10 Reasons to Hate the New York Fringe Festival

As you know Mr. Fringey is partial to the Canadian and Orlando model of fringe festivals. Which is:

100% UNCENSORED
100% UNJURIED
100% ACCESSIBLE
100% of $ from ticket sales go directly to the ARTISTS involved!

Take away any one of these parts without adding another and you start losing major fringe karma points. For instance, Capital Fringe doesn't give 100% of the door, but they create a great fringe community and provide tons of support to artists from out of town. 

1-1=0+1=1

Are you picking up the equation that I'm putting down.

In recent months, Mr. Fringey has been asked more than once what his thoughts were in terms of applying to the New York Fringe. This Blog entry is my answer.

1) Participating is like Contributing to Global Warming:

It used to be in the fine print, now it's published on their website. "If accepted to the festival, each company and author (where applicable) will be required to agree to contribute 2% of their gross revenues above $20,000 derived from future productions of the play for a period of seven years after the close of the festival." What the hell is this? Grapes of Wrath? We've all heard that Urinetown became a hit at the NY Fringe and then had to shuck out the dough for the greedy Mr. Thomas.

"At the ranch, the boss, Mr. Thomas, tells the men about the Farmers’ Association, which demands that he pay his laborers twenty-five cents an hour and no more. Even though he knows his men deserve a higher wage, Thomas claims that to pay more would “only cause unrest.” (The Grapes of Wrath Chapter 22 by John Steinbeck)

2. You will age 55 years for every ticket you sell.

You get $8.75 for every $15 ticket sold. You do the math.

3. Perpetuating the Starving Artists Myth One Show at a Time

You pay a whopping $600 entry fee, plus your $30 fee to get your application reviewed. Cincinnati takes 50% of the door but the festival fee is only 30 bucks.

4. Did I just sign up for American Idol?

Fringe NYC doesn't disguise the fact that they use a jury process to "insure the festival is a cross-section of the best emerging performance from around the world." Are you hiring a pastry chef or a performer? What a crock. Fringes shouldn't jury, period!

5. Doctor, I caught a case of the Bullies

It's no wonder that Fringe NYC has been awarded Mr. Fringey's Bully Award for the past two years. Rejecting all sense of the spirit of the fringe community again and again, I think Fringe NYC needs to take a behavioral modification class, but not in the NYC school system, (that's probably where they learned to bully others to begin with). If you need some proof check out my blog entry that details the nastygram they sent the Long Island Fringe Fest last year.

6. It Feels Romantic to be Completely Alone in the Big Apple

Although the NYF is only partly to blame, fringe shows in New York are a hard sell. On any weekend there are only about 10 million other shows going on there. I know performers who sell out entire runs of shows all over the fringe circuit and find themselves in miserably tiny houses at the NYF. Although your ego will always get the best of you in this situation, a small house is a small house is a small house and just because you're in NYC doesn't make it romantic.

7. Attendance Aschemndance

According to their website "In 2009, nearly 70,000 people attended Fringe NYC." Do you know how few people that is for a festival taking place in New York? That's the equivalent of one person showing up to a show at the Kansas City Fringe.

8. Are We Getting Married or Just Dating

If you are accepted to FringeNYC, part of their agreement prohibits the performance of your show anywhere in New York, New Jersey or Connecticut anytime during the months of June, July, or August.

9 & 10. There were 2 more reasons, but the New York Fringe Festival only allows blog entries that critique the festival in jest to a total of 8 reasons. Mr. Fringey was required to submit the remaining 2 reasons to the festival directors for approval with a $23 dollar application fee. Apologies to my readers

 

 

The United States Fringe Festival Conference USAFF

For the past four years there’s been a secret fringe festival meeting going on in October…. in secret…. sort of. (It’s only a secret if you’re not the producer of a fringe festival). So, for dudes like me and performers like you… it remains….a secret. The producers get together like I guess senators and heads of states do and discuss the STATE OF THE FRINGE.

Mr. Fringey caught up with Beth Marshall, the Producing Artistic Director of the Orlando Fringe Festival and the host of this year’s STATE OF THE FRINGE MEETING and asked her to fill me in on all the fringe secrets.

Q: What’s the official name for your meeting?

A: The United States Fringe Festival Association Conference.

Q: How long have you been meeting?

A: 5 years.

Q: Is it in the same place every year?

A: No, it’s hosted by a different festival each year. Next years it’s in Kansas City. Last year it was in DC.

Q: Who showed up this year?

A: MN, Indy, KC, Frigid, NYC, New Orleans, Delaware, Chicago and Washington D.C.

Q: Wait! If I take the first letter of each of the words of your conference it stands for USAFF. Does that mean the USAFF is the same as the CAFF?

A: Hardly. The CAFF or Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals has a mandate that says what a fringe is.

Q: Yeah, when I visited the CAFF website (http://www.fringefestivals.com) I kind of got the idea that the Canadians had the whole fringe thing down. When I went to the USAFF website – http://www.fringefestivals.us. It seemed like what a fringe is in the US was all over the map.

A: Exactly. There’s a real strong challenge here in the US determining what a fringe is.

Q: What does Canada say a fringe is?

A: 100% UNCENSORED
100% UNJURIED
100% ACCESSIBLE
100% of $ from ticket sales go directly to the ARTISTS involved!

Q: That’s what I always thought a fringe was, but the New York Fringe is juried, the Cincinnati Fringe only gives you 50% of the door, etc. It seems like every city has it’s own rules.

A: Which is why the USAFF is only an organization in theory. Until there’s an agreement in terms of what guides a US fringe festival it will remain but an idea. Until then there’s no legal authorization for the use of it.

Q: We can barely agree on healthcare, I doubt a bunch of artists are going to agree on something like this. It seems pretty simple though.

A: Exactly. There is a reason that the festivals overall are doing well in Canada and that’s because you don’t mess with a business model that works. We’re now the longest running fringe festival in the US. In 1997, we were $45,000 in debt and we still decided to give 100% back to the artists.

Q: So, what do you do at your secret fringe meeting?

A: It’s a producer’s conference.

Q: So, you have brainstorming sessions on what the fringe is?

A: We hold the meetings so we can act as Fringe Mentors for the new fringes. We require that new fringes attend a Newbie day as a requirement to belonging to part of the secret club. That way we can use our own established reputations to help new and emerging festivals gain recognition around the nation.

Mr. Fringey's disclaimer: Beth doesn't really say "exactly" all the time, it's just that Mr. Fringey couldn't read his notes from the interview

Greensboro Fringe Festival

By Guest Reviewer: Kati Frazier

Guest Festival Ranking: 3 out of 5 bowties

Mr. Fringey’s Description: Honest, true, and southern like a one-eyed, bubble gum chewing nine year ol’ kid.

Overview:

The Sunny-side: (Give 3 reasons this fringe is the bomb)

1. There's no application fee. It is totally free to apply the only money GSO fringe gets out of you is a cut of the door. Not too shabby.

2. There is a really great variety of shows. Dance, Burlesque, and all kinds of theatre, from typical to experimental.

3. It's a young fringe. A blessing and curse. But it does mean that everyone has a shot. Things are always changing, every year the Fringe takes on something new. For example a few years ago they started "the New Fringe" a collection of short pieces of dance and theatre shows together on the same night. That's how I got into the fringe with a ten minute play I wrote called Flesh and Bone. Plus, with it being new and young the audience is still really excited about all the new work. Greensboro really has a great and diverse theatre-going crowd.

The Flip-side: (Give 3 reasons this fringe sucks or what makes it difficult)

1. It's a young fringe. Like I said, a blessing and a curse. There are still plenty of people in town who give you a puzzled look when you say you're doing a show in the Fringe Festival, ("I didn't know we had a French festival." "no, no fringe." etc) Don't get me wrong, there is a definite audience here, a great one, but adding to the people who are already in on it can be a bit challenging.

2. Pretty much all of the shows happen downtown. But, there aren't always quite enough venues. Last year I was told (paraphrasing of course), "we want your show in the festival, but we don't have a performance space for you. If you can find one, you're in." Which was a bit of a struggle. But from what I can tell they are already working on this.

3. City Arts, which is the primary venue for Fringe shows, is a really nice and flexible space . . . .but has occasional strange pipe noises, which make things sound ominous. It's really not a big deal, but it bugs with my controlling nature. Fringe takes 20% of the door, the rest is yours to do with as you please, preferably convert it into singles and bathe in it, that's what I do . . . . not really.

Ease of Filling Seats:

What's the best way to fill your seats here marketing-wise?

Putting fliers in peoples hands has always worked really well for me. Going to coffee shops at busy times or hanging out on Tate St. or near the colleges and just handing people a postcard-sized flier really does wonders.

Is there a fringe central?

There's an office, but nothing I would really call a fringe central.

Is there a showcase for out of town performers?

did I mention it's a young fringe? To my knowledge there haven't been any out of town performers yet. Not that they are against it. I just don't think anyone has applied.

Potential to Make Money:

Do you get 100% of door? If not, how much.

If you find your own venue I believe you get 100%

Do performers see other shows for free?

nope, but none of the shows are very expensive. No one charges more than $10.

Do you get paid each night? If not how? Were you paid on time if the money was sent to you?

You get paid after the run, about a week later. The check arrived on time. I had no problems

Navigation of the City

What city do you fly into and how did you get to your destination?

Uhm, yeah, as I said we haven't had any out-of-towners in our fringe yet. But PTI airport is right in Greensboro. The bus system is decent. Not too hard to get around.

Can you walk to all the venues? If not how did you get around?

Usually everything is downtown, all of it within walking distance of eachother. There are some hotels nearby as well.

Did you use fringe fest lodging? If so, how was the lodging? If not, who did you stay with?

Doesn't exist, there simply isn't a need yet.

How big of a money sock do you need here, based on food prices, and other expenses? (Choose one: A tiny sock, a men's tube sock, a full blown stocking)

Tiny Sock. There are plenty of cheap places to east downtown, the shows are all reasonably priced. It really isn't an expensive endeavor

Fringe Specs:

Fringe Specs:

Age in Fringe Years: 8 years (these are southern three-legged dog years)

Festival Dates: Jan 22 – Feb 14, 2010

Application Deadline: September 30, 2009

And: Apply with video/cd and resume. (uh-oh?! - and limited to North Carolina and surrounding area residents)

Applying: http://www.greensborofringefestival.org/

Festival Cost: $0 (cool huh?)

Ticket Prices: vary, everyone gets to charge what they want as long as it is under $10. You don't even have to charge at all if you don't want to.

About Mr. Fringy's Guest Reviewer: Kati Frazier

Mr. Fringey’s tag: The Cicada is the new butterfly.

Check her/him out at: (website, blog, My Space page links, etc.) http://www.facebook.com/pages/Kati-Frazier/190670787440?created#/pages/Kati-Frazier/190670787440?ref=search&sid=25002405.2860549015..1 I definitely just made a facebook fan page so I could put something here. Let's face it, I'm a bit green.

What categories does your show fall under? (IE, comedy, women, religious, etc).

Non-linear queer drama in which all the characters are assholes . . . . that's a category right?

How long have you been fringing?

I've done the Greensboro Fringe twice before and that is it. I am pretty new, just out of college and stretching my wings and various other metaphors.

What fringe did you make your most important contact?

yep . . . see above

In one word, why do you fringe?

passion

What's the name of the show (s) you are fringing this year?

The Last Year is what I am fringing this coming year. I am pretty excited about it. It may be the most inappropriate thing I have ever written.

Do you use your own tech person at your shows? If so, how much do you pay them?

yes. It's something I am still negotiating.

Any fringes to avoid?

nope

Photos by:

Me. The poster is from the show I did last year. The other is of me, drunk.