Most of you know me as [email protected], but my real name is Alexa Hanrahan Hill and I’m the Fringe Participant Director. I’m excited to dive into my fourth year with the Hollywood Fringe Festival, and I’m looking forward to meeting you all in June!

I started my Fringe journey as a sorta-volunteer, back in 2009. (You’ll find that many of us on staff had beginnings as  volunteers… HINT HINT.) Since then, I’ve answered thousands of emails from HFF newbies and veterans, met hundreds of participants, and watched “this festival thing I’m working on” blossom into an event that has helped shape the landscape of the arts in Southern California. And I couldn’t be happier to be here.

What do you do for the Fringe?

You know when you have a question and you email support? Those come to my ever growing inbox. I review each and every one of your questions, concerns, or problems, and either help you out myself, or enlist whichever of the HFF’s many talented staff members can best be of service.
If you have a question or problem that the site itself can’t answer (note: the blogs and the learn section of the site), send it my way. Every single member of the staff wants your Fringe experience to be as fun and hassle-free as possible, and it’s my job to ensure that you walk away with the confidence of questions answered.

Do you like your job? What’s the best part?


I like solving problems, and I like solving them quickly – so our 24 hour service agreement and the rapid-fire Q & A sessions are a perfect fit for my slightly high-strung, obsessive nature (I’m cool, though, I swear – just efficient). I’d say the BEST part of the job, however, is getting to know you, our participants, year in and year out. Some folks who have been bringing HFF realness since day one are close friends, contributors (or co-conspirators?), and inspirations. It’s smushy, lovey stuff, but it’s true.

If you could give one piece of advice to Fringers, what would it be?



Since I’m a super-nerd, it won’t be “Have lots of fun and give hugs!”, although you should – as long as the person you’re hugging consents. I say, “Use the tools you’ve been given to build your own success.” (That’s also my newest tattoo idea, it’s official.) We on the HFF staff do try really, really hard to give participants what they need to walk away from this experience triumphant. Read as much as you can about the festival, take advantage of the deals we’ve sought out for you, and mark your calendar with deadlines. Show up to Fringe sponsored events to talk to staff, venue managers, and other participants. See shows during the festival. Give us feedback. You’re the reason this community is growing by leaps and bounds every year, and we want to help you keep making it happen.

A big congratulations to Jordan Monsell, the winner of the first ever Fringe Design contest! We had a lot of really great entries and want to give a big “Thanks!” to everyone who participated. It went better than we could have possibly imagined!

We received well over 100 design concepts from over 30 talented designers and it was a very difficult choice, but in the end, Jordan’s vision for the 2013 Guide Cover won over the Fringe staff. In addition to the $499 prize, Jordan will be employed as the lead designer for 2013, helping to design T-Shirts, the Fringe Button, the remainder of the Fringe Guide, and a bunch of other things. You can get your first look at the 2013 Festival Guide by checking out Jordan’s winning design here.

Fun fact: Jordan was the director of the popular Pulp Shakespeare from the 2011 Festival (his past participation in the festival wasn’t a consideration when choosing him as the winner, but we thought it was pretty cool that it turned out that way!)

We’re excited to announce that the Hollywood Arts Council has selected the Hollywood Fringe Festival as the winner of the Charlie Award for Theatre Arts. The Fringe will be presented with the award at the 27th Annual Charlie Awards Luncheon along with the other honorees on April 5th at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel.

“We’re excited and honored to be included in this prestigious group,” said Ben Hill, Festival Director. “From the beginning, we have been driven to provide opportunities for performing artists while also enriching our local community— a mission that closely aligns with the Hollywood Art Council’s own. Winning a Charlie is a landmark accomplishment for our organization.”

Companies and individuals are chosen for the award based on “significant contributions to the arts and Hollywood,” according to the Council’s media contact. Additionally, the spokesman said that "the Annual Charlie Awards help support Project S.O.A.R. (Students Overcoming All Risks), the Hollywood Arts Council’s After School Art Workshops held in eight Hollywood area elementary schools, and its Annual Children’s Festival of the Arts held each August at Paramount Pictures.”

The Fringe Family program was first started to help families find age appropriate programming for their children while also introducing young people to live performance art. The program was expanded in the last year and also include Fringe Family days and other family friendly programming.

In order to help promote this type of programming, Cindy Marie Jenkins of 24th Street Theatre has generously offered to give away tickets to the company’s current production, Walking the Tightrope, to the first three family-friendly shows to register for the 2013 festival. You can read about some of the reviews the show is getting here.

We kicked off our fundraising efforts at the Fringe Benefit on Saturday night, announcing our intent to raise $20,000 for the 2013 Festival. Our awesome community has helped to maintain the Fringe mission over the past two years by generously contributing to successful campaigns. Because of this generous support, the Fringe team was inspired to create a contest that will give back to our highest fundraisers. So for this year we are using a new site called CauseVox that lets you be a part of the Fundraising and help make the 2013 Festival the best ever.

To be part of the contest, simply create a Fundraising page (by clicking on “Create a Fundraising Page Now” once you’ve gone to our page at the link above). Groups that raise the most money for the $20,000 campaign will receive free ads in the 2013 Festival Guide.

First Place: Free Full Page Ad

Second Place: Free Half Page Ad

Third Place: Free Quarter Page Ad