How To Take Part
Registrations for the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival are now closed.
If you want to register for Fringe Furniture 2010, you have until Friday July 30. Find out more here.
If you're keen to come on board in 2011, then start dreaming now! Here's a handy flowchart to get you started.
Registering your show is just one step in Producing a show for the Melbourne Fringe Festival. We have put together a flowchart to give you an idea of the whole process. See the below text for more details.
How to take part in the Melbourne Fringe Festival
In a nutshell, anyone can be in the Melbourne Fringe Festival – we are what’s called an open access festival. So if you follow the registration process, meet the deadlines and pay the registration fee then you’re in!
Fringe shows are inspiring, shocking, disgusting, surprising, entertaining, challenging, provoking. All ofthe above and none of the above.
The best way to stay in touch with what’s happening is to sign up to our email newsletter called The Fix. We send it out once a month and will let you know all about deadlines, the registration process, applying to be part of the Fringe Hub and so much more. During the festival The Fix goes out more often and is choc-a-block with all things Fringe.
For those of you just itching to get started on your show for 2011 – and we do recommend you start thinking about it sooner rather than later – here is a rough guide to the process:
1. Confirm a Venue
Venue option A:
You can apply to be programmed into a venue at the Festival Hub in North Melbourne. Applications for 2011 will open in April 2011.
Venue option B:
Source your own venue. Melbourne Fringe has collated a list of potential venues, which is a great place to start. Of course you can source a venue anywhere; it does not have to be from this list. Don't hesitate to contact Melbourne Fringe for advice on which venues to approach for your event.
Please note that the relationship with the venue is between artist / producer and the venue, not Melbourne Fringe. It is highly recommended that you get confirmation of your agreement from your venue in writing. There are many resources available to artists searching for a suitable venue, one useful website is Creative Spaces.
2. Register online
Registrations for the 2011 Melbourne Fringe Festival will open on in May 2011
3. Sign on the dotted line
Once all the registration details are complete you need to pop into the Fringe office (special arrangements can be made if you are not based in Melbourne) so that you can sign the Participants Agreement.
4. Cough up the cash
The 2010 Artist Registration fees were:
Free events: $220
One-off (i.e. 1 date) ticketed events: $220
Ticketed Events: $330
Your registration fee covers a whole lot of administrative, ticketing and marketing costs, as well as ongoing support and advice, that are going to make doing a Fringe show an absolute dream for you and a fantastic experience for your audience. Find out what you get for your registration fee on the Artist Resources page.
Still got questions?
Don’t forget to check out the other areas in the For Artists section of this website and if you can’t find the answer you’re looking for then get in touch with us:
info at melbournefringe.com.au or give us a call on +61 3 9660 9600.
Wanna take part but you’re not an artist, director or producer?
That’s OK. There are still heaps of ways that you can be involved:
Volunteer - If you'd like to get your foot in the door and gain invaluable ‘on-the-ground' experience then volunteering could be for you.
Internships – Melbourne Fringe provides several opportunities every year for interns to become a part of the festival team. Internships are unpaid and in a range of different areas.
Jobs – Each year our team swells from a measly 5 core staff to a whopping 40 people. Make sure you sign up for our email newsletter The Fix if you want to be kept informed about when jobs are available.
Fringe Dweller – If you want to stay in the know about all things Fringe and you like the idea of freebies, prizes, special events, competitions and a whole lot more then you should definitely become a Fringe Dweller.
Partners – Melbourne Fringe couldn’t do it all without our amazing partners. Partners provide in-kind support in the form of services and goods for free and they provide us with financial support. If you’re interested in supporting Melbourne Fringe in this way then we’d love to talk to you.
Venues – Our artists are always looking for new, interesting and unusual places to perform. If you manage a venue or a space and want to get in on some Melbourne Fringe Festival action then we’d be keen to hear more.
