27

JAN 2010

I had the pleasure of joining Raleigh R. Pinskey (a Fringe participant herself) on her Blog Talk Radio show yesterday afternoon. We cover many topics from the founding of the first Fringe, to the epic conceptual expansion of Fringes to cities around the world, to the workings and mission of the Hollywood Fringe Festival itself.

Give it a listen, it’s about 60 minutes long and full of tips and observations on maximizing your Fringe experience.

Many thanks to Raleigh for having us and supporting the Fringe!

Ben

26

JAN 2010

We had this idea about a year ago to feature our mascots – “the freaks” – in various natural situations as a part of our first promotional campaign. The idea is that the Fringe (expressed by the freaks) dares you to view life from an alternative angle: The impossible becomes achievable, the dull becomes exciting, the static becomes vibrant. We called our first promo in this series keep an eye on your pie.

Our newest promo is conceived by Ryan Karloff, directed by Nathaniel Beaver, and produced by Bryan Burgess. It focusses on the sometimes ho-hum workaday existence of the family man, desperately in need of a little magic to reignite life’s spark. Dreams of creativity, excitement, and Fringe transform the man’s life and fulfills what was missing.

Without any further over-explanation, here is the promo:




Thanks to the cast and crew who made this promo happen. Actors include Ryan Karloff (man), Stacy Jones (woman), Julisa Smith (blue freak), Lois Adelle Neville (orange freak), with Hannah and Wyatt Gutierrez as the children, and Cattleman as the dog.

Enjoy!

Ben

25

JAN 2010

Press Contact:
Stacy Jones
The Hollywood Fringe Festival
[email protected]
603.540.4035
www.HollywoodFringe.org



January 25, 2010
For Immediate Release

COMMUNITY RALLIES AROUND FESTIVAL 

town hall announced for february 8

I’m excited that Hollywood has been selected as the site of Southern California’s Fringe Festival, which will bring artists from around the world to share their works in this creative environment." 
~ L.A. City Council President Eric Garcetti 


Hollywood Fringe (www.hollywoodfringe.org) is holding a Town Hall on Monday, February 8th at 6:00pm at Theatre of NOTE in Hollywood to discuss the first annual Hollywood Fringe Festival (coming June 17-27, 2010) with Fringe friends and potential participants. Afterwards, attendees are encouraged to join the Fringe Staff for a Fringe Mixer (location TBD). The Town Hall and Mixer are part of a grassroots campaign designed by the Fringe Staff to integrate the local community into the creation and developmental stages of the international arts event.

"It’s been my experience that every successful Fringe Festival in the United States can point to its grassroots community outreach as the one most important element responsible for their success," says Ezra Buzzington, a member of the Board of Advisors and Venue Manager for Theatre of NOTE"Every festival must represent and reflect its local community first, or it’s dead in the water."

For the past two years, Hollywood Fringe has brought together local artists and producers, small independent businesses and some of the most prestigious acting schools in the country, all with a common goal to uplift both the Hollywood neighborhood and the global artistic community. As of now, the Fringe Festival boasts 12 official venues with over 25 performance spaces; more venues are expected join before the festival in June (see all the venues). The Hollywood Fringe credits some of its success in the artistic community to a series of promotional videos featuring local artists (see all the videos). Since registration opened in mid-November, artistic companies have developed over 100 projects on the festival’s website. All of these projects are eligible to become official Fringe shows; the project’s creator must simply book a venue (more about this process).

Due in part to local networking, there has been a good deal of outreach to national and international arts communities. Hollywood Fringe is a member of the United States Association of Fringe Festivals, and has developed relationships with producers of festivals all over the world. Roughly 30% of the project pages on the website have been created by individuals outside L.A. or out of the country. Holly Payton, a member of the Board of Advisors and founder of the World Festival Network, emphasizes the benefits of rallying communities together: "Fringe festivals, wherever they are in the world, are important to local, national, and international communities for different reasons. Venue staff will meet producers, producers will search for artists, artists will attract audiences, and audiences will get to know their neighborhood better, which in turn will benefit local businesses. If there is a Fringe Festival in your community, everyone is a winner!" So come and check out what the buzz is all about!

WHO: Hollywood Fringe Festival
WHAT: Town Hall & Fringe Mixer
WHEN: Monday, February 8th, 2010 @ 6:00pm
WHERE: Theatre of NOTE (1517 North Cahuenga Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA), location of Mixer TBA on Fringe Website

Hollywood Fringe is a 501c3 non-profit organization and all donations are tax deductible.

For more information, check out www.hollywoodfringe.org or email [email protected]

21

JAN 2010

This one was a lot of fun as we had the opportunity to work with some of our good friends in the LA arts world.

Ken Peterson (our visibility director) had the brainstorm to feature some local artists in a dolly shot with Petrojvic Blasting Company featured at the start and end of the sequence. Our initial plan to film this on the streets of Hollywood was canned due to the freak occurrence of “weather” in Los Angeles, making the title of this video somewhat ironic. Thank god for readily available and cheap warehouse space!

Here’s the promo:

Artists included in this shoot:

Petrojvic Blasting Company
Rogue Artists Ensemble
LA Contemporary Dance
kDub Dance
NeedTheater
Kinetic Theory
Scarlett Letter

…and of course, our very own Julisa Smith as the blue freak. Credit to all for enduring weather and the ungodly hour of the morning this was filmed.

If you look closely, you can also see the Fringe production team working in the background; it’s all very Brechtian, you see.

Ben

20

JAN 2010

It’s really happening! The Fringe is coming to Hollywood this Summer along with hundreds of artists and dozens of venues.

Need to know more? Here is your chance to ask questions, ponder answers, and get to know the people behind the planning thus far.

Join us at 6pm on Feb 8 at Theatre of NOTE (1517 North Cahuenga Boulevard) for a TOWN HALL MEETING.

We will discuss registration, marketing, travel arrangements, production concerns, venues, connections, networking, and socializing. Everything is on the table: If you have questions, we have answers.

We look forward to meeting all of you in-person on Feb 8!

If you are on facebook, please RSVP so we have an idea of how many are attending.

A casual mixer will follow – location tbd.

Thanks for all your support and spread the word!

~ The Hollywood Fringe Team