In the coming months, we’ll be hosting two workshops led by a panel of past participants and other veteran community members who can offer you an insider perspective of putting up a show on the Fringe as well as expert advice on marketing and networking. The workshops will consist of an extended Q&A session and stories from the panelists with a mixer to follow at a location TBA (most likely a local food establishment). 

First Workshop: Saturday, March 23rd at Elephant. 2 PM to 4 PM (1:30 Doors). Mixer to Follow. Click here to reserve a seat.

Second Workshop: Saturday, April 13th at Open Fist. 2 PM to 4 PM (1:30 Doors). Mixer to Follow. Click here to reserve a seat. 

There will be two more town halls before the opening of the 2013 Festival (if you missed the first one you can listen to it here). Each of the town halls contain a 75-90 minute informational session (presented by Festival Director Ben Hill) followed by 30-45 minute Q&A session. The next town hall will focus on pre-festival marketing & advertising and the final one will focus on making the most of your festival experience. There will be mixers following the meetings, both hosted at Three Clubs, where you can meet and mingle with other Fringers and staff members. Make sure to reserve your spot today!

Second Town Hall: Tuesday, April 9th at Theatre Asylum. 7 PM to 9 PM (6:30 Doors). Mixer to Follow. Click here to reserve a seat.

Third Town Hall: Monday, May 13th at Open Fist (the 2013 Fringe Mainstage). 7 PM to 9 PM (6:30 Doors). Mixer to Follow. Click here to reserve a seat.

Please join us for our second Twitter chat on Monday, February 25th from 8 to 9PM PST. This chat will focus on Registration preparation and community involvement, so get your questions or stories ready to share. All you have to do to join the discussion is be following @HollywoodFringe for the discussion questions and use the hashtag #HFF13 to answer.
 
The chat will be moderated by Rachel Stoll Armstrong, 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 Ben Hill anything and everything about Fringe. This is the second in a series of Twitter chats leading up to the 2013 festival. #HFF13 chats are currently slated to occur on the last Monday of every month. Hope to hear all about your plans for 2013! 

Most of you know me as [email protected], but my real name is Alexa Hanrahan Hill and I’m the Fringe Participant Director. I’m excited to dive into my fourth year with the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and I’m looking forward to meeting you all in June!

I started my Fringe journey as a sorta-volunteer, back in 2009. (You’ll find that many of us on staff had beginnings as  volunteers… HINT HINT.) Since then, I’ve answered thousands of emails from HFF newbies and veterans, met hundreds of participants, and watched “this festival thing I’m working on” blossom into an event that has helped shape the landscape of the arts in Southern California. And I couldn’t be happier to be here.

What do you do for the Fringe?

You know when you have a question and you email support? Those come to my ever growing inbox. I review each and every one of your questions, concerns, or problems, and either help you out myself, or enlist whichever of the HFF’s many talented staff members can best be of service.
If you have a question or problem that the site itself can’t answer (note: the blogs and the learn section of the site), send it my way. Every single member of the staff wants your Fringe experience to be as fun and hassle-free as possible, and it’s my job to ensure that you walk away with the confidence of questions answered.

Do you like your job? What’s the best part?


I like solving problems, and I like solving them quickly – so our 24 hour service agreement and the rapid-fire Q & A sessions are a perfect fit for my slightly high-strung, obsessive nature (I’m cool, though, I swear – just efficient). I’d say the BEST part of the job, however, is getting to know you, our participants, year in and year out. Some folks who have been bringing HFF realness since day one are close friends, contributors (or co-conspirators?), and inspirations. It’s smushy, lovey stuff, but it’s true.

If you could give one piece of advice to Fringers, what would it be?



Since I’m a super-nerd, it won’t be “Have lots of fun and give hugs!”, although you should – as long as the person you’re hugging consents. I say, “Use the tools you’ve been given to build your own success.” (That’s also my newest tattoo idea, it’s official.) We on the HFF staff do try really, really hard to give participants what they need to walk away from this experience triumphant. Read as much as you can about the festival, take advantage of the deals we’ve sought out for you, and mark your calendar with deadlines. Show up to Fringe sponsored events to talk to staff, venue managers, and other participants. See shows during the festival. Give us feedback. You’re the reason this community is growing by leaps and bounds every year, and we want to help you keep making it happen.

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 Shakespeare from 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!)