blog

25

JUN 2023

HFF23 Community Awards (“The Freaks”)
voted on by Fringe patrons and community

Cabaret and Variety Winner:

The Ramón Show & Friends: Collective Healing

Cabaret and Variety Nominees:

The Best-Of the Pack Theater
Get Naughty ! The Krampus Musical
Karma in a Fishbowl
School for Love


Comedy Winner:

BUGS!

Comedy Nominees:
Oh, Lorraine!
Homeless Romantic
Nick Pupo: Addicted
Little Stars Youth Theatre Presents: MACBETH (a solo show)
Raise Your Hand… From the DEAD!!


Dance and Physical Theatre Winner:
Palmares

Dance and Physical Theatre Nominees:
Ode to La Pachuca
The Month Long Ham Festival
Flamencodanza
Rhythm Delivered


Drama Winner:

YONI KI KAHANIYA (#YKK): Vagina Stories

Drama Nominees:

Arizona Rain
Hedda Gabler
Nocturne
Big Money


Immersive and Games Winners:

SoundTrip: Fringe Edition

Immersive and Games Nominees:

The Collective: A 1920s Mafia Immersive Experience
DISROBED – Live on Stage!
Thank You So Much For Coming
No fucks given. None taken. All done.


Musicals and Operas Winner:

The Allure of Thug Life

Musicals and Operas Nominees:

Prince Harry: Live! At Coachella
Les Millénniables
Truly Outrageous: A Jem & The Holograms Parody Musical
Cherries, Rare & Fair: A Quest for Orgasmic Rainbows


Solo Performance Winner:

Getting There! Rebecca O’Brien

Solo Performance Nominees:
5 years or 5 minutes
Iphigenia in Splott
A Shark Ate My Penis: a History of Boys Like Me
I Can’t Indian Good
Mark Pleases You
This Was Never Supposed To Be A One Woman Show
Missionary Positions
A Retrospection


Two Person Show Winner:
If I’m Good

Two Person Show Nominees:
Wounded, by Jiggs Burgess
Jolly Playtime
The Sentence
Winona


International Winner:

Take Me As I Am: A Joni Mitchell Tribute

International Nominees:
Winona
Birds and the Curiosity
Cherry
We Are Nothing Without Hantu-Hantu


World Premiere Winner:
A Shark Ate My Penis: a History of Boys Like Me

World Premiere Nominees:
Flayed
Coffee, Tea, and Gin
SMOTE THIS, A Comedy About God…and other Serious $h*t
Little Stars Youth Theatre Presents: MACBETH (a solo show)


Top of the Fringe Winner:

A Retrospection

Top of the Fringe Nominees:
Getting There! Rebecca O’Brien
Iphigenia in Splott
Missionary Positions
If I’m Good

 

Discover Fringe Awards
selected by the presenting company

2Cents’ Immersive Worlds Award, presented by 2Cents Theatre’s Loose Change:

Winner:

 Little Stars Youth Theatre Presents: MACBETH (a solo show)

Nominees:

The Collective: A 1920s Mafia Immersive Experience

Fishbowl Sonata
Flayed
fuckin loud
Infierno
MS 499: Advertising and the Social Construction of Gender
SoundTrip: Fringe Edition


Ella Turenne Award, presented by the Hollywood Fringe Access Advisory Board:

Winner:

The Allure of Thug Life

Nominees:

fuckin loud
Love List
SMOTE THIS, A Comedy About God…and other Serious $h*t
Wild Hand


International Fringe Encore Series, presented by Soho Playhouse:

Winner:

Wounded, by Jiggs Burgess

Nominees:

The Movement You Need (a work in progress)
If I’m Good
fuckin loud
SoundTrip: Fringe Edition


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

Winner:

Something Like…Musical

Nominees:

The Allure of Thug Life
Love is a Battlefield 
Missionary Positions
Ric Iverson is Alive and Well and Living in Milpitas
Rotten Apple
A Shark Ate My Penis: A History of Boys Like Me
This Was Never Supposed To Be A One Woman Show
Wounded, by Jiggs Burgess
Yoni Ki Kahaniya (#YKK): Vagina Stories


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

Winner:

ANNEX

Nominees:

Cadenza | Sci-Fi Thriller
Love is a Battlefield
Fatal Loins
Big Money
The Month Long Ham Festival 
Runaway Rue


O Face Award for Most Orgasmic Production, presented by Orgasmico Theatre Company:

Winner:

Take Me As I Am: A Joni Mitchell Tribute

Nominees:

If I’m Good
The Movement You Need (a work in progress)
Sinatra: Raw
Wounded, by Jiggs Burgess


Soaring Solo Social Impact Award, presented by Soaring Solo LLC:

Winner:

Flayed

Nominees:

Getting There! Rebecca O’Brien
WE ARE NOTHING WITHOUT HANTU-HANTU
fuckin loud
Impatient
SMOTE THIS, A Comedy About God…and other Serious $h*t


Splash Award, presented by Namba Performing Arts Space Inc.:

Winner:

Ode to la Pachuca

Nominees:

Missionary Positions
The Allure of Thug Life
Is Krishna There? A Begum Akhtar Story
5 Years or 5 Minutes
I Feel The Need


Springboard Award, presented by Fringe Management LLC:

Winner:

Take Me As I Am: A Joni Mitchell Tribute

Nominees:

Lebanese Debutante
Runaway Rue
SMOTE THIS, A Comedy About God…and other Serious $h*t
Wounded, by Jiggs Burgess


The Catania Off Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by Catania Off Fringe Festival:

Winner:

Take Me As I Am: A Joni Mitchell Tribute

Nominees:

fuckin loud
SMOTE THIS, A Comedy About God…and other Serious $h*t


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

WINNER: Big Money

SECOND PLACE: Two Cats on a Date

THIRD PLACE: Birds and the Curiosity

Nominees:

Arizona Rain
fuckin loud
Ghosts Can’t Pay Rent
The Sentence


The San Diego International Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by the San Diego International Fringe Festival:
WINNER: Infierno
WINNER: Haunting Rights

Nominees:

Flayed
Rhythm Delivered


The Sydney Fringe Festival Exchange Award, presented by the Sydney Fringe Festival:

Winner:

A Shark Ate My Penis: a History of Boys Like Me

Nominees:

Lebanese Debutante
The Allure of Thug Life


The Theatre Theater Playwright Award, presented by the Theatre Theater Podcast:

Winner:

Infierno

Nominations:

The Lemming Effect
Restoration
Arizona Rain
Under the Influence


Extension Awards

HOLLYWOOD ENCORE PRODUCERS’ AWARD

 

ASYLUM @ MCCADDEN THEATRE

Soirées Fantastique – An Hour Of Victorian Enchantment

Stuck With You

The Lemming Effect

Two Weeks

We Got Your Six

 

ASYLUM @ STEPHANIE FEURY STUDIO THEATRE

A Definitive Ranking Of My Closest Friends

A Flight Of Comedy From Andy Wasif

Attack Of The 36ggg Woman (From 3 Clubs)

Chips (From Art Of Acting Studio)

Do Any Of You Know Who This Is?

Dream Big

Featuring Loretta

Good And Gaslit

Grown Up Orphan Annie (From The Broadwater)

Haunting Rights (From The Broadwater)
Heart Of Golden Tar (From The Broadwater)

Jolly Playtime (From The Broadwater)

Mark Pleases You (From The Broadwater)

Patient 13 (From The Broadwater )
Shagadelic: The Origins Of Slang Words For Doing It (From The Broadwater)

Smote This, A Comedy About God…And Other Serious $H*T  (From The Broadwater)

Sonnets From Suburbia

The Allure Of Thug Life (From 905 Cole)

The King & I, And Paul

The Queen Of Bitcoin: The Rise And Fall

Things To Avoid In A Eulogy (The Broadwater)

Title Pending

Trying

Under The Influence (From The Broadwater)

Unwrapped

Wild Hand (From 905 Cole)
Will The Real Me Please Stand Up

Wounded (From The Broadwater)

Yoni Ki Kahaniya (From The Broadwater)

 

ASYLUM @ THYMELE ARTS

Chris Grace: As Scarlett Johansson

Down To Earth
Homeless Romantic

Refuge 

Restoration

Something Like… Musical



JAXX

Cherries, Rare & Fair: A Quest For Orgasmic Rainbows (From 3 Clubs)

Last Stop: In Between 

Missionary Positions (From Zephyr)

Monkeys (From 905 Cole)

Monsters (From Broadwater)

Ric Iverson Is Alive & Well & Living In Milpitas (From Broadwater)

Rotten Apple (From Broadwater)

A Shark Ate My Penis: A History Of Boys Like Me (From Broadwater)

Something Like…musical (From Asylum @ Thymele)

This Was Never Supposed To Be A One Woman Show (From Broadwater)

Trust Me, I’m From Essex (From Broadwater)

 

LIMBIC ARTHOUSE

Love Is A Battlefield

Nocturne

World Peace

 

THE ZEPHYR

Breakup Addict

Coffee, Tea, and Gin

I Can’t Indian Good

Missionary Positions

The Box

The Sad Life Of A Happy Man

 

STUDIO/STAGE

Arizona Rain

Can’t Hardly Date

Dime Store Detective Stories

Disrobed

Hitchcock Lane

MADD about the Boy

Messianic Moments and Cosmic Conversations

Prince Harry: LIVE At Coachella

Truly Outrageous

Shroombody to Love 

The Ho who Got A Bad Review 

 

THE MADNANI THEATER

It’s Your Fault

Karma In A Fishbowl

Romeo & Juliet

 

HUDSON

Ms 499: Advertising And The Social Construction Of Gender

Homegrown Collective: Coming Home To The Soul

Birds And The Curiosity

Tripping On Life

High Heels On Wheels

The Nether

Getting There!

My Dead Dad

Cadenza

Penny Stinkers Improv Presents: The Living Room Special

No Fucks Given. None Taken.  All Done.  

Black When I Was A Boy: Part Ii Blacked Out 

 

ACTORS COMPANY

90’s Hip-Hop Raised Me: A One Woman Show

A Child Of Tennesse

A Normal Comedy Show. Nothing Evil Will Happen, We Presume.

A Retrospection

Annie Is Fancy

Being 80: Too Old To Change?

Big Money

Boom, Headshot!: A Geek Tragedy

Detroit

Fatal Loins

Ghosts Can’t Pay Rent

Holy Waters

How To Be A Man

Interns

Keeper

Love List

Most Likely To 

Runaway Rue

The Importance Of Being Anxious

The Year That Carrie Fisher Died

Tv Land: The Live Immersive Show

 

THREE CLUBS

The Collective: A 1920s Mafia Immersive Experience

Take Me As I Am: A Joni Mitchell Tribute

 

BEST OF BROADWATER

Smote This, A Comedy About God…And Other Serious $H*T  

Lebanese Debutante 

Oh, Lorraine! 

A Shark Ate My Penis: A History Of Boys Like Me 

Cross My Heart 

Grown Up Orphan Annie 

Nick Pupo: Addicted 

Mark Pleases You 

Iphigenia In Splott 

Under The Influence 

Avital Ash Workshops Her Suicide Note (Work In Progress) 

Little Stars Youth Theater Presents: Macbeth (A Solo Show) 

Yoni Ki Kahaniya: Vagina Stories 

Thank You So Much For Coming 

Flayed 

Sound Trip: Fringe Edition 

Wounded, By Jiggs Burgess

Things To Avoid In A Eulogy 

5 Years In Amsterdam 

Sinatra: Raw 

Rhythm Delivered 

Hedda Gabler 

Waiting For A Show

Palmares 

The Movement You Need (A Work In Progress) 

If I’m Good 

Raise Your Hand…from The Dead!

 

1

MAR 2023

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!

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Dancing freaks on the Hollywood Hills. Festival dates June 9-26.

26

JUN 2022

Happy Closing Day of the 2022 Hollywood Fringe Festival!

 

HFF22 Community Awards (“The Freaks”)

voted on by Fringe patrons

 

Cabaret & Variety

I Wanna Fall in Love

Most Likely To…

 

WINNER 25 Plays Per Hour

Tales of the Transcestors

Shubop-Dubay-Had: The No Matter Watt PreQuel

 

Comedy

Breed or Bust

Love Chicken

Three Guys, One Groupon

Homeless Romantic

WINNER A Terrible Show for Terrible People by Bonnie He

Gummy Worm – a new comedy by Nathaniel Foster

 

Dance & Physical Theatre

WINNER Flamencodanza

Dying for Our Voices

 

Drama

All American

Dead Skin

It’s In Our Bones

Cock

Reconsider Me

WINNER Battlesong of Boudica

 

Immersive & Games

WINNER The Ramón Show: Spiritual Cheerleading

NOT Another Midsummer

Signals

Death To Realism

Sins

 

Musicals & Operas

Asexuality! The Solo Musical

WHO’S AFRAID OF DAVID LYNCH?

WINNER DI LADY DI

Chriskirkpatrickmas: A Boy Band Christmas Musical

Housewife ’52

 

Solo Performance

CALL ME ELIZABETH

WINNER Made In America

DOG

The Toughest Man in Chicago

QUEEN OF FISHTOWN

Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy

 

Two Person Show

WINNER Abortion Weekend

WEST

!!!!!!!!!! CAAAAAAAAAAMMMMMMMMMMPPPPPPPPPP !!!!!!!!!!

The Shape of Me

AND… OUT OF THE BLUE — A Miraculous MUSICAL

 

International

Tommy Cooper: I Didn’t Let You Down, Did I?

Are you lovin’ it?

Too Big For Her Britches

Dead Skin

WEST

WINNER AFGHANISTAN IS NOT FUNNY

 

World Premiere

DI LADY DI

Abortion Weekend

WINNER Asexuality! The Solo Musical

Made In America

DOG

 

Top of the Fringe

WINNER Asexuality! The Solo Musical

Abortion Weekend

Chriskirkpatrickmas: A Boy Band Christmas Musical

DI LADY DI

DOG

 

HFF22 Sponsored Awards

selected by the sponsoring company

 

Black Box Live Digital Innovation Award, sponsored by Black Box Live

Must Go On: A Rite of Passage

Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy

She Stoops To Scandal

 

WINNER TEACHING A ROBOT TO LOVE

 

Ella Turenne Award, sponsored by the Hollywood Fringe Access Committee

WINNER Abortion Weekend

Becoming Austin Nation

Must Go On: A Rite of Passage

What Am I, Chopped Suey?

 

International Fringe Encore Series, sponsored by SoHo Playhouse

WINNER Abortion Weekend

AFGHANISTAN IS NOT FUNNY

DI LADY DI

Made In America

West

 

Soaring Solo Social Impact Award, sponsored by Soaring Solo Studios LLC

Emergence: First Flight

Made In America

Must Go On: A Rite of Passage

 

WINNER Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy

The Toughest Man in Chicago

 

Splash, Sponsored by Namba Performing Arts Space, Inc.

Emergence: First Flight

WINNER Made In America

QUEEN OF FISHTOWN

 

The No Room in the Green Room Award, sponsored by MB Stage Productions, LLC

Apocalypse at the Rainforest Cafe 

WINNER Battlesong of Boudica

Chriskirkpatrickmas: A Boy Band Christmas Musical

Housewife ‘52

Not That Illegal

Signals

TEACHING A ROBOT TO LOVE

 

The Theatre Theater Playwright Award, sponsored by Theatre Theater Podcast

DOG

F#@% Julie!

WINNER Love Chicken

“Lvl One Gygax” and “Of Branch, Of Beast, of Beatnik”

Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy

Steps of Glory

 

The Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum Wordsmith Award, sponsored by Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum

Battlesong of Boudica

Beowulf

 

WINNER “Lvl One Gygax” and “Of Branch, Of Beast, of Beatnik”

No One Will Be Immune and Other Plays and Pieces

Noor Inayat Khan: The Forgotten Spy

Steps of Glory

The Pig Farm

The Second Coming of Joan of Arc

The Tanner

The Ecstacy of Victoria Woodhull

 

 

HFF22 HOLLYWOOD ENCORE PRODUCERS’ AWARD

 

The Actors Company

Blood Pig

Camp Ginger: An Original Musical

Still Awake

The Shape of Me

The Toughest Man in Chicago

They Call Him Mother

Tommy Cooper: I Didn’t Let You Down, Did I?

Tragic Magic: A Story of Recovery

 

Asylum @ McCadden Theater

Emma and Richie’s Big Viking Funeral

All American

Love Chicken

A Dream at the End of Time

 

Asylum @ Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre 

4 Seasons Total Sh!tshow

Ben and George

Criminal Genius

Gummy Worm

It’s In Our Bones

Mother Grace

Tourrorists

What about Dad

 

Asylum @ Thymele Arts

Looking Past Loss

Mother Nature

Signals

The Verse Violent Chorus – Part 1

 

Asylum @ Wren Theater

Best Wife Ever

 

Howard Fine 

Empanada for a Dream 

What Am I, Chopped Suey? 

 

Hudson Theatre

An Intervention

Battlesong of Boudica

If I Look This Good, Why do I Feel Like Shit?

Stilettos and Steel

Why I Am the Way I Am 

 

Studio/Stage 

Asexualty! A Solo Musical 

Chriskirkpatrickmas 

From Here to Maturity 

Happy Girl 

It’s Who You Know 

Lvl 1 Gygax 

She Stoops to Scandal 

$H!+HEADS

 

Zephyr

Desert Weeds

Breed or Bust

And…Out of the Blue– A Miraculous MUSICAL

Too Big For Her Britches

Ascension Day

 

Best of Broadwater

A TERRIBLE SHOW FOR TERRIBLE PEOPLE

ABORTION WEEKEND

AFGHANISTAN IS NOT FUNNY

DI LADY DI

DOG

GRIEF: A ONE MAN SHITSHOW

HOUSEWIFE ’52

LET’S GET SILLY.

MOST LIKELY TO….

NOOR INAYAT: THE FORGOTTEN SPY

QUEEN OF FISHTOWN

TALES OF THE TRANCESTORS

TEACHING A ROBOT TO LOVE

THE TANNER

THREE GUYS AND A GROUPON

WEST

 

Los Angeles LGBT Center

Cock

THE RAMÓN SHOW: SPIRITUAL CHEERLEADING

Tree

“Hot Stuff”

MUST GO ON: A RITE OF PASSAGE

 

21

MAR 2022

After numerous conversations and intense deliberation by our selection committee, faced with an incredibly difficult choice over many qualified applications for this award, we are proud to announce our Fringe Scholarship winners!
 

The Winners of the 2022 Fringe Scholarships are:

A Terrible Show for Terrible People

Abortion Weekend

LUNA

Lvl 1 Gygax and Of Branch, Of Beast, Of Beatnik

Made In America

Not That Illegal

RAG HEAD: An American Story

Royal Flush

Something In The Air

Terraforming Marginalized Voices

The Ramón Show: Spiritual Cheerleading 101

The Voice Lesson

TREE

Washington Square

Yellow/Blue

With so many outstanding applications we would like to highlight 3 shows that stood out to our committee as honorable mentions:
Love Chicken

Teaching a Robot to Love
Sorta Kinda

 

Congratulations to all!
 

As an open-access festival, we seek to foster a ground-breaking community of artists and make performances more accessible, both to the artists who produce them and for those who otherwise cannot afford to see theatre. Our committee firmly believes that these productions will enrich audience experience and the quality of the Hollywood Fringe Festival’s artistic offerings through the presentation of unique and underrepresented themes.

Each scholarship recipient will receive free registration and a $550 stipend towards production costs, a Fringe mentor, and marketing and networking opportunities as a member of the Fringe community. Fringe Scholarships are available to first-time Hollywood Fringe producers who contribute to the ethnic, cultural, racial, intellectually or physically disabled, d/Deaf, and the LGBTQ+ diversity of the Fringe community.

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Lois Neville & Ellen Boudreau Den Herder pose at Office Hours in 2019. Photo by Matt Kamimura

14

DEC 2021

Lois Neville, Festival Director

 

Who am I:

I moved to Los Angeles in 2005 to study musical theatre at AMDA. After graduating, I started working industry events and education gigs like film premieres at The Arclight and presenting workshops at The Florida State Thespians Festival. My eyes were opened to a facet of the arts that I was unfamiliar with, but was starting to flirt: arts administration.

 

I joined the Hollywood Fringe team in 2010 and haven’t looked back. Through my time at Fringe, I’ve discovered my artistry is behind the curtain. My true passion is supporting other artists on their journey and creating a community where everyone feels they belong.

 

I’ve worn many hats at HFF over the last decade; Volunteer, Bartender, Food and Beverage Director, Partnership Director, International Ambassador, Operations Director. All of these hats make for a very full closet but have also given me hands-on experience in all of the different moving parts of the festival.

 

Beyond the festival zone, I hail from Seattle and I’m the proud godmama of two of the most amazing two-year-olds in the world (ask me for pictures!). I love to dance, re-watch The Office, and travel. I equally enjoy a blazer and a flannel, and I think that fact says it all.

 

Why Fringe?

Hollywood is my home. (Yes, I live in the Fringe Zone) I moved here shortly after graduating, and I have vivid memories of the first time I walked down Santa Monica Blvd. I was exploring my new neighborhood, and I found honest-to-gawd theatres at every turn. Right here. In Tinseltown. It was like a magical sign, and often I found myself walking Theatre Row just because it felt right.

 

I was first introduced to HFF in 2010 when my friend Bryan Burgess (of Bryan’s Bar, the infamous Fringe Central bar) asked if I’d put on a bright orange unitard and play a Fringe Freak in one of FringeTV’s first original productions, “A Family Affair”. I had no idea at the time that a ridiculous favor for a friend would make such a tremendous impact on my life for years to come.

 

All these years, hats and walks down Santa Monica Blvd later, and I have only fallen more in love with this festival and community. HFF is my longest relationship by far. With Fringe, I found a home and a community that inspires me. The Fringe Zone is my neighborhood, the people in the theatres are my friends, and the artists who share their stories and hearts on these stages are my community.

 

Thank you for being a part of Hollywood Fringe. Thank you for showing up and sharing your talent, your story, and your spirit with this festival. You, as an individual, are a vital contributor to the Hollywood Fringe. Our festival is merely a platform for the many voices that show up each year. I serve at the pleasure of every artist who chooses Fringe, and I am humbled by the opportunity to do so.

 

Ellen Boudreau Den Herder, Executive Director

 

Who am I:

I’m an arts programming specialist that’s been working in nonprofits around Los Angeles since 2014.

As HFF’s Programs Director, I’ve sought to create programming that connects HFF with the LA Theatre community at large. I helped create Fringe Scholarships, HFF’s initiative to help expand and diversify the pool of artists participating in the festival, as well as ran our workshop series and events. Other programs I’ve championed are the Access Committee, the Artist Fund, and our accessibility initiatives. You’ve probably seen me running around the Festival grounds, hopping between shows with an iced coffee in hand and a huge smile on my face. Fringe is my favorite time of year.

 

Outside of the Fringe, I’m a visual and performing artist, administrator and community programs professional. I’ve worked in programming and engagement with companies such as B.R.I.D.G.E Theatre Project, Grand Vision Foundation, and The Industry Opera LA. I’ve also participated in Cornerstone Theatre Company’s Summer Institute and the Arts for LA ACTIVATE program to further hone in my community-first practice of engagement and programming. As an artist, I’ve dabbled in improv comedy, songwriting and composing, immersive installation work and video art.

As a person, I’m obsessed with my cat, Toast and rewatching network comedies that I can quote by heart. 

 

Why Fringe?

Before joining the Fringe staff in 2016, I was a classically trained musician and arts administrator, searching for community through the music world, and I just wasn’t finding it. From orchestra management to opera stage managing, I jumped job to job looking for a space to call home.

 

My first introduction to theatre was working at a call center in 2013 selling theatre subscriptions and I kept hearing about this thing called Fringe from my desk partner, Les Kurkendaal, who toured (and still tours) Fringes around the country (and also, I would get the pleasure of working with Les again in 2016 in the creation of the Fringe scholarship program). 

 

Although I didn’t see my first Fringe show until 2015, the name stuck around and when I saw a position for Outreach Coordinator pop up, I made the decision to apply and see what happens. My life changed that year, as I found my home, my family, my community, and I’ve never looked back.

 

The Hollywood Fringe participant base is an incredibly special community– I’ve never seen any other group of people support each other with such vigor and enthusiasm. The kindness you all show each other (and me) inspires me to be a better person every day, and I wouldn’t want to work in any other environment.

 

Why Fringe? Because I can’t imagine my life without it. 

 

To the Fringe Senior Staff from the new executive team

As a team, we couldn’t be more thrilled to set off on this new adventure with a senior staff that we have both had the pleasure of working with since the beginning. Bella Luna and Stina Pederson, this festival would not happen without your passion, hard work, and dedication to this festival and community. Your contribution is what makes this all possible.

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