In advance of HFF23, we’re here with everything Hollywood Fringe artists and participants need to know about our new arts industry program, Discover Fringe! The Discover Fringe program seeks to connect participating artists with members of the international theatre, film and television industries to take their shows beyond the Hollywood Fringe Festival stages.

Arts industry professionals from various organizations have signed up to attend HFF23, network with artists, and in some cases, present a Discover Fringe Award!

There are three types of Discover Fringe arts industry members at HFF23:

1. Discover Fringe Arts Industry: Members from various arts and entertainment organizations who are interested in networking with Hollywood Fringe artists and seeing various shows at the festival.

2. Discover Fringe Awards Presenter: Members from various arts and entertainment organizations who are interested in networking with Hollywood Fringe artists AND are presenting a Discover Fringe Award at HFF23.

3. Discover Fringe Awards Judge: Members from various arts and entertainment organizations who are a part of a Discover Fringe Award committee, and will be evaluating shows that will be considered for Discover Fringe Awards.

All three of these categories will have the ability to request comp tickets for your HFF23 shows, similar to the way press can. It is entirely up to you if you’d like to accept their comp ticket request, but we do highly recommend providing comp tickets for arts industry folks, as many of them are interested in offering opportunities to artists beyond the festival.

When a comp is requested, the primary producer will receive an email! SO CHECK YOUR EMAILS DURING THE FESTIVAL. In that email, there will be a handy link that will take you directly to a comp approval page. Super easy! 

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 June 25th at The Bourbon Room!) 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 HFF23 participant or venue manager added to a specific HFF23 project OR (2) reserve tickets for 3 or more shows on the Hollywood Fringe website OR (3) write 3 or more reviews for HFF23 shows.

Categories for HFF23 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>”

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. 

2023 Discover Fringe Awards: (view them all and apply here)

• • • 2Cents’ Immersive Worlds Award, presented by 2Cents Theatre’s Loose Change
    • Best of the Broadwater, presented by The Broadwater
    • Ella Turenne Award, presented by Hollywood Fringe Access Advisory Committee
    • Springboard Award, presented by Fringe Management LLC
    • Hollywood Encore Producers’ Award, presented by Combined Artform
    • 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
    • O Face Award for Most Orgasmic Production, presented by Orgasmico Theatre Company
    • Soaring Solo SOCIAL IMPACT AWARD, presented by Soaring Solo LLC
    • Splash Award, presented by Namba Performing Arts Space, Inc
    • 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

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:

• • • The Catania Off Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by Catania Off Fringe Festival in Catania, Italy
    • The San Diego International Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by San Diego International Fringe Festival in Tijuana, Mexico and/or San Diego, California
    • The Sydney Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by Sydney Fringe Festival in Sydney, Australia

VIEW ALL DISCOVER FRINGE AWARDS AND APPLY HERE!

So you have put in a huge amount of work to create your masterpiece play.  Now comes part two – creating a marketing plan that will get an audience to your show.  Many of you are gifted, talented writers/directors/actors with limited time to devote to the marketing of your production. 

Nohoartsdistrict.com has been marketing Los Angeles theatre for 20 years and has been the media sponsor for the Hollywood Fringe for 13 years.  Hollywood Fringe has asked us to provide a few marketing tips that may help you!

You are looking for like-minded folks to share your show page on the Fringe site and spread the word with positive reviews.

Let’s start with like-minded folks. Perhaps the topic of your play could bring you a specific audience.  If your play is about a celebrity like Marilyn Monroe, check out fan websites, blogs, and podcasts.  Also, check out Facebook groups, and search Marilyn Monroe hashtags on Instagram. 

Once you have done your research, make a list of your “prospects,” including contact info.  There is a high probability that the groups that you have researched will have an interest in your play.  Groups are always interested in sharing things of interest to their own membership. These groups can help you in many ways, such as placing your AD on their website or in their membership Enews.  Since you need to look at this as an exchange of services, what can you offer the group for their help in marketing your show?  Here are three things you can offer:

• Provide the group with free tickets for a raffle for their members

• Allow the group to distribute their organization materials at your play

• Offer a free acting class on Zoom to their members

Your friends can also be your sales force.  Ask each friend to email 10 of the friends/family information on your play.  Give them a  “family/friend” ticket discount.  Provide friends and family with artwork for their social media platforms.  Ask your friends if they would let you do an Instagram takeover of their Instagram account

Lastly, printing can be expensive.  Ask your local printer for 500 postcards/flyers, and in exchange, the printer can put his/her name on the back of the postcard, “printing provided by AB Copy.”  Unless you have gotten free flyers/postcards, distribution is time-consuming and expensive.

Be sure to take advantage of Hollywood Fringe’s great workshops and networking events.  You will meet hundreds of show producers who have the same challenge that you have of getting an audience.  Do a cross-promotion with the other show producers.  Have them hand out your show postcards at their show, and you do the same. Sharing Fringe audiences works!

We hope the above items will increase your audience. However, if the above marketing items don’t work for you, nohoartsdistrict.com has created an affordable AD package for Hollywood Fringe producers.  We know money is tight, which is why we discounted the ad package NoHo Fringe AD Package. Check out pg 35 in the Participant Packet! 

NoHoArtsDistrict.com has been a valued partner and friend of The Hollywood Fringe Festival from the beginning. Their love for independent artists is genuine, and the dedication their team shows in supporting arts and culture in Los Angeles is unmatched. – Lois Neville, HFF Co-Executive Director

You are invited to design the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival guide cover, which will be distributed throughout Los Angeles County throughout the festival! Submit your design ideas anytime between Friday (3/3) and Monday (3/6) at 12 pm PT to be included in the qualifying round. To enter the contest, visit the link here!

The winner will receive approximately $550 after the commission taken by 99Designs. Additionally, the winner is eligible for an additional prize of $1,300 to pull elements from their winning guide design to create the official T-shirt, iPhone app icon, and button for HFF23. To get started, create a (free) account on 99Designs.com.

Know an artist who might be interested? Please share the contest with friends!

Curious what past branding has looked like? Check out our most recent printed guide & previous design winners!  

Digital file of our 2022 printed guide

Digital file of our 2019 printed guide

2018 contest

2017 contest

2016 contest

We are so excited to announce a total of 13 recipients of the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Scholarship!

At Capacity
apokalupsis
despadazaoR.
Empathy Party
fuckin loud
Infierno
Is Krishna There? A Begum Akhtar Story
LES MILLÉNNIABLES
Monkeys
The Allure of Thug Life
Uninvisible
We Are Nothing Without Hantu-Hantu
Wild Hand

Applications were reviewed and recipients were selected by an objective committee of former scholarship winners, BIPOC and artists with disabilities who have participated in past Fringes, and representatives from outside arts organizations whose missions align with the program’s goal of expanding and diversifying the body of work being presented at Fringe.

There were so many outstanding applications, and our committee would like to additionally highlight honorable mentions:

#DONT
10 am in a CRV
Birds and the Curiosity
Educate. Organize. Agitate: The B.R. Ambedkar Story
GOLDEN LOVERS: A WRESTLING MUSICAL
Hija de tu Madre
Hip-Hop Raised Me

Here at the Hollywood Fringe, we seek to make the performing arts more accessible, both to the artists who produce work and for those who otherwise cannot afford to see theatre. The Fringe Scholarship Program has continued to grow over time with support from the National Endowment for the Arts.

Scholarship recipients will receive free registration, a black box theatre rental for three performances (and tech time), an experienced Fringe mentor, and marketing/networking opportunities with the community. And for the first time in Hollywood Fringe history, through a partnership with 905 Cole at Anthony Meindl’s Actor Workshop, all 2023 scholarship recipients will be performing under the same roof! 

We are counting down the days until HFF23 - congratulations to all!