There is a lot of excitement in the air with the first annual Hollywood Fringe Festival starting this Thursday. Having some fringes under my belt with a “couple a surreys on top” (some butchered lyrics from Oklahoma!), I thought I would give a few tips on how not only to get the most out of your Hollywood Fringe experience but avoid the pitfalls I made, tips for saving money and garnering audiences, and what to look for when entering other fringe festivals. Hopefully you can use these tips in the Hollywood Fringe Festival or other festivals that may come your way.

If you’ve never done a “fringe” before, what are some tips to get started? My first experience doing a fringe was bringing They Call Me Mister Fry to the New York Fringe Festival. Although, I had good reviews, I could have gotten more out of that experience if I had attended a few festivals before. It would have been better to start at a smaller festival, make my mistakes there, then move on to the bigger, more prestigious ones. I spent way too much money in New York, and I had a technically disastrous first two shows because I hired two unprofessional tech people who tanked my tech rehearsal and the opening night packed with theater producers and reviewers. All this could have been avoided if I had more festival experience and didn’t try to do the big, prestigious festival first.

What about spending money to advertise in festivals? Yes, it helps a bit to create an “awareness” but will it put “butts” in seats? When I first did the NYC Fringe, I bought a half page in the guide and a quarter page in the local teacher union paper, posters and bought a minimum order of 2500 postcards for a cheap price of $150. Overall, I spent close to $2000 in advertising. I did have an average of 40 people in a 60-seat theater for five shows but I spent a fortune in advertising! Afterwards, I had some 1500 postcards left with the New York Fringe info that I couldn’t use.

The first thing to do is go to gotprint.com and get 2500 postcards for only $69. One side print everything you want to say about the show and leave the other side blank. On the blank side, print out (of your personal printer) the five “Ws” about the show. Therefore, you only use the postcards you need and the 2500 postcards will last you for two or three festivals.

At the Washington Capital Fringe, I did not spend a cent on advertising and I averaged 60 people in an 80-seat theater with two sold out shows. That is almost unheard of from out-of-town artists who know no one. How did I do it? I hustled. I contacted my audience which were theatergoers at the festival, the local teachers’ union and I supported other artists. That’s important. Go see other artists’ shows. Meet them and show them support by going to their shows. And they’ll do the same for you.  Don’t say you’ll go and don’t show up. I saw over 25 shows at the Cap Fringe, averaging two or three shows a day.

I also met and connected with the festival theatergoers. I went to all the festival events and the gathering places. I met some fun and interesting “non artists” festival groupies and bonded with them. Some artists may think, “Oh, I hate marketing myself. I can’t do this.” Believe me, I felt the same way, but if you believe in your show, and want your show to make money, sometimes you have to put yourself in a uncomfortable position for growth plus there are lots of fascinating people out there.

When entering a festival that provides a venue, if possible try to secure dates of the show not at the very beginning or the very end of the festival. I try to book the shows in the middle of the festival. Therefore any tech issues, like lighting, sound or whatever, will already be resolved by the time your show runs. Plus it will give you some time to market your show before it opens.

What about a press agent? This of course depends on your budget. I hired one for my first festival, but have done it all myself ever since. Basically, all you need to do is come up with a press release. No more than a page. If you’re not sure what format, ask for a festival sample or get one from the Internet or a friend might have one. All it takes is sending out a press release email, a follow up email and then a phone call. Also, I can’t stress enough your meeting people at the festivals. I’ve met press at festivals and had them come to my shows. At this level, I don’t feel it’s necessary to pay the expense for a PR person. I’ve always gotten just as good or better results myself.

A few smaller festivals I recommend are the Indy Fringe, the Cincinnati Fringe and the Rogue Festival in Fresno. At every festival I’ve gone to, the artists talk about the Indy Fringe. It’s well organized, they put you up if you need it, and they give you 100 percent of the box office, cash right after the show. It’s centrally located and all the theaters are walking distance to each other. Everybody meets everybody. And it’s a ball.

I hope this helps. These are the basics. I don’t have enough space to include everything so feel free to contact me and I will try to answer your questions. I look forward to seeing you at this year’s Hollywood Fringe Festival!

Jack Fry has a one-man show called They Call Me Mister Fry. It’s a funny yet poignant true story of his first year teaching fifth grade in South Central Los Angeles. It’s playing at the Lounge 2 Theater on Sun., June 20 at 5 pm; Tues., June 22 at 8 pm; and Sat., June 26 at 2 pm. Tickets ($15) available at hollywoodfringe.org or misterfry.com or by calling 866.811.4111.