Guest Review: Rouge Festival

Guest Review: Rogue Festival
By Guest Reviewer: Lynn Ruth Miller

Guest Festival Ranking: 5 bowties out of 5
Mr. Fringey’s Description: The mysterious, fascinating, and enigmatic chin whisker that brings joy to the entire family each night at dinner.

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

1. THE STAFF IS AMAZINGLY HELPFUL. THEY DO PROMOTION AND FRONT OF HOUSE WORK FOR ALL SHOWS FREE OF CHARGE.

2. THE AUDIENCES ARE EAGER AND APPRECIATIVE.

3. THE PERFORMANCE AREA IS VERY COMPACT AND YOU CAN SEE OTHER PERFORMANCES EASILY WITHOUT HAVING TO GO A LONG DISTANCE

The Flip Side: (Give 3 reasons this festival sucks or what makes it difficult)

1. THERE WAS NOTHING DIFFICULT ABOUT THIS FESTIVAL. IT WAS A TOTAL PLEASURE!

2.

3.

Your Money Sock:

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

How to Fill Your Seats: What's the best way to fill your seats here marketing-wise?

IT IS SO EASY!!! THE RESIDENTS READ THE PROMO MATERIAL THE ROGUE PUTS OUT AND THEY SUPPORT EVERYTHING THEY CAN. I BARELY HANDED OUT FLYERS AND GOT A TON OF PRESS AND FILLED HOUSES.

Is there a "festival central"?

YES, AND IT IS VERY SOCIAL, VERY LOVING, AND VERY, VERY HELPFUL ..EASY TO FIND: A GALLERY ON THE MAIN DRAG.

Ticket Prices:

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

100%

What's the ticket range price?

$4 IS TOPS I DO THE SMALLER VENUE YOU CAN GET MORE AT THE LARGER VENUES

Do performers see other shows for free?

NOT SURE BECAUSE I AM WITH THE PRESS AND I ALWAYS SEE THEM FOR NOTHING I ALSO VOLUNTEER TO HELP AT OTHER SHOWS. THAT IS HOW I ROLL (-:

Payment:

Do you get paid each night? If not how? Were you paid on time if the money was sent to you? YOU ARE PAID RIGHT AFTER YOU FINISH YOUR LAST SHOW IN FULL AND YOU NEVER HAVE TO BOTHER WITH COLLECTING ETC.

Showcase:

Is there a showcase for out of town performers?

NO, I SO WISH THERE WERE

Venue Location:

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

I WALKED EVERYWHERE THEY ARE VERY CLOSE TO ONE ANOTHER

Travel-in: What city do you fly into and how did you get to your destination?

I DROVE FROM PACIFICA (JUST BELOW SF) TO FRESNO

Billeting:

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

THE FESTIVAL CO-0ORDINATOR FINDS LODGING FOR OUT OF TOWNERS AND IT IS FREE.

Fringe Specs:

Where: In the historic Tower District of Fresno, California

Age in Fringe Years: That very nice 7 year old whom you liked to hold hands with in 5th grade.

Festival Dates: February 26 - March 7.

Application Deadline: October 31, 2008

Applying: www.roguefestival.com – snail mail or www.myspace.com/roguefestival

Festival Cost: $25 - $250.

About Mr. Fringy's Guest Reviewer: Lynn Ruth Miller

Mr. Fringey’s tag: Putting the “S” back in the stage, the sexy, and the solar system.
Check her out at: www.lynnruthmiller.com and www.myspace.com/lynn_ruth_miller and Facebook.

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

STORYTELLING.

How long have you been fringing or performing at festivals?

SINCE 2004.

How many fringes or festivals do you do each year?

TWO USUALLY THREE IF I CAN MANAGE.

What has been your favorite fringe or festival?

THE EDINBURGH FRINGE FESTIVAL - YOU CANNOT BEAT THAT ONE FOR EXCITEMENT.

What has been your biggest money making fringe or festival?

THE ROGUE FESTIVAL BELIEVE IT OR NOT BECAUSE YOU DON'T SPEND AS MUCH TO GET THERE.

What fringe or festival did you make your most important contact?

BOTH OF THEM I ALSO DID ONE IN ARUNDEL AND THAT NETTED NOTHING AT ALL.

In one word, why do you fringe or perform at festivals?

LOVE

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

“AN AUDIENCE WITH LYNN RUTH MILLER,” A CABARET CALLED “AGING IS AMAZING” I DO IN BRIGHTON AND EDINBURGH. BUT I ONLY DO STORYTELLING AT THE ROGUE

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

I DO MY OWN TECH AT THE ROGUE; THEY DO ALL THE FRONT OF HOUSE FOR NO EXTRA CHARGE.

Any fringes or festivals to avoid?

I DIDN'T LIKE ARUNDEL (USSEX) BUT I THINK IT WAS MY VENUE MANAGER NOT THE FESTIVAL ITSELF.

Fringe Review: New Orleans Fringe Fest

Guest Review: New Orleans Fringe Fest
By Guest Reviewer: Annie Howe of Nana Projects

Guest Festival Ranking: 5 bow ties out of 5.
Mr. Fringey’s Description: If Frank Zappa made a baby with Nina Simone and they allowed Nora Jones to raise it

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

1. The organizers, staff and volunteers
2. The audiences were amazing and up for any kind of show
3. The shows were super high quality and totally great
4. The festival did an incredible job publicizing the event

The Flip Side: (Give 3 reasons this fringe sucks or what makes it difficult)
I would say that the festival was a huge success and the things I will list below probably would change next years the festival expands so I would not say they made the festival bad but are hopefully changes that will happen next year

1. I think intentionally the venues were small so that way shows would be crowded- Maybe more shows or bigger houses some shows had to turn people away- which I guess is a good sign!
2. More opportunity to expand runs- again probably because the festival was a new one they wanted to contain it, but there were many shows that could have extended their runs
3. Again same as above each show only got three slots to perform in the times were really good though and every show we went to no matter the time of day was crowded if not full


4. Your Money Sock:
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)

I would say you need a ladies ankle sock- New Orleans is easy to get around with out a car
but there are so many bars and places to eat- it depends on how much fun you want to have
there were many people hosting folks from the fringe at their houses so that helped a lot
flights were cheap from Baltimore.

5. How to Fill Your Seats: What's the best way to fill your seats here marketing-wise?
Post cards all over town, word of mouth we just talked to everyone we met and a ton of people knew about the fringe already and were excited- seems like if the audiences liked your show they really went and told their friends by our last show we had standing room only!

6. Is there a fringe central?
Yes they set up a circus tent and had parties there each evening- again another place to network and make connections.

7. Ticket Prices:
$7.00 or 5 shows for $30.00 plus a three dollar button
Do you get 100% of door? If not, how much.
50% of the door

Do performers see other shows for free?
Each company got 10 comps to use however they liked

8. Payment:
Do you get paid each night? If not how? Were you paid on time if the money was sent to you?
Payment after but notified quickly about ticket sales after each show.

9. Showcase:
Is there a showcase for out of town performers?
Not this year

10.Venue Location:
Can you walk to all the venues? If not how did you get around?
Walk to most bike to all - We rented a car because our show needed a car to transport all the luggage

11. Travel-in: What city do you fly into and how did you get to you destination?
Baltimore to New Orleans via rental car

12. Billeting:
Did you use fringe fest lodging? If so, how was the lodging? If not, who did
you stay with? Fringe hooked us up with an awesome guy who was hosting about 15 plus out of town fringers in his warehouse.

Fringe Specs:
Age in Fringe Years: Brand Spanking New.
And: 20 spots available – 15 juried and 5 by lottery.
Festival Dates: November 13-16, 2009
Application Deadline: July 15, 2009
Applying: www.nofringe.org. Snail mail with application.
Festival Cost: $25
Ticket Prices: 7 bucks.

About Mr. Fringy's Guest Reviewer: Annie Howe of Nana Projects
Mr. Fringey’s tag: Cirque Du Sole on a piece of gluten free toast with real butter.
Check them out at: www.nanaprojects.com

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

What's the name of the show (s) you are fringing this year?
Danny The Diver and Luna

What has been your favorite fringe?
(Nana Projects is new to the fringe, so they didn’t have answers for the usual fringe questions).

Do you use your own tech person at your shows? If so, how much do you pay
them?
The fringe provided all the tech support.

Guest Review: Ottawa Fringe Festival
By Guest Reviewer: Amy Salloway

Guest Festival Ranking: 4 Bow Ties out of 5.
Mr. Fringey’s Description: The Humid Panty Pantry.

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

1. The Ottawa Fringe is really well-managed. The staff (Artistic Director Kevin Waghorn and his crew) has a lot of fun together and creates a really congenial, comfortable, inclusive atmosphere for the artists -- it's clear they value the Fringe participants and want them to have fun and be happy. The staff members are good communicators, they welcome artists into the office, they're easy to get a hold of, they're not easily offended or ruffled, and they run a Fringe that's quite smoothly organized, and yet also isn't overly bogged down by rules and regulations. They also listen to feedback, and take suggestions for how to improve -- for example, the Ottawa Fringe used to have virtually NO web presence -- their website was awful, and no one ever updated it. Performers said, "Hey, um, you guys really need to move into the technological era", and this year -- TONS of web presence. The website is now interactive -- audience members can log in to write reviews, and folks can add interviews, links, photos, etcetera -- and there's a Facebook application.

2. It's a low-stress Fringe. The Ottawa Fringe has a dedicated audience. The city is easy to get around, and easy to poster. Audience members don’t mind being flyered while they’re in line. The technicians are all really nice and really competent. The theatres are decent and close together. There’s food and shopping two inches from the Fringe grounds (entirely surrounding the Fringe grounds, actually). The atmosphere is consistently cheery and relaxed.

3. It’s really social. It’s not a huge Fringe, so it’s a great place to get to know other performers and locals; there’s lots of hanging out at the end of every night, lots of really great conversations.

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

There’s really no suckage. The entire festival has such a relaxed, endearing feel, I've never met anyone who didn't enjoy being there. I could say that, on the whole, you might not find Ottawa your piece of cake if you're looking for a BIG Fringe with BIG moneymaking potential -- if you feel unsatiated by anything smaller than Winnipeg, yeah, you're going to be disappointed here. However, if you're not a size queen, there's little pain to put up with. Here are my minor gripes:

1. The volunteers have varying levels of competence, and it’s not unusual to have some box office discrepancies or ticket count errors.

2. The papers are VERY erratic in their willingness to review shows. This is kind of a pain — the Ottawa Sun and the Citizen used to be good about reviewing, but this past year, they were AWFUL — reviewed a handful of shows the first weekend and then quit giving the Fringe publicity altogether. Boo.

3. There's a wide variance in venue size, so if you were hoping for a 100-seat venue and you get one of the 60-seat venues, you might feel a little cheated at the reduced income potential.

4. ....Oh, and 3.5 HUMIDITY. Ottawa is a freakin' HUMID CITY in the summer. Yuck.


Your Money Sock:
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)
Men’s tube sock. Ottawa’s relatively affordable.

How to Fill Your Seats: Whatâ•˙s the best way to fill your seats here marketing-wise?
Flyer, talk up your show...nothing unusual.

Is there a fringe central?
There is a “beer garden” on the lawn next to the Fringe's main building (The Arts Court), that contains the outdoor showcase/band/karaoke stage, tables to hang out at, port-a-potties (with hand-washing sinks!), one beer tent, and one food booth. It’s small and, uh, sort of homely, but everyone hangs out there anyway (and puts their sandwich boards up there too).

Ticket Prices:
Do you get 100% of door? If not, how much.
YES.

Do performers see other shows for free?
YES, with passwords.

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

Yes, you get paid after each show. If you forget to pick up your money, or if you're the last show of the night, you can get it in the office the next day. You get the advance ticket sale payout (the NON at-the-door sales) your last day in town, or you can have it mailed to you.

Showcase:
Is there a showcase for out of town performers?
There are showcases at the beer tent all throughout the Fringe, every night starting at 9 pm. They're often themed, like "Solo Performer Showcase!", "Musical Showcase!" etcetera. Some performers really like to participate in them, others feel that flyering and hanging out around the audience in the beer tent is equally good publicity, since it can be hard to get people to pay attention to stuff on an outdoor stage. Besides the showcase, there are also karaoke nights and dance nights at the beer tent, so you can always schmooze that way too.


Venue Location:
Can you walk to all the venues? If not how did you get around?
Yes, you can walk to all the venues.

Travel-in: What city do you fly into and how did you get to you
destination?
You can fly into Ottawa and take a taxi or bus to downtown. Ottawa overlaps the last weekend of Montreal, so the Montreal performers take the bus or train from there, or drive.

Billeting:
Did you use fringe fest lodging? If so, how was the lodging? If not, who did
you stay with?
Yes -- the first year I did Ottawa, I stayed with the festival director (Kevin); the following two years, I stayed with a volunteer four blocks from the festival grounds. Ottawa is good about finding people billets, though there's not always a lot of lodging super-close to the Fringe area. The University also rents dorm rooms close to the Fringe.

Fringe Specs:
Age in Fringe Years: That sweaty hip 12 year old with all the pimples.
Festival Dates: June 18 - 28, 2009
Application Deadline: December 1, 2009
And: In 2008 The Ottawa Fringe gave over $80,000 back to the artists involved in the festival. Tickets sales increased by 10% and 12,000 tickets were sold.
Applying: www.ottowafringe.com. Snail mail application.
Festival Cost: $577.70
Ticket Prices: $10-$12 or lower. You can also participate in the 2-4-1 opening night ticket deal, which almost everyone does to get audiences in the door.

About Mr. Fringy's Guest Reviewer: Amy Salloway
Mr. Fringey’s tag: Repping the Heeb Tribe on the fringe circuit since 1994.
Check her out at: www.amysalloway.com and www.myspace.com/awkwardmomentproductions

What categories does your show fall under? (IE, comedy, women, religious, etc).
I have three shows, all semi-autobiographical solo comedy narratives -- "Does This Monologue Make Me Look Fat?" (written in 2003), "So Kiss Me Already, Herschel Gertz!" (written in 2005), and "Circumference" (written in 2006/2007).

How long have you been fringing?
I've been doing the Fringes in the cities in which I've lived (Seattle and Minneapolis) since 1994, but I've been TOURING to multiple Fringes since 2004 -- that is, 5 years.

How many fringes do you do each year?
4-7 -- a mix of US and Canadian Fringes. I have never had a year in which I got into all the Fringe lotteries to which I applied. I usually apply to anywhere between six and nine, and usually get into three to seven!

(If it’s relevant, I've participated in: Seattle (now defunct), Minnesota, Thunder Bay (now defunct), Atlantic (Halifax), Victoria, Vancouver, Cincinnati, Orlando, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Calgary, the Rogue Festival (which is basically a Fringe), the Berkshire Fringe (not a CAFF Fringe).)

What has been your favorite fringe?
Ottawa and Winnipeg.

What has been your biggest money making fringe?
Winnipeg.

What fringe did you make your most important contact?
Minnesota and Vancouver maybe, but really, I’ve made great contacts all over the place...

In one word, why do you fringe?
I would have said “opportunities”, but Cody Rivers took that one, so: “connections”. :-)

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

Do you use your own tech person at your shows? If so, how much do you
pay them?
No, no tech person.

Any fringes to avoid?
I have answers to this in my head, but I don’t want them on a public website. :-) I try to think of everything as being a learning experience...

Guest Review: Indy Fringe

Guest Review: Indianapolis Fringe Festival
By Guest Reviewer: Zehra Fazal

Guest Festival Ranking: 4.5 bow ties our of 5.

Mr. Fringey’s Description: Thomas the Train goes to the big city and gets molested by Amtrack.

Sunny-side: (3 reason why this fringe is da bomb)
1. All the venues are located along 5-6 blocks of Massachusetts Avenue, making getting from venue to venue really easy.

2. The Fringe Office staff headed by Executive Director Pauline Moffat make great efforts to make performers feel welcome, including providing free lodging to out of town artists.

3. Because everything is so localized, you find yourself running into other performers, volunteers and technicians constantly, creating a "theatre summer camp" atmosphere.

The Flip Side: (3 reasons this fringe sucks or what makes it difficult) 1. Though it's progressing, Indianapolis doesn't have a huge theatre going community, because it is a smaller city in the Midwest. You have to market fairly hard to get people out.

2. The Fringe is centered around Mass Ave--if you want to go beyond that into Indianapolis or surrounding areas, a car is necessary.

3. This particular year, comedy, variety and magic acts comprised most of the programming. Most audiences went in looking for a laugh--making it a harder sell for straight theatre.

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)
A nylon footie--food and drink is relatively cheap in Indy. There's a supermarket near the Fringe so it makes it easier to prepare food at home. Lodging for out of town performers is free, so you save massively there.

How to Fill Your Seats:
What's the best way to fill your seats here marketing-wise?
There are publications in Indy that try to get to most of the shows on opening weekend, ensuring reviews by mid-Festival. These early features and reviews are the best way to generate buzz--and there is a fairly active blogging scene here. Flyering at local business and after shows is key.

Payment: You get 100 percent of the door. You walk out of the venue with an envelope each night full of the money received at the box office.

Showcase: Yes, there is an opening night preview party--variety style, where groups are selected at random and are given three minutes to perform material from their show before being given the GONG. It's an exciting, high-energy presentation with a fairly nice turnout.

Fringe central: Yes, there is a central office, as well as a tent set up on the weekends for music acts and performers to preview their shows.

Venue Location: All venues are close and within walking distance with the exception of some of the find your own venue/Fringe Next programming.

Travel-in: Flew into Indianapolis Int'l Airport. From there it's about a $30 cab ride to downtown Mass Ave. There is a $7 bus from the airport that drops off at several locations in downtown Indy, and from there it's a 25-30 minute walk to Mass Ave. There are apparently cheaper shuttle options than a taxi, but I used the bus.

Billeting: Yes! Pauline, the Executive Director of the festival, coordinated housing, and found me a spot to stay where I'd feel safe walking alone at night. I was housed with an extremely nice and gracious volunteer, who had two extra rooms to spare for festival artists. It was a three-minute walk away from my venue!

Fringe Specs:
Age in Fringe Years: The well-behaved 5 year old with a vocabulary that will make you fall in love with him (ignore the lisp and the hair lip that was corrected during bohemian infant surgery.

Festival Dates: August 21 – 30, 2009

Application Deadline: January 30, 2009

And: Part of CAFF - 6 performance slots per entry - 45-60 minute shows with 30 minutes load in/load out.

Applying: www.indyfringe.org. Snail mail application.

Festival Cost: $450

Ticket Prices: 10 bucks. Performers see shows for free.

About Mr. Fringy's Guest Reviewer: Zehra Fazal

Mr. Fringey’s tag: It’s no wonder so many Jews are bisexual. I really think the Jews knew, way back when, that Hitler was this talented, this sexy, and this damn charming.

Check her out at: www.zehrafazal.com or www.myspace.com/takarazehra

What categories does your show fall under?
Solo-performance, drama, adaptation

How long have you been fringing?
This is my second summer of Fringing

How many fringes do you do each year?
I did the DC fringe last summer, and two this summer (Indy and San Fran)

What has been your favorite fringe?
As an out of towner, I really enjoyed IndyFringe for cultivating that "fringey" community spirit.

What has been your biggest money making fringe?
Washington, DC--as a local actor to the area, it was easier to market and get audiences/resources there. Plus, ticket prices are $15--higher end among the Fringe circuit.

What fringe did you make your most important contact?
Well, this remains to be seen...but as a local of DC, I had the opportunity to showcase my work to a lot of the local directors/performers I want to work with in the area.

In one word, why do you fringe?
To make an opportunity for myself to perform in a way I wouldn't necessarily be able to in the mainstream, commercial world of theatre. Oops, that's not one word. I fringe because...ADVENTURE!

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