The Fringe Blog
"Fringe First" Winner Back at Asylum
published August 15, 2010 by Ben Hill
We are happy to report that “The Birthday Boys” by Aaron Kozak – winner of the prestigious 2010 Fringe First Award for best world premiere is now enjoying a new life at Theatre Asylum.
Thanks to Matthew Quinn and the whole Asylum staff for providing fresh opportunities for so many of our 2010 participant productions.
I’ve included all the info below – make sure to catch it!
Ben
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 11, 2010
Press Contact
Rachel Stoll
Rach.stoll@gmail.com
661.220.9924
“The Birthday Boys”
Written by Aaron Kozak
EXTENDED- THEATRE ASYLUM’S BEST OF FRINGE
Thursdays – Sundays, September 16 – October 3, 2010 at 8:00pm
August 11, 2010 – Insurgents capture three U.S. Marines during an unheard-of infiltration of the Al Asad green zone, regarded as one of the safest bases in Iraq, At a remote warehouse, bound and blindfolded, the three soldiers must struggle with fear, betrayal and even boredom, leaving morale and humor their only allies against an uncertain fate.
Tense, hilarious, and frequently heart-wrenching, “The Birthday Boys” keeps us guessing on the edge our seats, as we barrel towards a shocking climax. A non-partisan play about honor and redemption, “The Birthday Boys” is the biggest surprise of this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival.
WINNER – Hollywood Fringe First Award (world premiere) 2010
“To say that this very well may be the best thing to go up in the Fringe is an understatement. The Birthday Boys is written, directed and performed to perfection.” -LA Theatre Review
“…left me breathless” – LA Stage Blog
“…better than anything I’ve seen at one of the “top tier” LA companies. I put it right up there with some Broadway shows I’ve seen.” -Gregory Crafts, Theatre Unleashed
Produced by Matthew Quinn, Combined Artform / Theatre Asylum and Aaron Kozak
At Theatre Asylum 6320 Santa Monica Blvd. Hollywood CA, 90038
Thursdays – Sundays, July 15 – August 5 at 8:00pm
Tickets : $15
For tickets and information: website or call 800-838-3006
Listen to the Town Hall
published August 10, 2010 by Ben Hill
Thanks to everyone who attended the Town Hall last week. Much was discussed including an enhanced outdoor event, advancements in ticketing and scheduling, new visibility initiatives, and general recaps of Fringe 2010. For those of you who could not attend, we recorded the proceedings for your listening enjoyment…
We will be holding more of these events in months to come, so if you couldn’t make this one, keep your eyes and ears open.
Here is a link to the audio file so you can listen directly.
Give us as shout at support@hollywoodfringe.org if you experience technical problems.
Ben
No End In Sight...
published August 03, 2010 by Ben Hill
The Continued Life of the Hollywood Fringe Festival
originally posted in Foot Lights
With 31 venues, 184 participant groups, and over 17,000 seats filled (wow!), we can happily check the box: The Hollywood Fringe Festival happened.
For three years leading up to June 17, 2010, we had no shortage of goals in realizing the dream of a Fringe Festival in Los Angeles. Our advice from many: “Just make it happen”. This has been a guiding star these past three years: What pieces do we need to assemble to bring this giant to life? The goals became clear: We need venues, participants, and patrons. Add group promotion, community building, and a little modern technology to sew it all together and we have ourselves a Fringe.
Where does that leave us? Now that the first event has come and gone, what guiding stars do we have left? As luck would have it, plenty. The work never ends so long as the mission is clear and the goals are well defined.
First and foremost, the Fringe is an annual ritual furnishing a springboard for the artistic experience. For artists and producers, it is a freedom-to-fail opportunity to test the waters of their inspiration in an atmosphere free of censorship and curation. Fringe was developed as an artistic Candyland, a fertile crescent for the motivated and creative mind. As with many other worldwide Fringes, we provide a launching pad for artists and artistic companies. Mark my words, many of our 2010 Fringe participants will become staples in our theatrical community within the next few years.
In an era where many fear theatregoers are an endangered species, the Fringe hatches newly minted arts patrons seeking the next theatrical kick. The mindset of the Fringer is to leave one performance craving another…and another…and another. With low cost admission and geographical proximity, what’s keeping them from feeding their desire? It’s this very mindset that we seek to push past the Fringe into the theaters, music halls, clubs, studios, and galleries hosting works of art all year-round.
There has been much chatter about this thing we call “The Fringe Effect”. This phenomenon happens when the dedicated (and sometimes exclusive) audience of one participating arts company is exposed to the hundreds of cultural opportunities presented by a Fringe Festival. As audiences co-mingle, a mass cross-pollination of audience support materializes in a very short time. Thus patronage for all arts groups grows on the momentum coming out of the festival – The Fringe Effect in action.
Our goals don’t end with artists and audience. Critical in our post-2010 plans are the participation of mid-size and large artistic companies. We’d like to see established companies use the Fringe as a feeding ground of new and interesting work. A larger theatre might reserve a season slot in July to mount their “Fringe Pick” – their favorite from the Fringe they’d like to re-mount or develop for a vaster audience. I have said it before: We’d like to become the Sundance of the Los Angeles arts community; the place to snare programming for future seasons. Many larger arts organizations spend precious dollars on development programs to achieve just this. We have it prêt-à-porter: Hundreds of shows all vying for their next big break, ripe for the picking.
We had a very successful experiment with our Fringe Central venue this year. Hundreds upon hundreds utilized our facility on Las Palmas as a gathering place for late night enjoyment and camaraderie. In addition to inexpensive (and sometimes exotic) drinks at the bar, we featured nightly “jams” – each with an entirely varying character. On some days we had artists perform minutes from their shows, others featured open-mic based games. We had a UK vs. US improv competition, dance parties, and then of course – in an unsettling metaphor of the arts today – a group sing-a-long of Queen’s “We are the Champions” to an empty house. It’s in environments such as these that relationships are nourished into rich artistic partnerships. Kudos to the other venues in the Fringe Zone that hosted similar gatherings to promote that kingpin of Fringe goals: A sense of community.
In years to come, we’d like to expand the operations of Fringe Central to provide a wider net for potential Fringe-goers. This includes a much enhanced outdoor presence including a permanent stage for artistic acts that thrive in these conditions. Buskers will also have a home in Fringe – with ample space to enthrall audiences and pull them into the fold. And of course, more of a carnival atmosphere – with food, crafts, games, and immersive experiences. We’d like significant expansion in the artistic genres of film, visual art, and music. More programming and events for children and families are in the planning phases.
We are blessed with a bountiful supply of Fringe-friendly, fully-equipped theaters in Hollywood. On the flip side, the convenience of these traditional theatrical spaces have inhibited some producers from flexing a much-lauded Fringe muscle: Converting a “found space” into a theatrical venue.
In future years, we hope to see more “entrepreneurial venues” pop up in store fronts, parks, vans, living rooms, and street corners. We have some amazing dots in our Fringe landscape to connect with venues such as these. As a Fringe patron walks from Hollywood Boulevard to Theatre Row, they should be beckoned by dozens of smaller, do-it-yourself venues. You simply should not be able to go outside in Hollywood during June without feeling a palpable presence of the arts.
Creating inventive systems to design and personalize your Fringe experience is paramount in our minds; with close to 200 shows in various time slots, simply scheduling your day was a significant task. Reviews were most helpful this year: We were blessed with an outpouring of support from the city’s critical agencies including an unprecedented partnership between Backstage and LA Weekly to cover over 40 of our first weekend’s shows, a “daily rag” of reviews produced by LATheatreReview.com, constant coverage by Bitter-Lemons.com, and close to 500 reviews composed directly on the Fringe website. Next year, we are exploring various ideas to ready reviews by the day Fringe opens.
We are also developing an intelligent scheduling system on HollywoodFringe.org to help patrons develop their Fringe days based on personal taste, timing, price, duration, critical opinion, and more. This new system will work closely with our current effort to develop a built-in Fringe ticketing system.
The nice thing about Fringe is that it is never done. It is always growing, always newly-defined as each year’s festival opens. New artists take to the stage, new relationships develop, and fresh patrons adventure from venue to venue seeking their next, best experience. This is how we like it: A project that never ends, an ever-expanding proving ground for inspiration, a playground for lovers of the arts.
Ben Hill, Festival Director
The Hollywood Fringe Festival
www.HollywoodFringe.org
The Post-Fringe Town Hall
published July 28, 2010 by Ben Hill
WHAT: A Post-Fringe Town Hall Meeting
WHY: To make your voice heard, to learn about plans for next year, because you miss June…
WHERE: Fringe Central @ 1625 North Las Palmas
WHEN: 7-9pm (bar hopping to follow)
WHO: The entire Fringe community is invited
Join us to discuss the 2010 festival and look towards the 2011 Hollywood Fringe.
Come with your ideas, your stories, and your dreams for next year. We will all walk over to a bar afterwards to have some good times.
We will release our post-mortem article this week and present a “state of the fringe” presentation to launch the meeting.
See you Monday! RSVP on our facebook event or contact us at support@hollywoodfringe.org.
The Life & Death of Bryan Burgess
published July 27, 2010 by Ben Hill
With sadness and a profound sense of loss, we bid farewell to our friend and colleague Bryan Burgess: A Fringe co-founder, our sales director, the man running the bar and a great light in our world. Too soon we are all forced to say goodbye to someone who loved unconditionally and was unconditionally loved.
As many of you know, the central Fringe team has been together for many years and has developed a close bond. Bryan was a critical link amongst us all. In many situations, he was the smartest, most level-headed, most loving, best friend we ever had. A man who always saw the goal line with clarity, listened to voices of others, who sought to understand while many of us struggled to be understood.
Bryan was the most loyal soul I will ever know; his sense of duty to friends and family was unparalleled in my experience. Never did I doubt his commitment, his passion, his sense of duty, his goodness.
I first met Bryan in Iowa City where many of us spent time together. We hosted many parties there, no doubt good practice for our future lives at Fringe. Bryan would arrive first, party the hardest, fall asleep last, and rise for cleanup in the morning.
Community was in Bryan’s spirit. When we were discussing branding for our imminent LA project, his favorite company name was “Us”. His role in the Fringe was to make sure everyone had a good time. This was Bryan’s personal mission, he cared about people’s experience not just the advancement of their careers. We might have lost this key element were it not for his efforts.
He loved reading, games, talking loud, drinking beers, conspiracy theories, pranks, wet dogs, potatoes, family dinners, YouTube, sleeping late, his friends. He hated hypocrisy, fascist cults, and the federal reserve bank. He didn’t need much to live happily other than good times, good friends, and a place to pass out when the party was over. He loved Hollywood and never saw much point in going anywhere else. Although I often called him a human tornado of destruction, he built far more than he destroyed. His was a chaotic good, a force of nature no man-made barrier could cage or deny.
For the Hollywood Fringe Festival, Bryan left an indelible mark. Future festival participants will benefit from his commitment to their good times. From this point forth, the bar at Fringe Central will bear his name with honor. A scholarship in his name will be established for participants unable to afford the registration fee. His spirit will playfully haunt every event so long as the Fringe endures.
In Bryan’s wake, an unbridgeable void remains we can only fill with our many memories of him. I will always remember Bryan shirtless, beltless, blue jeans dropping just a little too far below his waste, pbr can in-hand, a luminous smile on his face. Even in the face of adversity and conflict, Bryan always managed to smile. It’s his smile I miss most of all.
Now we must endeavor to smile without Bryan’s face lighting up our days, to march forth without our fallen friend. To try to understand or at least accept; to be at peace with his life and death.
It’s been several days now since he left us, it’s still so hard to understand, to make sense of his final exit. I keep hoping the next day will be easier, but each day I feel his presence in my memory a little more distant. Every molecule in my body struggles to hold on to him. It’s up to all of us to keep the flame of his life alive.
Biting the bullet, closing our eyes, putting our heads down and charging into the next day. That’s how Bryan did it. That’s how he lived.
Ben Hill, Festival Director
The Hollywood Fringe Festival
www.HollywoodFringe.org
