Who are you, and what are you doing at the Hollywood Fringe Festival?

I’m Elizabeth Karb, and I’m the Audience Director for the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

What is an Audience Director?

That’s a good question, and I’m glad you asked it. I am the voice of the audience within the Fringe organization. It’s my job to make sure that our audience, the patrons of the arts, without whom the Fringe would be a sad and lonely affair, are well taken care of.

What’s your average Fringe day like?

I spend most of my time in the Fringe Box Office. I’m there to help with the managing of the box office, selling tickets, checking people in for shows, answering questions, etc. And if, as sometimes happens with a festival of this size, a ticketing concern arises, I’m there to fix it.

How did you get started with the Hollywood Fringe?

Well, two years ago, my friend Meghan McCauley (the Fringe Outreach Director) mentioned that the Hollywood Fringe needed volunteers, so I signed up. The next year, they asked me to come back as Box Office Manager, and now, I’m the Audience Director. I would encourage everyone who’s thought of volunteering to do it. I’ve met so many great people through Fringe, just because I decided to lend a helping hand.

What do you like best about Hollywood Fringe?

That’s a tough question, because there’s so much I love about the Fringe. I love the independent productions that it helps to showcase. I love the spirit of creativity and innovation. But most of all, I love the people that it brings together. It’s really hard work for the staff and the artists, but it’s so rewarding to see this community spring to life every June. And it’s a lot of fun. It’s totally worth it.

Do you think Daenerys Targaryan will succeed in reclaiming the Iron Throne?

Well, time will tell. She definitely has the whole dragon thing going for her. But, I’m sure Tyrion [Lannister] will figure out something to neutralize that threat. At any rate, I don’t think Joffrey will be king in the end. He’s pretty lame.

Thanks to everyone who joined us for the April Twitter Chat. We had a great turnout and an enlightening conversation.

This month the chat will be held on Monday, May 20th, from 8 to 9 PM PDT. All you have to do to join the discussion is use the hashtag #HFF13. The chat will be moderated by the @HollywoodFringe account.

These are great opportunities to build your follow list and establish a supportive community before the festival begins

Thanks and see you online!

Ben

First things first: My name is Elizabeth Steele, but you should just call me ‘Liz’, because no one will know who you’re talking about if you ask for ‘Elizabeth’!

How did you first get involved in the Fringe?

This is my fourth year with the festival— and it should come as no shock to learn that I started as a volunteer at Fringe 2010. I was a recent transplant to LA and desperately missed the sense of family I felt in my college theatre department, where any position in any production felt like the center of the world because we were all so close. The moment I felt closest to recreating that feeling was volunteering during one of the first nights of Fringe, while a high school cast was waiting to enter from the lobby. Their excitement was contagious! They all happily shared their story with me and even though I wasn’t performing or part of their group, I felt that wonderful, familiar thrill so keenly.

What do you do as Volunteer Director and how did you get the job?

After the inaugural year, I approached Ben Hill (Festival Director) about volunteer coordination. There were plenty of helping hands that first year, but as anyone in management knows, it’s almost as difficult to distribute tasks as it is to complete them on your own, so it was a challenge at times to keep the volunteers organized. I wanted to be the staff’s mouthpiece, the go-between for doling out tasks to volunteers helping around Fringe Central. I wanted to make sure the floor was vacuumed, that shows always had someone to run their box office, that someone was sent to pick up confetti, and so on and so on. All the rest of the Fringe staff had their hands full as it was.

Throughout the year, it’s my responsibility to attract and retain volunteers. While most of our energies are focused toward June, we have fundraisers and promotional videos to shoot during the off-season, as well as outreach programs and community events to attract participants, patrons and other volunteers as we approach the festival. It’s my job to secure the extra help we need to get the job done.

What’s the best part of your job? The most challenging?

If you ever need to find me in June, look no further than the Fringe Central Box Office. If I’m not there, I’m probably asleep. It’s a great place to meet participants, train volunteers, and help patrons make the most of their Fringe experience. I love being there— being in the thick of it is my favorite part of my job.

It’s also a great place to work with my fellow staff members, especially Elizabeth Karb, our Audience Director, on volunteer scheduling— which is definitely the most challenging aspect of my job. Our volunteers are extremely generous with their time (a generosity we take every precaution not to abuse), so when something comes up unexpectedly, it can be difficult to secure a fresh volunteer. Thank goodness for email and Twitter (we’re @hffvolunteer— please follow us for volunteer news)— shifts always get covered, despite my initial heart attacks.

They say Fringe is one big party— any truth to that?

Well, as my head will attest, there’ve been some pretty raucous impromptu fetes in the past. But the Fringe is definitely growing up. Bar hours are becoming more reasonable and we staff members don’t party the way we used to, but one thing’s for certain— the Fringe feeling, the magic that makes Fringe what it is— isn’t going anywhere. In fact, I’d say the Opening Night Party gets better with age, continuing to break its own records every year. That’s my favorite day of the festival… and not just because the Fringe Box Office is closed.

Q: What does an Outreach Director do?

It definitely depends on where you work! In some organizations, outreach is synonymous with marketing. In others, it is exclusively arts education and youth programs. It may relate to drama therapy, recruiting, financial development, creating community partnerships… you name it, it might be outreach.

Q: Okay… so what do you do as Outreach Director for the Hollywood Fringe?

I have three major areas of outreach – student outreach, community outreach, and artist outreach. I coordinate and program Student Fringe, which invites middle- and high-school students from different parts of Los Angeles to visit Hollywood Fringe, see different Fringe shows, and participate in Q&As with featured artists.
This year, I’m also coordinating Fringe Family, working with GLAAD to develop a larger LGBT presence within the Fringe community (and a larger Fringe presence within the LGBT community), and I spend the months leading up to registration getting to know new artists and producers who might enjoy participating in the festival.

Last summer, I had the opportunity to go to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe as a representative from Hollywood Fringe – that was definitely the furthest I’ve ever “reached out”, geographically speaking!

Q: You came to the first Hollywood Fringe Festival as a participant. How did that lead to getting a job?

I was still living and working full-time in San Diego and commuting to Los Angeles for Fringe-related events, venue meetings, rehearsals, etc. At some points, I was commuting one or twice a week to make sure that people around the Fringe were getting to know me. The 2010 Hollywood Fringe Festival was a blast for me, and I decided to move to Los Angeles a few months later.

My perspective was: “What can I add to this festival?” rather than “What can the Hollywood Fringe do for me?” I had planned to volunteer for the next Fringe and hopefully get hired the year after that – so I was very lucky to have been brought on staff earlier.

Q: Least favorite Hollywood Fringe activity?

Breaking everything down the day after the Closing Night party.

Q: Favorite Hollywood Fringe activity?

All-staff hugs!

If you’d like to learn more about how to support or participate in Student Fringe or Fringe Family, e-mail [email protected]

Jeffrey Wylie, Aaron Lyons, Michael Shaw Fisher, Ben Moroski and Meghan McCauley

Thanks to everyone who attended the second Fringe Workshop Saturday afternoon! We had a full house at the Open First Theater, home of the 2013 Fringe Mainstage.

Thanks to our Fringe Veterans Michael Shaw Fisher, Aaron Lyons, Ben Moroski and Jeffrey Wylie for lending their wisdom and experience.

For those of you who missed it, we recorded the proceedings.

Enjoy!

Still have questions? Email us at [email protected].