Chicago Fringe Kicks Festival Application Butt

Reposted from the Chicago Fringe Website

Dear me. We are elated and overwhelmed to have seen such a response from our applicants. In our very first year, we received 155 applications. Wow. While I like to think of that as faith in the work we are doing, I know that it's really a testament to the amazing work that the other regional and US fringes have done over the last several years. People love Fringe. They were hungry for a Fringe here in Chicago. We are working diligently at every available moment, in every possible way to make this the Fringe that Chicago wants and needs. Please never hesitate to contact us and tell us what you would like to see at Fringe this September!

Here is the breakdown of the applications:
Chicagoland: 85
National: 66
International: 4

I'm touched that all of these groups, including four from outside the United States, had enough faith in us to give this a shot, to take a risk on something in its inaugural year.

This project has come to feel like a freight train - we started the engines, but now it's charging forth with its own inertia. We're hanging on to the rails, enjoying the ride.

Watch out for a blog post soon with more details about the lottery Sunday, including how to watch it broadcast from the web!

Record number of Fringe Festival applications

Posted by Graydon Royce

StarTribune.com

Interest in the Minnesota Fringe Festival has stayed high. The 11-day festival of theater and performing arts experienced a 13 percent jump in attendance last August and now a record 386 applications have been submitted for this year’s event. That’s up 22 percent from 2009.

A lottery (open to the public) will be at 7 p.m., Feb. 17 at Bedlam Theatre, 1501 S. 6th St., Minneapolis, to choose approximately 150 shows. There are reserved slots: ten for kids shows; ten for teens; 15 for artitst of color; 10 international and 20 national. Within those categories, though, the selections are nonjuried and by chance.

Fourteen states and three nations (outside of the United States) are represented in the applications. Robin Gillette, the Fringe’s executive director, said there is a 60-40 split between veterans and newcomers in the mix. The previous high for applications was 327 in 2007.

The Fringe Festival will be Aug. 5-15 in venues through Minneapolis and St. Paul. Last year’s event sold a record 46,216 tickets in 22 venues. The best box-office gross was 2006, with $338,181. The Minnesota Fringe is the third oldest such festival in the United States and the largest nonjuried Fringe.