The Philly Fringe is a non-curated, self-produced festival. It is modeled on the Edinburgh Fringe and includes film and visual art in addition to performing arts. Fringe artists encompass a wide variety of performance genres and styles.

If you have the time and energy to produce your own piece, find your own space, and provide your own technical support, we will help you with marketing and box office support. Through self-producing, you have complete artistic control over your project.

If you are on our artist mailing list, you will automatically been sent a Philly Fringe Participation Form each year. If you're not sure if you're on our list, if your information may have changed, or if you would like to join the list, feel free to contact Barry Becker, Fringe Coordinator, at barry@livearts-fringe.org with your mailing address and other contact information.

We also encourage artists to register for the Fringe online. Check back in 2005 for our online participation form.

Below you'll find information about registering for the 2004 Philly Fringe. The process for 2005 will be much the same; check back for updates!

2004 Philly Fringe
THE PROCESS

The Philly Fringe is a great way for performing and visual artists to participate. This self-producing platform in the past it has been called the Unfiltered Fringe, BYOV (Bring Your Own Venue) and the Fringe of the Fringe.

Many people want to participate in the Festival and we want to open it to everyone with the drive to put their work out into the world. Not every artist needs the same type of support. If you have the time and energy to produce your own piece, find your own space and provide your own technical support, we will help you with marketing and box office support. Through the self-produced part of the Festival you have complete artistic control over your project.

Why Choose the Philly Fringe:
To reach new audiences as part of this exciting festival

To maintain the freedom to schedule your own work

To have rehearsals or build an installation in your venue

To choose a venue which is best suited for your work

To choose a venue which is easier for your audience

To have a higher earning potential

To have more control over tickets and giving out comps etc.

If you choose to participate in the Philly Fringe, the Festival will:
Include a description of your show in the Festival Guide

Print tickets & give you access to the Festival box office for advance & credit card sales

Provide a mailing list of attendees who bought tickets to your show at our box office

Include you and your artists in any Festival artist discounts that we offer

Send you a press list and other marketing support created for the participating artists

Include you on our web site with hyperlink possibilities

Offer special artists ad rates in our program guide

Picking a Venue or Site: The hub of the Festival is in the Old City area of Philadelphia. We will program approximately 10 stages there. One of the benefits of presenting your project in Old City is that it is easy to walk from venue to venue. However, Philadelphia has great neighborhoods with a variety of personalities. In the past few years, artists in the Fringe have taken the Festival to the fringe and set up successful venues around South Street, Center City, West Philly and Kensington. The only geographic parameter that we set is that your project must be within Philadelphia proper. It is most important to find a venue that will allow you to reach your audience and is right for your artistic and financial needs.

You will need to set up all financial arrangements with your venue. Some venue owners will want a percentage of the box office, others will want a fee and some benefit just from having you there and will only charge you for expenses or not charge you a fee at all. You must make those arrangements yourself.

Any venue that the Festival is not programming is up for grabs. If you are trying to find venues in Old City you may want to call the Old City Arts Association, 215-625-9200 or 1-800-555-5191, and ask for their guide.

Scheduling Your Show: One of the great freedoms of being part of the Fringe is the ability to set your own schedule. People will be seeing a lot of shows. If you would like advice on setting a successful schedule please call the Festival office.

Participation Agreement: After we have received your participation form, we will send you a Performance Agreement in which you will need to fill in your venue and ticket information and finalize your schedule. In June, you will be expected to provide us with press photos and descriptions of your show.

Box Office Sales: We will start to sell tickets in mid-August. All tickets will be sold up to two hours before each performance. At that time, a representative of your organization must pick up any unsold tickets. We will tell customers who come to the box office that tickets will be available at your venue 1/2 hour before show time. You will be responsible for selling tickets at your venue. You can arrange to retain some of your tickets for your own presale. We have the ability to accept credit cards for ticket purchases. A $3 handling fee per order will be charged to the customer.

FRINGE FEES AND FINANCIAL CONSIDERATIONS
We understand that putting on a show is expensive so we have tried to keep all of the fees minimal.

Participation Fee: All artists pay a non-refundable $50. This is due when with your Fringe Participation Form, April 23, 2004. Afterwards you will receive a participation package with info on venues, and marketing yourself in the festival. Make checks payable to the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.


Marketing Fee: All artists who wish to participate will be listed in the guide. You may choose to have either a description or a description with a photo. You must choose one. This is as much for the audiences as it is for the artists. A description cost $75, a description with a photo costs $75. The description will be approximately 30 words. The photo will be approximately 1" x 1"

Box Office: Some pre-sale tickets must be available at the box office. Our box office staff will be able to answer basic questions about your show, show times, and location, with a description of your show available for both ticketed and non-ticketed performances. All events will be included in our box office support material and indexes. If your show is ticketed you will need to pay $0.10 per ticket printed to cover the costs. An additional 5% handling charge will be subtracted from the reimbursement of tickets sold from the Fringe box office. That is $0.25 per $5.00 ticket and $0.50 per $10 ticket, etc.

Insurance: In order to participate in the Fringe Festival, you must provide us with proof of General Liability insurance and list the Fringe as an additional insured for the duration of the Festival. If you like we can help you obtain this insurance. In previous years the cost has ranged from $77 to $144 (based on the 2003 costs) depending on the number of performances.

Signage: Every Festival venue needs visible outdoor signage for the ease of our audience. You can either provide this or rent a sign from the Festival. Last year we rented our sandwich boards for $35.

DEADLINES
The participation form with the participation fee is due April 23, 2004. All artists pay a non-refundable $50 participation fee. Afterwards you will receive a participation package with info on venues, and marketing yourself in the festival. Also included will be a Participation Agreement. On that we will want to know the final information about your venue, and schedules. The due date for that with marketing and box office fees are June 25th.

FILLING OUT YOUR PHILLY FRINGE PARTICIPATION FORM
Even if you apply on line, we will need two copies of your submission so we can best include it in our general press and marketing efforts. Please punch standard three ring holes into the package. If you send video or audiotapes, please send only one of each. The deadline for the participation form and fee is April 23, 2004. If you apply online we don't need your paperwork until April 30, 2004

Below are the questions that you will be asked on your participation form. We use one form for all of the disciplines. Not every question may apply to you.

I. Contact Information
II. Project Information
We understand that your show may be in development. Do the best that you can to answer the questions.
III. Venue Information
If you know your venue, include it. If you do not, do not delay in sending back this Participation Form. You will have until the end of June to solidify your venue and ticket prices and scheduling.
IV. Project Detail
Project Description: Describe your project so that we may speak about it to others. If this is a work-in-progress include the history of the work, where it is right now, and where you intend to take it with further development.
Guide Description: Check online for advice on writing a great blurb.

We need a description no more than 50 words that will be the basis of your description used in the guide. If you'd like you can send us three descriptions, 50 words, 30 words and one sentence. Keep in mind that this will be used for marketing purposes.

Company History and Bios: Send us updated bio information as you get it.

QUESTIONS
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

Barry Becker, Fringe Coordinator
Phone: 215-413-9006 x18
E-mail: Barry@pafringe.org

Fax: 215-413-9007
Web: www.pafringe.org

Send Participation Form with fee to:
Philly Fringe
211 Vine Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Att: Fringe Coordinator

Make checks payable to the Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

posted by Deborah Block
8/26/2004 04:57:12 PM

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