And now a word from our Development Director: Kan Mattoo.

__

My name is Kan Mattoo and I’m the Development Director for your Hollywoood Fringe Festival. You may remember me from the photograph that hung behind the Fringe Box Office last year (no, not Stephen Colbert. I’m the other guy.) Or you may have recently seen me on the Golden Globe winning Television Show GREYS ANATOMY (no, not McDreamy. I’m the other guy)…

As we approach the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival, I wanted to share a couple of the things that we’ve been working on. We are very excited for our Hotspot Program. When you present your Fringe Button to our participating businesses, all sorts of discounts will become available to you. Make sure you stop by these Fringe friendly businesses and thank them for being a part of the excitement of the Hollywood Fringe! (Plus, you know, get free stuff.)

Los Angeles is the home of some of the best food trucks in the country, and this year many of them are a part of our Hotspot Program as well! We will have trucks available near Fringe Central for your culinary pleasure on a daily basis. Make sure you know exactly where they are by following their twitter feeds.

Finally, I’m very excited to promote the Hollywood Fringe Festival’s Kickstarter Fundraising page. We need to raise $10,000 by the time Fringe opens on June 16th – and we need your help! Please share the link with all of your friends, family, co-workers, teachers, yoga instructors… and everyone else you know on facebook and twitter. Every dollar you contribute goes towards making the 2011 Hollywood Fringe Festival the best one to date.

Thanks for taking the time to read a little about me and I know we all will have a great time this June!

Kan Mattoo, Development Director
The Hollywood Fringe Festival

We are so very pleased to partner with a wonderful event this weekend: The triumphant return of The Silver Lake Jubilee.

Several Hollywood Fringe Acts are participating in the festivities this year. Note that much of the Fringe programming is earlier in the day, so make sure to start off early.

SATURDAY MAY 21st

SUNSET STAGE (at Myra & Sunset)
10:30-10:40 am | Introduction to Hollywood Fringe
10:40-11:00 am | Real Time by Peoplehood
11:10-11:30 am | FreakShow Deluxe

SUNDAY MAY 22nd

SANTA MONICA STAGE (at Santa Monica & N. Hoover)
10:00–10:10 am | Introduction to Hollywood Fringe
10:10-10:30 am | Voices from Chornobyl, Jr.
10:40-11:00 am | The Trouble with Words by Coeurage Theatre
11:10-11:20 am | Jon Armstrong: I Do Card Tricks and I’m Funny
11:20-11:4o am | Cynthia Brinkman: Evolution of a Kiss

Admission is $5 at the door for the full day.

Come get a little teaser of the Fringe! Fringe Tickets are on sale for all of these shows for their June runs; buy now while supplies last.

Looking forward to the big event this weekend – hope to see you there!

Ben

Greetings, All-

On Monday, May 23 we hold a Town Hall for the Fringe community. All are invited to discuss preparations for our second festival.

On the docket: Events, awards, tickets, promotion, visibility, and getting the most out of your Fringe experience.

We are so happy to be holding this event at the Open Fist Theatre in Hollywood; many thanks to the Open Fist Theatre Company for hosting us.

There will be a mixer following the event at 3Clubs bar with drink specials for Fringers.

Here are the details…

WHAT: A Fringe Town Hall

WHERE: Open Fist Theatre, 6209 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA

WHEN: Monday, May 23, 7pm (6:30 Doors)

RSVP: Reserve a seat on the fringe site

The mixer will begin around 9pm at 3Clubs (1123 Vine St.). Look for the illuminated “cocktails” sign on the NW corner of Vine St. and Santa Monica Blvd.

The event will be recorded for those that can’t make it.

Hope to see you there!

Ben

The Fringe is pleased to announce our partnership with the good folks at the NoHo Arts District.

The NoHo Arts District, a one-square arts community in North Hollywood has become LA’s newest entertainment playground. Come and experience…

• 21 “Live” Theatres
• Art Galleries & Public Art – every style
• World famous Dance Workshops
• Vintage & Specialty Shops
• Restaurants, Nightclubs & Special Events

To find out what’s happening…visit www.nohoartsdistrict.com

Ben

Click here to sponsor the Fringe.

Greetings, Fringers-

As we enter the fray of a new year’s festival, I write today to ask for your help.

These are tough times for new artistic projects: city, county, state, and federal coffers are dry, and local and national businesses who once sponsored ambitious artistic projects like ours struggle to pay their own bills.

Last year we managed to do the impossible: Stage what was to become the largest open access arts festival West of the Mississippi with little to no funding. Almost 200 shows, near 1000 performances, over 30 venues rose to the call on the idea that an international celebration of the arts was needed in Los Angeles. It went very well, better than any of us could have conceived when we started this endeavor.

We have many bright ideas for the future: Conveyance shuttles, broader music and visual art programs, new initiatives into the digital frontier and so much more. There is no shortage of ideas to continue the evolution of this annual celebration.

Sometimes our ambitions are greater than our bank balance: This is where we need your help.

We are a nonprofit which means that we seek a percentage of our operating money from good people like you; those that understand that access to culture is critically important to our society and our community.

Today we announce our partnership with Kickstarter.com to raise funds for this year’s festival. For those of you unfamiliar with Kickstarter, it is a platform where you can pledge a certain amount of money towards a specified goal; ours is a modest $10,000. If we reach that goal, the funds are released. If we don’t reach it, we get nothing and you pay nothing.

In return for your contribution to the cause, you receive perks that vary depending on the level of your generosity ranging from free drinks at Fringe Central to tickets to t-shirts to fun video thank yous from our beloved mascots.

Click here to sponsor the Fringe.

Your generous contribution goes far towards our mission of providing a voice for the emerging arts and an event for its devotees. The amount doesn’t matter, any contribution demonstrates you stand with us and the arts.

I know times are tight and there are many wonderful and deserving projects seeking your hard-earned dollar. I ask you today to reach into your pockets for a cause that matters to all of us, as a world without art is a cold place. For a few weeks a year, the Fringe warms us up.

Thanks so much for your time and your consideration.

Kindest Regards,

Ben

__

Ben Hill, Festival Director
The Hollywood Fringe Festival
www.HollywoodFringe.org