Congrats to everyone for a fantastic Fringe! As far as we are concerned, everyone is a winner.

Based ballots cast by the community – including those who saw shows, produced shows, reviewed shows and hosted shows – we have tabulated the results of your top five favorite picks in each category. In total, close to 2000 ballots were distributed.

Join us at 7pm tonight for the Awards Ceremony hosted by Jon Armstrong at Fringe Central Station (6314 Santa Monica Blvd) to see the lucky finalists vie for the top slots.

And without further delay, the top nominees are….

TOP OF THE FRINGE
Absolutely Filthy (an unauthorized PEANUTS parody)
A Man of No Importance
Shakespeare’s “King Phycus”
White Hot
The Devil and Billy Markham

FRINGE FIRST (World Premiere)
Hot Cat
The Real Housekeepers of Studio City
4 Clowns presents Me Rich You Learn
EXORCISTIC: the Rock Musical Parody Experiment
(no static at all)

THE INTERNATIONAL AWARD
Meant To Be
Baldy
Philosophy in the Boudoir
Take Me To The Poorhouse
Two Rooms

BEST IN ENSEMBLE THEATRE
#Hashtag
Hot Cat
25 Plays Per Hour
White Hot
Sunny Afternoon

BEST IN COMEDY
Absolutely Filthy
Wet the Hippo
Shakespeare’s “King Phycus”
Lost Moon Radio presents Roger Wodehouse’s Androgymnasium
One Man Show: A Duet

BEST IN MUSICALS & OPERAS
EXORCISTIC: the Rock Musical Parody Experiment
The Pokemusical
[title of show]
A Man of No Importance
The Real Housekeepers of Studio City

BEST IN DANCE & PHYSICAL THEATRE
Lemon Boots
We Are The 0%
Wings
4 Clowns presents Me Rich You Learn
HerSheMe

BEST IN CABARET & VARIETY
The Ruby Besler Cabaret
The Devil and Billy Markham
David and Leeman: How to Convincingly Fake Honesty
Unkempt Gardens
Wonderlust: A Performance of Magic

SOLO PERFORMANCE
Ceremony
Butt Kapinski
(no static at all)
Fancy! A Southern Gothic Camp Parable
Gracie and Rose

This week, the interns talk about how they’re feeling as the festival draws to a close.

From Our New* Newbie Intern, Emilie:

“Los Angeles theater summer opportunities internship” is the definite frontrunner in the contest for most fortuitous Google search of my life, besting contenders such as “Arrested Development chicken dance” and “cheap food in Paris.” The magical alchemy of Google took these words and produced the Hollywood Fringe website and ultimately, all of the wonderful people I’ve gotten to know over the past three weeks.

My drama geek friends from my East Coast university expressed their misgivings that theater worth pursuing existed in LA, and their polite, subtle expressions of doubt urged me on as I typed those words into the search engine (“Oh cool, I’ve never really thought of LA as a theater town…”, “I bet there is some sort of arts community over here…”, etc). I knew that my hometown was not the vapid wasteland of frozen yogurt shops and reality television stars that my college friends pictured it to be. Growing up here taught me that an Angeleno is not defined by her tan or the size of her sunglasses but by her talent and hard work. Such a city had to be home to an awesome and lively world of theater that I just hadn’t discovered yet.

The Hollywood Fringe ended up being that world and more. The Fringe is an amalgamation of so many of the things that make LA great: multi-talented artists, zany hairstyles, small dogs, food trucks, and themed party enthusiasts come together to light up a stretch of Santa Monica boulevard for three weeks in June (and with none of the humidity of New York.)

I love that the Fringe not only dispels the myth that LA isn’t a place for theater, but that it also refutes a lot of exasperating myths about theater as an art-form in general—that theater is for old people, that theater is for rich people, that theater is “dying.” The people who go see and put on shows at the Fringe come from all age groups, ethnicities and socio-economic brackets. The people I sell t-shirts to at the Fringe Concierge desk are as diverse as the city itself, and they’re united only by their enthusiasm for the event—they scan the t-shirts for the names of their shows and they ask questions about how the event got its start and came to be what it is today.

The Fringe has made it clear to me that all kinds of people still want to participate in theater, and I think this is in part because the increasingly web-bound nature of cultural experience today makes us need theater more, rather than less, then ever. So much of our daily experience has been reduced to interactions on a screen, which ultimately increases our thirst for a more visceral connection and intimacy. The way that the Fringe embraces virtual platforms—from the Instagram feed in Fringe Central Station to our active twitter community—accentuates the idea that theater is not a relic from an old world but actually an art form that has never been more relevant or needed.

My online search for “Los Angeles theater summer opportunities internship” transformed into a flesh and blood community that proved all of the things I intuitively knew about theater and my hometown to be true. Like another of my favorite LA institutions, the Los Angeles Lakers (the greatest franchise in the history of basketball), I expect the Hollywood Fringe to be proving the haters wrong again and again for a long time to come.

*Our beloved Volunteer Intern, Mary, was unable to write a blog post this week. Fortunately Emilie, another first-year Intern working with our Front of House team, was happy to write about her experience.

From Our Veteran Intern, Sammy:

Sunday is the Closing Night Party. Sunday is the last Fringe Family. Sunday is the last day of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. But it’s not Sunday (yet) and the Rock of Stages party showed that the party is not over. Festival Director Ben Hill oozing stage blood, Jimi Hendrix, platform shoes, rock t-shirts, Development Director Kan’s tattoo sleeve of Disney Princesses, and men with thick, black eyeliner all hip-thrusted to live band Karaoke courtesy of the Moon Units.

The hair and temporary tattoo artist jammed out in the cage, creating inspired artwork and just having fun. Jeremy Aluma was everyone’s neighbor last night as he belted “Hey Ya”, and the Fringe Concierge team showed their naughty schoolgirl side by singing “Oops I Did It Again”. And I took my second photo on the Fringe Red Carpet!

Yep, Rock of Stages was awesome.

And last Sunday’s Fringe Family was awesome as well. My little sister volunteered and it was amazing to share Fringe with her! Even my parents popped by to check out the scene. Magicians, musicians and choreographed dancers sampled their shows for the kids. Big thanks to Meghan for providing the morning donuts.

It’s amazing to see all those emails I sent translate into attending families and the set list turning into a breathing performance of artists. All of the planning that went into Fringe Family is being expressed in googly-eyed, macaroni creations.

Yep, Fringe Family is awesome.

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is awesome and I wish that another year wasn’t coming to a close.

Love,
Sammy

This week our interns talk Prom, the Intern Workshop and what it’s like to see shows on the Fringe!

From Our Newbie Intern, Mary:

Hey Fringers!

Is it me or is June whizzing by much too fast?! I am in the thick of Fringe and have made it to a handful of shows but there is still so much to see and do.

As far as my internship, I do want to share a bit with you about last weekend’s brilliant Intern Workshop with about half of the amazing staff behind Fringe. We learned from each of them just what their job titles (like “Support Director” and “Outreach Director”) actually mean. I left feeling so inspired and wanting to get up and create.

I really appreciated what Meghan (Outreach Director) and Dave (Producing Director) had to share: You cannot make your dreams happen alone. You need to find your team to help you. As someone with a bunch of big ideas, those were words I needed to hear! I’m trying to move forward with my lifestyle blog by making more post ideas into reality and covering more events. I also have a music festival concoction in the back of my mind! I am super stoked for the second round of the workshop, coming up next week.

The Fringe Prom was this past Wednesday and Fringe Central Station was turned into a sock hop… oh, yeah! Whether you missed it or were there and had a ball, you should check out our Rock of Stages night (on Wednesday the 26th). Get out the hairspray and spandex!

I also finally met the adorable Sammy, the other Intern you’ve been hearing from in these posts. She is the sweetest person ever! Make sure if you see either of us to let us know that you’re out there!

Fringe Out, Mary

From Our Veteran Intern, Sammy:

Funny how just last week, I was writing about the Opening Night Party and now it’s already Prom. Before you know it, Santa Monica Boulevard will be as sketchy and empty as always.

On a prom note: Oh my gosh, did Greg Crafts and Roger Woodhouse really win Prom King and Queen? Did the DJ really play Happy Birthday? Did the Spicy Brandon really contain alcohol?

Fringe Family this past Sunday was full of laughter, theatre and inspiration. One little kid even cried when he had to leave, dragged out by his father. Another met his first crush, Cinderella. Everyone felt the magic with Jimmy H. And they were all thoroughly entertained and dancing with The Fusion Co., Red, White, and Balloons, Lemon Boots, and Bango and the Jelly Beans. It was a lovely family Sunday, guest-starring the entire McCauley Family!

As for the festival as a whole, I’ve seen four shows! They’ve all been so wonderful and inspiring. Every show is thought-provoking and I feel like I’m having revelations left and right. Not really defined ones, just ‘oh, I’ve never thought of that before’ mental exclamations. It’s so amazing to arrive at Fringe Central Station, say ‘I have some extra time’, pick up a guide, find a show in the next thirty minutes, go see it, and have my world expanded just a little bit more. It’s been so thrilling and exciting.

Happy Fringe!

Sammy

In this installment, Sammy & Mary take us through the highlights of their first week on the job.

From Our Veteran Intern, Sammy:

Did you feel it?

“Happy Fringe!” and the world got a little bit brighter, a little bit lighter, a little bit more hilarious. The 2013 Hollywood Fringe Opening Night Party was a night to remember. Despite my jetlag, which may have made the night all the more dream-like, the Opening Party was a beautiful reunion and a theatrical revival. So many new faces, so many new shows… it was almost overwhelming.

Bryan’s Bar was swarming and the toilet line was to the dance floor. The screening room was flashing Fringe TV. The dance floor was grooving and invoking the mood and the Fringe Crush (one of the specialty cocktails) went quickly. The outside was packed with cigarettes and chats. The Munchie Machine solved the mystery in my stomach. It was a scene set in the finest fashion, a foreshadowing of other Wednesday nights, of every night at Fringe.

I kept seeing flashes of last year: talking over there, brooming cigarettes over there, mustache-ing with Neil and Meghan, being adopted by Ben and Stacy, watching Lyla rock as Prom Queen, bouncing the door with Dickie and Ricky. And so many more. They were everywhere.

And now I have these new memories and these new innovative shows to see and these new people to meet.

I am so terribly excited for this year to come. Nothing will ever be as perfect as my first Hollywood Fringe experience, except maybe my second Hollywood Fringe Experience.

Happy Fringe!

Sammy

From Our Newbie Intern, Mary:

Hey Fringers! It’s Mary once again checking in with you all. It’s hard to believe it, but previews are in the books and we’re now officially on! I had a wonderful first week of my internship. Everyone is awesome and I love that Fringe is like a big family with an annual reunion in June. I admit, it’s always tough to be ‘the new girl’ but I can already tell that by next year, I will know everyone’s name who comes through the Mainstage Box Office.

Load-in at Fringe Central Station was such a great success and I had a blast with my fellow Volunteer Intern, Amber, greeting and connecting with each of the volunteers who came by to help us out. To see the space go from bare to fairy garden just shows you that magic really is possible when you gather theater peeps in one room!

I do have a highlight from last week: working with Stacy and Vicky (as well as Emilie and Nick) on FringeTV. Here I thought it would be a stiff interview of “So, Mary, what do you think you will take away from this internship?” but instead, Stacy has created a hilarious farce (or is it??) of adorable FringeTV Intern Vicky and company sharing the woes and quirks of our so-called internships in a very interesting break room! I cannot wait for you all to see our “party” in the mop closet!

This weekend will find me working at the box office as well as catching some shows after. If you see me, remember to say “hi” and let me know how you’re enjoying the festival. Til next time…

xo, Mary

This year, we’ve asked two of our interns to give a weekly chronicle of their Fringe adventure. Mary, a Volunteer Intern, is completely new to Fringe; Sammy is our Outreach Intern returning after a great experience in 2012. Here’s the first installment of their weekly Fringe blogs.

From Our Newbie Intern, Mary:

Hey Everyone! This is Mary checking in with you all— I am a proud 2013 Volunteer Intern and Box Office Agent. When Liz, our dynamo Volunteer Director, mentioned to me there was an opportunity for me to blog and share my experience as an Intern, I was stoked! Blogging has been a passion of mine for over a year now and any chance I get, I am there.

So, today was our very first Intern meeting and orientation. I was so thrilled to be among such a diverse, vibrant group of people who have all come together to share their love for the arts. Going over the basics (appropriate wardrobe and where the microwave is, among other ins and outs), we also got to learn a bit about one another and take a stroll over to The Fringe Mainstage. I admit, I learned a ton of amazing things about how The Hollywood Fringe Fest came to be and where we’re headed. And, of course, the SHOWS! I am really excited to check out as many as I can.

And, as you may know, us Fringers like to have FUN. There are some awesome parties in the works. I need to find a poodle skirt, ASAP (I will explain later…).

I think that’s all for now, but hopefully I will be reporting back again soon to tell you some tales from the Fringe Box Office. Make sure to stay in-touch on Twitter (@HFFVolunteer, @Hollywoodfringe) and come say “hi” when you check out a show!

Xo, Mary

From our Veteran Intern, Sammy:

Hi, I’m Sammy!

I’m the Outreach Intern for 2013, so I’ll be following Meghan McCauley, the Outreach Director, around. You might remember me from last year…or you might not. But I truly fell in love with the Hollywood Fringe, and I am so excited and happy to be back. As Meghan says, ‘it’s like Christmas time’! Each play is a gift, and each night brings us closer together as a family.

I’ve even been helping out during the school year while studying at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and even while living in Paris for a couple of weeks. I’ve been learning and experiencing all of the research and emails Meghan sends out in order to make Fringe Family into a fabulous and magical event (sorry for sending the blog summaries late, Meghan! I was so flustered moving into my apartment in Paris! There was a leak and the electricity wasn’t working when I arrived!).

Throughout this past year, my Outreach Intern experience from Fringe 2012 carried me along and kept me motivated, inspiring me to get involved in theatre lighting and tech at school as well as host open mics! All of the friends I made at the Fringe were so incredible. I totally stalked them all on Facebook with my friends at University… ‘yea, these are my friends.’

So, basically, I’d just like to say “hi”! And I can’t wait for Fringe 2013!

Sammy