Welcome to the twelfth anniversary of the Philly Fringe! Our mission is to provide an opportunity for artists to produce and present their art in an exciting festival atmosphere.

The Philly Fringe is open to any artist who has a piece of work to present and can find a venue. We do not invite anyone to perform, nor do we produce Fringe shows. In the tradition of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, we ask that you challenge yourself to be an artistic pioneer by taking your work to new levels of artistic innovation and presentation.

Self-producing an event for the Fringe enables you to reach new audiences, choose your own venue, set your own schedule, and have artistic, financial, and organizational control over your performance. While you produce your work, we help you with marketing and box office support. Fringe artists pay a small, non-refundable festival participation fee, and nominal marketing and box office fees.

• Do you have a concrete idea for your work?

• Do you have a committed group of performers for your project?

• Can you provide staffing for all other aspects of your production, such as technical direction, publicity, etc.?

• Are you prepared to find and secure a venue for your work?

• Are you prepared to meet all Festival deadlines and pay all fees that are required for Festival participation? See Fee Summary, right.

Artist Participation Forms will be due on April 4th, 2008. Forms must be returned with a one-time, non-refundable $75 participation fee. To download an Artist Participation Form, click here On the Artist Participation Form, we will ask basic questions regarding the discipline, title, running time, number of performers and marketing preferences for your work. We will ask about your plans for a venue (though these do not need to be finalized until June 13th), and for a brief description of your work. We ask that only one member of your group or company be responsible for all contact and interactions with the Fringe staff. This person will be in charge of completing all necessary forms and agreements and returning these on or before Festival deadlines. Once you have returned an Artist Participation Form, we will send you the Fringe Manual. Working from our own experiences and artists’ feedback, we have developed the Fringe Manual to address every element of the Fringe process from start to finish. The Fringe Manual offers information on everything from securing a venue, to working with the Actors’ Equity Association, to preparing a press packet. The manual also includes an Artists’ Resources section where you’ll find names and contact information for local rehearsal spaces, costumers, technical equipment rental services, photographers, and more. For a list of 2008 venue suggestions, click here. Aside from the challenges that come with creating and producing your own work, finding a venue may be your most difficult task. Please be aware that we will not find or assign you a venue or location. You are responsible for finding your own venue. Our only requirement is that your venue or show location be within the city of Philadelphia. Look for a venue that will allow you to reach your audience and meet your artistic and financial needs. If you plan to use a public space, be prepared to investigate whether this will require a permit. You will need to set up all financial arrangements with your venue. If you are a venue interested in being added in our 2008 venue list, please fill out this questionnaire and return to John Emory, Fringe Coordinator In mid-May, we will send you an Artist Agreement. At that time, you will need to fill in your venue and ticket information and finalize your schedule. The Artist Agreement will ask you specific questions regarding the location, contact information and wheelchair accessibility of your venue; the title, running time and ticket price for your show; and all of your marketing preferences. You will also be asked for a signature of indemnification. All artists must have a description of their event in the Festival Guide. This guide description or blurb should be no longer than 50 words, at a cost of $100. If you wish to include a photo or graphic image with your description, the total cost will be $200. We strongly encourage you to submit an image with your guide description. With so many events to choose from, festival go-ers may be more attracted to your show if they are offered a strong visual representation of your work. Your guide description must be submitted by May 16th and your image (if desired) must be sent to us no later than June 6th. The Philly Fringe has a long tradition of press coverage from local newspapers and magazines including Philadelphia Weekly, Philadelphia City Paper, The Philadelphia Inquirer and Philadelphia Magazine. We strongly encourage that you prepare photos and information about your event for local press. Please return these materials no later than June 6th. While we may promote certain Fringe events to local press, we also encourage all Fringe artists to promote their events to local media independently. We will provide access to Festival logos and press lists for your use. While we market the Festival as a whole, you are responsible for marketing your own event. The Philly Fringe features nearly 1,000 performances each year, therefore we strongly encourage that you develop additional materials to promote your event. Distributing flyers or postcards, and promoting your event over email or on your website, are all good ways to bring in a larger audience. Fringe artists set their own ticket prices. Prices should be set in increments of $5.00. In the past, Artists have set their ticket prices within the $10 - $15 range, but feel free to set yours higher or lower based on your running time and needs. We begin to sell tickets in mid-August. The Festival must print all tickets that we sell so that we have uniformity with all participants. Artists keep 100% of profits from all tickets sold at their venue. We strongly encourage you to have visible outdoor signage for the convenience of your audience. You may provide this on your own, or rent a sandwich board sign from the Festival for $35. All participants must provide proof of general liability insurance that lists the Philly Fringe as an additional insured. You may obtain this insurance though your own carrier, or through the Fringe insurer, Domenick & Associates (215-629-5701), who has insured Fringe artists for years. Costs will range from $90-$168, depending on the number of shows you plan to perform. A simple-to-use insurance form will be included with your Artist Agreement. All artists are responsible for securing the rights and licenses to their own shows. There is a special code for members of Actors’ Equity who wish to participate. Questions may be directed to the Festival office (215-413-9006) or Philadelphia Artists’ Equity Association via their Hotline (215-602-2234) or by email at phlliaisoncommittee@yahoo.com

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