Each year at Hollywood Fringe, we celebrate the end of the festival with our Awards Ceremony and Closing Night Party (this year, it’s the evening of July 1st at Los Angeles LGBT Center!) Two types of awards are given out: Community Awards (“The Freaks”) & Discover Fringe Awards (formerly Sponsored Awards). Keep reading to learn everything you need to know about each type of award!

 

COMMUNITY AWARDS: 

The Community Awards, lovingly known as “The Freaks”, are determined by the Fringe community via a voting process. Fringe community members receive ballots in the last days of the festival via email. The productions with the most votes in a given category are announced as nominees hours prior to the ceremony via an email newsletter and website post, and the ultimate winners are revealed at the awards ceremony.

Who gets to vote on Community Awards? You will receive a ballot via email at the end of the festival to vote on Community Awards if you (1) are an HFF24 participant or venue manager added to a specific HFF24 project OR (2) reserve tickets for 3 or more shows on the Hollywood Fringe website OR (3) write 3 or more reviews for HFF24 shows.

Categories for HFF24 Community Awards:

Top of the Fringe Award

Fringe International Award

Fringe First for World Premiere

Fringe Award for Cabaret & Variety

Fringe Award for Comedy

Fringe Award for Dance & Physical Theatre

Fringe Award for Drama

Fringe Award for Immersive & Games

Fringe Award for Musicals and Operas

Fringe Award for Solo Performance

Fringe Award for Two-Person Show

 

DISCOVER FRINGE AWARDS (formerly known as Sponsored Awards): 

Discover Fringe Awards are presented by outside organizations to commend excellence in a number of categories. These awards tend to be more specific than the community awards and may include monetary gifts or an extension to a show’s run. Hollywood Fringe participants must submit themselves for consideration, and winners are announced at the awards ceremony along with the community awards.

How to apply for Discover Fringe Awards: Each Discover Fringe Award presenter will have different qualifications and requirements to be considered for their awards (which can be found on their individual award pages, located HERE). Some awards will have a form to fill out, and others will require that you contact them directly through the Hollywood Fringe website to submit yourself for consideration. Be thoughtful when you submit your show to be considered for an award, and remember not to overwhelm award presenters with messages or emails – they will do their very best to see as many shows as possible. 

Sample message:

“Hi <NAME>, my name is <NAME> and I’d love to be considered for <NAME OF AWARD> for my show <NAME OF SHOW>. <add information about why your show is qualified and should be considered for the award>. Thank you for your consideration! <NAME>”

*Make sure to include the award name in the subject line of the message so that they know what you are messaging about!

You are welcome (but not required) to comp tickets for award presenters/judges. They will request comp tickets through the Hollywood Fringe website, and their title (award presenter, judge, etc.) will be specified with the comp request. 

2024 Discover Fringe Awards: (view them all and apply here)

Best of Asylum Award, presented by Theater Asylum / Combined Artform

Best of the Broadwater Award, presented by The Broadwater

Ella Turenne Award, presented by Hollywood Fringe Access Advisory Committee

International Fringe Encore Series, presented by SoHo Playhouse

Jaxx’s Cultural Arts Envoy Award, presented by Jaxx Theatricals

No Room in the Green Room Award, presented by Make Believe Stage Productions, LLC

Soaring Solo SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD, presented by Soaring Solo LLC

Splash Award, presented by Namba Performing Arts Space, Inc

StageCrafts Select Award, presented by The StageCrafts

The Loud Karma Emerging Women and Nonbinary Playwright’s Award, presented by Loud Karma Productions, LLC

The Theatre Theater Playwright Award, presented by Theatre Theater Podcast

The Screamiest, presented by Midsummer Scream

Three Clubs Production Award, presented by Three Clubs

This year, we are thrilled to help share art across the globe and create opportunities for artists to expand their reach. Through exciting collaborations with partnering Fringe Festivals, we are providing opportunity for their artists and ours. Each of these awards will include a performance opportunity in person at the following partner festivals:

Adelaide Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by Adelaide Fringe Festival in Adelaide, Australia

Denver Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by Denver Fringe Festival in Denver, CO

Fringe Italia Off Exchange Award, presented by Fringe Italia Off in Italy

Sydney Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by Sydney Fringe Festival in Sydney, Australia

VIEW ALL DISCOVER FRINGE AWARDS AND APPLY HERE!