Thanks to everyone who applied to be our Volunteer Coordinator! We had a great pool of applicants and it was a difficult choice. Ultimately we decided on the amazing Stina Pederson, who has been volunteering for the past couple years. You can meet her in person if you volunteer, but in the meantime, here’s a little letter she wrote to tell you more about herself.

Here’s Stina as the Blue Freak in 2012

Hi Fringers!

I am thrilled to be joining the Hollywood Fringe Festival as the new Volunteer Coordinator. I began participating in the festival as a volunteer in 2012. My first Fringe memory is of putting on a Fringe Freak bodysuit in the backseat of Stacy Jones Hill’s car on the way to the WeHo Pride Parade. It was that kind of intimate, weird, and oh-so-fun experience that brought me back the following year to volunteer once more. When I saw that the festival was seeking a Volunteer Coordinator, I jumped at the chance to be an integral part of pulling people in and immersing them in the glory that is Hollywood Fringe.

I first got a taste of the fringe theatre scene in Seattle, WA, where I produced and stage managed a zero-budget and beautifully directed and acted stage version of Dylan Thomas’ Under Milk Wood. I wanted to make more art and I happened to be engaged to an actor who always wanted to make more art, so we set out from Seattle in 2008 on a journey around the world with grand dreams of earning our keep on the streets—as buskers, of course.

Our journey brought us to Los Angeles, the perfect place for my now-husband to keep acting and for me to pursue other artistic passions like writing and music while still being involved in producing. I’m so thankful I landed at the Fringe Festival, which reminds me of my first foray into fringe theatre and gives me the opportunity to keep that part of me alive and kicking.

This year will be awesome. I can’t wait to get former and new volunteers and interns plugged into the vibrant community of the Hollywood Fringe Festival. Look out for upcoming Volunteer Orientations and follow the Hollywood Fringe Volunteer Twitter account (@hffvolunteer) to stay up-to-date on volunteer opportunities and the witty stuff I might say.

Stina

Starting this week, and continuing throughout March, participating Fringe venues will be hold walk-throughs on Tuesday evenings according to the following schedule:

Theatre Asylum 4:30pm – 6:45pm
Studio C Artists 4:30pm – 7:00pm
Lounge Theatre 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Complex Theatres 4:00pm – 6:00pm
The Actors Company 4:00pm – 6:00pm
The Lex Theatre 4:00pm – 6:00pm
McCadden Place Theatre 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Schkapf aka Artworks Theatre 6:00pm – 7:00pm

NOTE: Though the venues plan to maintain a consistent schedule, you must contact them directly to RSVP. This is a great way to organize several venue visits in a single evening. Remember, venues not listed here are also willing to show their spaces by appointment; contact venues through the Fringe site or by phone to make arrangements.

The walk-throughs will be followed by an annual Fringe tradition: Office Hours! Please convene at Three Clubs for an informal gathering of Fringe folk for drinks and networking, starting at 7 PM on Tuesdays. Office Hours is a fun way to meet and talk about all things Fringe.

Last year we held a series of Twitter Chats in order for Fringers to meet and mingle online before the festival begins. It turned out to be a great way to recruit audiences and make #fringeships long before June. You’ll get to tweet about how the process is going, different challenges you might be facing and you’ll get the opportunity to chat with Fringe staff members.

This year we’ll be hosting the Twitter Chats at the following times:

March 24th, 7:00-8:00pm PST
April 7th, 1:00-2:00pm PST
April 21st, 7:00-8:00pm PST
May 5th, 1:00-2:00pm PST
May 19th, 7:00-8:00pm PST
June 2nd, 1:00-2:00pm PST

All you have to do to join the discussion is use the hashtag #HFF14. The chat will be moderated by the @HollywoodFringe account. Can’t make the time but still want to participate? All you have to do is schedule a tweet or two using one of the many available Twitter clients.

You (or one of your friends) can be the head graphic designer for the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival! All you have to do is enter our design contest.

Dates of the Contest

You can start submitting your designs for the qualifying round starting Monday, March 10th. To ensure your design is eligible for the final round, make sure we receive your concept by the end of the day on Friday, March 14th. Here’s a direct link to the contest.

What We Want You to Design

Every year, we produce a printed guide of all the shows produced at our festival. This contest is centered around the GUIDE COVER IMAGE; the seminal representation of the 2014 festival.

Here are the guides from our first four years:
2013 Guide
2012 Guide
2011 Guide
2010 Guide

Generally, the cover image includes our mascots – “the freaks”. The five main freaks are included on the cover of the 2012 & 2013 Guides. The “look” of these freaks should be adapted to fit the your unique aesthetic so feel free to play into your comfort zone (see the links above for examples of previous adaptations).

The winner of this contest is immediately eligible for additional work finishing off the rest of the guide design. See below for more info.

The Big Prize

The winner of the contest will receive $799 (minus the commission taken by 99Designs) and be eligible for another $500 to finish off the guide, produce the button and complete other branding needs. Anyone can participate, they just need to create a (free) account on 99Designs.com.

We’d also adapt the images above to be used as print and online ads.

Other Info

Our team has lots of experience working with designers and we have in-house adobe suite experts, so we won’t be constantly going to you for minor updates.

We are ready to answer your questions, so feel free to communicate at will. Just email us at [email protected].

Thanks for your interest and we look forward to your submissions!

Registration is now officially open! If you’ve already created a project, you are all ready to dive into the second (and generally the most time-intensive) step of the three-step registration process. Sometimes it can be difficult to book the perfect venue, but this year you can tour a number of spaces in a condensed timeframe during the first Fringe Venue Open House of the 2014 season this Monday, February 17th. You are encouraged to RSVP by sending a quick email or message to venues you intend to visit, but if you find yourself in Hollywood on Monday at the last minute, the following venues will be open at the following times:

Lex Theatre: 2:00-6:00 PM
Three Clubs: 2:00-7:00 PM
The Complex: 3:00-6:30 PM
Theatre Asylum: 3:00-6:00 PM
Artworks Theatre & Studios: 4:00-5:30 PM (Most spaces, including 80+ seat Mainstage); 5:30-6:15 PM (All Spaces)
The Actors Company: 3:00-6:00 PM
Lounge Theatre: 3:00-6:00 PM (Note: The Lounge 2 space will be intermittently available)

JUST ADDED:
Stephanie Feury Studio Theatre: 3:00-5:00 PM

In addition, though they cannot be open on the 17th, Studio C Artists will be open the following Monday, February 24th from 12:00-6:00 PM.

Don’t miss this great opportunity to get a jump on the booking process and meet venue operators in person!