JULY
2024
Adventurous Artists Seeking Adventurous Audiences
A project of 717 Arts Incorporated, the Harrisburg Fringe Festival provides a space and opportunity for artists to emerge and showcase their talents and craft. The HBG Fringe Fest is 4-days in July, filled with live entertainment, unique theatre experiences, kid-friendly shows and activities, visual art displays, and more. It's a full celebration of independent artists.
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Harrisburg Fringe Festival is inclusive, unjuried, and uncensored, with 100% of ticket sales given back to the artists. Working with local businesses, the Harrisburg Fringe Festival not only enriches the cultural tapestry of the region but also stimulates economic vibrancy, contributing to the overall prosperity of the community.​
SO, WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT FROM THE HBG FRINGE?
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It’s Inclusive. The nature of a festival is to be welcoming and inviting to all. All art and artists are welcome to submit their work: dance, spoken word, theatre, comedy, drag, music, painting, and more – if an artist considers it art, so do we. Anyone can Fringe.
It’s Unjuried. Participants in this festival are selected through a lottery, not by committee. This means a veteran artist has as much of a chance of having their show picked to perform as someone who has never performed in their life!
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It’s Uncensored. We at HBG Fringe have no control over the artistic content of any of the performances at our festival. Artistic freedom is unrestrained, allowing artists to be true to their craft and uphold their artistic integrity. It is not for the HFF to say what might or might not be suitable for audiences. We will have designated categories for kids and families, as well as content warnings, but the participants’ art will only be “assessed” by the audiences they attract.
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100% of ticket sales are given back to the artists. The Harrisburg Fringe Festival gives all the money earned from ticket sales directly back to the artists. We are providing artists with financial vitality. Because when artists make money, they can keep creating art.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR YOU?
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Experience new art and artists – Harrisburg is full of dance, comedy, theatre, music, graphic arts, drag, spoken word, and more. The HFF will give you an opportunity to see it all – or as much as you can schedule!
Support underserved artists – While there are many artists in the midstate, not all of them have a chance to reach audiences and show their work. Coming to the HFF will provide critical financial and artistic support for those artists, many of whom are from Harrisburg’s traditionally underserved communities.
Support local businesses – You can be confident that the money you spend at the HFF will stay local: local restaurant and food trucks, local breweries and distilleries, local businesses – as well as the local artists – will all benefit from your involvement.
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It’ll be fun – Who doesn’t like a party? More than anything, the HFF will be a festival that celebrates Harrisburg and its surrounding communities as well as its artists. Come enjoy food, beverages, music, and a variety of entertainment – both on the street and in the venues.
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 between 1 and 60 minutes.
At Harrisburg Fringe Festival and 717 Arts Inc., we believe in Amplifying Voices.
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Our goal is to ensure that we are creating and fostering an inclusive, equitable, and collaborative environment, one that promotes participation and openly recruits diverse stories and performances, providing opportunities for underrepresented artists and communities by not only offering a platform for inclusive shows, art, and experiences, but by facilitating and creating opportunities for coaching, mentorship, and by offering any guidance that might help on their artistic journey.
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Ultimately, our greatest ambition is for artists and patrons of any background to see themselves represented in the work showcased at the Harrisburg Fringe Festival.
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To better amplify the voices of marginalized communities, we offer artists an opportunity to enter our Amplified Voices Lottery. This lottery occurs before the general lottery and guarantees 30% of spots to producing artists that qualify.
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To qualify, the project must be PRODUCED and/or CREATED by individuals who are members of a marginalized community*.
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Please note: solely having cast members of diverse backgrounds does not qualify you to enter the Amplified Voices Lottery.
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If you are entered into the Amplified Voices Lottery and not selected, you will still be entered in the general lottery for your desired Tier.
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*Marginalized communities are groups of persons at risk of being subjected to discrimination due to personal characteristics such as race, ethnicity, age, health status, disability, sexual orientation, or gender identity.
AMPLIFYING VOICES
FRINGE MANAGED VENUES
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.
LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS YEAR'S VENUES (link to /Venues page)
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.
Please see the chart on the Venue Page (link to venue page) to understand the total cost you will be charged if selected in the lottery.
“Bring Your Own Venue”s, or BYOVs, are performance venues operated by partner venues as an extended branch of the Harrisburg Fringe. BYOV productions are included in Fringe-operated ticked 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.
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If you have questions about the BYOV process, please email producer@hbgfringe.com.
BYO-VENUE
SITE
SPECIFIC
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.
Kids Fringe is a family-friendly portion of the Fringe Festival, happening from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on the Saturday of our festival (July 20, 2024). Performances, workshops, meet and greets, and interactive art experiences are offered by touring and local artists and arts organizations.
Artists and Vendors interested in participating in Kids Fringe should email producer@hbgfringe.com.
KIDS FRINGE
VISUAL FRINGE
A space for visual artists during the festival with gallery displays and tabling opportunities, Visual Fringe is the visual art portion of the Harrisburg Fringe Festival that features drawing, painting, sculpture, design, jewelry making, and much more.
Like the theater portion of the festival, Visual Fringe is uncensored and unjuried, and 100% of the money made in art sales is given back to the artists. The main focus of Visual Fringe is to allow an outlet for artists to push beyond their usual medium, subject matter, and comfort zone to bring true uniqueness to this exhibition and foster the celebration of creativity.
Visual artists with questions should email producer@hbgfringe.com
Applications Open
Monday, February 23, 2024, at NOON EST
Application Fee Increase
March 8, 2024, at 12:00 AM EST
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