Greetings, All-

On Monday, May 23 we hold a Town Hall for the Fringe community. All are invited to discuss preparations for our second festival.

On the docket: Events, awards, tickets, promotion, visibility, and getting the most out of your Fringe experience.

We are so happy to be holding this event at the Open Fist Theatre in Hollywood; many thanks to the Open Fist Theatre Company for hosting us.

There will be a mixer following the event at 3Clubs bar with drink specials for Fringers.

Here are the details…

WHAT: A Fringe Town Hall

WHERE: Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA

WHEN: Monday, May 23, 7pm (6:30 Doors)

RSVP: Reserve a seat on the fringe site

The mixer will begin around 9pm at 3Clubs (1123 Vine St.). Look for the illuminated “cocktails” sign on the NW corner of Vine St. and Santa Monica Blvd.

The event will be recorded for those that can’t make it.

Hope to see you there!

Ben

The Fringe is pleased to announce our partnership with the good folks at the NoHo Arts District.

The NoHo Arts District, a one-square arts community in North Hollywood has become LA’s newest entertainment playground. Come and experience…

• 21 “Live” Theatres
• Art Galleries & Public Art – every style
• World famous Dance Workshops
• Vintage & Specialty Shops
• Restaurants, Nightclubs & Special Events

To find out what’s happening…visit www.nohoartsdistrict.com

Ben

Click here to sponsor the Fringe.

Greetings, Fringers-

As we enter the fray of a new year’s festival, I write today to ask for your help.

These are tough times for new artistic projects: city, county, state, and federal coffers are dry, and local and national businesses who once sponsored ambitious artistic projects like ours struggle to pay their own bills.

Last year we managed to do the impossible: Stage what was to become the largest open access arts festival West of the Mississippi with little to no funding. Almost 200 shows, near 1000 performances, over 30 venues rose to the call on the idea that an international celebration of the arts was needed in Los Angeles. It went very well, better than any of us could have conceived when we started this endeavor.

We have many bright ideas for the future: Conveyance shuttles, broader music and visual art programs, new initiatives into the digital frontier and so much more. There is no shortage of ideas to continue the evolution of this annual celebration.

Sometimes our ambitions are greater than our bank balance: This is where we need your help.

We are a nonprofit which means that we seek a percentage of our operating money from good people like you; those that understand that access to culture is critically important to our society and our community.

Today we announce our partnership with Kickstarter.com to raise funds for this year’s festival. For those of you unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it is a platform where you can pledge a certain amount of money towards a specified goal; ours is a modest $10,000. If we reach that goal, the funds are released. If we don’t reach it, we get nothing and you pay nothing.

In return for your contribution to the cause, you receive perks that vary depending on the level of your generosity ranging from free drinks at Fringe Central to tickets to t-shirts to fun video thank yous from our beloved mascots.

Click here to sponsor the Fringe.

Your generous contribution goes far towards our mission of providing a voice for the emerging arts and an event for its devotees. The amount doesn’t matter, any contribution demonstrates you stand with us and the arts.

I know times are tight and there are many wonderful and deserving projects seeking your hard-earned dollar. I ask you today to reach into your pockets for a cause that matters to all of us, as a world without art is a cold place. For a few weeks a year, the Fringe warms us up.

Thanks so much for your time and your consideration.

Kindest Regards,

Ben

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Ben Hill, Festival Director
The Hollywood Fringe Festival
www.HollywoodFringe.org

And now a few words from our publicity director Stacy Jones….

Hey Fringey People,

The second Fringe approaches! I hope you’re all as excited as I am for another summer on the streets of Hollywood. I’m looking forward to all the things that made me fall in love with Fringe: the huge (and often extreme) spectrum of artistic expression, the inspiring range of personalities and opinions, and watching everyone celebrate all their hard work! And did I mention the sangria?

For those of you returning to the fest, you might know me as the lady with the flip camera. Last year, my fabulous volunteer James and I interviewed over 60 different participant groups, and this year I’ll have even more volunteers helping me to hit the streets and get to know the participants up close.

I wish coordinating and conducting interviews was the only part of my job, but as Publicity Director, it’s also my job to make sure press knows about our event. I help to secure media sponsorships, write press releases, and broker comp tickets for press (so if you get an email from me during Fringe, you’d better respond quickly to insure coverage of your show!).

A lot of people try to hit me up for advice about successfully promoting a Fringe show, so I thought I’d outline a few basic things you can do to maximize the impact of your show:

• Write a press release and post it on the Fringe site as well as sending it to press contacts that you think would enjoy your show (think big: LA Times, LA Weekly & Backstage all came out for Fringe last year, among many others)
• Invest time in building up social media like Twitter & Facebook
• Networking is the most simple (and often most effective) tactic you can adopt. Do it.
• Read our Participant Packet, which outlines lots of promotional ideas

It was only a few years ago that a group of us sat around an apartment in Hollywood talking about the local arts and theater scene and somehow developed the idea of a festival. For a long time, even as we developed branding and applied for our nonprofit status, the Fringe felt like a dream. Finally, after years of hard work, we were able to see our ideas come to life. What a fulfilling moment.

But it’s not just about us… I know all of you have worked extremely hard to get your shows to the Hollywood Fringe, and I’m proud of each and every one of you, even those I haven’t yet met. Without you, our dream of a thriving artistic community in Hollywood would still be just a dream. So thanks! I know you guys are going to rock it out this summer, and I can’t wait.

Fringe on!
Stacy Jones, Publicity Director

Tickets are now available for all productions participating in the Hollywood Fringe Festival, celebrating its second year this June. Close to 200 artistic groups will present over 800 performances, workshops, exhibitions, and events throughout central Hollywood as a part of the celebratory multi-arts festival. Tickets are available online starting today and will also be available at Fringe Central (Art/Works Theatre at 6567 Santa Monica Blvd.) starting June 9.

This year the Fringe has implemented a custom ticketing system into its website which already has many interactive features. Those wishing to buy tickets can either browse all Fringe projects at once, view performances by day or by venue, or utilize a tag cloud with words describing Fringe events. Ticket prices range from free to $25 with an average cost of $11.

In addition to the online and Fringe Central box offices, venue-specific tickets will be available at the box offices of over thirty theatres, bars, and galleries participating in this years fest. Some venues include: Elephant Theatre, iO West, Theatre Asylum, Theatre of NOTE, The Complex, The Lounge Theatre and The Open Fist Theatre. Fringe [Film] tickets will be available in early June.

Key Festival Dates

May 20: Printed Fringe Guide Available
June 1: Fringe [Film] Application Deadline
June 9-14: Fringe Previews
June 15: Fringe Opening Night Party
June 16-26: The Hollywood Fringe Festival
June 26: Fringe Award Ceremony & Closing Night Party

About Hollywood Fringe

The Hollywood Fringe Festival (www.hollywoodfringe.org) is an annual celebration of the emerging arts.

Environments for the Fringe include both traditional and unorthodox venues; fully equipped theatres, street corners, clubs, bars, and places unexpected. Performances are self-produced by local, national, and international arts companies and independent performers. In the spirit of most Fringes, participation is open and uncensored.

In June 2010, over 175 different artistic groups representing all genres of performing and visual art participated in the inaugural Hollywood Fringe Festival, filling 17,000 seats in 30 different venues throughout central Hollywood. The event was called “an artful feast” by the LA Times, “a roaring success” by Backstage, and “a triumph” by LA Weekly.

Those seeking more information can contact the festival at [email protected].

Follow @hollywoodfringe on Twitter or use the #hff11 hashtag. You may also become a fan of our facebook page.