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!

EQUITABLE CASTING

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is devoted to accessibility and equity in our festival and within the larger theatre community as a whole. We are a young, progressive, grassroots organization and believe the choices we make have a rippling impact on our community. 

To maximize our impact we need your help. As producers, directors, theatre-makers and actors you make up our festival, our culture, and our community. When casting your Hollywood Fringe productions we ask that you expand your perspective when casting. We are fed the incorrect message that Whiteness and nondisabled humans are default. We highly encourage you to cast your productions with the intention to have a cast that represents the diverse city of Los Angeles and the diversity of our nation. 

Impact of equitable casting:

- You create a production with more creative perspectives to elevate your show.

- You reach a wider audience when you cast actors across communities and are inviting new audiences to participate in your work, both through your actors’ networks and by representing and attracting various communities to your show.

- You’ll make more money. More audience members equals more ticket sales and more money from your Fringe production.

- You’ll learn new perspectives and gain broader cultural competency

- You’ll contribute to anti-racism in our theatre community.

How to cast equitably:

- Start with a diverse production team. 

- Post your production on casting websites to reach a wide audience.

- Note “all ethnicities” in your character breakdowns unless ethnicity is pertinent to the cultural function of a role.

- Consider multigenerational casting: Is age relevant in your story? If not, consider broadening your age limits to have a more inclusive cast in terms of age.

- Do not cast nondisabled actors in disabled roles. Authentically cast disabled and d/Deaf stories, and consider including more disabled actors in non-disa bled roles in your productions.

- Consider opening up your gender identities in casting.

- Bolster your commitment to equitable casting in your casting announcement by including a statement like: : “We encourage underrepresented communities to submit. Reach out to BIPOC, AAPI, and disabled friends and colleagues to audition and share the audition opportunity.

Fostering an inclusive environment

- Listen to the actors you hire and the perspectives they share. Take them seriously.

- Do not make racially based, ableist, gender-biased, or any other insensitive comments. If you have something to say about someone’s identity, we recommend you consider if it’s something that will affect your production, the narrative of the story you are trying to tell, or the community you work with. If it won’t, don’t say it. 

- Ask questions when you don’t know something. Listen to the response and thank your collaborator for their time explaining new concepts. People are excited to give feedback and share their ideas when you properly thank them for their time..

- Respect your actors’ time and commitment to the project.

- Don’t tokenize any single person in a cast, hire people from many backgrounds so that you may have a more conducive environment for inclusive conversations.

Reference our Code of Conduct for resources

During our 2023 “Ask A Venue” Workshop, panelists from each venue offered many insights on everything venue-related — from the application process to what will happen on the day of your show. Here are some of the highlights:

1. Find the venue that works best for you and makes sense for the specifics of your show.
2. The Hollywood Fringe Festival is centered in community; get to know and support the other artists with shows performing in your venue. #HFFCommunity
3. Communicate oddities about your show upfront to the venue. (Don’t keep secrets.)
4. When you have a question the answer you’re looking for can almost always be found on the Hollywood Fringe’s website.
5. The venue representatives have been doing this awhile, so check in with them when you need guidance or ideas. (They are happy to provide their thoughts on everything from how to stage a scene in their space to the best box office practices for your show.)
6. Make sure there will be someone in the lobby of the venue during your performance so people don’t wander in and disrupt your show.
7. Don’t book all your performances during “prime time” slots. At 8pm on a weekend you and many other shows will be competing for audience members. Whereas having morning, afternoon, and late night shows will increase the chances that avid festival goers, industry folks, and your fellow fringe participants will get the chance to see your show.
8. During the turnover between shows, it is amazing how much can get done in a short amount of time if everyone knows exactly what they’re doing.
9. Market each of your performances individually. (For example, if you have a show early on a Sunday morning then perhaps encourage your audience to get a group together for brunch prior to attending your show.)
10. The more information you provide your venue, the more they can support you and your art.

You can watch the entire workshop here. And you can find all of the venues currently registered with Fringe here.