When we began this venture in 2007, our first true challenge was developing the model by which the festival operates. This was no easy task and involved extensive soul searching, graying hairs and long, contemplative walks.

There is no single operating model for Fringes though many of them have a lot in common:

• a focus on the performing arts
• shorter, less expensive shows.
• uncensored content
• “rapid fire” programming with shows stacked one atop the other

There’s no global Fringe organization that runs all festivals that include the word “fringe” in their titles; each festival is privately run and conforms to the unique principles that ensures success in its host town.

We knew we wanted the joyful chaos that embodies much of the international fringe spirit. We knew the performing arts should be front and center in our programming. We wanted to leverage the wonderful venues in Hollywood and the dedicated producers and owner/managers who run them.

But how would the Hollywood Fringe work?

To properly examine the model of a fringe, one must dissect three principal aspects:

Venue Management

How are venues booked? Are venues independent or run by the central fringe organization? What services do the venues offer and who offers them? Can participants bring their own venue?

Participant Programming

How are performance dates and times determined? Are all performances a fixed price? A fixed duration? Do all participants enjoy the same number of performances? What method is used to determine who can participate?

Festival Mission

Why is the festival being produced? What are its goals? Are they looking to boost the local economy? Foster community? Enrich its participants, venues and organizers? Highlight particular kinds of shows? Are they looking to expose their home city as a global arts player?

The decisions we made boiled down to five observations:

• Los Angeles is uniquely spread-out geographically and as a result struggles with community in the arts.
• Los Angeles boasts so many theatre companies and practicing performing arts professionals.
• Los Angeles boasts a vast array of actors and directors. It lacks a glut of theatrical producers.
• Los Angeles loves to party (and does it well).

These observations and our spiritual voyage to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe lead to epiphanies in how the festival might run.

Edinburgh is known for its venue model. Each venue is a self-operating business that books its own shows. This is how they’ve managed to grow sustainably over the years.

Empowering venues to operate independently creates a win-win-win-win. The festival wins by enjoying a model that allows it to grow sustainably. Existing and pop-up venues run their own shows, with their own rules and their own balance sheets. Participants have extraordinary freedom in matching the unique needs of their show to a venue of their choice. Patrons can rest easy that the fringe will keep coming back year over year as it grows/contracts.

This model addresses the question of developing producers in Los Angeles (and beyond). Much of the work of producing involves setting budgets, ticket prices, number of performances, choosing and working with a venue, selecting from a buffet of options on how to promote that show. Freedom can certainly be scary, so we provide a framework where a producer can try new approaches and choose their own adventure. This is how theatrical producers are formed and how they eventually contribute to the larger artistic ecosystem of a city.

And so, the operating model was created and we developed the mechanics of How the Fringe Works. It was a struggle but one worth the attention and frustration.

Want to learn more about Fringes around the world? For those interested in festival in the United States, check out the Unites States Association of Fringe Festivals. For Canadian fringes (including some in the US), check out the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals. And for the global perspective, check out the World Fringe Alliance.

At the Fringe we are dedicated to providing platforms for unique and underserved artists. We are proud to announce our newest initiative: Fringe Scholarships. We are offering free registration to five participants who meet the scholarship criteria.

We are looking for artists whose festival participation will:

• Increase festival attendance and participation by local Hollywood residents
• Increase arts participation of ethnically diverse and/or low-income artists
• Enrich audience experience through the presentation of unique, underrepresented themes and/or narratives

A special committee will select the recipients. To apply for the Fringe Scholarship, fill out the online application found here by May 11.

This scholarship is partially funded through a grant from the California Community Foundation.

PROM VOTING IS NOW OVER! The 2016 Fringe Prom Theme is “Purple Rain”

Ever dream about re-doing your prom, but with a way better theme and adults instead of teenagers? It’s time for you to make that dream come to life! This year’s Fringe prom theme is going to be picked by YOU! Now through May 2nd you can nominate anything off the top of your head to become a real live prom theme!
 
Hit us with your best: Under the Sea? Happily Ever After? Apocalypse Now? Bring it on!

Here’s how to nominate your theme: Tweet @hollywoodfringe #hff16 #hffprom with your ideas and get your friends to like/RT it! The themes with the most engagement (plus a few staff favorites) will be compiled as a survey to be voted on starting May 3rd. The winner will then be announced on May 11th (since voting ends 5/10). 

Fringe Prom is June 22 at Fringe Central. 

About Actor’s Equity Association

Equity has a contract to cover professional theatre large and small, wherever it might be happening in the United States. Equity negotiates and administers multi-employer national and regional collective bargaining agreements, as well as single-employer agreements with theatrical employers. These agreements provide minimum salaries, benefits, job security and numerous other provisions to ensure safe working conditions and a work environment where actors and stage managers are protected.

There are limited circumstances where Equity members may perform without benefit of an Equity contract. Those exceptions are sometimes referred to as “codes,” “guidelines” or “rules.” Unlike standard Equity contracts, these rules are designed to ensure that where members intend to hone their skills and “showcase” themselves in the hope of securing future employment, that certain basic conditions are in place. There are no minimum salaries, there is no obligation to remain in a production and none of the regular benefits or protections of standard agreements apply. Actors and stage managers who are participating in projects that do not meet the criteria established in the applicable code, guideline or rule must discontinue their participation and notify the nearest Equity office immediately.

Hollywood Fringe Festival shows with actors and/or stage managers who are members of Actors’ Equity Association (AEA) might be able to apply for these are codes and western agreements:

Los Angeles 99-Seat Theatre Agreement: This agreement is for use in the county of Los Angeles in theatres of 99 seats or fewer. Salaries are based on minimum wage, and there are no restrictions on ticket prices, the number of performances or the number of rehearsals.

Hollywood Area Theatre (HAT) Agreement: This agreement is used in theatres with 599 seats or fewer, presenting productions in the county of Los Angeles. There are three categories based on seating capacity.

Los Angeles Self-Produced Project Code (LASPPC): is an internal union membership rule that permits members to work without the benefit of a contract in member-produced theatrical productions in Los Angeles County in theaters of 99 seats or fewer. The members working on the project are part of a collaborating group and are not employed by any producing entity.

Los Angeles 50-Seat Showcase Code: This an internal union membership rule that permits Equity members to work without the benefit of a contract in theatrical productions in Los Angeles County in theaters of 50 seats or fewer for the purpose of presenting plays and/or scenes in limited performances.

To include union members in your project, you need to prepare the relevant paperwork and submit to AEA for approval ASAP.

If you would like to read a particular Equity agreement, learn more about the requirements for producers, or get the answer to other AEA related questions email [email protected] or call the Western Region Office at 323-978-8080.

On the last day of the festival (June 26th) we host our Award Ceremony and Closing Night Party. We hand out two types of awards: the Community Awards (top shows by category and also the all-around “Top of the Fringe” award), which are determined by votes from Fringers; and Sponsored Awards, which are awarded by organizations outside of the Fringe. Check out last year’s award winners here. In order to sponsor an award, you must meet a number of requirements, including the following:

• Naming requirements (no fringe-specific superlatives)
• Requirement to provide a physical award to the winner at the Fringe Award Ceremony
• Details on eligibility and how the winner will be selected
• You may present ONE award (if presenting to multiple awardees, they must all be called to the stage at the same time).
• Presenting organization must be incorporated 

And perhaps most importantly, Sponsored Award applications must be submitted by May 1st. Check out the full list of requirements and a link to the proposal form here.