Sydney Fringe Festival EOY Report

Scattergun After The Death Of Rūaumoko, Touring Hub, Seymour Centre, Photographer: Clare Hawley

2022 marked the thirteenth edition of the Sydney Fringe Festival and the ninth under the current CEO/Festival Director Kerri Glasscock. It was the first full scale, in-person event since the 2019 festival, after the 2020 and 2021 festivals were canceled due to the impacts of the Covid 19 pandemic and subsequent stay at home orders. With additional one-off investment secured from the NSW Government via their CBD Revitalisation program and from the Australian Government via the RISE fund, the organisation delivered a return event with increased scale and impact comparable to 2019 figures.

This year’s festival hosted 525 events in over 84 venues plus digital offerings, providing Sydney audiences with over 3618 sessions of theatre, cabaret, live art making, exhibitions, workshops, talks, live music, comedy, concerts, parties, activations and more. Engagement by artists was slightly lower than 2019 levels due to the impacts of the pandemic and current business environment with, 2181 participating. This is due to a trend by industry to move to smaller cast sizes and more solo work during imposed lock down periods. Artists were supported by the festival via waived registration fees and reduced/subsidised venue hire, removing as much financial risk as possible to participate.

Our curated and headline program returned with an expanded Touring Hub program at the Seymour Centre that presented award-winning interstate and international productions, plus new public events and programs made possible via corporate partnerships. Our export program Made in Sydney, that was launched in 2020, was presented live for the first time, supporting three award winning locally made productions. Key venue partnerships enabled new, expanded festival hubs, the Cabaret Club at Castlereagh Hotel and the Comedy Club at Barracks on Barracks. The Runaway Gardens

Spiegeltent that was piloted with an out of season run in February/March 2022 as part of the NSW Government’s CBD Revitalisation program, returned with a headline program of international touring artists through August/ September.

Young artists were again supported in our Emerging Artist Hub, and we continued our partnership with The Rocks precinct in the heart of the city to provide space for site specific work and activated pop-up spaces alongside a free program of events as part of the Sydney Fringe Sideshow.

We continued our focus to remove barriers and increase participation by more artists from priority areas. We launched our Access Hub with the LIMITLESS micro-festival providing a fully subsidized and supported performance and exhibition space for artists with disability and from the d/Deaf community. The program was exceptionally well-received with many of the productions given award nominations. We continued our commitment to First Nations artists by increasing to two First Nations staff members on the year round team: the existing Co-Ordinator and the new role of First Nations Producer, to provide support to First Nations participating artists and undertake further community consultation.

Our audiences returned, with ticketed attendance increasing by more than 100% (compared with 2019 numbers) to 61,029, and total attendance to the festival reaching 76,429. Audiences were united in their intentions, with 40% of audiences attending Sydney Fringe to have unique experiences or to see something they otherwise would not see, further solidifying Sydney Fringe’s place in the event calendar as a leading presenter of new work and unique experiences.

The festival’s handcrafted approach of a tailored program continued with increased attention and care given to the needs of artists, venues and partners. By working closely with all parties, we ensured that artists were programmed in appropriate venues and given every possible opportunity to create the types of work they wanted to the largest audiences possible, while maintaining a safe level of financial risk, imperative in a post-pandemic recovery environment. This handcrafted model provides the Sydney Fringe Festival with a distinct point of difference that is now recognized globally.

Our global relationships were strengthened via our award partnerships with Brighton Fringe (UK), San Diego International Fringe (USA) and NZ Fringe, and new to 2022, Hollywood Fringe (USA). More artists were given the ability to tour their work nationally via the continued award partnerships with Melbourne Fringe and Fringe World (WA) and a new partnership with the Anywhere Festival (QLD). Visitation/participation by artists from outside of Sydney increased to 14.2% demonstrating the increased brand and reputational reach of Sydney Fringe Festival on the touring circuit.

We continued to develop our Global Fringe program of digital works, increasing its reach this year via a new partnership with C Arts in the UK, that saw 50 works direct from Edinburgh Fringe made available digitally to Sydney Fringe audiences during the festival and throughout October. 10 of these works were also presented on the big screen as part of Sydney Fringe Sideshow in the Global Fringe Cinema program.

The Sydney Fringe continued to find new ways for Sydney’s producers to carve out sustainable careers, continuing our detailed year-round Producer Workshop Series to upskill local producers, and partnering with Creative

Business Plus to deliver a series of significant in-festival workshops for participating artists/producers.

The organisation continued to champion access in all forms with 64 free to public events that attracted 15,400 attendees and 276 free sessions available at visual arts exhibitions. For the first time the festival trialed an entire program of Pay What You Want events as part of the Sydney Fringe Sideshow. Enabling people to see incredible award winning performances for as little as $5.

The local artistic community, audiences, key government and corporate sponsors have once again embraced the Sydney Fringe Festival with partnerships, attendance, engagement and participation reaching its highest levels to date. The unique model the Sydney Fringe Festival continues to develop is placing this project at the forefront of sector sustainability and development on a global platform.

We worked with Hawkridge Entertainment Services to undertake a detailed assessment of the festival and our independent sector, calculating not only the economic impact of the project but the social and cultural value. This report will be launched in February 2023.

OUTSIDE OF THE FESTIVAL

We continued to raise our advocacy voice and profile as a regular media commentator on the issues facing our sector and supported our government partners as a trusted advisor, working closely to support the sector during recovery and to create additional employment opportunities.

We wrapped up our FRINGE HQ Newtown project, that had activated affordable open access space for the local sector at 5 Eliza Street Newtown since March 2021, presenting live music and theatre during January-March 2022. We partnered with the Inner West Council and relocated to Marrickville Town Hall, where we have commenced the planning phase to convert the venue into a live music and multicultural arts hub.

We worked with private and public sector partners to drive the recovery of the CBD through our Runaway Gardens Spiegeltent project, that was presented in Feb/March and again during the festival. These two projects provided an additional $1.73million in employment for artists and arts workers outside of our usual festival activity, engaging 366 people.

We formed a service partnership with Sydney World Pride (SWP) and Mardi Gras to provide the back-end services for Pride Amplified, SWP’s open access program.

Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett , The Spielgeltent, The Rocks

Photographer: Belinda Rolland

Kerri Glasscock, Program Launch

Photographer David Li

MESSAGE FROM THE FESTIVAL DIRECTOR & CEO

In 2019 we celebrated a decade of Sydney Fringe. Ten years of local stories by local artists. The following year was set to be our most impactful and ambitious yet. The year that our small arts organisation would see the fruits of our labor: all the blood, sweat and tears the community had contributed in building what started out as a small, grassroots event and became the largest independent arts festival in NSW, acknowledged and rewarded. We were optimistic to be entering the next phase of our growth. Of course, we all know what happened next. Two years have passed, and we have just wrapped our first full scale festival back.

Sydney Fringe was following the well-worn path of most small to medium sized cultural organisations in Australia. We were running on sweat equity, working overtime to get noticed, build brand awareness, and create structures that would last on nominal resources while trapped in a vicious cycle of event delivery and living hand to mouth. The pandemic forced our organisation to hit pause, assess our worth and value, and provided the time to reflect strategically on what our next steps would be. It has been traumatic and painful, but we have emerged a stronger company, and have been able to imbed new practices, establish new partnerships and take advantage of once-in-alifetime opportunity to demonstrate the vision we have for Sydney Fringe to be an iconic and impactful event of Sydney.

As the world moves to new priorities and business models post-pandemic, the need to build legacy and ensure that the city is firing on all cylinders all year round is imperative. If we want a vibrant offering year-round, then we need to safeguard our local sector. Sydney Fringe exists to put the independent cultural sector at the heart of Sydney. We want to ensure that Sydney becomes a must visit destination because of our local artists.

We are proud that we are able to give these artists, of whom 85% are NSW residents, a platform to present new work to new audiences. This year we increased box office revenue to open access artists by 22% compared to 2019 figures. More income to artists and more audiences seeing their work that can only be a good thing.

It is significant that our first festival back returned to the same participation levels of pre-pandemic years, but exceeded audience and impact levels. The Sydney Fringe is important to our sector AND our audiences. It was missed, and its return has been embraced. Now we have the responsibility to ensure that the festival thrives through the next stage of recovery.

Our new partnership with the NSW Government (via the 24Hr Economy Office and Placemaking NSW) and Zaccaria Concerts provided commercial employment to over 366 artists, arts/events workers via our Runaway Gardens and Side Show programs. This project has demonstrated Sydney Fringe’s ability to deliver high quality, high capacity and high impact events, and paves a way for new programming streams and opportunities in the future.

There is still a long way to go as our sector and city recovers from the impacts of the pandemic, but we are optimistic for what the future holds, and are looking forward to next year, where we will build on the remarkable successes of 2022.

Kerri Glasscock Festival Director & CEO Sydney Fringe

VENUES

This year Sydney Fringe continued to develop its internationally unique approach of matching all Fringe events to venues. The Fringe team worked with artists to ensure they achieved greater audience numbers and a greater chance of success, by matching their event to the right venue. The matching process ensures that venue operators are satisfied with the Fringe program in their venue, and that the existing identity of the venue is maintained, which is vital in Sydney that has a sensitive and tenuous venue landscape.

Two new major partnerships in the heart of the CBD, the Castlereagh Boutique Hotel and Barracks on Barrack provided additional performance space for 30 productions.

In 2022, a total of 84 venues from across Greater Sydney were used to deliver the four main programs of the Sydney Fringe Festival: Partnership Events, Curated/Open Access Events, Sydney Fringe Comedy, and Visual Art.

Of these 84 venues, 11 were new venues that had expressed interest in partnering with the festival, with 9 becoming Festival Hubs for 2022. These included the Seymour Centre’s Everest Theatre, Reginald Theatre, and Sound Lounge, 107 Redfern’s Gallery and Performance Space, the ARA Darling Quarter Theatre, Newtown High School of Performing Art’s St George’s Hall and The Studio Theatre, the HiWay Bar, and the Woollahra Library. Additionally, in partnership with Parramatta City Council and Riverside Theatres, Sydney Fringe delivered a two-week “Sydney Fringe in Parramatta” program in the Lennox Theatre for the first time, which enabled us to have a stronger engagement with Western Sydney audiences.

The largest challenge currently facing the Sydney Fringe Festival and the independent sector in Sydney, remains the lack of appropriate and affordable small–medium sized culturally focused venues. Which has been impacted further by a number of closures through the pandemic period. However, the 2020 NSW Government Liquor Bill reforms have paved the way for exempt development for low-risk arts and cultural activity in retail spaces. Sydney Fringe has campaigned for this change for close to a decade and is looking forward to driving the demonstration of this use in the future, as shown in 2022 by the Side Show program that activated 6 venues in empty retail space.

Yummy, Darlinghurst Theatre Company

Photographer: Clare Hawley

PARTNERSHIPS & ACTIVATIONS

2022 saw the return of all our key corporate partners, with several new partnerships established. These partnerships resulted in a consolidated footprint of co-presented activations, public events and festival hubs.

Fringeville 

For one night only, Fringeville took over Hurstville Plaza to give the fine folk of South Western Sydney a feast of Fringe. Supported by Georges River Council for a second year, Fringeville provided a free comedy bus programmed by A Laugh and A Half, and a full evening of roaming street performances presented by Culture Beat Collective, plus ticketed performances in the Hurstville Entertainment Centre across the weekend.

Made in Sydney 

Our long-term partner Young Henrys sponsored several activations this year. The first was our tour ready program of exceptional Sydney-made works. Three productions were supported NOT TODAY, INTRODUCING AUNTY JUDE and ROUGH TRADE, via development funding and subsidised seasons in our Touring Hub at Seymour Centre.

Babylon 

Our long-term partner Kensington Street supported the second edition of Babylon. For one night Chippendale’s Kensington Street was transformed into a nighttime oasis filled with performances, live music, and installations by some of Sydney’s brightest independent artists. A vespertine plot in the heart of the city with exotic creatures from another world, Babylon saw us dancing and dining on the street in true Fringe fashion. The event attracted 5000 people.

Titanic: The Movie, The Play 

With support from the Australian Maritime Museum, the company that presented Speed: The Movie, The Play in 2019 returned for a new blockbuster immersive/interactive theatrical experience Titanic: The Movie, the Play. ‘Audiences strapped on their life jackets (metaphorically) and boarded this comedic homage to the most epic romance of the 90s.

Fringe Kids Day



Supported by Darling Quarter, we presented a massive day of fun for the under 12’s to kick off the start of the September school holidays and our Fringe Kids program in the ARA Darling Quarter Theatre. With circus, parkour, workshops and loads of activities, the event was free to the public and hosted by the incredible Monica Trapaga (Play School).

Acoustic Ritual 

Building on the success of the digital concert series presented during lock down in 2021, George Place returned as long-term partner of the Fringe, to support a series of acoustic morning concerts held in their majestic foyer space. These free concerts were open to the public and were live streamed to reach digital audiences. The program featured: Elizabeth Fader, Declan Kelly & Daniel Pliner, Emily Granger & Andrew Blanch and Emma Stephenson.

Fringe Ignite 

In partnership with PMNSW our annual opening event FRINGE IGNITE took to the streets of The Rocks precinct. With a focus on emerging talent, the free public event featured 22 acts across 7 stages. Traversing through alleyways and in secret coves, bars and restaurants.

Smidmore Sessions 

A returning partner for 2022, Marrickville Metro supported the presentation of four free public events within their dining precinct. Funday-Friday was a free outdoor family friendly movie night, alfresco style. Best Served Loud, in partnership with Young Henry’s, ran on Saturday serving the best of the inner west live music featuring Lady King, Baby Beef and The Next of Kin, finished off with Smidmore Comedy: Presented in partnership with Factory Theatre, residents laughed the night away to comics including Cameron James, Sam Bowden, and more. The fun finished on Sunday with a Fringe showcase stage alongside a market day.

Emerging Artist Share House 

In its ninth year, the Emerging Artist Share House at Erskineville Town Hall burst back to life after a two-year hiatus. Supported by NIDA and the City of Sydney, the Share House provided 4 affordable performance spaces in a range of sizes first time producers/ artists and those in the first five years of their creative careers, to use. The fourweek program featured a diverse range of productions from one person shows such as Cherry and Theoretica to large ensemble works like Horseplay and The Tale of the Great Emu War. This year the Share House presented work by 39 companies.

World Square  World Square was a significant partner in 2022, enabling three key projects to be created.

Installation: Visitors were greeted by eye-catching Live in Colour artwork from the It’s Beautiful And Useful Studio. This enormous inflatable artwork, commissioned and created especially for the World Square site, was installed in August and exhibited throughout the festival.

Cultural Concierge: A vacant shopfront was taken over by a host of Fringe characters, who set up a pop-up box office and engaged daily with visitors to the centre.

Pop-up art gallery: A second empty site was transformed into a pop-up art gallery. Curated by Sydney Fringe Visual Arts Coordinator Fiona Henderson and featuring the work of: Harry Aizenberg, Melinda Hunt, Declan Moore, Belinda Yee, Sean Crowley, Rachel Windress, Inara Kent, and Dervis Pavlovic.

Artwork featured: Corinne Batt Rawden, Lismore

Barracks Comedy Club 

Returning from 2019 City Tattersalls supported Fringe via a venue take-over of their Barracks on Barrack club. The festival utilized the space across 30 days as a pop-up Comedy Club, and 58 comedy performances were presented. The Castlereagh Club was also activated as part of this partnership with a LATE NIGHT WEIRDOS program that saw burlesque and circus performers hosting free to public performances on Thursday evenings.

Cabaret Hub 

The Sydney Fringe Cabaret Club, new to 2022 and made possible with support from the historic Castlereagh Boutique Hotel, Sydney Fringe created a cabaret club right in the heart of the city. The club took over the Castlereagh Lounge and featured 14 productions and hosted 60 performances across the 30-day activation.

Sydney Fringe at Parramatta 

Supported by the Parramatta City Council and Riverside Theatres, Sydney Fringe presented a best of the Fringe program across two weeks in Parramatta.

The program featured DATE NIGHT COMEDY SHOWCASE, MUSICAL CHAIRS: A CABARET SERIES, INTRODUCING AUNTY JUDE, ROUGH TRADE, NOT TODAY and an exclusive season of new dance/musical work SUI GENERIS.

Youth Hub 

Youth Hub In partnership with Newtown High School of the Performing Arts, two venues within the campus, St George’s Hall and The Studio, were activated by Sydney Fringe to present a week-long program of work that was PG friendly and appropriate for audience aged 12-18 years old.

Fringe Kids Week 

Fringe Kids Week With in-kind support via a new presenting partnership with Monkey Baa Theatre Company, the SFF delivered the Fringe Kids program as six one-hour productions at the ARA Darling Quarter Theatre in Darling Harbour between the 24th and the 30th of September 2022.

My House Your House 

Presented in partnership with Box of Birds and the Australian Maritime Museum, with additional funding support from City of Sydney, Create NSW and Australia Council for the Arts. My House Your House was a transglobal dance party with performers performing live in Sydney and simultaneously in Mexico with live streams taking place between the two. The event was utilized as the official closing party of the festival.

Other (inc. Greater NSW, Wollongong, Newcastle, Central Coast) 9.5% 9.4% 9.4%

Enmore • Newtown • Marrickville • Dulwich Hill 10.7% 8.5% 11.6%

Mosman • Neutral Bay • Manly • The Beaches 9% 8.0% 9.4%

Western Suburbs 9% 6.6% 5.4%

Ashfield • Strathfield • Concord • Surrounds 1.07% 5.6% 3.9%

Darlinghurst • Paddington 3.6% 4.7% 3.9%

North Shore 5.2% 4.7% 5.7%

South Sydney 3.8% 4.5% 5.3%

Western Suburbs 9% - -

Bondi • Bronte • Woollhara • Surrounds 3% 4.2% 4.6%

Rozelle • Leichhardt • Lilyfield • Balmain 0.7% 4.1% 3.8%

Alexandria • Waterloo • Zetland • Botany • Mascot • Surrounds 1.2% 3.3% 3.8%

Stanmore • Lewisham • Petersham • Camperdown 3.5% 3.3% 3.4%

Interstate 2% 3.2% 2.4%

Ryde • Epping • Thornleigh • Hunter’s Hill • Surrounds 1% 3.0% 2.3%

Sydney CBD 8% 3.0% 1.6% Coogee • Maroubra • Surrounds 1% 2.8% 2.7%

Randwick • Kingsford • Kensington • Surrounds 3% 2.7% 2.9%

Glebe • Annandale • Forest Lodge • Surrounds 1.8% 2.5% 2.8%

North West Sydney 3% 2.2% 2.5%

Elizabeth Bay • Potts Point • Woolloomooloo • Surrounds 1% 2.0% 1.3%

Surry Hills • Redfern 2% 1.7% 1.7%

Erskineville 2% 1.6% 2.7%

Edgecliff • Double Bay • Rose Bay • Surrounds 3% 1.5% 1.1%

St Peters • Tempe • Sydenham • Surrounds 2% 1.3% 2.0%

Chippendale • Darlington 0% 0.9% 1.8%

International 0% 0.9% 0.7%

Broadway • Ultimo • Pyrmont 0% 0.8% 1.1%

Babylon Kensington Street

Photographer: David Li

Garry Starr Performs Everything, Touring Hub, Seymour Centre

Photographer: Clare Hawley

2022 PROGRAMMING OVERVIEW

In 2022, the Sydney Fringe emerged from a two-year COVID-induced lockdown and reduced festival delivery mode to produce its biggest face-to-face and online festival yet. As the year commenced, the Sydney Fringe Festival (SFF) Programming team was focused on galvanising the independent artistic community across Greater Sydney to register their shows and reigniting relationships with existing venues for the 2022 festival as well as brokering new partnerships with venues who were yet to work with SFF.

These actions resulted in 65 of 204 cancelled 2021 shows (32%) and 36 of 58 venues (62%), re-registering for the 2022 festival.

Correspondingly, 2181 artists participated in the 2022 festival, with 1390 involved in the Curated /Open Access program, 234 in Sydney Fringe Comedy, 189 in Runaway Gardens (The Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent and Sideshow), 147 in Partnership events, 92 in Key events (Fringe Ignite, Acoustic Ritual, Closing: My House/Your House), 60 in the Visual Arts program and 59 in digital Global Fringe program.

551 (25%) of these artists were Emerging (within the first 5 years of their experience), 452 (21%) were Mid-Career (between 5-10 years’ experience) 1178, (54%) were Established (10 years or more experience).

1839 of these artists originated from Sydney, with 32 from Regional NSW, 29 from Queensland, 7 from the Australian Capital Territory, 63 from Victoria, 14 from South Australia, 27 from Western Australia, 5 from the Northern Territory and 49 internationally.

Yummy,

Darlinghurst Theatre Company

Photographer: Clare Hawley

Cake, The Emerging Artists Sharehouse

Photographer: Clare Hawley

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT

NIDA PRE-FESTIVAL MASTERCLASS SERIES

Sponsored by NIDA, the SFF Programming team delivered five pre-festival masterclasses between the 9th May and 1st August 2022, presented as 2-hour online seminars with key information around topics relevant to independent artists and producers participating in the SFF as follows:

1. FUND IT: Fundraising & Budgeting Monday 9 May, 6.00pm-8.00pm

2. SELL IT: Marketing, Publicity & Social Media Monday 30 May, 6.00pm-8.00pm

3. MAKE IT: Direction, Design, Lighting, Sound and Production on a Shoestring Monday 4 July, 6.00pm-8.00pm

4. SHARE IT: Making Your Work Accessible and Inclusive Monday 11 July, 6.00pm-8.00pm

5. GROW IT: Developing a Rewarding & Fulfilling Practice in the Independent Sector Monday 1 August, 6.00pm-8.00pm

The series was delivered by SFF staff members Peta Downes (Programs Producer), Sarah Findlay (Marketing & Communications Manager) and Madeleine Stewart (Access & Inclusion Coordinator), and featured industry expert speakers Bob Cousins (Course Leader, Design for Performance), Graham Henstock (Course Leader, Technical Theatre and Stage Management), Julia Phillips (Disability Programs Inclusion Officer, Inner West Council) and Monica Davidson (Director/Doyenne, Creative Plus Business).

Each masterclass was delivered via Zoom in a live seminar to 2022 pre-registered SFF Artists

and recorded for later viewing on the SFF Vimeo platform for those artists who were not able to attend.

The series was promoted to the SFF 2022 Artists group database (322 members) via the SFF 2022 Artists Facebook private group page, Eventbrite marketing and was featured in the bi-monthly SFF Artists e-news.

Total Attendance at Pre-Festival Masterclasses: 197 artists/producers

Masterclass #1 FUND IT: Fundraising & Budgeting

Description: Budgets might seem boring, but knowing you’ve got the dollars whipped gives you the freedom to let your imagination run wild when you’re creating. The creative management of a budget, and hunting for money in unexpected places, can itself be rewarding, and sometimes even result in unexpected ideas and innovations that feed back into the creative process. For beginners and experienced producers, the FUND IT Masterclass will guide beginners through a production budget template to discuss major budget lines and throw in hot tips on reducing your costs and optimising your revenue streams.

Key Ideas: EXPENSES, REVENUE, CONTINGENCY, ARTIST FEES, TAX AND LEGAL OBLIGATIONS, RECORD KEEPING, SPONSORSHIP, GRANTS, PHILANTHROPY, FUNDING STRATEGY, CROWD-FUNDING

Speaker: Peta Downes (Programs Producer) Registrations/Attendees: 60

Masterclass #2

SELL IT: Marketing, Publicity & Social Media

Description: If a great show plays in an empty venue and no-one is around to see it, did it even happen? There’s no point having a great show without an audience! In the SELL IT Masterclass, we will talk all things marketing, from developing a marketing plan and strong marketing collateral, to selling your event to the media and creating effective publicity kits, as well as generating audiences through a range of strategies. We also looked at the mind-boggling world of social media - with most arts audiences online, you need to know where to post, how to post and what will get you the right attention, and it’s rarely just a question of great content (although that helps!)

Key Ideas: MARKETING STRATEGY, ADVERTISING, IMAGERY, COLLATERAL, PUBLICITY, PRESS RELEASE, REVIEWS, EDITORIAL, RADIO, SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS, MEDIA, ‘STORIES’, MOVING IMAGE, FACEBOOK, TWITTER, INSTAGRAM, WEBSITE, BLOGS, LOCAL SEO.

Speakers: Sarah Findlay (Sydney Fringe Marketing & Communications Manager) and Peta Downes (Programs Producer) Registrations/attendees: 73

Masterclass #3

MAKE IT: Direction, Design, Lighting, Sound and Production on a Shoestring

Description: How do you create bold and exciting work on limited budgets and in popup, low infrastructure, or immersive spaces?

The MAKE IT Masterclass is presented by Sydney Fringe Programs Producer Peta Downes and NIDA’s Bob Cousins (Course Leader, Design for Performance) and Graham Henstock (Course Leader, Technical Theatre

and Stage Management), who are all expert teachers in direction, design, sound, lighting, and production. Learn some trade secrets, be inspired by some out-of-the-box ideas, and embrace bare-bones and low-fi performance.

Key Ideas: BARE-BONES PERFORMANCE, LIGHTING DESIGN, SET DESIGN, SOUND DESIGN, EQUIPMENT FOR LOW-FI SPACES, IMMERSIVE PERFORMANCE, SITE-SPECIFIC PERFORMANCE, DIRECTING IN UNUSUAL SPACES, TRAVERSE PERFORMANCE, IN THE ROUND PERFORMANCE.

Speakers: Bob Cousins (Course Leader, Design for Performance), Peta Downes (Programs Producer, Sydney Fringe) and Graham Henstock (Course Leader, Technical Theatre and Stage Management) Registrations/Attendees: 33

Masterclass #4 SHARE IT: Making Your Work Accessible and Inclusive

Description: Learn how to increase accessibility and inclusivity in your practice and at your event. We’ll share skills and ideas to ensure that your practice and events are as accessible and inclusive as possible, including how to work with venues around physical access, providing signed or captioned, audio described and relaxed performances, disability representation and access in created development spaces, and inclusivity initiatives for marginalised groups and economically disadvantaged audiences.

The SHARE IT Masterclass is presented by Sydney Fringe Access Coordinator Madeleine Stewart in conversation with Julia Philips, Disability Programs Inclusion Officer for the Inner West Council.

Key Ideas: THE SOCIAL MODEL OF

DISABILITY, PHYSICAL ACCESS, AUSLAN INTERPRETATION, OPEN AND CLOSED CAPTIONING, AUDIO DESCRIPTION, RELAXED PERFORMANCES, ECONOMIC DISADVANTAGE, SOCIAL EXCLUSION, INCLUSIVE EVENTS, SAFE SPACES, TRIGGER WARNINGS, INCLUSIVITY FOR ADDICTION AFFECTED COMMUNITIES, INCLUSIVITY FOR TRANS & GENDER DIVERSE PEOPLE

Speakers: Julia Phillips (Disability Programs Inclusion Officer, Inner West Council) and Madeleine Stewart (Access Coordinator, Sydney Fringe)

Registrations/attendees: 18

Masterclass #5

GROW IT: Developing a Rewarding & Fulfilling Practice in the Independent Sector

Making art in the independent sector can be a struggle, and often feels like a never-ending race from one opening night to the next, through too many bowls of ramen and too little time and money. How can artists play an effective long-game, and ensure that their practice is sustainable, enjoyable, and remains creative? This masterclass will share insights into how to plan projects that really fulfil you, how to match your project to the resources available, how to diversify income streams and leverage your skills to meet targets, and how to make the most of unique opportunities. The GROW IT Masterclass is presented by Monica Davidson - Director of Creative Plus Business in conversation with Sydney Fringe Programs Producer Peta Downes.

Key Ideas: SUSTAINABLE PRACTICE, MATCHING FORM TO FUNCTION, EMBRACING ALTERNATIVE SPACES AND CREATIVE MODELS, WORKING WITH FESTIVALS, VENUES AND PARTNERS TO GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR WORK, DISCOVERING YOUR

CREATIVE AIMS

Speakers: Monica Davidson (Director/ Doyenne, Creative Plus Business), Peta Downes (Programs Producer, Sydney Fringe) Registrations/attendees: 13

IN-FESTIVAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

Thanks to the sponsorship of Creative Plus Business, we continued to provide professional development opportunities to all artists with FringeLab: a series of four in-festival networking and development events on Monday nights during September. The series was delivered by Director of Creative Plus Business, Monica Davidson and General Manager Wendi Lanham.

FRINGELAB: IN-FESTIVAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT WORKSHOPS

We continued to provide knowledge and networking opportunities to artists during SFF 2022 with FringeLab, a series of four 2-hour seminars, which were held every Monday night at 6.00pm during September at the Marrickville Town Hall.

1. FringeLab Workshop #1: I Hate Networking! Monday 5 September, 6.00pm-8.00pm

2. FringeLab Workshop #2: Social Media for Creatives: Monday 12 September, 6.00pm8.00pm

3. FringeLab Workshop #3: Funding Fundamentals: Monday 19 September, 6.00pm-8.00pm

4. FringeLab Workshop #4: Diversify Your Creative Income: Monday 26 September, 6.00pm-8.00pm

The series was developed and delivered by Monica Davidson (Director/Doyenne, Creative Plus Business) and Wendi Lanham (General Manager, Creative Plus Business), Each masterclass was delivered face to face in a live workshop environment to pre-registered artists from the SFF 2022 Artist group, SFF Artist Alumni and any interested artists from the public.

The series was promoted to the SFF 2022 Artists group database (322 members) via the SFF 2022 Artists Facebook private group page and was featured in the bi-monthly SFF Artists e-news as well as the SFF website.

Courtesy of Creative Plus Business, all participants who attended a face-to-face workshop received:

• Lifetime access to a dedicated Dropbox folder jam packed with resources

• Access to additional free webinars to supplement the material covered in the workshop

• The possibility of further one-to-one business advice, mentoring and support from one of our creative industries business specialist advisors.

Total Attendance at In-Festival Workshops: 55 artists/producers

FringeLab Workshop #1 I HATE NETWORKING

Description: I HATE NETWORKING is a surprisingly fun event designed to encourage creative people to get to know each other, while acknowledging the horror, and sharing a few tips at the same time. While it’s a vital skill in the creative industries, many practitioners consider networking to be the stuff of nightmares. I HATE NETWORKING combines education with the opportunity to

practice in a safe and friendly environment, while embracing the discomfort of the whole process and having a laugh. Tips that will be shared include:

• Success is before you start – preparing before the event

• Mastering the art of the introduction

• Overcoming shyness, awkwardness and the urge to run away

• Dealing with wankers and other difficult people

• Getting the all-important follow-up right.

You’ll learn how to network in the first half of the session and practice your skills in the second half.

Speaker: Wendi Lanham (General Manager, Creative Plus Business)

Registrations/attendees: 10

FringeLab Workshop #2 SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CREATIVES

Description: Social media is a complex and challenging marketing tool for a lot of creatives, who find it hard to balance between constantly talking about themselves and ignoring the platforms entirely! SOCIAL MEDIA FOR CREATIVES is a friendly and up-to-date workshop that covers the basics of how to kickstart marketing using social media, with a focus on the main tools at your disposal and the strategy behind the socials. Participants will also find out more about:

• Understanding your Brand across the different social media channels

• Finding and building your ‘tribe;’

• Choosing the right platform to engage with clients, customers, fan, friends and more

• Tips and tricks on staying up to date in an ever-changing social media world.

Resources and templates will also be provided

to create a social media marketing action plan.

Speaker: Monica Davidson (Director/Doyenne, Creative Plus Business)

Registrations/attendees: 15

FringeLab Workshop #3 FUNDING FUNDAMENTALS

Description: Grants, funding, awards, tenders and scholarships are often held up as the holy grail of a successful arts career, but this revenue stream also takes hard work and patience. After all, there’s no such thing as ‘free money’. FUNDING FUNDAMENTALS showcases the basics of preparation, application, and acquittal for any kind of funding, as well as getting organised for future applications. In this down-to-earth workshop, participants will learn more about:

• The different kinds of funding available

• Creating a Funding Folder and Deadline Calendar

• Researching funding and considering applications

• Writing the Proposal – and avoiding the common errors

• Getting the money right, with budgeting and income

• The Acquittal Process – and how to recover from setbacks

• The five main ways to ‘fail’ at funding.

Resources, examples and templates will also be provided for a variety of funding applications.

Speaker: Monica Davidson (Director/Doyenne, Creative Plus Business)

Registrations/attendees: 10

FringeLab Workshop #4 DIVERSIFY YOUR CREATIVE INCOME

Description: Creatives are good at lots of different things, and with a little brainstorming and guidance those talents can be turned into revenue. Becoming less reliant on government funding can also open up abundant creative and commercial opportunities for savvy creatives and arts organisations that think outside of the ‘grant box’. DIVERSIFY YOUR CREATIVE INCOME is an interactive workshop that allows the various ways that creatives can make money (including services, goods, and passive income), and includes practical exercises to help brainstorm those ideas.

The workshop examines in detail:

• Identifying Core and Complementary Skills

• Understanding and crafting a Minimum Viable Offering

• Using a Skills Audit to inspire ideas

• The ‘Cheat Sheet; of ideas that previous creatives have used to generate revenue

• The testing process and how to identify a ‘good’ idea.

Speaker: Wendi Lanham (General Manager, Creative Plus Business)

Registrations/attendees: 10

APAX

In 2022 a partnership with the annual conference and arts market APAX saw a delegation of national presenters attend a number of Sydney Fringe productions. The arts market ran from the 5th-9th September and was hosted at NIDA.

Sydney Fringe also hosted a panel discussion as part of the conference giving emerging touring producers an insight into what is required to get their work on the road. The panel was convened by Peta Downes (Programs Producer, Sydney Fringe) and included Kerri Glasscock (CEO, Sydney Fringe), Andrew Threlfall (Director, CDP Productions) and Patrick Howard (Program Manager, Arts on Tour).

ARTIST PASSES

More artists than ever used their Artist Pass to see shows across the festival for free, enabling Fringe artists to exponentially grow their knowledge of the arts landscape and ecology around them. 921 passes were distributed in 2022.

Demon Derriere 2022 Ambassador and Dan Graham DIAP Member, Sydney Fringe: Program Launch

Photographer: David Li

ARTIST TESTIMONIALS

HELEN HOPCROFT Mad Bitches

Sydney Fringe is a fierce advocate for artists, particularly those working independently and without access to big production and marketing budgets. Sydney Fringe should be commended for providing opportunities for artists and performers to grow and learn, and for supporting them through the challenge of the festival itself. The team behind the scenes are passionate, inspiring people it is a pleasure to know.”

LAURA ZARB The Soul Express

Sydney Fringe is so far the most artist friendly festival that we have come across. We were offered assistance with the venue at no charge, and they were very accommodating with our dates/ sessions as well. The venues were all setup as per our needs and there was even Av technicians present at no charge to us. It does not really get much better. They even offered to crop our image at one point. The team really goes out of the way to help artists.”

NATALIE BOCHENSKI

Titanic: The Movie, The Play

‘‘ ‘‘ ‘‘

What I love about participating Sydney Fringe is that I feel like I’m a part of something bigger than just myself. It’s a whole month of community and art and bringing people together. Bringing audiences and performers together yes, but also creating a space for artists to connect with each other and build networks. So many of us create our work sitting in our rooms or in our own separate little bubbles. Since covid, it’s been harder than ever to find opportunities to be with our fellow artists in public spaces. Sydney Fringe has created a fantastic space where we can remember that we’re not alone in our creativity, and in fact, reminds us how vibrant and fun the world can be when our uniqueness is shared and celebrated.”

CHETAN SINGH Racist Immigrants

Putting on a successful show as an independent artist in this city is daunting. The Sydney Fringe makes it feel achievable. They provide the support, the access and the community that empowers us to create with courage.”

LUKE ESCOMBE The Vegetable Plot

Open access festivals such as Sydney Fringe are a vital part of the creative ecosystem. They give artists the opportunity to test new work in a financially low risk and supportive environment. While there is work to be done in terms of making Festivals more inclusive for artists and audiences, Sydney Fringe has done remarkable work on educating theatre makers on ways to create better experiences for everyone.”

CONTINUING CAREER DEVELOPMENT

MADE IN SYDNEY

For the third year, SFF supported unique performance works to co-produce with leading Sydney artists as part of our Made in Sydney contemporary performance program.

These three works were selected from twenty expressions of interest submitted by Sydneybased producers and companies. Supported by Young Henrys, each work was given subsidised venue hire and technical support, a stipend grant towards remount costs, and was featured as a headline event in the SFF 2022 marketing campaign. The program ran from Tuesday 5th to Saturday 17th September and each show was presented in a one-week season at the Seymour Centre’s Reginald Theatre alongside the Touring Hub productions.

The shows were also supported with a short second run/season at Parramatta Riverside Theatres.

Introducing Aunty Jude by Alison Bennett (Hurrah Hurrah) 

Introducing Aunty Jude is a raucous, funny and touching show. It dives into the experience of aging as a woman with physical theatre, comedy, and everything you need in your life right now. Not to be missed.

Not Today by Ally Morgan (Rogue Projects) 

Not Today is a hilariously heart-warming musical journey through the mind of an anxious millennial on a mission to save the world is not one to be missed.

Rough Trade by Katie Pollock (Joy Minter Productions) 

Rough Trade is a hilarious one-woman monologue based on true stories from a Sydney Facebook group, where folk trade everything from life tips to sex toys.

AWARDS/TOURING PROGRAM

Sydney Fringe continues to build strong connections both across Australia and the globe to provide Sydney Fringe artists with supported touring pathways to ensure that their work has a life beyond the festival (see Awards section of the report for further information).

SYDNEY FRINGE SIDESHOW

This new initiative provided Sydney Fringe with the ability to commission new work and pay professional fees for a curated program of works. This is a vital career pathway for independent artists who are working their way through the touring circuit and increasing their capacity and ability to take their work beyond their home town. (See Sydney Fringe Sideshow section for further information).

The Rocks precinct

Photographer:

How to make the perfect____

Clare Hawley SYDNEY FRINGE

Box of Birds & Lux Boreal (Tijuana Mexico) - My House Your House

Photographer: Scott Rennie

MAJOR PERFORMING ARTS COMMISSIONS

WORLD SQUARE

The wearables worn by our 2022 Fringe Faces this year were created by Matthew Aberline and Maurice Goldberg from The Beautiful and Useful Studio. Additionally they created a large-scale inflatable commission LIVING COLOUR that was installed in World Square on the Corner of George and Liverpool Streets in the CBD.

BOX OF BIRDS & LUX BOREAL (TIJUANA MEXICO) - MY HOUSE YOUR HOUSE

Sydney Fringe provided delivery budget and venue support for the creation of this new international collaboration. A live mixed transglobal dance party that happened in Sydney and Mexico simultaniously. Featuring some of Sydney’s best underground electronic musicians, live exchanges with dancers in both Sydney and Mexico, interactive audio-visual installations, and aerial performance artists.

The Beautiful And Useful Studio World Square

Photographer: David Li

This year the Sydney Fringe Festival was again supported by mainstream and independent media outlets alike. With strong branding to support a strong publicity campaign, 2022 saw the marketing and publicity of the festival reach its widest audience yet. This was assisted by the partnership with Runaway Gardens which contributed to a greatly increased overall marketing budget.

FESTIVAL PROGRAM

OPEN ACCESS

The open access platform remains at the centre of Sydney Fringe’s identity - removing curatorial barriers (in a city evermore dominated by them) and creating opportunities for all arts practitioners to present their work at the festival. The Sydney Fringe Festival remains one of the only platforms annually that enables artists to secure a season for their work, in appropriate and most importantly affordable venues. In Sydney, it is also the highest profile independent arts event available to take part in.

While the festival continues to provide supportive spaces for emerging artists and first-time performers, we increasingly create space in hubs and work with partners across the arts and corporate sectors to encourage professional artists to test out new work, take a risk, and collaborate on new projects. These efforts mean that the Fringe’s program continues to diversify in terms of style and content, and attracts new artists each year.

Like our previous festivals, Open Access events were matched and divided into Fringe Managed Hubs and Non-Managed venues or Fringe Partner venues. There were 9 Fringe Managed Hubs with a total of 16 venues which housed 114 events and 480 sessions. Correspondingly, there were 44 Fringe Partner venues which housed another 253 events and 896 sessions.

‘‘ ‘‘

Thank you for believing in me. My favourite email said ‘we believe in you’, when I was worried about doing 5 nights. And I thought, ‘well if they believe in me, then I believe in me’. For this artist who needed support and encouragement - I got it. I never felt like I didn’t fit.”

ANITA LOVELL 110% Average

The support I received from Fringe with my show was above and beyond and I felt really connected. I also felt like Sydney Fringe has opened doors for me that were closed off. I can’t wait to continue creating art and evolving my practice”

SARAH CARROLL Cherry

My experience with the Sydney Fringe was extremely rewarding and educational, and I’m a better artist and creative because of it. I had underestimated the financial impact of putting on an independent show, but Fringe were extremely helpful with recommending funding resources and avenues. Once my season had finished, I thoroughly enjoyed getting about the Fringe and seeing what it had to offer, and the culture at the Cabaret Club was wonderful.”

TEALE HOWIE

Who’s the Man?

‘‘

CURATED PROGRAM

Our curated program continues to grow and transform. In 2022, in addition to scouring the country and the globe for standout, groundbreaking productions from other Fringe festivals, our Festival Director curated a series of major events and commissions from all corners of the Sydney arts sector.

The curated program continues to enhance press interest in the festival and increasingly draws the attention of Sydney’s most committed independent-arts audiences. It also provides local and emerging artists an opportunity to experience the work of their contemporaries from further afield, and network with the mid-career and leading artists of their local industry. 2022 saw more partners brought into direct relationships with artists in this program to support their work with space, time and money.

Six Women Standing in Front of a White Wall (ACT) The Unravelling (VIC) Dizney in Drag (WA)

Local Performances: Titanic: The Movie, The Play Runaway Gardens Program Sydney Fringe Sideshow Program Limitless Yummy My House Your House

Free Event & Parties: Fringe Ignite World Square Gallery Smidmore Sessions Acoustic Ritual Indie Yarns Fringeville

2022 Curated program:

Touring Hub: Alone (NZ – SYNZ Tour Ready Award Winner 2020)

Anna Piper Scott: Such an Inspiration (VIC) Garry Starr Performs Everything (VIC) Scattergun: After the Death of Rūaumoko (NZ – SYNZ Tour Ready Award Winner 2022) Split Lip (WA – SFF/Fringe World Tour Ready Award Winner 2020)

Deep and Meaningful (NZ - SYNZ Tour Ready Award Winner 2021)

I Am King, I Am Queen 2.0 (QLD – SFF/ Anywhere Festival Tour Ready Award Winner 2021)

Paul Ah Chee: A Life Travelled in 6 Decades (NT)

Poles: The Science of Magnetic Attraction (QLD)

Fringe Kids Day YCK Front and Centre Living Colour

RUNAWAY GARDENS AND SYDNEY FRINGE SIDESHOW

SYDNEY FRINGE SIDESHOW

The Sydney Fringe SIDESHOW brought together leading independent artists in collaboration, performances and site specific activations, bringing life to the historic Rocks Precinct. 6-8 Atherden Street was taken over and activated with a pop-up theatre, gallery, cinema and piano bar, while 73 George Street was activated as a multi-media participatory venue and The Rocks Square was utilised for free public events. Within these six spaces 104 performances were presented to 1025 visitors.

Dolly Parton Dance Party  Brunchersize 

Lolas Piano Bar 

Chatterbox Live Podcast 

Tortuga Gallery Pop-up 

Global Fringe Cinema 

White Rabbit Red Rabbit 

Still Haven’t Found What I’m Cooking For 

RUNAWAY GARDENS

Runaway Gardens was established in First Fleet Park in The Rocks right on the harbour. The Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent was installed and the RUNAWAY GARDENS were developed with food and beverage offerings. Direct from London’s West End Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett headlined the tent to a sold out crowd and attracted multiple 5 star reviews. With a supporting program of live music and comedy also presented.

Bernie Dieter’s Club Kabarett  Best of Akmal 

Arj Barker 

Best of the Festival Comedy Superstars 

Multicultural Comedy Gala 

Daryl Braithwaite 

Diesel 

Jimeoin LIVE 

Lawrence Mooney 

Jack Ladder 

Renee Geyer 

Richard Clapton 

Ross Wilson 

Kate Ceberano 

Odette 

The Black Sorrows 

Poof Doof 

Festival Club Night 

Merrick Watts 

Yummy, Darlinghurst Theatre Company

Photographer: Clare Hawley

FREE EVENTS

15,400 People attended free events across the festival. In a post-pandemic recovery world this year the festival focused more on smaller capacity activations.

FRINGE IGNITE

In partnership with PMNSW our annual opening event Fringe Ignite took to the streets of the Rocks Precinct. With a focus on emerging talent, the free to public event featured 22 acts across 7 stages.

BABYLON

In partnership with Kensington Street our street party enveloped the streets pedestrianised precinct to become a wildly expressive event transforming the street into a land of decadance. This free to public event featured 20 artists across 4 stages.

SMIDMORE SESSIONS

A returning partner for 2022 Marrickville Metro supported the presentation of three key free public events within their dining precinct.

Funday Friday- A family friendly focused evening with the presentation of a free outdoor movie Saturday- Best Served Loud- Presented in partnership with Young Henrys a curation of the best of the inner west with live music all afternoon featuring Lady King, Baby Beef and The Next of Kin Outdoor Comedy- Presented in partnership with the Factory Theatre, visitors were able to sink in to some of the best local comedians presenting sets. Sunday- A jam packed day of markets and a Sydney Fringe showcase stage.

FRINGEVILLE

For one night only Fringeville took over Hurstville plaza to give the fine folk of south west Sydney a feast of Fringe. Supported by Georges River Council for a second year. Fringeville provided a free comedy bus programmed by Laugh and A Half, a full evening of roaming street performance presented by Culture Beat Collective plus ticketed performances in the Hurstville Entertainment Centre across the weekend.

DOLLY PARTON DANCE PARTY

As part of the free-to-the-public sessions in Sydney Fringe Sideshow at The Rocks, the precinct saw the interactive fringe show Dolly Parton Dance Party presented in Rocks Square. We gave audiences the chance to dance with sparkly self-expression! For nearly 60 years, Dolly has been singin’ her heart out, urging us to be the brightest, gaudiest, truest version of ourselves. We celebrated and tapped into some of her unabashed self-expression, by getting as sparkly as we could and dancing like crazy.

BRUNCHERSIZE

For two free session the Rocks Square was taken over in this family friendly morning exercise class. Brunchercize is the dance you do in the brunch hour, the dance you do before you brunch! You boogied and joined us for some dance-play in the open air courtyard.

We welcomed friends, family, strangers and artists to express themselves at Brunchercize and explore the 80s theme. Brunchercize’s purpose was to help you find the joy in dance get your blood pumping and feel connected through dance. Brunchercize journeyed down the dance history super highway and paused at a moment in time for one hour of dance power. We danced to Ladies of the 80s, 70s Disco, Proud Mary Go-Go, and 90s Boy Bands.

TORTUGA GALLERY

Long-time collaborator Tortuga Studios presented an exhibition of artworks within the Sideshow Hub in the Rocks. Flecked with glitter, pleated in pleather, sequinned and stylish, Queer Beasts hold power and pride in their hearts.

FRINGE KIDS DAY

Supported by Darling Quarter we presented a massive day of fun for the under 12’s to kick off the start of September school holidays and our Fringe Kids program. With circus, parqour, workshops and loads of activities. The event was free to the public and hosted by the incredible Monica Trapaga (Play School).

ACOUSTIC RITUAL

Building on the success of the digital concert series presented during lock down in 2021, George Place returned as long-term partners of Fringe to support a series of acoustic morning concerts held in the majestic foyer space of George Place. These concerts were open to the public for free and also live streamed to reach digital audiences. The program featured:

Elizabeth Fader Declan Kelly & Daniel Pliner Emily Granger & Andrew Blanc

64 EVENTS

WERE FREE ADMISSION 276

TOTAL

SESSIONS

AVAILABLE AT NO COST

Fringe Ignite, The Rocks,

Photographer: Clare Hawley

SECTOR SUSTAINABILITY

The Sydney Fringe Festival encourages local artists, audiences and visitors to re-engage with their local community, highlighting and amplifying existing cultural pockets within the city. The Sydney Fringe showcases small-medium sized established venues, encourages patronage to neighboring cultural and ancillary businesses, activates unused and public spaces, and utilizes existing infrastructure and facilities to create an organic event that has grown from the ground up and sits firmly within the local community. This festival has been created by Sydney’s big thinkers, creative entrepreneurs and the next generation of culture makers.

A strong focus of the Sydney Fringe is to develop a broader understanding of and contribute to a sustainable sector for the independent artists of Sydney. This is more important than ever in a post-pandemic context.

In 2022 The Sydney Fringe has contributed to the following:

Member of the NSW Government’s 24 Hour Economy Sector Advisory Group

Member of the City of Sydney’s Nightlife and Cultural Sector Advisory Committee

Member of the Inner West Council Steering Committee- Marrickville Town Hall

Member of the Federal Government’s National Cultural Policy Advisory Panel- Strong Institutions

Member of NSW Government’s Create NSW Festival Artform Board

The organisation has also seen results in long-term advocacy that we have undertaken with exempt development for low risk arts and cultural venues being introduced from May 2023 as a State variation to the National Construction Code of Australia. The Sydney Fringe has been a leading voice in this space since 2015.

We commenced work with the Inner West Council to activate the Marrickville Town Hall to achieve Council’s commitment to transform the underutilized building into a live music and multicultural arts venue.

I am King, I am Queen2.0, Touring Hub, Seymour Centre

Photographer: Clare Hawley

ACCESSIBILITY & INCLUSION

2022 saw a great improvement in inclusion and access throughout all areas of Sydney Fringe. We are mid-way through our Disability and Inclusion Action Plan (DIAP) for 2021-23, led by our Access Coordinator Madeleine Stewart and our Disability and Inclusion Advisory Committee who have welcomed 2 additional members in 2022. The 2022 Festival was the first physical implementing of the DIAP and all major goals were achieved on schedule.

LIMITLESS

2022 saw the opening of Sydney Fringe Festival’s first accessible hub: Limitless. A two-week micro festival within the broader festival based at 107 Redfern that celebrates and supports D/deaf and Disabled artists and audience alike.

The Limitless program included 8 performances showcasing diverse performers and styles in the 100 seat theatre, and in the gallery space; 5 visual artists of varying styles.

Providing physical accessibility, a sensory chill space, Audio described gallery tour, Auslan interpretation, Captioning, and relaxed performances. Social events like The Opening Night Party and the Visual artist Q&A provided networking opportunity for our artists. We received overwhelmingly positive feedback from both audience, producers and performers.

Limitless Program: Bus Stop Films: Inclusively Curated Crips and Creeps Lines of Best Fit The Shift 300 Paintings in Lockdown Before Breakfast Rainbow Religion Visual Artists Q&A Audio Described Gallery Tour

Visual artists: Digby Webster Michelle Teear Angie Goto Eav Brennan Sam Kissajukian

Bus Stop Films: Inclusively Curated  Crips and Creeps 

Digby Webster 

Eav Brennan 

Sam Kissajukian 

Michelle Teear 

Angie Goto 

WORK BY OR ABOUT D/DEAF AND DISABLED ARTISTS

2022 saw an increase of shows being developed with themes surrounding Disability with 30 productions being presented in the festival program. Furthermore, according to the Artists survey 176 artists with disability were involved in the festival.

Notably, Limitless was a full program showcasing works produced, crafted or performed by people who are d/Deaf, chronically ill or with disability.

All shows applicable for awards were nominated, with 4 Limitless shows shortlisted by judges for multiple ‘best in’ category awards and touring awards. With artist, Sam Kissajukian (300 Paintings in Lockdown) winning Best Comedy and the Festival Director’s award. This clearly indicates that artists experiencing Deafness, Disability or Chronic Illness are creating extremely valuable work with a high level of excellence.

ACCESS FOR ARTISTS/ PRODUCERS

This year our Access Coordinator with guidance from the Disability and Inclusion Advisory Panel created a ‘Producers Guide to Access’. A handbook advising Producers on how to improve their performances accessibility, professional etiquette when booking access services, a language guide and more. It was released online in mutiple accessible formats.

Additionally, a free online masterclass around access was held. Hosted by Access Coordinator Madeleine Stewart and Disability Programs Inclusion Officer for the Inner West Council; Julia Phillips.

VENUE ACCESSIBILITY

44 out of 84 venues were wheelchair accessible. 2022 achieved 54% accessible venues, compared to 45% in 2021 and 15% in 2019 our last full sized festival. This year saw a broader collection of venue information around physical accessibility through venue audits, enabling us to update our venue checklist for site visits. 2022 also saw the introduction of “Sensory chill space.”

TRAINING

Our core team continue to develop their skills and understanding of access and inclusion. This year the Festival Manager completed the ‘Events and Festivals’ training, and the Marketing Manager completed ‘Marketing Communications training’ provided by Accessible Arts. Volunteers and venue staff/managers were also briefed in access information and disability confidence.

ACCESS FOR AUDIENCE

Sydney Fringe produced works and activations focused on inclusion, providing support through venue accessibility and access language provisions. Independent producers received information packs and support from the Access Coordinator.

In the 2022 Festival, 74 events employed access provisions for live in-person events, and 1965 via the digital program Global Fringe.

Festival-wide, Access provisions included: Relaxed performances, Auslan Interpretation, Captioned events, Audio description and Tactile tours. This year we included Sensory spaces at 2 Festival Hubs and implemented Auslan interpreted and relaxed performances at ARA Darling Quarter, Marking Fringe’s first accessible children’s events.

The organisation continues to make access a priority with access services now imbedded in the annual organisational budget. In 2023, we will look to increase the level of support provided by securing additional funding for our access programs.

PLATFORM ACCESSIBILITY

2022 saw improved visual representation of people with disability across all forms of marketing. Social media posts included image descriptions and alt text.

Information was presented in a range of formats including filming of information for the d/Deaf community in Auslan. Universal access symbols were used whilst marketing accessible events on the website and in the printed guide. Additionally Access symbols were distributed to producers employing access. Box Office included access information with tickets.

ARTIST FEEDBACK

LIMITLESS, was a great experience all around for the Before Breakfast Team. Our Q&A format after the performance on Opera/ Performing Arts and ACCESS has been a great vehicle to consolidate questions around representation, especially with Deaf/ Artist with Disability. It was also a revelation for some audience members, how there is still a long way to having equity in the industry. The Tactile Tour, the Braille Synopsis added to the importance of inclusion. Our Team had so much fun working on this project. We also want to thank Curator/ coordinator in Madeleine Stewart, who was always in direct contact with us from the onset to bump out.”-

BEFORE BREAKFAST

This venue & initiative (Limitless) is fantastic, and is something that other festivals could learn from. Fringe festivals shouldn’t just be about bringing marginalised art forms & shows into the spotlight, but should also be about bringing marginalised performers, audiences and communities into the spotlights. I shall be singing the praises of Limitless to other festivals as I travel, and I hope Sydney Fringe sees the potential for Limitless to be a jewel in its crown.”

ANNA PIPER SCOTT

‘‘

The access was fantastic. Every member of the company was satisfied and felt they were in a safe and supportive environment.”

THE SHIFT

‘‘

‘‘

Crips and Creeps Limitless, Photographer: Alan Fang

COMPLIMENTARY TICKETS

Sydney Fringe continued to ensure that many members of the community had access to the festival. This year 8018 complimentary tickets were utilized, an increase of 60% comparable to 2019 figures.

ARTIST

Now fully established the Artist Pass Program saw over 921 artist passes collected and utilized by fringe artists in 2022 with all festival venues honoring the pass. This enabled all artists to access the entire festival program free of charge. This contributed to an increased word of mouth footprint for the productions, and provided vital avenues for information exchange and artist networking. The Artist Pass program provided over $23,025 in tickets free of charge to participating artists in 2022. (This is based on artists seeing only one production each but we know anecdotally they see many more. In 2023, the organisation will utilize a digital pass so that attendance can be tracked).

Bjorn Stewart & Sandy Greenwood, Indie Yarns Redfern Community Centre

Photographer: Clare Hawley

FIRST NATIONS

Continuing the foundational work started in 2021, this year saw Sydney Fringe increase its organisational cultural competency and provide critical support for artists engaging with matters of cultural safety. The First Nations Advisory Panel (FNAP) established in 2021, and our Elder Consultant Aunty Bronwyn Spearim continued to guide the organisation and support the First Nations Coordinator, and the First Nations Producer (a new role for 2022).

First Nations Coordinator Erica Brennan continued in her previous years’ role working closely with the Programming team to support First Nations Artists participating in the festivals Open Access program and identify content that posed potential risks to cultural safety. In collaboration with the FNAP, Erika was able to provide support and advice to non-First Nations Artists to seek the correct permissions for the inclusion of First Nations content in their work, and resolve disputes when complaints regarding poor cultural safety were made. This was a level of support we would not have previously been able to offer and is a wonderful step forward for the organisation. All parties involved expressed their satisfaction with how the issues had been managed.

In May of 2022 we welcomed our First Nations Producer Britanie Shipway, who begun developing First Nations Audiences and Artists participation strategy for the 2022 festival. Through Brittanie’s work we were able to make important inroads into community with initial conversations with key organisations and local council First Nation representatives. We also tested ‘Mob Tix’; a discounted ticket price for First Nations Audience members to attend any Sydney Fringe show in 2022 and handed out First Nations Festival Passes for indigenous makers/artists to see works in the festival for free. Both of these initiatives will be refined

and expanded upon in 2023. Brittanie also curated and hosted ‘Indie Yarns’, an in-festival Q & A at the Redfern Community Centre with First Nations Independent theatre makers to share their experiences creating work in a festival context.

In July the FNAP hosted our first ‘Afternoon Yarn’ session. An informal meeting between members of the FNAP and Sydney Fringe core staff to ask questions and raise awareness regarding issues of cultural safety and protocol withing the Fringe office and its September Festival. This ‘Afternoon Yarn’ session was extremely successful and will be a core focus of FNAP in 2023 with a bimonthly ‘Afternoon Yarn’ event for all staff and board members to attend to continue to ask questions and increase cultural competency. The FNAP also assisted in the creation of a Welcome to Country recording by Aunty Yvonne Simms that was played at all relevant Sydney Fringe 2022 events as well as advising on the hiring process of the First Nations Producer.

We look forward to continuing our relationship with the FNAP and budling on the programs and events put in place in 2022 with a focus on increased community engagement and connection. We are committed to ensuring a strong foundation of communication, understanding and respect between Sydney fringe and First Nations audiences and artists, allowing this relationship to guide our future activities.

Sydney Fringe First Nations Coordinator

INDIE YARNS PANELLISTS 2023

Bjorn Stewart (Filmmaker, Creator, Screen Actor)

Sandy Greenwood (Writer, Producer, Performer)

Angeline Penrith (Theatre and Screen Actor)

Jodie Choolburra-Welsh (Brolga Dance Academy Founder).

Erica Brennan

Split Lip, Touring Hub, Seymour Centre, Photographer: Clare Hawley

PRESENCE

Sydney Fringe Festival continues to strengthen relationships with colleagues across Australia. In 2022 our Festival Director/CEO attended:

Adelaide Fringe

Melbourne Fringe

A GLOBAL PRESENCE

2022 saw the Sydney Fringe Festival continue to gain the attention of colleagues across the globe.

Adelaide

Festival Sydney Festival

We welcomed representatives from Adelaide Fringe, and Melbourne Fringe to the festival this year.

With our Tour Ready partner Melbourne Fringe, we are continuing to build a vital East Coast tour network, with both festivals presenting a number of shared touring works to subsidize touring costs to the artists, and ensuring that visiting artists can sustainably present work at both festivals.

In 2022, our partnership with APAX continued, with our CEO Kerri Glasscock hosting the performing arts market across the week and raising the festival’s profile nationally. We provided complimentary industry tickets to welcome delegates from the conference to Fringe performances, ensuring that many local works were seen by presenters from across the country.

International touring award partnerships were continued with Brighton Fringe (UK) and San Diego International Fringe (USA), and a new partnership was established with Hollywood Fringe, deepening the connection to the USA market.

These touring partnerships are vital to enable Australian artists to sustainably tour their work internationally and for their work to have life beyond the Sydney Fringe.

The new partnership formed with C Arts in the UK enabled greater connection to high quality tour ready works direct from Edinburgh Fringe. While this year the partnership was limited to digital presentations, the organisations are discussing the possibility to establish a direct from Edinburgh Fringe touring program that would see C Arts bring work from their UK seasons direct to Sydney Fringe.

Our CEO headed to the World Fringe Congress in Orlando Florida promoting the work undertaken by Sydney Fringe to our international colleagues.

ECONOMIC IMPACT

Of the 76,429 people who attended ticketed and free events at this year’s festival 78% of surveyed audiences visited local businesses, restaurants or bars before or after attending an event. As with previous years this indicates that the impact of spending generated by the Fringe goes well beyond the purchase of a ticket, contributing an economic impact of $22.7 million in 2022, $2,303,345.86 of which were fees paid directly to artists.

Economic impact assessed independently by Hawkridge Entertainment Services.

PILOTING BIG IDEAS

Each year outside of festival time the Sydney Fringe champions our sector through groundbreaking private/public sector partnerships to activate space for the creative industries of Sydney. This work is leading the way in the intelligent discussion now being had around the City’s need for cultural space and the broader issues facing the night-time economy. We are incredibly proud to be a part of a global conversation and a local leader in building a vibrant, diverse and world renowned city.

Sydney Fringe’s reputation as a leading expert in the open access/non-curated space was acknowledged in 2022 via a partnership with Sydney World Pride (SWP) and Mardi Gras. Which saw, the Sydney Fringe team provide all the back-end systems and support for their open access program Pride Amplified. This project has enabled the organisation to maintain short-term roles year-round and pilot a business model of outsourcing resources to other organisations that may be able to be monetized as a commercial revenue stream into the future.

• 2022: Commenced working with the Inner West Council to activate the historic Marrickville Town Hall as a live music and multi-cultural arts hub.

• 2022: In partnership with the Inner West Council, hosted the Inner West Arts Summit, bringing together over 120 representatives from the local sector to discuss post-covid recovery.

• 2022: Confirmation that a NSW State variation to the National Construction code to enable low risk arts and cultural space will be enacted in NSW from May 2023. This was identified in Anthology of Space and championed by Sydney Fringe since 2015.

• 2021-2022: FRINGE HQ continued in a new location at 5 Eliza Street Newtown March 2021- March 2022.

• 2020: NSW Liquor Bill Reforms saw the successful removal of over 500 pieces of outdated regulation that prohibited cultural activity. Much of which had been identified in our Anthology of Space work, and championed by The Sydney Fringe.

• 2019: FRINGE HQ, a new project in partnership with Greencliff, The City of Sydney and the State Government enabled us to investigate viable business models of opening subsidized non-curated space in Sydney, through a building takeover in Potts Point. The six month project built a business case for upfront seed funding to enable the cultural sector to open more space in Sydney, and demonstrated the demand. We created a multi-venue, open access independent arts hub in the heart of the city.

• 2017/18: The HPG Festival Hub A groundbreaking private sector partnership with HPG Australia that enabled the Sydney Fringe Festival to activate a 7000m2 vacant industrial site as a temporary performance space.

• 2015: The Temporary Theatre Pop-up Pilot Project in partnership with the City of Sydney

• 2016: The Off Broadway Project in partnership with the Inner West Council

The findings of these projects can be found in: An Anthology of Space: 2015-2018 Activating unused and underutilized space for the creative industries and performing arts sectors of NSW.

Six Women Standing In Front Of A White Wall, Touring Hub, Seymour Centre

Photographer: Clare Hawley

The Sydney Fringe: We champion the independent cultural sector, placing it at the heart of Sydney.

2022 has in many ways been a transformative year for Sydney Fringe. We have been able to access extraordinary support for recovery, and been given opportunities that may not have been possible had the pandemic not happened. This has enabled us to lay a base of strong new partnerships and test out new ideas that will support our vision for the future.

We want the Sydney Fringe Festival to be a flagship event of NSW, supported by the Government, partners and community. We want visitors to head to Sydney to see exceptional homegrown talent. We want Sydney to become a must visit destination because of our artists, venues, producers and experiences, all made right here.

Sydney deserves to be the cultural capital of the Asia Pacific and Sydney Fringe exists to put the independent cultural sector at the heart of Sydney. With over 85% of the work presented at Sydney Fringe produced by NSW based artists, Sydney Fringe is THE place for locals

and visitors alike to get a taste of Sydney. As we look to the future we want to make sure that Sydney’s artists are at the centre of everything the city promotes, produces and delivers.

Sydney Fringe supports and develops the next generation of creative thinkers, community leaders, city builders and participants. A great Global city needs vibrancy, a nimble and robust way of working and an ample supply of talent. No other organisation in Sydney is investing in the next generation in the same way as we are and no other organisation supports the independent sector on a meaningful scale.

The City embraced our thirteenth festival and first one back post pandemic in larger numbers than ever before, our program of events received critical acclaim and we were able to build new larger partnerships that have set the tone for the coming years. We want to build on this success and deepen the festival’s connection to our City to ensure that the legacy of tireless work our community puts into this project annually is returned.

FRINGE CHAMPIONING THE CULTURAL SECTOR, PLACING IT AT THE HEART OF SYDNEY.

AWARDS

Marking the first year back after a two-year COVID suspension of face-to-face performances, the Awards resumed in 2022 to celebrate the diversity and calibre of work presented across this year’s festival.

The 2022 Artist Award winners were judged against a given criteria by a selection of Industry, Alumni, Peer and SFF Staff, who attended various performances throughout the festival season, and chosen by the Festival Director and Programming Team from a shortlist of shows that had been nominated in the above categories. The Artist Awards were held on Thursday 6th October at Fringe HQ (Marrickville Town Hall) to invited guests, which included the SFF Board of Directors, the 2022 SFF artists, the 2022 SFF industry and alumni judging panel, key SFF sponsors (including Inner West Council and NIDA) and SFF staff and volunteers.

BEST IN AWARDS

Best in Theatre

Scattergun After the Death of Rūaumoko (Winner)

Best in Comedy 300 Paintings in Lockdown (Winner)

Best in Immersive & Interactive Six Women Standing in Front of a White Wall (Winner)

Best in Physical Theatre & Circus Garry Starr Performs Everything (Winner)

Best in Musical Theatre & Cabaret Not Today (Winner)

Best in Spoken Word

Scattergun After the Death of Rūaumoko (Winner)

Best in Dance

I Am King, I Am Queen 2.0 (Winner)

Best in Music

The Unravelling (Winner)

Best in Fringe Kids

The Vegetable Plot (Winner)

NIDA EMERGING ARTIST AWARDS

Emerging Actor Sarah Carroll – Cherry (Winner)

Emerging Director Lucy Yabsley – A Thousand Words (Winner)

Emerging Designer Maggie Thomas – A Thousand Words (Winner)

Emerging Producer Jacinda Patty – Tinder Cindy (Winner)

Emerging Writer Caitlin A. Kearney – Theoretica (Winner)

TOURING/REMOUNT AWARDS

Meraki Art Bar Remount Award Murder Village: An Improvised Whodunnit (Winner)

Anywhere Festival (Brisbane) Tour Ready Award

Cherry (Winner)

Brighton Fringe Tour Ready Award

I Am King, I Am Queen 2.0 (Winner)

Hollywood Fringe Tour Ready Award

The Audition Room – Elouise Eftos & The Harry Morrissey Official (Winner)

Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready Award

Scattergun After the Death of Rūaumoko (Winner)

NZ Fringe (SYNZ) Tour Ready Award

I Am King, I Am Queen 2.0 (Winner) Not Today (Winner)

San Diego Tour Ready Award

Basketballman Can Fly (Winner) I Am King, I Am Queen 2.0 (Winner)

FRINGE IGNITE

The Rocks Precinct

Photographer: Clare Hawley

Titanic the Movie the Play

The Maritime Museum

Photographer: Matthew Venable

THE TEAM

Festival Director & CEO

Kerri Glasscock

Business Manager Zoe Davies

Programs Producer Peta Downes

Development Manager Keith Bosler

Partnerships Manager Daria Grove

Marketing and Communications Manager Sarah Findlay

Marketing Coordinator Rebecca Nash

Ticketing Manager Clayton Hamilton

Ticketing Coordinators Caitlin Halmarick and Christopher Wale

First Nations Producer Brittanie Shipway

First Nations Coordinator Erica Brennan

Artist Liason Coordinators Shea Russon and Erica Brennan

Access Coordinator Madeleine Stewart

Festival Manager Kiri Pederson

P roduction Coordinator Rob Studdert

Accounts

Maree Pagano

[Art]iculate: Public Relations Kym Elphinsone Runaway and Sideshow Marketing Original Spin Registration Platform Eventotron

Ticketing Services Red61

Key Creative Photography Billy Zammit

C reative Partner Michael Aberline and Maurice Goldberg Designer Tiera Boogaard Efront Technical Partner dplr

Website Development E-Front

A mbassadors

Demon Derriere Victoria Falconer Curly Fernandez AJ Lamarque Sydney Fringe Board Lelsey Watson (Chair) Maree Taylor (Deputy Chair)

Fiona Lin (Treasurer)

Greg Khoury (Advocacy & Outreach)

Jeremy Moller (Audit and Risk) Louise Fisher Danika Houghton Lesa-Belle Ferhagen Company Secretary Emma Slaytor

First Natio ns Advisory Committee

Bronwyn Spearim (Goomeroi/ Gamilaroi woman)

Aunty Yvonne Simms (Gweagle Bidgigal Elder)

Lily Shearer (Murrawarri/ Ngamba woman)

Collin Lyons (Wiradjuri Elder) Jodie Choolburra (Goomeroi/ Gamilaroi/Murrawarri woman) Alkira Fields (Goomeroi/ Gamilaroi woman)

Disability and Inclusion Advisory Committee Morwenna Collett

Holly Craig Emily Dash Dan Graham Riona Tindal Digby Webster Anthea Williams

Directors Circle Donors

Martha and Robert Waugh Michael and Jo Rose

A Bowen and C Sullivan K Glasscock & C Undy Cheryl Padmanathan

A big thank you to our Festival staff and volunteers who work tirelessly in our venues to help deliver the Festival.

PRESENTING PARTNER EMERGING ARTIST HUB TECH PARTNER

IN-FESTIVAL PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PARTNER

GLOBAL FRINGE PARTNER

AWARD PARTNERS

MEDIA PARTNERS

PRESENTING MEDIA PARTNER

VENUE PARTNERS

Yummy, Darlinghurst Theatre Company

Photographer: Clare Hawley