The SF Fringe is the largest grass roots theater festival in the Bay Area. It presents over 200 performances over 12 days. Our goal is to make the festival audience and performer friendly, encouraging the audience to see multiple shows and to take risks. To do this we have developed a number of policies over the years. FRINGE FESTIVAL PERFORMING GROUPS The San Francisco Fringe Festival is producing the theater festival but each individual performing group is producing their particular show. The performing groups are responsible for all content and all expenses and liabilities related to their show. If you are using Equity actors you are responsible for securing an agreement with the union. CREDIT The proper credit for the festival on promotional materials is " … produced in association with the San Francisco Fringe Festival." You should not say that your show is produced by the San Francisco Fringe Festival, since we are not producing your show. SHOWS START ON TIME & THERE IS NO LATE SEATING !!! Fringe shows are produced in intimate venues. Audience members arriving late disrupt the performance and diminish the experience for those that were seated on time. Also if shows start late it makes it difficult or impossible for the audience to make the curtain for the following shows. So Fringe shows START ON TIME AND THERE IS NO LATE SEATING! Fringe performers should prominently state this policy on all publicity since the late comers are invariably friends, family, loved ones, and others that MUST get into the show, but unfortunately will not be admitted after the show has started. There are no reservations to Fringe shows and advance ticket holders must arrive before show time to be seated. ADVANCE TICKETS TO FRINGE SHOWS Advance tickets to SF Fringe shows may be purchased online at www.sffringe.org and at the with a credit card until 24 hours before the performance and also in person at the TIX Bay Area booth at Union Square. Ticket holders WILL NOT BE ADMITTED AFTER THE SHOW HAS STARTED AND THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS! Only 50% of the house will be available for advance tickets so there will always be tickets available at the door (until the show is sold out). REFUNDS There are no refunds for tickets purchased. If someone buys a ticket at the door and is unable to be seated because their companion is parking the car there will not be a refund. If someone purchases an advance ticket and does not get to the theater by show time there will not be a refund. TICKETS AT THE DOOR At least 50% of the house will be available at the door. Tickets will go on sale 30 minutes before the curtain time (although for a popular show the line may start earlier than that). Sales at the door are on a cash basis only. PERFORMER'S COMPLEMINTARY TICKETS Performers may provide complimentary tickets to anyone they choose. You should provide a comp list to the house manager before EACH performance. People on the comp list will not be guaranteed a seat but must be in line with the ticket purchasers. If you want to guarantee a seat you should purchase advance tickets at least 24 hours before your show. And remember, even with an advance ticket they must arrive before the show starts or they will not get in! OTHER COMPLEMENTARY TICKETS People on the performers comp list will be treated just like ticket purchasers. If they are in line before the house is sold out they will get a seat. Fringe volunteers, staff, and performers will be given complementary seats to shows if the shows are not sold out at curtain time. After all tickets are sold comps are released to a wait list in the order of festival volunteers first, staff next, and then performers. After all people are seated volunteer ushers for a specific show may take a seat or if no seats are available they have the option of standing. TICKET PRICES Ticket prices at the door are $9 or less, as set by the performers. Advance tickets are available online at www.sffringe.org and at the TIX booth at Union Square. Advance tickets cost $10 plus a service charge. Performing groups will receive $9 for each advance ticket sold. No more than 50% of the seats for any show will be sold in advance. FREQUENT FRINGER PASSES The SF Fringe sells "Frequent Fringer Passes" for $55 which are good for 10 shows. Frequent Fringer Passes are not transferable and can only be used by one person. Passes do not guarantee a seat for a performance and the holder must be in line with other ticket holders to gain admission. Performing groups receive $5 for each Frequent Fringer that sees their show. PAYMENTS FOR TICKET SALES AT THE DOOR Performing groups should designate a person to receive their ticket sales from the House Manager during the time their performance is taking place. If no one is available during their show to receive the ticket revenue they must wait until the following show has started to receive their proceeds. PAYMENTS FOR ADVANCE TICKETS & FREQUENT FRINGERS Performing Groups will receive payment by check within 10 days of the end of the Fringe Festival for any advance ticket sales and frequent fringer passes redeemed at their shows. Tax forms are required for payments over $600. FESTIVAL PUBLICITY The SF Fringe will print festival programs with schedules, descriptions of all shows, maps of the venue locations, and general fringe policies. Fringe performers are encouraged to print your own show-specific promotional materials. Cards and other handouts are especially useful to distribute while audiences are lining up for other fringe shows. Please include the Fringe website www.sffringe.org and the Fringe hotline 415-673-3847 on your publicity material. THE FRINGE WEBSITE The SF Fringe website www.sffringe.org is the center of all festival communications. Performers should be visiting the Performer Services Page of the website regularly between now and the festival. The Performer Services Page will include Publicity Forms, Program Forms, Tech Forms and other information that you need to participate in the festival. The Fringe schedule will be on the website and many audience members will use it to plan their fringing. The festival website will also include online review forms and the online reviews will be posted for all shows. Performers should encourage their audiences to review their shows online since this feature gets a lot of traffic during the festival. PUBLICITY PHOTOS The Fringe website includes a Press Photo Gallery which the media will use to down load your photos. You should send a press photo by email to mail@sffringe.org. The photo should be sent as an attachment in jpeg format. The size of the photo should be at least 5 x 7 inches and 300 dpi. Give your photo some thought. It is one of the most important promotional tools you will develop. It should be well composed with an interesting image. It should be clear and well focused with good contrast. SPECIFIC SHOW PROGRAMS Each performing group should prepare specific show programs and bring these to each performance. The audience is interested in information about the show and bios of the cast and crew. The volunteer ushers will distribute your programs to the audience. PRESS PACKETS Each performing group should prepare a small number of press packets that they will give to the House Manger. The press packets may include any information or materials that you would like for reviewers to have as they consider your show. FRINGE AWARDS The Fringe Festival provides a number of awards at the closing night party which will take place at 10pm on Sunday September 18. Sold Out Awards are presented for each performance that SOLD 49 or more tickets. "Best of Awards" are presented by the Fringe staff in a variety of categories, reflecting the variety of the festival. There is also traditionally the "Techie's Award", "Best Box Office Award," and the "Barbara Holloway Volunteer Award." The closing night party is a wonderful time for volunteers, performers and staff to get together and celebrate the festival. BEST OF THE FRINGE PERFORMANCES Two weeks after the Fringe Festival (Friday and Saturday, September 30th and October 1st) there is a Fringe Festival fund raiser which presents one performance each of four groups that were designated "Best of the Fringe." The groups will be selected by the Fringe staff and announced at the closing night party. The groups will receive a small stipend for the performance and the ticket sales will benefit the San Francisco Fringe Festival. VOLUNTEERING & BILLETING The Fringe Festival is a large community that includes audience members, performers, staff and volunteers. We encourage performers to sample the entire festival by catching other performers shows, by coming to the hospitality center, and by volunteering at the Fringe. Volunteering is an excellent opportunity to meet other members of the Fringe community and to increase the visibility of your show. Another way to participate is to provide housing (or billeting) to out of town performers. If you are interested in billeting contact the Fringe and if you are interested in volunteering email the volunteer coordinator at sffringevolunteers@hotmail.com. Thanks, All of us at the Fringe |
The SF Fringe is the largest grass roots theater festival in the Bay Area. It presents over 200 performances over 12 days. Our goal is to make the festival audience and performer friendly, encouraging the audience to see multiple shows and to take risks. To do this we have developed a number of policies over the years.
FRINGE FESTIVAL PERFORMING GROUPS
The San Francisco Fringe Festival is producing the theater festival but each individual performing group is producing their particular show. The performing groups are responsible for all content and all expenses and liabilities related to their show. If you are using Equity actors you are responsible for securing an agreement with the union.
CREDIT
The proper credit for the festival on promotional materials is " … produced in association with the San Francisco Fringe Festival." You should not say that your show is produced by the San Francisco Fringe Festival, since we are not producing your show.
SHOWS START ON TIME & THERE IS NO LATE SEATING !!!
Fringe shows are produced in intimate venues. Audience members arriving late disrupt the performance and diminish the experience for those that were seated on time. Also if shows start late it makes it difficult or impossible for the audience to make the curtain for the following shows. So Fringe shows START ON TIME AND THERE IS NO LATE SEATING! Fringe performers should prominently state this policy on all publicity since the late comers are invariably friends, family, loved ones, and others that MUST get into the show, but unfortunately will not be admitted after the show has started. There are no reservations to Fringe shows and advance ticket holders must arrive before show time to be seated.
ADVANCE TICKETS TO FRINGE SHOWS
Advance tickets to SF Fringe shows may be purchased online at www.sffringe.org and at the with a credit card until 24 hours before the performance and also in person at the TIX Bay Area booth at Union Square. Ticket holders WILL NOT BE ADMITTED AFTER THE SHOW HAS STARTED AND THERE WILL BE NO REFUNDS! Only 50% of the house will be available for advance tickets so there will always be tickets available at the door (until the show is sold out).
REFUNDS
There are no refunds for tickets purchased. If someone buys a ticket at the door and is unable to be seated because their companion is parking the car there will not be a refund. If someone purchases an advance ticket and does not get to the theater by show time there will not be a refund.
TICKETS AT THE DOOR
At least 50% of the house will be available at the door. Tickets will go on sale 30 minutes before the curtain time (although for a popular show the line may start earlier than that). Sales at the door are on a cash basis only.
PERFORMER'S COMPLEMINTARY TICKETS
Performers may provide complimentary tickets to anyone they choose. You should provide a comp list to the house manager before EACH performance. People on the comp list will not be guaranteed a seat but must be in line with the ticket purchasers. If you want to guarantee a seat you should purchase advance tickets at least 24 hours before your show. And remember, even with an advance ticket they must arrive before the show starts or they will not get in!
OTHER COMPLEMENTARY TICKETS
People on the performers comp list will be treated just like ticket purchasers. If they are in line before the house is sold out they will get a seat. Fringe volunteers, staff, and performers will be given complementary seats to shows if the shows are not sold out at curtain time. After all tickets are sold comps are released to a wait list in the order of festival volunteers first, staff next, and then performers. After all people are seated volunteer ushers for a specific show may take a seat or if no seats are available they have the option of standing.
TICKET PRICES
Ticket prices at the door are $9 or less, as set by the performers. Advance tickets are available online at www.sffringe.org and at the TIX booth at Union Square. Advance tickets cost $10 plus a service charge. Performing groups will receive $9 for each advance ticket sold. No more than 50% of the seats for any show will be sold in advance.
FREQUENT FRINGER PASSES
The SF Fringe sells "Frequent Fringer Passes" for $55 which are good for 10 shows. Frequent Fringer Passes are not transferable and can only be used by one person. Passes do not guarantee a seat for a performance and the holder must be in line with other ticket holders to gain admission. Performing groups receive $5 for each Frequent Fringer that sees their show.
PAYMENTS FOR TICKET SALES AT THE DOOR
Performing groups should designate a person to receive their ticket sales from the House Manager during the time their performance is taking place. If no one is available during their show to receive the ticket revenue they must wait until the following show has started to receive their proceeds.
PAYMENTS FOR ADVANCE TICKETS & FREQUENT FRINGERS
Performing Groups will receive payment by check within 10 days of the end of the Fringe Festival for any advance ticket sales and frequent fringer passes redeemed at their shows. Tax forms are required for payments over $600.
FESTIVAL PUBLICITY
The SF Fringe will print festival programs with schedules, descriptions of all shows, maps of the venue locations, and general fringe policies. Fringe performers are encouraged to print your own show-specific promotional materials. Cards and other handouts are especially useful to distribute while audiences are lining up for other fringe shows. Please include the Fringe website www.sffringe.org and the Fringe hotline 415-673-3847 on your publicity material.
THE FRINGE WEBSITE
The SF Fringe website www.sffringe.org is the center of all festival communications. Performers should be visiting the Performer Services Page of the website regularly between now and the festival. The Performer Services Page will include Publicity Forms, Program Forms, Tech Forms and other information that you need to participate in the festival. The Fringe schedule will be on the website and many audience members will use it to plan their fringing. The festival website will also include online review forms and the online reviews will be posted for all shows. Performers should encourage their audiences to review their shows online since this feature gets a lot of traffic during the festival.
PUBLICITY PHOTOS
The Fringe website includes a Press Photo Gallery which the media will use to down load your photos. You should send a press photo by email to mail@sffringe.org. The photo should be sent as an attachment in jpeg format. The size of the photo should be at least 5 x 7 inches and 300 dpi. Give your photo some thought. It is one of the most important promotional tools you will develop. It should be well composed with an interesting image. It should be clear and well focused with good contrast.
SPECIFIC SHOW PROGRAMS
Each performing group should prepare specific show programs and bring these to each performance. The audience is interested in information about the show and bios of the cast and crew. The volunteer ushers will distribute your programs to the audience.
PRESS PACKETS
Each performing group should prepare a small number of press packets that they will give to the House Manger. The press packets may include any information or materials that you would like for reviewers to have as they consider your show.
FRINGE AWARDS
The Fringe Festival provides a number of awards at the closing night party which will take place at 10pm on Sunday September 18. Sold Out Awards are presented for each performance that SOLD 49 or more tickets. "Best of Awards" are presented by the Fringe staff in a variety of categories, reflecting the variety of the festival. There is also traditionally the "Techie's Award", "Best Box Office Award," and the "Barbara Holloway Volunteer Award." The closing night party is a wonderful time for volunteers, performers and staff to get together and celebrate the festival.
BEST OF THE FRINGE PERFORMANCES
Two weeks after the Fringe Festival (Friday and Saturday, September 30th and October 1st) there is a Fringe Festival fund raiser which presents one performance each of four groups that were designated "Best of the Fringe." The groups will be selected by the Fringe staff and announced at the closing night party. The groups will receive a small stipend for the performance and the ticket sales will benefit the San Francisco Fringe Festival.
VOLUNTEERING & BILLETING
The Fringe Festival is a large community that includes audience members, performers, staff and volunteers. We encourage performers to sample the entire festival by catching other performers shows, by coming to the hospitality center, and by volunteering at the Fringe. Volunteering is an excellent opportunity to meet other members of the Fringe community and to increase the visibility of your show. Another way to participate is to provide housing (or billeting) to out of town performers. If you are interested in billeting contact the Fringe and if you are interested in volunteering email the volunteer coordinator at sffringevolunteers@hotmail.com.
Thanks,
All of us at the Fringe