“Savor obscurity while it lasts. Once you “make it,” your work is never the same.”
From “Ignore Everybody”-by Hugh MacLeod
When I asked a fellow fringe performer (one of the most talented on the fringe circuit) to suggest fringes I should apply to in Canada based on their money making potential she sent me her answer with a disclaimer that I not post it on my blog.
The reason? Well, she felt since the upswing in fringe application popularity and the fact that fringe lotteries are getting harder and harder to get into, why add fuel to the fire with making certain fringes even more popular with publishing it to my blog.
For instance, I have some friends that live in Minnesota and haven’t gotten into that festival in over three years. How’s that for hometown love? Two years ago, when I applied to the Minnesota Fringe I was wait listed at # 119 (which means there were 119 acts in front of me vying for a coveted spot) and by the time the fringe lottery rolled around, I had moved up the waitlist to #18. Last year, I was waitlisted at 90 (out of about 165 open slots) and by the time the lottery rolled around I moved up to 78. Is the motion on the waitlist disappearing because performers are holding onto their positions tighter?
I’m not sure. I got into Montreal two years ago and cancelled out at the last minute. The same thing occurred for me with the Capital Fringe last year. Things come up. Life happens. I knew I’d be missing out, but I cancelled out anyway. It’s the fringe, it’s not Carnegie Hall.
I think every performer seeks the fringe for their own reasons. For me, it usually involves visiting a city I’ve never been to before, being a part of an artistic community of solo-performers, and balancing that with my ability in that particular city to recoup some of my costs.
If I post on my blog that everyone should apply to the Capital Fringe because it’s my favorite fringe, does it lower my chances of getting in? Does it skewer the application process? Am I shooting myself in the foot?
It reminds me of the same thing the surfing community went through about 10 years ago as surfing grew in popularity and technology made it easier for more people to find waves, and surf in conditions that had at one time been prohibitive. Wet suits were better surfboards were cheaper and more accessible and more and more surfers were exploring the world and telling others about their findings. Should magazines publish secret spots? Would publishing the whereabouts of an undisclosed location make it over-run with crowds?
In a world where everything is now on a Google Map, I’m not sure what to think about this anymore.
What are your thoughts of the lottery system and how it’s been working for you?
As you know Mr. Fringey announced the birth of the Long Island fringe during the summer and so from Sept 25-27, Mr. Fringey packed his show and headed to the LI Fringe to participate.
To critique the fringe really is a general critique of all first year fringes. As you know I highly recommend against signing up for first year fringes. Venues tend to be empty, it’s extremely hard to get people to see your shows and unless you have a motive other than money and applause, it’s somewhat of a losing investment. Although there are rare exceptions to this rule, I still recommend waiting until a fringe reaches its fifth birthday before participating.
Long Island though fell into the same category as the New Orleans fringe for me. I went because I wanted to check out a really cool place. And it is that. Even though it’s miles away from it’s big brother, NYC, the towns on Long Island, are heavily influenced by that unique NYC pulse, but a have a unique back woods beach vibe.
If I was doing a traditional fringe review I’d have to describe the LI fringe as “your best friends little brother who has autism and seems really cool when he flaps his hands like a seal and counts clouds.”
On the + side:
a. The venue is one of the best on the entire fringe circuit. At the center of the venue hub is the Tilles center and the other fringe venues spoke out form the center within the same building. Walking from venue to venue is a breeze. The Tilles center is a beautiful state of the art performing arts facility (One of the nicest I’ve seen in the country) that seats about 3,000. It comes with a professional, extremely well-trained tech crew, ushers that wear the monkey outfits and a box office that you’d expect to find when buying tickets for the opera. Where most fringes feel like a bunch of hippies collecting money in envelopes and passing along moonlighting band sound guys to run your tech, this fringe makes you feel like a rock star.
b. Most of the performers were from Long Island or NYC which means most of them have received most of their artistic influence from NYC. Because of this, many of the performers were top notch. Not what you’d usually find at a fringe. I saw some of the best performances ever at this fringe, performances I would have easily paid $60 a ticket to see elsewhere.
c. he events organizers Bob Goida and Deb Kasimakis treat you like royalty. Performers see all shows for free, you get 100% of the door, the participation fee was beans ($200) and they provided you with an opening night four star spread and meet and greet that kicks off the event in style.
d. This fringe actually had a mascot, which I thought was pretty darn cool.
On the - side:
a. From the beginning the LI fringe ran into problems. Early on, the New York Fringe sent the LI Fringe a “cease and desist order” telling the organizers they couldn’t use the “fringe” name. (This is why Frigid didn’t use the “Fringe” name). And so, the LI Fringe ultimately became the “2009 Experience Long Island Fr*^g* Festival. From a future marketing perspective it’s sure death. Names are everything and it makes the festival sound more like a cheesy outdoor local family art event. I anticipate that unless they find a better name, the festival will be hard pressed to become accepted by the fringe community.
b. The fringe takes place on CW Post Long Island University campus. It’s beautiful, and has a really impressive performing arts program, but to be honest, connecting a fringe to a college with a large commuter population, (from a marketing perspective) is extremely tricky. Students don’t see shows on campus on weekends. In fact, students aren’t even a part of the fringe demographic. (Regular theater patrons aren’t part of that demographic either). Even when a professor requires students attend an event, it’s hard to get them there, especially when they have to pay. And so a campus environment can be somewhat isolated especially to arts patrons from the outside community.
GO: If you want to make some connections in the city and get a chance to perform on one of the best stages in the country.
SKIP IT: If fringing for you is about recouping a monetary investment and you don’t like to perform in an empty venue.
I’ve participated in enough Fringe Toddler events (fringes that are between one and three years old) to know that hanging up a shingle that reads “Open For Fringe,” doesn’t mean a whole lot in terms of audience turn out. Even when a city has an extremely established performing artists support infra-structure, it doesn’t mean much when it comes to the fringe.The demographics are just different.
Below I list 5 ways fringes can take responsibility and boost their contacts into cash, turning the audience members in their seats into long time fringe fans.
1) At first year fringes, audience members tend to see their friends shows exclusively. They aren’t yet educated enough to know that other shows are going on. When fringe performers hand these types of audience members their postcards, advertising their own show, it’s like handing someone a strange reptile with a virus.
REMEDY: It’s a fringes responsibility to educate the audience before each show with a little Fringe 101 talk. This should also be reprinted in a fringe program. See my entry "Fringe 101" on what to include and what not to include.
2) In all the cities that get high reviews from fringe performers there is a sense of community. People like to belong to something. In these cities, fringe goers aren’t just fans, they tend to be fringe fanatics. How can you turn a ticket buyer into a fringe fanatic?
REMEDY: Create a way for fringe goers to participate.
~ Get acquainted with Minnesota’s button system that makes fringe goers feel that there are a part of a unique and secret club. Wear the button, get discounts in the community, feel like a cool kid and when you pass other button wearers in the street it makes for a great conversation starter.
~ Get acquainted with the San Fran Fringe’s on-line audience review system. Updated constantly, audience members can read about how fringe go-ers felt about different shows. It makes audience members feel involved. These aren't ego stroking reviews, these are down and dirty hoest reviews meant to help fringers get the most bang for their buck.
3) About ten years ago the post office started doing what Mc Donalds had been doing for years. Selling the add-on. Their “Do you want fries with that?” became “Would you like stamps, delivery confirmation, etc, etc. etc.?” Add-ons can increase business by nearly 25% - even more if you’re working with a specific demographic.
REMEDY: Although it shouldn’t be this way, cross pollination at the fringe is done completely by accident. A performer will announce at the end of his/her show other shows going on in the fringe. It’s called a “Shout Out!” If event organizers were smarter they’d push shout outs more (when appropriate with the show itself). It’s a great advertisement for more ticket sales. It's a guarantee that ticket sales will rise in one fringe season.
4) The Boulder Fringe has a killer nightly event that features fringe performers, a host and a very entertaining show. Montreal has the same thing. Again this is giving the public access to participate in the artistic process, to rub shoulders with artists and it’s a good dose of fringe education.
REMEDY: At the very least a fringe should provide a free showcase for local performers a month before the event and another one for out of town performers right before the event. This can work wonders in spreading the fringe word to potential ticket buyers. Want to bump it up a notch? Then do the nightly thing.
5) The fringe itself is a golden product. A product with a lot of potential as far as bringing in revenue. The increase in fringes in the past three years shows that communities are hungry for the fringe. (To give you an example, The National Storytelling Conference now runs a fringe and they don’t even have a clue of what a fringe is) Yet, for most fringes, that product can be very incestuous. Usually run by artists rather than business people, most of these artists don’t realize that there are boundless opportunities for education and marketing that just don’t begin and end when the fringe begins and ends. As a result that golden product collects a lot of dust
REMEDY: Smart fringe organizers would do well to get emotional support and creative brainstorming ideas from their artist friends and leave the business to the experts. Go on Facbook and find some of your old pals that majored in business, bring ‘em onto your team. The Capital Fringe has done a great job at working outside the box, doing things like running artist business workshops throughout the year. Things like this ultimately help in spreading your fringe word and turn fringe fans into fringe fanatics.
"Welcome to Fringe or Die. Home of Mr. Fringey, The Famous Fringe Festival Fact Facilitator and his Fellow Fringe Friends Full of Fresh Fringe Opinions. As you navigate through the information contained here-in, it might help to think of this site as your friendly bohemian courtship counselor, sent here by the International and National Fringe Theatre Festival Goddess to help ensure that your love of fringe performance leads to Fame, Riches, Adventure and lots of Fringe Karma Points."
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