In July, the Fringe Festival will celebrate its seventeenth year. During the past seventeenth years, amateur to professional performing artists have produced over 2,000 individual productions. And even more astonishing, 962 have been original works never to grace a stage anywhere before being presented at the Festival. Since the Festival’s inception, 380,000 audience members have taken a chance on productions–generating $2,370,000 in ticket revenue that has been paid directly to the artists.
That was the “before” times.
During the ongoing pandemic, Capital Fringe has served as the curator and organizer of Down to Earth, a paid artist residency program focusing on the intersectionality of systemic racism and the climate crisis in Ward 7 in partnership with the Friends of the Kenilworth Aquatic Garden and Caandor Labs. Additionally, Fringe launched a new local music series in SW DC, Duck Pond Music.
From October through December 2021 Capital Fringe generated a form and opened it up to potential venues to complete if they were interested in welcoming the Fringe. Thirty-five venues of all shapes and sizes from DC, Maryland to Virginia submitted their information. While Capital Fringe engaged in conversations with several spaces, it became clear that venue rental has significantly increased due to the ongoing pandemic, and it is not feasible or logical for us to rent and equip the same number of indoor venues (11-15) as we had done in years past.
As you prep to fill out the application, please consider that all participants are required to be fully vaccinated (either one dose of J&J and a booster of Pfizer or Moderna or three shots of Pfizer or Moderna). Additionally, as other guidance and regulations change between now and July 2022, those changes will be reflected in the requirements for participation. Finally, participants will be responsible for a testing component. As these detail gets ironed out, it will be included in the agreement for your participation.
About the 2022 Capital Fringe Festival
Capital Fringe Festival | Washington, DC USA | July 11th to 24th
Please note the festival will span 14 days, and performances are currently set to occur Thursday – Sunday in all indoor venues. Outdoor venues may have added performance days. Techs will occur on July 9 – 13. Mondays will remain a dark day for participants and staff.
The Fringe Festival schedule for 2022 is as follows:
- Application Period: January 31 February 18
- Acceptance Emails sent to Participants: March 18*
- Participants sent Tech and Performance Schedules (tech specs) & Marketing Forms Available April 22*
- Marketing Deadline: May 6
- Tickets on Sale: June 21
- Tech days for all venues indoor and outdoor: July 9 to 13
- Performance Days – July 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 21, 22, 23, 24
Please note more performance days may be added if conditions related to the ongoing pandemic and added facility charges related to cleaning, security etc. are eased.
* Dates are representative of the worst-case scenario as we can foresee them as of the date of the release of applications. We hope to get acceptance emails Tech and Performance Schedules (tech specs) & Marketing Forms out as soon as they are ready.
FRINGE FESTIVAL PARTICIPATION FEES
Application Fee: Due to the change in the Festival application schedule and just the general uncertainty during the ongoing pandemic, there is no application fee in 2022.
Participation Fee:
$585 – (non-refundable fee only paid upon signing agreement)
Due to Capital Fringe by April 22, 2022, 5 pm EST
Insurance Fee:
$280 – Due to Capital Fringe by May 13, 2022, 5 pm EST
Insurance fee is only required if a certificate of liability insurance naming Capital Fringe as additionally insured is not provided to Capital Fringe from the artist/company.
Participation in the Fringe Festival is an opportunity to develop work in a competitive but encouraging environment with a built-in audience. Festival staff guide participants through the five-month producing process. It is a chance for participants to get feedback from audiences and other artists and earn a majority share of ticket revenue (in 2019 participants earned an average of $1,120 in ticket revenue).
Applications are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis, depending on what we can accommodate in our indoor and outdoor venues.
In 2022 Capital Fringe is using the arts management system Eventotron. Your application, marketing form and payment will be managed through Eventotron. We cannot accept any TBA or TBD productions.
Individuals and/or companies may only apply to produce one project in the Fringe Festival. So, for example, you may not produce a show under your own name and one under your company. This rule exists to keep the Fringe Festival a fair producing environment for all.
Though individual actors or crew can participate in more than one show during the Fringe Festival, we cannot guarantee to accommodate scheduling conflicts for people participating in multiple shows.
If you have any questions during the application period, do not hesitate to contact Julianne Brienza, Founding Director, by email at julianne@capitalfringe.org. We can either schedule a phone call or zoom to discuss details. This is a difficult time to produce and present theater and live performance – and we are here to make it happen as a community! Things are fluid! Let’s have open communication and make the Festival happen! Remember, there are no silly questions!!
Photo credit: Ryan Maxwell. Would you rather . . . Too Much Danm (TMD) Theatre