Fringe Update (July)

Greetings, Fringe Fans-

It has been an exciting several months in Fringe-land as we continue to build your 2010 Festival. Let it be known: This is a big and bold effort spearheaded by many creative and driven people. Our dreams are sometimes bigger than our means, but is anything great ever born from feeble dreams?

For those of you who need to be in-the-know on recent developments, we’ve assembled this little update. Have any questions? Feel free to email us and we will get right back to you.

Thanks for following us as we build this festival – there will be many, many ways for everyone in our community to jump on the team in just a few months.

Stay Fringey!

Ben Hill
Festival Director
The Hollywood Fringe Festival

DATES ANNOUNCED

We are less than one year away from the first, annual Hollywood Fringe Festival. The official dates are June 17 through June 27, 2010: 11 days of theatre, music, comedy, variety, and madness. Start getting geared up!

FACEBOOK PAGE HITS 1,000 FANS

We are most heartened by your enthusiastic response to the idea of a Fringe Festival in Los Angeles! A couple months ago, our facebook page reached 1000 fans shortly after being launched. Still not a fan? Join up to catch the latest developments.

WAYS YOU CAN HELP

Many of you have asked how you can help; you are all fantastic. The bulk of the help will be needed during the festival itself and the weeks leading up to it. Here’s where we need help right now:

• Letters of support from our community – send them to [email protected]. We need these for grants so send them asap!
  
• Leads on press outlets
  
• Leads on theatrical, event, and nontraditional venues in Hollywood
  
• Evangelize at (Fringe/Other) Festivals – we can send you postcards to distribute
  
• $$$ – For now, you can give on our facebook cause or send a check to 6133 Fountain Ave, Hollywood, CA 90028 (we are tax exempt)
  
• Interested directors for our board – responsible for overseeing the financial interests of the festival
  
• Active involvement from community organizations and interested corporate sponsors

…with the launch of the new website, we are dedicating an entire section for volunteer contribution and sign up. We need your help!

THE WEBSITE

You have no doubt heard about the website we have been developing for the last two years. Borrowing from the success stories of social networking sites, we are leveraging the advancements of sites like Facebook and Twitter with the singular purpose of launching a community-based arts festival. Launching in just a few weeks, the official website of Festival 2010 will start accepting project submissions. Coming just a few months afterward, we begin online venue booking and festival registration.

Make sure to keep your eyes peeled for the launch – there will be lots of fun little features to help you promote your Fringey ideas.

COMMUNITY UPDATE

This year we have established relationships with the pillars of our community, including The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, the LA Stage Alliance, the Department of Cultural Affairs, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Actors Equity Association Los Angeles, the Entertainment District BID, the Sunset & Vine BID, The Hollywood Media District BID, and the LA Gay & Lesbian Center. We have also garnered the support of community leaders including LA Council President Eric Garcetti, Assemblymember Kevin de Leon, and Assemblymember Mike Feuer.

We are in the process of building up our board of advisers and directors. Exciting announcements on this front coming soon.

FRINGE, FRINGE EVERYWHERE

It’s the heat of the Summer and Fringe Festivals are afoot nationally and internationally. As you read this, the Capital Fringe in Washington DC is in full-force. Orlando launched the season with a splash. FringeNYC is right around the corner and Minnesota Fringe Festival is set to launch at the end of the month. And lest we forget, our sister Fringe in San Francisco hosts their festival in September.

Some of your own Hollywood Fringers will be making the long trek to the Fringe motherland in Edinburgh to talk on a panel of international Fringes this August. Learn more about the hosts of this panel at www.worldfestivalnet.com.

VENUES

Fringe Festivals span across many venues traditional and non – it’s part of what makes it such an exciting event, the whole community gets involved. We have been meeting with dozens of venues around Hollywood. We will start announcing official Fringe venues in the coming months. Have a venue in Hollywood and interested in participating? Contact us at [email protected].