision for the 2013 Guide Cover won over the Fringe staff. In addition to the $499 prize, Jordan will be employed as the lead designer for 2013, helping to design T-Shirts, the Fringe Button, the remainder of the Fringe Guide, and a bunch of other things. You can get your first look at the 2013 Festival Guide by checking out Jordan’s winning design here.

Fun fact: Jordan was the director of the popular Pulp Shakespearefrom the 2011 Festival (his past participation in the festival wasn’t a consideration when choosing him as the winner, but we thought it was pretty cool that it turned out that way!)

The Fringe Benefit is this Saturday, February 2nd. We hope to...

Tue, 29 Jan 2013 11:41:16 -0500

The Fringe Benefit is this Saturday, February 2nd. We hope to see you there!

Details and Tickets: http://www.hollywoodfringe.org/learn/article/949

The 2013 Hollywood Fringe Design Contest

Mon, 28 Jan 2013 13:21:18 -0500

The 2013 Hollywood Fringe Design Contest :

You (or one of your friends) can be the head graphic designer for the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival! All you have to do is enter our first ever design contest next week.

Dates of the Contest

You can start submitting your designs for the qualifying round at99designs.com/people/hollywoodfringe starting Monday, January 28th. To ensure your design is eligible for the final round, make sure we receive your concept by the end of the day on Thursday, January 31st.

What We Want You to Design

Every year, we produce a printed guide of all the shows produced at our festival. This contest is centered around the GUIDE COVER IMAGE; the seminal representation of the 2013 festival.

Join Us for the First #HFF13 Twitter Chat on Monday 1/28

Fri, 25 Jan 2013 12:41:52 -0500

Join Us for the First #HFF13 Twitter Chat on Monday 1/28:

Join us for the first #HFF13 Twitter chat on Monday, January 28th from 6:00 to 7:00pm PST. The first of our chats will focus on all things Registration (like creating a project, venue-related questions, registration fees, etc.) so get your questions or stories ready to share. All you have to do to join the discussion is use the hashtag #HFF13.

We’ll also be announcing a new community feature that will be launched on our website during this twitter chat – so follow along to find out what it is.

The twitter chat will be moderated by Rachel Stoll, our Social Media Manager, from the @HollywoodFringe account. Other staff members will also be available to answer questions, and we’ll close out the discussion with an “Ask the Festival Director” segment, where you have a chance to ask me anything and everything about Fringe. This is the first in a series of Twitter chats leading up to the 2013 festival. #HFF13 chats will occur on the last monday of every month from 6:00pm to 7:00pm PST.

We can’t wait to answer your questions and to hear what you’re planning for this year’s festival.

#LAthtr News Bit – Hollywood Fringe & #ShitBenHillSays

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 18:19:55 -0500

#LAthtr News Bit – Hollywood Fringe & #ShitBenHillSays:

by Cindy Marie Jenkins

UPDATE 3:03pm: Fringe’s Social Media Manager, Rachel Stoll, made it really easy to get in on this action.Make Your Own Ben Hill Meme.

You can find a lot of news by following the #LAThtr hashtag on twitter (see it here even if you don’t tweet), and sometimes a gem crosses our collective paths.

Last night was the first of many Hollywood Fringe Town Halls, and the semi-official launch of #hff13 for this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival (although it has definitely already been used by staff and past participants). If you don’t know Twitter, people can search a specific term and read what other people tweet about that specific topic. Fringe (via @HollywoodFringe) wisely uses the hashtag to tweet key notes and links for further reading on topics covered in the Town Hall, as well as answer questions. Often the hashtag becomes a back channel through which people network, jibe and generally socialize. During Fringe, I use it to craft my show-going schedule so I see more than just what my friends produce.

Want to make your own Ben Hill meme? Now you...

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:59:45 -0500

Want to make your own Ben Hill meme? Now you can: http://memegenerator.net/Benhill

#ShitBenHillSays

Fri, 18 Jan 2013 10:51:15 -0500

#ShitBenHillSays

Q&A part 2

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:34:37 -0500

Do you have to register to be a part of the social space?

Entertainment for fringe community, you don’t need to be part of the fringe to be cabaret. We’ll talk more about this later….

Questions are over, go get your wrist bands.

Q&A

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:32:32 -0500

Do I have to be affiliated with a company? - Carmen - Program is “The Hike”

No, you can just use your name for that. Doesn’t need to be official company

Did you ever get around to coding in Pay what you want? - Greg Crats

On the list, I promise

You have to book a venue on the site? That conflicts with what the venue manager said about bringing a check? Clooney Something(Sorry)

So that we know you have a venue, there is a digital shaking of hands with your project and your venue through a series of emails. Contracts/Checks etc will probably be handled in person/directly. Up to venue/contract when venues want money.

How many performance dates are in that time? - Vanessa

24 hours in a day, no limit to performances (except 12th). So every day, no restrictions

The 12th is a non performance date? Are there performances on the closing party day? - Alex

During that night there are awards, so you may book a show at that time but you might not want to. Might be a trade off.

Are you going to bring back participant sponsored awards? - Greg Crafts

Yes. We’ll talk more about awards later.

Are there panels that are going on as well? And could a company sponsor/host a panel?Graham - Iama Fest

Absolutely there are panels that are going on. You’ll find a lot of friendly venus that will host your panel for you (we sometimes host at no rent) So email us with your idea. We encourage panels and workshops

Is there tech week? or tech day? Lauren (musical: Sinking)

Depends on your venue. Ask them on their policy. Probably not a week though

Can we change the ticket prices per night? Joanna - the polka musical

Yes, absolutely. Ticketing pricing is done on a performance by performance basis.

Why do we do this?

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:23:50 -0500

To build a community of activists artists to break the barriers and try new things

Opportunity to cross-pollinate and build a real audience of theatre in Los Angeles

To be supportive of other artists

NO JERK PANTS

(Soft side of Ben Hill)

Marketing

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:18:27 -0500

We are going to have a whole town hall dedicated to Marketing, but a few things to get you started:

You MUST have the HFF logo on your flyers (www.hollywoodfringe.org/branding)
Connect with people now
SOCIAL NETWORKING IS FREE and lots of them
get a jump start
#HFF13 hashtag matters
Consider starting a blog
Thing about Fringe Office Hours
Think about your press plan
Learn how to write a press release
come to future town halls and mixers

"Think pessimistically and play optimistically"

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:13:32 -0500

““Think pessimistically and play optimistically””

- Ben Hill

Nightly Gross Formula

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:11:26 -0500

Capacity x Tix Price x Sell Thru rate/what you expect to sell (decimal) = Gross

Now take that number and x by number of shows (adjust for show times on off times/nights)

Add in whatever other income

EQUALS

Gross.

Ben Talks About Money

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 23:05:29 -0500

Let’s talk about money, because artists…

“Do what I do before I start something, start with money… think about what you can spend, think about what you expect to make. Think about some really basic arithmetic. This is the last time I will talk about arithmetic but it’s important”

How much does it cost?

It will never cost “a whole hell of a lot unless you want to do this crazy ass thing”. But it depends on your visions.

Registration for Fringe costs: $250 for most shows (multiple performances that you charge for) or $175 for one offs. IF you opt to not charge NOTHING (PWYC doesn’t count) then it’s also $175 and as many performances as you want.

Venue Rent

Totally varies. So shop around.

Production fees

Ben: “Some of the most amazing shows don’t have the best production value, but you know sometimes…”

Be aware of budget

Marketing Fees

Social media can be free

Socializing in fringe community you will find influences

Sometimes all you need is a good show to make things awesome

Get the right people/press to see your show

DOESNT COST A DIME TO WRITE A GOOD PRESS RELEASE

How do I budget?

Think about ticket prices, expenses, etc.

How to Be Part of Fringe (3 Easy Steps)

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:55:37 -0500

It’s a three step process, first: Create a project

Go to… www.hollywoodfringe.org and “create a project”. You can change this all the way up to the registration deadline.

Be sure to add photos and videos.

Press releases are cool, kids (Yes the press does read them)

Project page will also collect your reviews of your project

Online hub of the marketing of your show and the place you will sell tickets

Second Step: Find a Venue

Check out venues on the site

Needs to fall within the Fringe boundaries (this is important to build community and keep constraints)

Walkable sense of place

Franklin/Wilton/Melrose/LaBrea are the boundaries

You can bring your own venue (BYOV) — no charge just be in the boundaries

You can rent spaces and be a venue manager

You can register with multiple venues

Video walkthrus of venues are on the site

You can apply online (no need to pick up that phone) just drop a note to the venue managers

It can be hard to find a space. All venue managers work at different speeds, so don’t freak if you don’t hear back right away.

Location/budget/etc matter. Make good choices.

Step 3: Register your Project (the last step)

Need to have booking on the site (venue, description, payment)

Registration gets you:

In the guide and on the website (we have 500k+ hits last year on the site)

Ticket sale system

Discounted flyer distribution

Discounted photography

Ability to be part of LA Weekly ad buy

Discounted ads on Bitter Lemons

Discounted programs from footlights

LOTS OF DISCOUNTS

Participant support

Fringe TV! (run by Stacy) get interviewed

Qualify for awards and extensions

You get reviews from press because people read our press release section

We promote the FRINGE as a whole

Networking

MORE COOL STUFF

MOST IMPORTANTLY YOU GET FUN.

Important Dates

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:33:52 -0500

2/1/13 - Registration opens

2/2/13 - Fringe Benefit

4/1/13 - Registration closes - get into the Guide aka Fringe Bible

4/15/13 - Deadline for Guide Ads (no pictures with your listing otherwise)

5/1/13 - Tickets go on sale

6/6/13 - 6/11/13 - Fringe Previews

6/12/13 - Opening Night Parrrrr-tay (don’t book shows, but it won’t be promoted via fringe)

6/13/13 - 6/30/13 FRINGE FRINGE FRINGE

6/30/13 - Awards/Closing Party

What is the Fringe/What is it Not

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:28:55 -0500

Fringe is:

a Performing Arts Festival
an open access festival (uncurated)
community centered - it’s more than just shows
“freedom to fail” environment — festival is to take risks
also a change to develop and refine existing work
opportunity to build audiences (all performing arts audiences)

Fringe is NOT:

Curated
a place to send your play to and ask us to produce
a place for jerks

What is a Fringe Festival

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:23:11 -0500

Back in 1947 there was a curated festival in Edinburgh. About a dozen theaters thought the curation was dumb so did a festival on the fringes of the curated festival.

In the beginning this was just cool. (aka hipsters)

This is now the largest Fringe

—-

Our first year was 2010 and we quickly became one of the largest US fringes.

We are really modeled after this original fringe.

HFF doesn’t run venues (except one).

Free market economy, yo!

—-

Ben recapping past festivals. How much we’ve grown.

Introducing a lot of new programs.

Growth in ticket sales.

Now we’re in 2013 (year of the dragon ben says— he’s corrected)

Ben Hill Takes the Stage

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:16:32 -0500

Misc Ben Opening Comments

Looking dapper in his beard.
Touching on planning, budgeting, registration.
Ben undermines my efforts but hey we’re live blogging/live tweeting.
Mixer is across the way. Be sure to get a wrist band for happy hour from 9 to 12am.

The CHALLENGE: Ben getting through his notes in an hour.

Intro - Matt Quinn

Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:13:23 -0500

Lots of venues in the house, you can meet them all after.

Matt also runs “Best of Fringe”

Working with other venues on a type of open house 1/30 and 2/6 — more details to follow.

Email Matt for comp tix to shows this weekend.