The Hollywood Fringe Announces Partnership with Theatre of NOTE

 Organizers of the Hollywood Fringe Festival (www.hollywoodfringe.org) announced today that Theatre of NOTE (www.theatreofnote.com) will serve as the 2012 Fringe Black Box Theatre, a new venue for this year's fest. The third annual festival takes place June 14-24, with a week of previews taking place June 7-12. Registration for the festival is now open. 

 

The announcement of a "Black Box" venue marked a shake-up for the open access arts fest, which hosted a Fringe Central space in both 2010 and 2011, but has never before hosted multiple Fringe-run venues. The Fringe Black Box at Theatre of NOTE will highlight solo artists, comedy and other performances suited to the intimate and infinitely re-imaginable space that has helped to define Hollywood theatre for the past 25 years. 

 

"It seems only natural that we are partnering with Theatre of NOTE in this fashion, as we've had a close relationship with members there since we started planning the Fringe in 2007," said Fringe Festival Director Ben Hill, "In fact, our Fringe [film] Director Ezra Buzzington, who himself co-founded the Seattle and NY Fringe Festivals, has been a member at NOTE for 10 years and was one of the first community members to encourage myself and the other co-founders to bring a Fringe to Hollywood." 

 

Hill went on to remark on the implications of this change in strategy for the central organization: "We are always seeking new ways to promote and assist our participants, which is why we have traditionally made rent at Fringe Central so low. This year, we decided to host an additional space to act as an alternate venue befitting smaller scale Fringe productions. The Fringe Black Box at Theatre of NOTE will serve as a great compliment to the Main Stage at Open Fist."

 

Located on Cahuenga Boulevard in central Hollywood, Theatre of NOTE lies in the middle of the Hollywood Fringe boundaries and has served for years as a strong link between the Comedy Clubs of Hollywood Blvd. and Theatre Row on Santa Monica Blvd. Since it was founded in 1981, Theatre of NOTE has always been actively involved in the Los Angeles theatre community, winning countless accolades for its premieres. The Hollywood Fringe has proved no exception. For the past two years, the venue has had some of the most successful shows in the Fringe; in 2010, one of its Fringe shows won the coveted "Top of the Fringe" award. 

 

The Fringe announced in early February that the Open Fist Theatre will serve as the Fringe Central Box Office & Main Stage in 2012. Fringe Central was hosted at Theatre of Arts Arena Stage in 2010 and at ArtWorks in 2011. The Fringe organization has chosen to partner with different venues each year to help provide a new experience for returning artists and audiences. Aside from the Fringe-run venues, over twenty Hollywood venues have already signed on to participate in the third annual festival.