With over 30 volunteers, 70 performers, and hundreds of patrons: ARTBASH came to life on December 13, 2008.

It was a celebration of multi-disciplinary art and artistic cooperation. Speaking for everyone on the Hollywood Fringe team, we were busting with pride from start to finish. I’d like to take a moment to chronicle the contributions of the performers who joined us and thank all in the LA arts community for making the event a success.

Here’s a run down of the ARTBASH performers – join their mailing lists, see their shows, soak up the city’s culture.

LOS ANGELES CONTEMPORARY
DANCE COMPANY

www.ladanceco.org

You may remember those amazing dancers twirling in pairs across the performance floor. They had moves I didn’t think were possible. You gotta admire the shape dancers need to be in to do their stuff. That was LA Contemporary Dance company lead by Kate Hutter. Definitely check out their website and keep apprised of their future performances.

MONDAY NIGHT TEASE

www.mondaynighttease.com

Everyone loves burlesque and these lovely ladies are the cream of LA’s crop. Featuring the dance stylings of Scarlett Letter, Anastasia VonTeaserhausen, Vixen Magdalene, Isabella Star (pictured), and Red Snapper. They do their thing at the 3Clubs every Monday (map) in Hollywood – the longest running burlesque show in LA! It’s certainly in your best interest to check them out.

INVERTIGO DANCE THEATRE

www.invertigodance.org

Hats off to these guys for braving the wild winds of December and still dancing so fabulously – remember the faerie light “web” outside …and the dancers performing with their musician accompanists? That was Invertigo lead by Laura Karlin. Check out their website and read all about them. They have an ARTBASH page to check out as well.

PETROJVIC BLASTING CO.

www.blastingcompany.com

Performing outside, this band of musical story tellers with their horns, accordion, and trombone…blew the lid off the party. Check them out almost every week at the Hollywood Farmer’s Market (map).

VOX DANCE THEATRE

www.sarahvox.org

On the mainstage, you certainly remember the gorgeous dance of “Fimmine” to the music of Philip Glass- featuring the Vox dancers in flowing, white dresses. Keep your eyes on their website for more information from the company, and its founder Sarah Swenson.

KINETIC THEORY

www.kinetictheorytheatre.com

Everyone loves a circus…and these guys brought a little circus to all of us that night. They are self-dubbed pioneers into “a new dimension of circus and theatre”. Miming and contortionists invaded the performance floor to various “oohs”, “ahhs”, and “oh my god(s)”. Check out their website to learn more about their company and program.

POOR DOG GROUP

www.poordoggroup.com

Here’s a theatre company you should keep your eyes on. Performing a fascinating political piece on the outside stage exploring the work the renowned painter, Rene Magritte.

Also many thanks to the wonderful individual performers who joined us including, Soup Greens, Kim and Bobby, The Follies Sisters, CDN Collective, Ryan Harrison, and Gavin Worth.

And of course, Need Theater.

A common topic in FRINGE planning jams is the concept of “The Scene” – the social/creative network created by artists working and playing together.

LA is commonly dubbed a “film town” – the reputation being that non-film-based arts are secondary, a sideshow to the film game, a place to gain “exposure” and to “showcase” yourself. Many believe this attitude hurts arts, culture, and society in our fair city – indeed the term “showcase” engenders groans from those artists serious about their craft. What is arts without total commitment? A project on a stage should mean just as much to the artistic soul as one with high powered lights and cameras.

A professional and social scene for serious artists is needed in LA – a passionate, roving, and committed camaraderie with a shared belief in the perpetual importance of all arts. Team players – interested in exploring new paths of creativity and inspiration together. The scene is what Hollywood Fringe is all about.

So when Matt Wells of Need Theater approached us with their idea of a party/festival for the arts community in the heart of LA, we were more than thrilled to jump on board as a co-producing organization. We have assembled over 20 arts groups (in a very abbreviated time frame) in all walks of the artistic strata: Theatre, Music, Dance, Hip hop, Performance Art, Visual Art, and Burlesque. This may be the first blush of the greater Fringe movement in our city.

Artists working together, playing together, creating together…all for the benefit of the community, society, and the greater culture of LA. It is artists banding together under the umbrella of a common interest and belief system that will (and I don’t think I can exaggerate here) eventually save the arts, and everything we love about it.

…and it is a party. Complete with dancing, events, and plenty of drink thanks to our sponsors at New Beligium (Fat Tire Beer), Boru Vodka, Barefoot Wine+Bubbly, Hansen’s, Monster Energy, and Le Tourment Vert (Absinthe!).

So come join us at the emerging LA arts scene. Here are the salient details:

www.ARTBASHLA.com
Saturday, Dec. 13, 2008 8pm-2am
$20 admission, $10 open bar access
at the A+D Museum,
5900 Wilshire Blvd. (across from LACMA)

Featuring:
Anacron • DJ Jedi • DJ Shiro • dj.AnaRoxSicc • Himself • Kruse • Tha Brothaload • Cabeza de Vaca Arcestra • CDN Collective • Gavin Worth • Invertigo Dance Theatre • Kinetic Theory • LA Contemporary Dance Co • Monday Night Tease! • Poor Dog Group • Ryan Harrison • Soup Greens • The Follies Sisters • The Original L.A. Breakers • The Petrojvic Blasting Co • Vox Dance Theatre

It’s always great to see theatre that isn’t afraid to push the limits, challenge traditional societal mores, and explore the dark side of civilization. Sound like a good time to you? Then get yourself to the Imagined Life Theatre on San Vincente to see Need Theater’s production of Fatboy by John Clancy. Check out their website for more information on the production. The press has been eating it up, so reserve your tickets now, you won’t be disappointed.

I had the wondrous pleasure of meeting the playwright shortly after last Friday’s performance to discuss the play, and another little project he founded: The NYC International Fringe Festival, one of the premiere theatre events in this country. John and his wife Nancy Walsh were kind enough to recount some stories from the inception of FringeNYC. Much that was said was valuable food-for-thought (in addition to the great food for digestion at WeHo’s Silver Spoon diner).

Fatboy itself was a recipient of the “Fringe First” award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Indeed John Clancy has attended the Edinburgh Fringe on numerous occasions, frequently leaving with awards for his work (five in total).

Thanks to Matt Wells and the good folks at Need Theater for a great evening.

I suppose it’s not exactly common for your heart to jump with joy when the IRS calls.

Expressing this to the IRS contact overseeing the approval process for our tax exempt application, she mused: “yes, usually people are pretty excited when they hear from me.”

Excited indeed. This represents a big leap for us. After hours and hours slaving away on the epic form to apply for tax exemption, we received the official notification today. If you give money to Los Angeles’ first Fringe Festival, you can write it off on your taxes (deduct it from your gross earnings to lower your tax liability).

OK, so on the surface, that doesn’t exactly sound earth shattering. In reality, this designation represents the keys to the kingdom for many of the plans we have brewing. Many grants won’t even listen to you if you don’t have this little baby. Additionally, a lot of financially-savvy individuals (who worry about things like tax write-offs) are significantly more compelled to donate to a tax-exempt institution. And finally, this certification provides a sense legitimacy and gravitas to the organization. Always, good….

Having this far advance of the festival’s premiere is a big boon for us. Without a decent financial and legal apparatus behind us, we could hardly achieve our goals. Special thanks to fringers Bryan Burgess and Dave McKeever for making this a reality. Many evenings parsing IRS regulations (not exactly fun like fiction) lead to this day.

(Hatchery Arts, a tax-exempt non-profit does business in California as the Hollywood Fringe Festival)

A quick update today to announce the Hollywood Fringe newsletter courtesy of our friends at Mailchimp. We conducted a major investigation into the best software to support this very important addition to our communications arsenal. Mailchimp provides the most options as far as flexibility…and as their website says, they actually manage to make email list management fun (perish the thought).

We’d like to use this new tool to keep our Fringe community updated on the progress we are making on the festival.

You can subscribe to the newsletter directly from this website, so give it a go!