Putting on a show
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Why register with the fringe?
Artists register in the Harrisburg Fringe Festival for many reasons. Primarily, artists use the platform to reach a larger potential audience than they would if they presented and marketed the work on their own. Many use the Fringe Festival as an opportunity to “test out” new work on Fringe audiences open to experimental and unconventional performances. It is also an opportunity to make money from your art!
Deadlines & registration
Applications Open
February 23, 2024 at NOON EST ($25 Registration Fee)
Registration Fee Increase
March 8, 2024 at 12:00 AM ($50 Registration Fee)
Application Deadline
Sunday, March 31, 2024, at 11:59 PM EST
Livestreamed Lottery Drawing
TBD
Tech Rehearsals Start
Thursday, July 11, 2024
The 2nd Annual Harrisburg Fringe Festival
July 18-21, 2024
How to apply
Registration for the Harrisburg Fringe Festival occurs on Eventotron.com. The information submitted is then used to create your show’s web page, print guide listing, and tickets.
To register, simply create an account on Eventotron, find the Harrisburg Fringe Festival under the Festivals tab, and click Apply. It’s super cool because when you’re done with us, all your info is ready to apply to festivals ALL over the world on the same platform!
For extra help getting started on Eventotron, visit this helpful article: https://eventotron.zendesk.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4402689391383-Applying-to-a-festival-or-season
Artists must submit all information before March 31, 2024 in order to be included in the 2024 Harrisburg Fringe Festival Lottery.
Artist policies & agreement
All artists must review and agree to the 2024 Fringe Festival Artist Policies & Agreement before participating in the festival. If you intend to participate, please download and keep this document for reference.
Lottery
Our festival remains 100% unjuried by using a lottery system. Applicants are entered into a tiered lottery. Tiers are based on the seating capacity of our venues.
Each application is assigned a number. Applicants will be drawn live in front of an audience and live-streamed. The lottery date is TBD.
Shows drawn in the 2024 lottery must have a runtime of less than 60 minutes.
Budgeting
Budget Basics
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Remember that budgeting includes both revenue and expenses, not just expenses.
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Conservative budgeting relies on overestimating expenses and underestimating income so that there is a built-in cushion
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The goal is to have at least a net zero (break-even) budget
Important Budget Terms & Definitions
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Earned Income – Ticket sales, concession sales, tips, etc.
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Contributed Income – Donations, sponsorships, grants, fundraised income. Donations may be individual or corporate donations.
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Tip: Though not considered “income”, you may look for In-Kind Donations to offset expenses.
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Gross Income- Total amount earned
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Net Income – Profit after expenses
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Actuals – The actual recorded revenues and expenditures at a given point
Revenue
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Estimated revenue should be calculated BEFORE you begin spending money. Knowing your potential revenue will help you budget for expenses. Do not calculate your expenses and then try to recoup. Revenue calculation and expense budgeting should happen in tandem.
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Budget for both Earned Income (ticket sales/merch) and Contributed Income (donations)
Calculating Ticket Sale Revenue
Remember that participants in the Harrisburg Fringe Festival keep 100% of ticket income sold through the Festival Box Office.
Ticket sales = (average ticket price) x (expected capacity) x (# of performances)
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Price – Consider full price, discounts, and comps. Do not calculate potential ticket income on full price tickets alone.
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Capacity – Consider how many of the available seats you expect to sell. Do you expect sell-out shows or a percentage of the house? Be conservative with your estimate.
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Performances – Only calculate the minimum performances you could be granted (2).
Expenses to Consider
Revenue calculation and Expense budgeting should happen in tandem. Knowing your potential expenses will help with fundraising efforts and determine your necessary earned income. When calculating expenses, be sure to overestimate potential expenses.
Common Expenses
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Production – Venue fees, props, other artists in your shows, etc.
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Marketing – Though FRINGE does market on your behalf, consider your own marketing costs. Printing, social media boosts, etc.
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Contingency – Always a good idea to add contingency (unexpected expenses always come up, and this can minimize surprises)
Actuals
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Record your actuals as you go, to track how your spending and sales compared to what you thought you would spend and earn.
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Keep track of receipts! A good practice is to use the same card/account for all expenses on one project.
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After the production, record your final actuals vs budget, especially if you need to report to funders or if you’ll do this show again!
Budget Template - Build Your Own Budget!
Feel Free to use this Fringe Festival Show Budget Template designed by the fringe producers. If you have finance and budgeting questions, contact brianna@hbgfringe.com.
Venues
Please note, that there is no storage space for props, set pieces, or costumes at any of the venues. All items must be loaded in and loaded out for tech and each performance.
Tier 1 Venues
100+ seat venues.
Fees
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2 shows - $150
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3 shows - $225
Potential Revenue
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2 shows - $1,800
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3 shows - $2,700
Tier 2 Venues
~50 seat venues.
Fees
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2 shows - $75
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3 shows - $112.50
Potential Revenue
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2 shows - $900
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3 shows - $1,350
Fringe managed venues
Go to our venue page to find more information about each venue.
Fringe Managed Venues are venues operated directly by Harrisburg Fringe Festival. In order for your production to be hosted in one of these venues, you must be drawn and accepted via our Lottery.
Rules
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Shows drawn in the 2024 lottery must have a runtime between 0-60 minutes.
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The time you have listed on your application is the MAXIMUM time allowed for your show. Your runtime cannot be adjusted unless you are reducing the run time.
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Artist groups are responsible for securing all rights, royalties, copyrights, and union waivers for published works or Equity actors. (Groups are responsible for providing a copy of these rights and royalties to the Harrisburg Fringe Festival). Failure to secure rights is grounds for removal of your show from the Festival. Proof of rights must be sent to the producer before your schedule is distributed.
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In order to apply for Harrisburg Fringe 2024, your application for the Fringe Lottery must be submitted before 11:59 PM EST on March 31, 2024.
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The ENTIRE application must be filled out in full to be considered for the Lottery. Artists picked for the Festival are determined by a fair and random Lottery. Under no circumstances may any group sell their Fringe slot.
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There is a non-refundable application fee.
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The cost is $25 USD until 11:59 pm on March 7, then the price increases on March 8 to $50 USD until applications are due on March 31.
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You may only apply as a producer or producing company for one show.
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When submitting your show, you must have a show title; TBA or TBD will not be accepted. You will have the opportunity to make tweaks to your title if selected in the lottery. If you do not type in a title, your show will not be considered for the lottery until adjusted.
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ALL applicants will be entered into a TIER lottery. Tiers are based on the seating capacity of the venues.
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The Main Contact must reside where the application states they live.
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Deadline
The final deadline for all applications to be considered for the lottery is 11:59 PM EST on March 31, 2024. You must press the SUBMIT button BEFORE 11:59 PM EST. If your application is still being worked on at 11:59 PM EST, it is not on time and will not be placed in the lottery. This is absolute. Any application received after that will be placed at the bottom of the waitlist.
Confirmations of application receipt are sent when the application is submitted. If confirmation is not received within 48 hours of delivery, or if you have questions about the application process, contact producer@hbgfringe.com.
You may only apply as a producer or producing company for one show.
The Producer/Main contact is responsible for all administrative and production correspondence from the lottery until the end of the festival. They will make and receive payments in their name and be responsible for all tax forms. The information submitted cannot be changed once the application is complete.
You cannot have the same producer for more than one production. If you are producing one show and co-producing a second show, that is still producing more than one show, and both shows associated with the producer can be removed from the festival at any time. All producers and artists could be asked to sign a conflict of interest form listing all participation in the festival upon acceptance in the lottery.
Producers are prohibited from selling or trading accepted slots to another producer who did not obtain a lottery position. Such actions may result in the disqualification of both the show and the producer from the lottery and festival.
Payment
Your non-refundable application fee is due upon submission of your application. You will be ineligible for the lottery without this payment. The application fee is not refundable under any circumstances.
Application fees must be paid before the 11:59 pm EST deadline on March 31, 2024.
Venue Fees
After the lottery, you will receive an offer based on your tier/#seats, number of performances, and performance length. If you do not pay the full balance within 72 hours of venue placement, you will automatically forfeit your space in the 2024 Festival.
BYOV - Bring your own venue
BYOVs, are performance venues operated by a partner organization as an extended branch of the Harrisburg Fringe. BYOV productions are included in Fringe-operated ticket sales and marketing but receive no tech support or venue management from the festival. BYOV productions also have fewer restrictions on performance length, total performances, etc.
If you have questions about the BYOV process, please email producer@hbgfringe.com.
Site-specific venues
In addition to Festival Managed Venues and Bring Your Own Venues, Harrisburg Fringe also allows artists the opportunity to present shows in a Site-Specific format. These are considered “found spaces,” not in a traditional theatre space. For example, outside underneath a tree, in an empty retail space, or someone’s backyard!
Artists are responsible for securing their location, technical, and staffing needs.
Co-producers Brianna Dow and Chris Gibson will reach out to you to discuss and approve your concept. If accepted, the administration fee is $50 and must be paid within 72 hours of approval. Application must be submitted to be considered for the Site-Specific format. If you have questions, email producer@hbgfringe.com.
Marketing
See our marketing guide.
Accessibility
Overview
Please make sure your audience members know what to expect. Wheelchair accessibility is not the only accessibility consideration that artists may want to consider. Relaxed performances and other considerations may make a performance more accessible to audiences.
During Fringe Festival Artist registration, 717 Arts Incorporated requires some accessibility & content information for us to share with audiences.
Accessibility Services
HBG Fringe encourages artists to consider budgeting for and offering accessibility services for their audiences.
Services may include:
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ASL Interpretation
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A sign language interpreter stands at the side of the stage, near seating that has been set aside for those with hearing difficulties and is illuminated by a spotlight. Throughout the performance, the interpreter signs the lines or sound cues that the audience cannot hear.
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Open Captioning
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Open captioning is a text display of words and sounds heard during an event. The display is positioned in such a way that it is open for anyone to see in a particular seating area. It is considered passive assistance, a service that is there to use or ignore.
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Audio Description
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AD involves a describer sitting at the rear of the auditorium (in the booth if there is room) providing a narration describing the action on stage. The skill is in not getting in the way of the on-stage dialogue, sound effects, or other audible movements on stage, but filling in where vision would help with the plot.
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Ramp Rental
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for performances taking place in venues without wheelchair access
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Relaxed Performances
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A Relaxed Performance is one specifically modified to help audience members with special needs feel at home in the theatre and to enable them to feel able to make noise and comment on the performance when they wish to. They are designed for audience members with autism, learning disabilities, and sensory or communication needs. The sound level is often reduced, complex lighting changes are simplified, and the cast and company warn families when unexpected noises will occur. Often the house lights are left on, and the audience is given a pre-show tour of the theatre so that they are familiar with the environment.
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For more information about these services, contact Fringe Co-Producers, Brianna Dow or Chris Gibson at producer@hbgfringe.com.
Content Warnings & Considerations
HBG Fringe will require that artists submit information about their content and experience of the performance. When choosing a venue and crafting the content of the performance, artists should consider the following:
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Appropriate age range:
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All artists will be asked to define the appropriate audience for their performance based on the location and content
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This will range from appropriate for all ages to 21+ only for performances taking place in bars or serving alcohol
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Content warnings:
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This may include violence, language, nudity, etc.
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Audience participation/Splash zones:
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Will the audience have to move during the show?
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Audiences with mobility issues may be comfortable getting to the venue and their seat but should know if they are expected to move once the performance begins. This may impact an audience member’s ability to experience the performance.
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Flashing lights, extremely loud sounds, fog machine usage, etc.
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