The Fringe Blackbox at NOTE

Hollywood, CA- Organizers of the Hollywood Fringe Festival announced today that Theatre of NOTE will serve as the 2012 Fringe Blackbox 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 “Blackbox” 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 Blackbox 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 Blackbox 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.

About Theatre of NOTE

We at Theatre of NOTE are an enduring ensemble of diverse theatre artists in the heart of Hollywood who inspire, inform, and ignite our audiences by discovering courageous voices and creating entertaining, provocative, and revelatory theatrical works.

NOTE was founded in 1981 by Kevin Carr, along with Kitty Felde, Marc Gordon, Melanie MacQueen, Heather Carr, & Ted Parks as a forum for original one-act plays (N.O.T.E. stood for “New One-Act Theatre Ensemble”), and to provide a stimulating environment for new playwrights. Since its inception, NOTE has been through several transitions, but the integrity of the original idea has always remained intact. We premiere an average of four main stage productions a year, by writers such as W.H. Auden, Bertolt Brecht, Sheila Callaghan, Christopher Kelley, Tony Kushner, Jennifer Maisel, Leon Martell, Murray Mednick, Dennis Miles, John O’Keefe, Erik Patterson, Bill Robens and Jacqueline Wright. NOTE also upholds a tradition of acclaimed late-night shows, first launched in 1988, in addition to the now-annual, notorious, celebrity-crowd art magnet, The Hollywood Performance Marathon. We have earned consistent commendation from the Los Angeles press and national acclaim from such publications as American Theatre. In all, NOTE has accumulated almost 100 honors and nominations, including awards from the LA WEEKLY, Backstage West, L.A. Stage Alliance (Ovations), and PEN International. Thanks to over 25 years of advancing theatre in Los Angeles, NOTE has received generous government and corporate support, including grants from the California Arts Council, the Cultural Affairs Department of Los Angeles, the Flintridge Foundation, the Libby Holman Foundation, the Los Angeles County Arts Commission, Robinson’s/May, Sedgwick James Inc., the Audrey Skirball-Kenis Foundation, Verizon, Time Warner and, most recently, The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in recognition of our Young Writers Project, an outreach program benefiting local high school students.

About Hollywood Fringe

The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual celebration of the emerging arts.
Environments for the Fringe include both traditional and unorthodox venues; fully equipped theatres, street corners, clubs, bars, and places unexpected. Performances are self-produced by local, national, and international arts companies and independent performers. In the spirit of most Fringes, participation is open and uncensored.

In June 2011, over 200 groups participated and over 25,000 tickets were sold, making the festival one of the largest of its kind in the United States. The event has been called “an artful feast” by the LA Times, “a roaring success” by Backstage, and “a triumph” by LA Weekly.

The Hollywood Fringe’s Mission Statement:
Host an environment for bold and experimental works
Champion underground art and artists
Vitalize the arts industry in Los Angeles
Promote and enrich the Hollywood neighborhood

Key Festival Dates
Feb. 1st- Registration Open
April 1st- Registration Deadline for Guide Inclusion
May 11th- Fringe [film] Submission Deadline
June 7-12- Fringe Previews
June 13th- Fringe Opening Night Gala
June 14-24- 2nd Annual Hollywood Fringe Festival
June 24th- Fringe Award Ceremony & Closing Night Party