| Logo Alt: | The word 'Hollywood' in all caps, and the word 'fringe' in much larger, bold capital letters below. The words are black, sans-serif, and left-aligned on a white background. |
| Status: | Active |
| Genre: | Festival |
| Frequency: | Annual |
| Venue: | Multiple venues |
| Location: | Hollywood Theatre Row and vicinity |
| Country: | United States |
| Founders: | --> |
| Participants: | 233 companies (2012) |
| Attendance: | 25,000 (2012) |
| Leader Name: | Ben Hill [1] |
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual fringe theatre festival in Hollywood, California.[2] Most indoor venues for the festival are in and around Hollywood Theatre Row, a 1.4miles stretch of Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Founder Ben Hill started trying to organize a local fringe festival not long after he moved to Los Angeles from Iowa City in 2007.[3] [4] He and other organizers launched the first Hollywood Fringe Festival in the summer of 2010.[5] That year, there were 130 shows in the festival.[6]
The shows are not curated (selected based on merit).[4] To perform, one must pay a registration fee[3] and be ready with a concept and the means to produce it.[6] The festival organizers market the event and provide some support, but the theatre companies must find their own venues and market their own shows.[6]
In the 2012 festival, theatre companies produced more than 230 shows and gave more than 1,000 performances.[7] Companies participating in the 2014 festival produced more than 300 shows.[6]
In 2018, the Hollywood Fringe Festival was one of the filming locations for the trivia game show Buzz'd Out!.[8]
Approximately 56,000 tickets sold were sold for the 2016 festival, which drew an estimated $447,000 in revenue. All revenue from ticket sales is paid to the artists and venues.[9]
The COVID-19 pandemic caused 2020's cancellation & deferral to 2021.[10]