2014 Annual Report
=What’s the Fringe?= It's an artist-led performing arts festival. Our audiences are adventurous and our venues unique. Fringe shows are on the fringe (pun intended) of mainstream theatre.
=Mission=
Pittsburgh Fringe Festival supports adventurous and exploratory performing artists by showcasing their uncensored artistic expression in a professional environment to equally as adventurous audiences and opportunities. We further seek to enhance this connection through performances, continuing education, workshops, discussions, and forums.
Pittsburgh Fringe 2014
Supported by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund
=SUPPORT=
Pittsburgh City Council Dan Gilman Bruce Krauss Winchester Thurston Boys & Girls Club of Shadyside AVA Lounge Gallerie Chiz Xela Batchelder Steven Doerfler Lori Howsare Kimlee Kessler Ruthann and Bill Maloy Pittsburgh Fringe 2014
John Reoli Daniel Stiker Myriam and Ed Stricker Nieves Stiker Lori Hohn Charlene Brunner Wigle Whiskey C.S. Wyatt Susan Schnelbach Touchtown, Inc Courtney Kaezyk
Kristen Barca Lindsay Evans Emily Selke Mark Bailey Hardware Store Dionne Brelsford 5801 Video Lounge & Cafe Richard Parsakian EONS Fashion
Journeys of Life Mad Mex Amish Monkeys Jaimy Roland Lori Howsare Jeff Swensen Jeff Brunner Pittsburgh Comedy Festival Shady Grove
Pittsburgh Fringe, LLC is a sponsored project of Fractured Atlas, a nonprofit arts service organization. Fractured Atlas will receive grants for the charitable purposes of Pittsburgh Fringe, LLC provide oversight to ensure that grant funds are used in accordance with grant agreements, and provide reports as required by the grantor. Contributions for the charitable purposes of Pittsburgh Fringe, LLC must be made payable to Fractured Atlas and are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Supported by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund
Dear Pittsburgh Fringe, You are probably running around like crazy but I just wanted to thank you for the awesome fringe experience. I battled my way through the race for the cure set-up and ended up at the first venue where I saw a really cute and feel-gooder of a show. I saw two more shows after that and walked through the rain to the fashion show, where I was able to check out some of the galleries and shops along the way which I have always passed but have been too busy to stop. I met some awesome people and interesting theater-goers. I even had one of those moments where I hated the show and then that all turned around by the end. I ended up appreciating and loving it. It truly is the whole experience that makes it, and I thank you for making my path through the experience so enjoyable. I have my rain-soaked and pen-starred program to show for it and I will treasure that!
Awesome-ness all around! continued success -- Karen Hannon
Pittsburgh Fringe 2014
=PARTICIPANTS= Alan Irvine-Storyteller Allegheny Bilge Rats Choir Anthony Giunta Brawling Bard Theater Cup-A-Jo Productions E.L.C.O. and Shana Simmons Dance Footlight Players NEXT GEN Shakespeare Geekdanz Joe Medina from MERCH Kaleidoscope Collective Mad Muse Michael McGovern Murphy/Smith Dance Collective No Name Players
Supported by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund
Panglossian Productions Pittsburgh Gothic and Lolita Fashion Show Pittsburgh Lab Project Raman Noodles Comedy Serotonin Syndrome Productions Stephen Pellegrino Tasty Monster Productions The Vintage Theater Thoreau, NM- A Production Company
=STATE OF THE FRINGE= Dear Supporter, Fringe is an innovative performing arts festival coming to the Northside May 8-10, 2015. Our festival is a celebration of artists who write in the margins of their playbills, a place for dreamers of stories beyond the written word, and an opportunity to witness the next big performance before it earns the monikers ‘next’ and ‘big.’
18 World Premieres 3 Pittsburgh Premieres 3 Dance/Movement Pieces 2 Seated Readings 1 Comedy Improv 1 Fashion Event 1 Musical Average payout per company: $331 Total given back to the artists: $6,622 Revenues: $22,000 Expenses: $23,000 Average spent on each show above artist payout: $500 Pittsburgh Fringe 2014
Pittsburgh Fringe Festival allows new and emerging artists the opportunity to showcase their talent by providing a venue with reduced financial barriers and increased exposure to the masses. Last year we attracted over 1,000 attendees to our events and returned over $6,000 to 22 arts groups. We had an economic impact of over $45,000 to the local economy. No small feat for such a small oragnization, where most of the income goes directly to supporting these amazing artists. I hope you can be a part of our success. See you next year, Dan Stiker
=THE BIG PICTURE= We are raising funds to hire a consultant and seeking to start fundraising (We are estimating the price tag to be around $5 million ) on acquiring a 20k-40k sq foot facility to help with self-sustainability.
-green roof arts related companies) -event spaces -a co-working space for the emerging -community spaces artists -a tapas restaurant -a retail space for rent -a place for food trucks -an outdoor gallery of graffiti artists’ -a gallery work -2 small black boxes (seating between -classrooms 40 and 100 seats) -studios -a small 150 seat proscenium -artist mini houses -1 small single screen movie theater -MODE programming though New Sun -office space for larger companies(or Rising Our consultant is Zachary Mannheimer (of Des Moines Social Club (desmoinessocialclub.org/). We BELIEVE a strong performing arts community can help change people, places, and ideas. The building will be home to multiple festivals (including the flagship Pittsburgh Fringe Festival)
Supported by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund
=VOLUNTEERS=
Adel Fougnies Alani Grant Alice Rysdon Amber Martin Leister Anjali Sachdeva Carol Lampe Christina Deems Chrstine Michaels Dee Yang Diana Reed
Pittsburgh Fringe 2014
John Reed Duncan MacDiarmid Gary Rugel Heather Cloud Joann Kielar Kateria Dellatola Kath Donnelly Laura Irvine Lisa Fevola Lynn Marsico
Myra Carbonell Phoebe Stern Rose Clancy Ruth Drescher Seymour Drescher Sheila McBride Suzanne Powell Tess Kirchner
=COMING IN 2015= WTF- What’s the Fringe? Outreach campaign is already starting with podcasts. We plan on taking it to the streets in the form of street theater and ambush interviews.
Teen Fringe - a workshop where local high school students will create their
own show for Fringe. We plan on including public and private students. These students will be mentored by Pittsburgh Theater professionals and have various workshops on creating new works.
FRINGE Anywhere(Site Specific)-
Jose Perez, who presented RIDE ALONG: AN IMMERSIVE THEATRE ADVENTURE FOR TWO at the Orlando Fringe, will help us create our site-specific category for 2015.
Events- In addition to a gallery show (so exciting it’s hush-hush), we will
be having a Fringe Prom, Town Hall Workshops, Press and Donor preview night, a Halloween parties(yes, two of them)/parade and a fashion show.
Supported by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund
=MEET THE TEAM= Andrew Homyak PRODUCTION MANAGER
Andrew is a Pittsburgh native and graduate of Point Park University with a BFA in Technical Theatre and Design. He absconded with the circus in 2010 where he worked as a properties master for Cirque Dreams. He has returned to his hometown after four years to join s thriving artistic community and contribute to its growth.
Courtney Kaezyk DIRECTOR OF DONOR RELATIONS A Pittsburgh native, Jesuit educated and with a master’s degree, she has a passion for making the world a better place through culture, advocacy and education. Dan Stiker FOUNDER/EXECUTIVE & ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Dan brings his love of all things Fringe, his commitment to nonprofits, and his love of theatre. In NYC, Dan was a part of the popular Beggars Group NYC theatre company that performed in mainly off-off Broadway houses. In Pittsburgh, Dan created Blankspace Arts with Heather Gray. Enjoy PGHFRINGE! Emily Selke FESTIVAL MANAGEMENT Jen Schaupp WORDSMITH Jennifer Schaupp is a writer, performer, and educator based in Pittsburgh. She performs regularly with the Amish Monkeys improvisational comedy troupe and has written short plays for theatre festivals in Pittsburgh and L.A. She has also adapted multicultural stories into plays for preschoolers in the Pittsburgh area through Gateway to the Arts. Jennifer currently teaches theatre at The Ellis School. Joe Esposito SOCIAL MEDIA TEAM Joe Esposito is currently an Entertainment and Arts Management major at Drexel University, and has growing interest in the entertainment industry specifically in performing arts. His love for the arts originates in his extensive high school mass media program, performing history throughout his schooling, as well as his desire to collaborate with artists to create profound artistry.
Pittsburgh Fringe 2014
Katherine Davis MARKETING Kate Davis is a 22 year old Pittsburgh native and student at the University of Pittsburgh pursuing a degree in marketing. She strives to become a citizen of the world and spends her time volunteering with various multi-cultural organizations and promoting the importance of diversity, acceptance, and the appreciation international arts. She also has an affinity for nature and bird watching and loves spending time at the National Aviary visiting the owls and raptors. Kristen Barca DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION Kristen likes to educate, collaborate...and listen. And likes her dog. And likes ducks. Lori Howsare OUTREACH/STREET CREW Lori Howsare has been a theatre artist for 30 years. Starting with classical acting at Saint Francis University in 1983 and eventually experimenting and working in Directing, Stage Management, Producing, and Performance Art. She started Experimental Theatre in Pittsburgh at The Acting Company... Mark Bailey DRAMATURG Mark is a dramaturg and lighting designer with a passion for helping important stories gain a voice. He comes to Pittsburgh from the Atlantaarea where he specialized in devising new works from research tours on the Gulf Coast and Western Europe. T.C. Brown HOUSE MANAGER Victor Capone VOLUNTEER COORDINATOR A teacher by training, Victor is excited to help make Pittsburgh Fringe a success! Victoria Way MARKETING CONSULTANT Victoria Way has eight years of theatrical marketing experience. She spent the majority of her career in NYC working as an Account Manager at Situation Interactive, an award-winning digital agency specializing in marketing see-it-to-believe-it experiences. She managed the digital marketing strategy and execution of multiple Broadway shows including SPIDER-MAN on Broadway, Billy Elliot, Race, The Best Man on Broadway and Bonnie & Clyde. Victoria recently relocated to Pittsburgh and is a Campaign Manager with Expedia, Inc. Xela Batchelder MANAGING DIRECTOR Her career includes 13 years experience as an Executive and Artistic Director for Rocket Venues, one of the venues at the world’s largest arts festival – the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, in Edinburgh, Scotland. She teaches at Drexel.
Supported by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund
=ECONOMIC IMPACT= Total Expenditures
FTE Jobs
Household Income
Local Government Revenue $933
State Government Revenue $1,199
Fringe Organization
$24,000
.8
$20,623
Fringe Audiences
$21,900
.6
$13,695
$1,169
$1,464
Total Impact
$45,734
1.5
$34,318
$2,102
$2,663
Š Copyright 2012 by Americans for the Arts. www.AmericansForTheArts.org
Typical Fringe Audience Well-educated Between ages 21 and 45 Middle class, about $64,000/yr Professional Open-Minded Adventurous
-Edinburgh Tourism Action Group "Festival Visitors to Edinburgh" study, Pittsburgh Fringe Website, Minnesota And New York Annual reports
Pittsburgh Fringe 2014
=SUPPORT=
I’m proud of the fact that Pittsburgh is home to so many talented artists and performers. Their collective energies bring our city to life; because of them, Pittsburgh brims with with cultural and artistic excitement.
I’m also proud to support the Pittsburgh’s very first FRINGE Festival. FRINGE artists and participants will no doubt add to the vitality and creativity that makes our city unique. I wish them the utmost success and longevity. Sincerely, Pittsburgh City Councilman Daniel Gilman
Supported by a Seed Award from The Sprout Fund
Pittsburgh Fringe, LLC 2052 Termon Ave Pittsburgh, PA 15212
On the front cover (from top left: [Best Imitation]-No Name Players; The Accordion Monologues-Stephen Pelligrino; I am Woman-The Murphy/Smith Dance Collective; 40 Minute Divorce-Cup-a-Jo Productions; A Well Balanced Madness-The Mad Muse; [Best Imitation]- No Name Players; Ferdinand!-Tasty Monster Productions
Pittsburgh Fringe 2014