Apply Now! Houston Fringe Festival

The 5th annual Houston Fringe Festival will take place August 30-September 15, 2012. The Houston Fringe Festival is a three-weekend event with over 100 companies and individual artists performing all types of theater, dance, film and music. The Houston Fringe supports both emerging and established artists in all genres. The festival provides venues, technicians and promotion. Performers keep half of ticket revenue for their shows. 

 

Visit www.houstonfringefestival.org to apply.

 

Application deadline: Tuesday, May 1, 2012 

 

Late application deadline: Thursday, May 10, 2012 

 

Application Fee: $25 by May 1, $35 if submitted May 2-10 

 

Notification date: Friday, June 1, 2012 

Guest Review: Hollywood Fringe

Guest Review: The Hollywood Fringe Festival
By Guest Reviewer: Les Kurkendaal

Guest Festival Ranking: 4 out of 5 bowties
 
Mr. Fringey’s Description: Baby! Sexy Baby! I luv my Sexy Baby, fringe!

Overview:
The Sunny-side: (Give 3 reasons this fringe is the bomb)
1. The staff was great ! Very nic ! Very organized. If any issues came up they took care of them immediately.  Ben Hill, The Fringe Director was very friendly and approachable.

2. All of the venues are great theatre spaces and within walking distance of each other so the Fringe is easy to navigate

3. The location of the fringe is fantastic . It was in the middle of Hollywood and that really added to the excitement of the Fringe .

The Flip-side: (Give 3 reasons this fringe sucks or what makes it difficult)
1. It was a first year fringe  and something like this had never been done before in Hollywood  so it took a little while for audiences to warm up to the idea of fringe and  show up to see shows .  Getting butts in seats was challenging that first week!

2.  A lot of the really good press coverage didn’t come out until the second weekend

3. If you brought your car to Fringe central , the parking in the lots were expensive and the metered parking sucked. I got  several parking tickets that week!


Ease of Filling Seats:
What's the best way to fill your seats here marketing-wise?
Lots of flyering . Hang out at Fringe central and really talk up your show. Word of mouth.It  also is very important to get press releases out on your show.  A little press coverage goes a long way!

Is there a fringe central?
Yes. And it was a good one! It was at a theatre in Hollywood near all of the venues. They served good cheap beer and mixed drinks. They even had a psychic there to do psychic readings for performers!  It was a wonderful party atmosphere.Everyone was very friendly and it was very easy to meet people!

Is there a showcase for out of town performers?
There were actually several showcases throughout the Fringe. There was a fringe jam almost every night where performers could perform and showcase their stuff.


Potential to Make Money:
Do you get 100% of door? If not, how much.
If the audience members purchased  tickets at the door the artist got 100%. If the audience member purchased the ticket online , the artist gets a small percentage taken out of the ticket price

Do performers see other shows for free?
Each show had the ability to offer free entry to other performers .

Do you get paid each night? If not how? Were you paid on time if the money was sent to you?
We received a check at the end of the fringe . The check arrived within two weeks after the Fringe.
 

Navigation of the City
What city do you fly into and how did you get to your destination?
You fly into LAX and can either take a bus  a cab or the subway

Can you walk to all the venues? If not how did you get around?
Yes . All of the venues are in walking distance.

Did you use fringe fest lodging? If so, how was the lodging? If not, who did you stay with?
 I live in LA  but I talked to many out of towners . Some people  stayed with friends. Some stayed at youth hostels or inexpensive hotels in the area.  I met one out of towner who found a random  website online where people offer up extra rooms at their places for people from out of town and so she stayed with a person from the website for free.

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 between a men’s tube sock and a full blown stocking . There are a lot of inexpensive places to eat and drink in Hollywood but a lot of people from out of town did stuff like trips to Disneyland and magic mountain , one group even took a road trip to Vegas so stuff like that can get a little pricey.


Fringe Specs:
Age in Fringe Years: 2
Festival Dates: June 16 - June 26, 2011
Application Deadline: April 1, 2011
Applying: www.hollywoodfringe.org
Festival Cost: $175 -$250 with application 

And: Venue rental is $150 - $300 per performance. Artist gets 100% of the door.
 

Ticket Prices: free - an average of $12

 

About Mr. Fringy's Guest Reviewer: Les Kurkendaal

Check him out at: www.facebook.com/leskurkendaal
What categories does your show fall under?
Storytelling ,GLBT
How long have you been fringing?
10 years
 

How many fringes do you do each year?
3
What has been your favorite fringe?
Minnesota
What has been your biggest money making fringe?
Hollywood
What fringe did you make your most important contact?
Hollywood – my show Christmas in Bakersfield is now going to be made into a movie
In one word, why do you fringe? Creative Freedom !
 
What's the name of the show (s) you are fringing this year? I will be doing my new show : Drink , Drank , Drunk , Diary of the Life of The Party at Minnesota Fringe and I will be doing Christmas in Bakersfield at Chicago Fringe

Do you use your own tech person at your shows? If so, how much do you pay them?
I use Fringe techs
Any fringes to avoid?
Hmmmmmm , I’m trying to be a kinder gentler person so I’d rather not say . LOL !!!!!!!!!
 

Photo by:
Mathieu Brooks  

Request for Submissions for the Inaugural Tucson Fringe Theater Festival

The first ever Tucson Fringe Theater Festival is now requesting submissions for the week of March 23-27, 2011. The Tucson Fringe Festival is an unjuried, uncensored festival promoting accessibility for presenting artists and unrestrained artistic freedom.

Partnering with Downtown Tucson landmarks such as The Screening Room and the Beowulf Alley Theatre, Tucson Fringe Theater Festival is looking for performing artists and companies to submit performance proposals for inclusion in the 4 day festival to be held in Downtown Tucson. The selection will be on a first-come, first-served basis. If we receive more applications than we have performance spots, we’ll hold a lottery to select artists. Any kind of performance will be considered. This includes, but is not limited to: theater, dance, performance art, clowning, sketch comedy, etc. We prefer original works, but previously performed work will be accepted if the underlying rights are obtained by the performers.

Founded by two native Tucsonans and lifelong friends Yasmine M. Jahanmir and Sara Habib, Tucson Fringe Theater Festival hopes to expand upon an already thriving theatrical community by promoting affordable opportunities for artists to craft original ideas while presenting a wider array of performance practice. Tucson has always been dedicated to the arts, and is the perfect place to host an avant-garde, innovative festival like Fringe. Downtown Tucson provides an ideal setting to bring together arts patrons of all demographics.

For the more information on the festival and how to apply, please visit www.tucsonfringe.org or email us at tucsonfringe@gmail.com

Will the Chicago Fringe Festival be a Bust or a Babe?

Q: Have you performed in Chicago before? I am doing the fringe there...a bit nervous...especially as it is $10 "suggested donation" for tickets....and first year...any thoughts on the matter?

A: Well, you know how Mr. Fringey feels about fringes that are younger than three years old. They're usually a bust in terms of recouping your investment. 

Unless there's a better reason to go than financial gain, you should usually look at a first year fringe as a total write off.  This is true for a few different reasons. 

First, fringe fans are a different breed than your typical run-of-the mill theatre goer. A fringe fan is used to seeing multiple shows in one night and multiple shows during the course of a festival. A typical theatre fan goes to see one show per month and then goes home until the next month. It takes a year or two (at the very least) to educate audience members on fringe etiquette.

However, there have been recent fringes that have broken rank with Mr. Fringey's First Year Fringe theory. The Capital Fringe was the first fringe to come along and do this and although all the data isn't in yet, the 1st Annual Hollywood Fringe may do the same. 

Why? Both of these fringes gathered a lot of creative support from the artistic community and leveraged that into media exposure. The HF already has the support of LA Weekly and Backstage Magazine in an effort to review most of the shows. (Not bad for a FYF or first year fringe)

I would place my bets that Chicago has much of the same thing going for it that both Hollywood and Washington DC have. A large city, a passionate creative community and a theatre tribe that is aching to make their fringe a success. I'd place my bets that with your fringe savvy you'll do just fine. If you doubt it, read what the Chicago Fringe peeps wrote to me early on when they were sending out applications: Chicago Fringe Kicks Fringe Butt.