Pauline Adamek
Next time can the theme be ‘Bikini Beach Party’?!
It was an enthusiastic if overheated crowd that packed the house to the rafters at Fringe Central last night to witness the exciting conclusion of the 2013 Hollywood Fringe Festival. This year’s award winners were dubbed ‘Freaks’ in various categories at the annual Award Ceremony and Closing Night Party. Over 600 people attended the event, and seemed cheery despite the sweltering heat inside the venue. MC for the night, Jon Armstrong (director of the marvelous magic show DAVID & LEEMAN: How to Convincingly Fake Honesty) was probably wishing he hadn’t worn a three-piece suit…
The Freak Awards are community-voted by Fringe participants and attendees.
Winners list:
Fringe Freaks (Community-Voted Awards):
- Top of the Fringe: Absolutely Filthy
- Fringe First (World Premiere): Me Rich You Learn
- The International Award: Take Me To The Poorhouse
- Best in Cabaret & Variety: The Devil and Billy Markham
- Best in Comedy: Absolutely Filthy
- Best in Dance & Physical Theatre: Me Rich You Learn
- Best in Ensemble Theatre: White Hot
- Best in Musicals & Operas: Exorcistic: The Rock Musical Parody Experiment
- Best in Solo Performance: (no static at all)
LAFPI Venue Award (for venues who hosted 50% or more productions by female playwrights): Actor’s Company, Art of Acting Studio, Celebration Theatre. Photo By Jesse Herwitz.
Sponsored Awards:
- The Vagrancy Duende Award: Michael Kass from Ceremony
- DOMA Theatre Company Award for Best Musical: The Pokemusical
- Orgasmico Theatre Company Awards: Best Production: Butt Kapinski, Best Performer: Michal Sinnott from White Hot, Best Writer/Composer: Blake Abramovitz from Double Bind
- LAFPI Venue Award (for venues who hosted 50% or more productions by female playwrights): Actor’s Company, Art of Acting Studio, Celebration Theatre
- A Working Theatre Design Awards: Best Lighting: Ric Zimmerman from White Hot, Best Costumes: Lea McGowan from Now Leasing, Best Props/Set: Meghan McCarthy from Me Rich You Learn, Sound: Fugitive Kind Theatre of The Fire Room
- Four Clowns, Lost Moon Radio & Big Guns Tobacco Virgin Award: Fancy! A Southern Gothic Camp Parable
- Theatre Unleashed Award: It’s Important to Leave as Well (Feed Your Fringe)
- Bitter Lemons Outrageous Award for Theatre (BLOAT): The Devil and Billy Markham
- Trailer Park Award (for Best Video Trailer): White Hot
- Ezra Buzzington’s Spirit of Fringe Awards: Best Performance (Male): Brendan Hunt from Absolutely Filthy, Best Performance (Female): Leslie Murphy from Ryan is Lost, Best Writing: Nathan Wellman from Ryan is Lost, Best Show: The Devil and Billy Markham
Brendan Hunt from Absolutely Filthy. Photo by Jesse Herwitz.
Shows selected for extension, Combined Artform’s Best of Fringe Extensions:
- [Title of Show], 25 Plays Per Hour, Baby, Bobbywood, Butt Kapinski, Ceremony, Daddy Didn’t Die Did he?, DAVID & LEEMAN: How to Convincingly Fake Honesty, Define Dif-fer-ent, Delilah Dix: American Showgirl, Dick & Jayne Get a Life, Double Bind, Fancy! A Southern Gothic Camp Parable, Fathers at a Game, Frank & Ava, Gracie & Rose, Hersheme, Kill A Better Mousetrap, King Phycus, Listen Can you hear me now?, Marshall’s Law, Meant to Be, More Bigger Masses, No Static At All, Philosophy in the Boudoir, Pokemusical, Rodeo Town, Ryan is Lost, Sewer Rats at Sea, Sunny Afternoon, Take Me to the Poorhouse, The Baby, The Devil and Billy Markham, The Interview, The Real Housekeepers of Studio City, The Spolin Players, The Third Date, True Hustle, Unmoderated, Wet the Hippo, White Hot and Jesus Ride.
Additional performances for The Third Date are Friday, July 19 and Thursday, July 25, at 8 p.m.
Check the Fringe official site for dates and times of all extended Fringe shows.
The Sillies:
- The Intern Award: Emilie Pass, Rebekah York, Ariana Howell, Amber Avant, Sammy Evans & Victoria Steger
- The Wrench (most valuable tech player): Matt Richter and Rebecca Schoenberg
- The Sweet Sweet Neil Award (the sweetest fringer in the fringiverse): Benny Lumpkins
- The Ivo (most talented youngster at the Fringe): Meghan McCauley
- The Evil Kenevil (for the best stunt): Wet the Hippo (Runner Up: Theatre Unleashed)
- The Bar Rat (most omnipresent at the bar): Jacquetta Szathmari
- The Sasafrass (sassiest staff member): Liz Steele & Abbie Wagoner
- The FOMO (fringer who never misses out on the action): Kan Mattoo
- The Tweet Master/Mistress (most active on the twitters): Theatre Unleashed & The Real Housekeepers of Studio City
Click here to see a full list of award winners.
The fourth annual Fringe, which was a full week longer than previous years, was a huge success according to festival organizers, with record-breaking online ticket sales and attendance. Official numbers and year-to-year comparisons will be released in the coming weeks after settlement is complete.
Reporting by Pauline Adamek & Jesse Herwitz.
All photos by Jesse Herwitz.
ARTSBEATLA THEATER REVIEWS HIT LIST:
DAVID & LEEMAN: How to Convincingly Fake Honesty
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The Real Housekeepers of Studio City
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Lost Moon Radio presents “Roger Wodehouse’s Androgymnasium”
ABOUT THE HOLLYWOOD FRINGE:
The Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual, open-access, community-derived event celebrating freedom of expression and collaboration in the performing arts community. Each June during the Hollywood Fringe, the arts infiltrates the Hollywood neighborhood: Fully equipped theaters, parks, clubs, churches, restaurants and other unexpected places host hundreds of productions by local, national, and international arts companies and independent performers.
Participation in the Hollywood Fringe is completely open and uncensored. This free-for-all approach underlines the festival’s mission to be a platform for artists without the barrier of a curative body. By opening the gates to anyone with a vision, the festival is able to exhibit the most diverse and cutting-edge points-of-view the world has to offer. Additionally, by creating an environment where artists must self-produce their work, the Fringe motivates its participants to cultivate a spirit of entrepreneurialism in the arts.
It’s not too early to create a project for the 2014 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Click here for full registration info. Inquiring parties can also contact the festival at support@hollywoodfringe.org.
Those seeking more information can contact the festival or by visiting their website here.
For updated information throughout the year, follow @hollywoodfringe on Twitter, or become a fan of their facebook page.
