Hollywood Fringe Annual Report 2021
Hollywood Fringe Annual Report 2021
Hollywood Fringe Annual Report 2021
WHAT IS FRINGE?
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual, open-access, community-derived event celebrating
freedom of expression and collaboration in the performing arts community. This year’s 11th
annual festival offers livestream and in-person experiences. This hybrid approach is a pivot
to embrace the new and continue to create an accessible and inclusive immersion into the
performing arts for all.
Participation in the Hollywood Fringe is completely open and uncensored. This free-for-all
approach underlines the festival’s mission to be a platform for artists without the barrier of a
curating body. By opening the gates to anyone with a vision, the festival is able to exhibit the
most diverse and cutting-edge points of view the world has to offer. Additionally, by creating an
environment where artists must self-produce their work, the Fringe motivates its participants to
cultivate a spirit of entrepreneurialism in the arts.
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is a non-profit company. The festival gives 100% of box office
revenue back to participating artists and venues—that’s over 3.4 million dollars since the
inaugural festival in 2010.
NUMBERS IN REVIEW
15 13,898 $119,866
VENUES TICKETS TICKET PROCEEDS
A FESTIVAL
WORTH CELEBRATING
HOLLYWOOD FRINGE TICKETING PLATFORM WAS
EXPANDED TO INCLUDE VIRTUAL WORK
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TICKET SALES DEEP DIVE
100% OF TICKET PROCEEDS GO BACK TO ARTISTS
$8.27
Average cost of a single
ticket at the 2021 Fringe:
2,076 230
Number of ticket Number of ticket
buyers that bought buyers that bought
more than 1 ticket more than 5 tickets
To Virtual Performances
42%
To In-Person Performances
58%
65%
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EVENT BREAKDOWN
HOLLYWOOD FRINGE 2021
REGISTRATION TYPES
60%
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THANK YOU TO OUR PARTNERS!
GRANT ORGANIZATIONS
COMMUNITY PARTNERS
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From play readings to digital performances, we wanted to provide our artists with a
platform to express themselves from home.
From March 2020 through May 2021, we allowed all artists to use hollywoodfringe.org
to register any online project free of charge that followed safety and social distancing
protocols as laid out by the California state and Los Angeles city governments.
Through this program, $11,234 was returned to artists through tickets sold through the
Fringe website.
To keep our community connected, we also ran the Fringe From Home program which
included weekly events such as:
Hollywood Fringe staff and participants met for weekly casual video chats from the
comfort of our own homes on Zoom and Gather!
Each week we shared a new writing or performance prompt with the fringe community
and shared our work on socials using #FringeFromHome and #HFF20!
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WHO PRODUCES AT FRINGE?
THIS DATA WAS COLLECTED THROUGH A
SURVEY OF ALL PRIMARY PRODUCERS AT THE 2021 FESTIVAL.
84%
NUMBER OF PRIMARY PRODUCERS
LOCAL TO LOS ANGELES COUNTY
1% 9%
14% Other Asian-American/
Prefer Not Pacific Islander
To Say 39%
Female 13%
2% Hispanic
Non-binary or Latinx
2%
Indigenous American
or Canadian 52%
White or
10% Caucasian
Black or African
American
2%
Middle Eastern/
North African
44% 8%
Other 3%
Male Prefer
Not to Say
HOUSEHOLD
ANNUAL INCOME
OF PRODUCERS
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WHO PRODUCES AT FRINGE?
THIS DATA WAS COLLECTED THROUGH A
SURVEY OF ALL PRIMARY PRODUCERS AT THE 2021 FESTIVAL.
1%
PUBLISHED
19% WORK
10+ CAST
MEMBERS
22%
PERFORMED
PREVIOUSLY
15%
7-9 CAST 50%
MEMBERS ONE
PERSON
SHOW
10% 77%
WORLD
3-6 CAST
PREMIERE
MEMBERS
6%
TWO
PERSON
SHOW
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ORGANIZATION FINANCES
HOLLYWOOD FRINGE 2021
INCOME EXPENSES
In preparation of the 2021 Festival, the Hollywood Fringe In preparation of the 2021 Festival, the Hollywood Fringe
had an income of $244,624. The organization produced spent $240,165, with a surplus of $4,500. Our largest
a slightly smaller festival of over 120 shows and resumed category is ticket payout (ticketing proceeds that go
programming such as the Creative Workshop Series, the back to artists). Our admin category includes our storage,
Producers Workshop Series, the Scholarship Program and taxes, and bank fees. Miscellaneous includes staff meals
more. 1% & travel.
7%
Misc 5% Web/Digital
7% Individual
1.5% Hosting
Giving
Fees Marketing 22%
Payroll
29%
COVID
Relief
42% 2.5%
Ticket Misc
Payout
41%
Tickets 17%
Admin
7%
Grants 1%
7% Refunds
3% Registration 7%
Merch & Scholarships/
Ads Artist Fund
HOLLYWOOD FRINGE
PROGRAMS 2021
Artist Fund: The Hollywood Fringe Festival recognizes that artists have been hit hard
financially over the course of the pandemic. To help offset costs of producing at the Fringe,
the festival has replaced their annual festival fundraiser with a campaign that directly
benefits the community they serve. We are beyond excited that we exceeded our goal &
raised $10,150 in artist stipends and awarded 14 shows free registration + a $550 stipend
towards their production costs!
Fringe Abroad: This year the festival is thrilled to help share art across the globe and
create opportunities for artists to expand their reach. Through an exciting partnership with
Gothenburg Fringe Festival, we are providing. opportunity for their artists and ours.
Fringe Scholarships are financial awards available to first-time Hollywood Fringe producers
who contribute to the ethnic, cultural, racial, intellectually or physically disabled, D/deaf, and
the LGBTQ+ diversity of the Fringe community. Each scholarship includes free registration, a
stipend towards venue and production costs, and a Fringe mentor (an experienced producer
who helps guide through the Fringe process). Fringe Scholarships is made possible through
funding by the National Endowment for the Arts and the LA County Department of Arts and
Culture.
Producers Workshop Series: The Festival acts as a training ground for artists to become
their own producers and business liaisons. HFF partners with local producers and arts
organizations (including RespectAbility, League of Experiential and Immersive Artists, and
Calling Up Justice) to provide year-round creative and producing workshops for artists.
These workshops educate early-career artists on how to successfully self-produce and
manage a theatrical production.
FringeTV returns to provide information about and coverage of the Fringe. New clips will
be available on the Fringe YouTube Channel (www.youtube.com/user/hollywoodfringe) &
hollywoodfringe.org
Fringe Hot Spots was created to connect the festival with the wonderful businesses in
our city. As the festival has grown it has strengthened our local economy and sense of
community that stretches beyond the artists that participate. Each year local businesses
partner with the festival by offering discounts to participants. The relationships between the
businesses and the festival have grown significantly since 2010. Hot Spots now host events,
parties and have become an integral part of the festivities.
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AWARD WINNERS 2021
Community Awards (“The Freaks”)
International Drama
Lies, Anger and Forgiveness (It’s Been 76 Years And We’re)
Still Waiting for Lefty
World Premiere
(It’s Been 76 Years And We’re) Immersive & Games
Still Waiting for Lefty GATSBY an Immersive Illumination
Chapter 1: East Egg
Digital Innovation
(It’s Been 76 Years And We’re) Musicals & Operas
Still Waiting for Lefty Gideon & The Blundersnorp
If you need to contact the Hollywood Fringe, the best and fastest way to get a response
is to email [email protected]. You can also often find staff members at every
Fringe-run event (we love chatting with participants), but serious issues should always go
through Support.
The Hollywood Fringe Festival takes the physical and emotional safety of our community
very seriously. If you see or experience anything that goes against our code of conduct,
please report it to any Fringe staff person as soon as possible. You may also email con-
duct@ hollywoodfringe.org. This email is exclusively monitored by Fringe executive staff
and will be responded to within 48 hours.
The Fringe organization is designed to ensure that any success we attain this year can be
rolled over to the future, allowing us to begin planning for an even bigger and more
innovative festival in 2022.
However, we do need to raise money each year to cover the incredible costs of mounting
this event. If you’d like to see the Fringe grow and prosper and you have some cash to
spare, we encourage you to donate to the cause at hollywoodfringe.org/donate. All
proceeds will help pay for the festival (and they are all tax-deductible)!
We hope that your adventures at the Hollywood Fringe Festival are memorable and that
you share your experience with others. As always, we strive to champion the underexposed
artist and to bring our performing arts community closer together.
Although your Fringe run has finished, we know that the life of your show is just beginning.
We cannot wait to see where you bring your performance next: whether it’s to another
festival across the ocean or a local run, we’re excited to see what you can make happen.
It’s never too early to create a project for next year: www.hollywoodfringe.org/add_project
The Hollywood Fringe media accounts are the perfect place to easily stay informed
about all things HFF22. Follow the festival on: Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, &
TikTok. Also use our Official HFF Facebook Group and Discord channel to connect with
fellow Fringers. Be sure to also follow the #HFF22 tag and use it when sharing your own
Hollywood Fringe adventures.
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