2021 ARTIST HANDBOOK

DISCLAIMER The information in this guide is correct at date of publication. All Artist resources are updated as new information comes to hand. This document was created by Sydney Fringe and may not be reproduced or copied without prior permission. Full ticketing terms can be found at sydneyfringe.com and represent the most up to date conditions surrounding ticketing and terms.

ARTIST SERVICES SUPPORTED BY

CONTENTS

4VISION AND WELCOME

5MUST READ;

YOUR FRINGE AT A GLANCE

7KEY DATES

8WHAT IS THE

SYDNEY FRINGE?

9WHY BE PART OF SYDNEY FRINGE

IN 2020?

102019

SNAPSHOT

12REGISTRATION

19VENUES

22ARTIST

OPPORTUNITIES

28FESTIVAL

GUIDE

31TICKETING AND

SETTLEMENT

36THE BUSINESS

OF SHOW; PRODUCING YOUR EVENT

46MARKETING

AND PUBLICITY

57THE BUSINESS

SIDE

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What a year it has been. As we geared up to welcome you for 2020 we were fresh off a high of celebrating a decade of Sydney Fringe in 2019. It was our largest festival to date with over 1600 performances by over 2900 artists. We were certain that 2020 was going to be bigger than ever. Of course we all know that last year took a turn and our sector was left scrambling with the need to reimagine, reinterpret and rediscover, and of course just survive.

In many ways the year of reflection has been incredibly beneficial for Sydney Fringe. We quickly moved our focus to supporting artists and venues through the crisis, and tackled some big important projects like initiating our community consultation for the establishment of a dedicated First Nations program, reviewing our Access Plan and convening a fantastic Access Advisory Committee, creating a digital touring network with our international partners that will enable you to tour your work no matter what and build international audiences.

We safeguarded our organisation to ensure that we could be here for you in 2021 stronger than ever, and ready to serve, assist and get things going. We are optimistic for the future and can’t wait until we can welcome you in person to the 2021 Sydney Fringe, because we think our city is going to need its Fringe Festival more than ever before this year. Sydney Fringe is all about hearing Sydney stories by Sydney voices in their originating landscape, and we are sure you have some epic tales to tell this year. Know that we are here for you, we can’t wait to see what you have in store for us and we whole heartedly welcome you to the 2021 Sydney Fringe Festival.

KERRI GLASSCOCK Festival Director / CEO

VISION AND WELCOME

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MUST READ; YOUR FRINGE AT A GLANCE

WHAT? The Sydney Fringe is Your Festival – the community of artists decides on, makes, and produces the shows and events. We are an open access arts festival, which means that anyone can put on a show as part of the festival in September. There is no selection process, you simply need to register your event at: https://sydneyfringe.com/for-artists-venues/for-artists

More details; What is Sydney Fringe – PP 7-9, Registration– PP 10-16 WHO? Open Access also means that The Sydney Fringe does not produce your show – We are here to assist you in finding a venue, we will market the festival generally and manage all ticketing, and we are here to provide you with the advice, support and exposure necessary to make your show a success – however, you need to create, produce, manage, and market your work!

More details; Producing Your Event– PP 30-33

WHERE? Sydney Fringe works with two kinds of venues:

1) Fringe Hub Venues (or ‘Managed Venues’)– existing and temporary spaces managed by Fringe and our partners.

At a Fringe Hub your venue contract is with Fringe, and all venue related conversations are with Fringe or a close partner – such as Legs On the Wall, ACA or PACT.

OR

2) Registered Venues – existing performances spaces run by other managers, such as the New Theatre, Chippen Street Theatre, or Tortuga Studios.

At a Satellite Venue, once we match you up with the right one, your venue hire contract and all venue related conversations are with the external venue manager.

If you already have a venue confirmed you can of course ‘BYO Venue’. Your venue’s manager will need to register as an official Fringe venue and sign up to our Venue Terms and Conditions (A similar process to Event registration, but much simpler!) More details; Venues – PP 17-19

WHEN? Registrations Open on April 1st and close on April 30th. (With EOI’s for limited programmes from March.)

No late registrations will be accepted.

The Fringe Festival itself runs from September 1st to 30th.

See Key dates on the next page! – P6

WHY?

To name just a few reasons: Sydney Fringe has the highest profile of any independent arts event in New South Wales.

In 2019 we reached 39 million pairs of eyes via our PR and marketing campaigns, and almost 70,000 people attended the festival that’s the largest single audience base of any independent arts festival, venue, or event in NSW.

Guaranteed Access to appropriate and affordable performance space.

In 2019 we activated 34 unique spaces not available to artists at any other time of the year, and brokered free or discounted rent with a range of existing performance spaces. Our venue matching process continues to evolve, providing more diverse performance spaces than ever before, with more themed hubs and precincts.

Our Audience are committed to taking a risk and experiencing new work.

45% of our audience say the main reason they come to Sydney Fringe is to see new work, and 43% say their main reason is to have unique experiences. So you know our audience want to go on whatever journey you have to offer!

More details; Why Be Part Of Sydney Fringe? – P8 Artist Opportunities – PP 20-24

EXCITING UPGRADES - A WHOLE NEW SUITE OF DIGITAL TOOLS!

Our festival has grown too complex for some of the digital platforms we’d been using before 2020. We heard your concerns about this and reviewed all of our digital tools during 2020. We built a brand new bespoke website, made specifically for the needs of Sydney Fringe audiences, artists and venues, and we’re moving to a high-powered new ticketing system used by our sister Fringes all around the world.

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HOW?

There’s more on how to budget, market and create your show at the end of this handbook, and Sydney Fringe hosts a series of five masterclasses from May through August, which will see you on your way to producing and presenting a cracker show or event in 2021.

A few tips and tricks and system changes from previous years:

• Remember to include the customer ticketing fee in your advertised price.

• Remember that in 2021 all managed venue Hubs will have mandatory opt-in for the 15% Multi-show Discount deal, so factor this in when setting ticket prices.

• Make sure you budget specifically, bank on no more than 30% capacity, and record the time and resources you’re giving to the project ‘In-Kind’ (i.e. without payment).

• In 2021 the Sydney Fringe will withhold your Box Office settlement until you have completed your post-festival artist survey and Door Sales reporting.

• Remember to embrace everything the Fringe has to offer – from masterclasses to networking events, the chance to see shows for free, awards and future touring possibilities - your Fringe experience can be so much more expansive than your own show!

More details: Registration Fees – P16 ; Budgeting – Pp 34 - 39 ; Marketing PP 40-49

YOUR MAIN POINT OF CONTACT

Artist Services Team

artists@sydneyfringe.com 0402 371 004

5 Eliza Street Newtown 2042

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EOI’S OPEN FOR LIMITED CURATED PROGRAMMES MAR

EOI’S CLOSE FOR LIMITED CURATED PROGRAMS 31 MAR

ARTIST REGISTRATIONS OPEN 3 APR

ARTIST REGISTRATIONS CLOSE 30 APR

MASTERCLASS 1: FUND IT 10 MAY

MANAGED VENUE HIRE AGREEMENTS ISSUED 15 MAY

MANAGED VENUE HIRE FEES DUE 31 MAY

BRANDING LOGO STRIPS AVAILABLE 31 MAY

MASTERCLASS 2: SELL IT 31 MAY

PRINTED GUIDE AND WEBSITE COLLATERAL DUE 13 JUN

MASTERCLASS 3: MAKE IT 21 JUN

MASTERCLASS 4: SHARE IT 12 JUL

PUBLIC LIABILITY AND RISK ASSESSMENTS DUE FOR FRINGE MANAGED VENUES 13 JUL

FEATURE EVENTS LAUNCHED FOR SALE 15 JUL

PROGRAM LAUNCH PARTY 31 JUL

PRINTED GUIDE RELEASED AND TICKETS ON SALE 1 AUG

MASTERCLASS 5: GROW IT 2 AUG

SYDNEY FRINGE BEGINS 1 SEPT

ARTIST DEVELOPMENT ROUNDABLES, MEET & GREETS AND FORUMSSEPT

SYDNEY FRINGE FESTIVAL AWARDS 26 SEPT

KEY DATES

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The Sydney Fringe is an open access arts festival, the largest independent arts festival in NSW. Open Access means that anyone can put on a show as part of the festival in September. There is no selection process and the main festival program is not programmed or curated.

The Sydney Fringe does not produce any shows that register through our system. We are here to provide you with the resources, support and exposure necessary to make your show a success.

The Fringe does produce large scale public events, as well as increasingly commissioning work, providing paid performance opportunities and working with our partners to create vibrant festival hubs, that bring the city to life throughout September.

(Keep you eyes peeled for EOI’s for performance opportunities and commissions!)

We also use our status as NSW’s largest independent arts festival to advocate for the needs of artists in Sydney.

Over the past seven years, under the directorship of Kerri Glasscock, the Sydney Fringe team have enabled new open access spaces for artists year-round, modelled pilot programmes including partnerships with retail, business and government (which keep your costs down), and tirelessly represented the challenges faced by artists to your elected officials.

In 2021 we want to celebrate the resilience, creativity and re-emergence of our artistic community, and remind Sydney of everything that makes our city great.

WHAT IS THE SYDNEY FRINGE?

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YOUR CITY YOUR WAYBe a part of the highest-profile independent arts event in New South Wales and join with us to bring Sydney the most diverse range of creative experience possibilities. OUR AUDIENCES AND ARTISTS LOVE NEW WORK AND NEW EXPERIENCES The Sydney Fringe is a great platform to try out new or experimental work or work in development. Our audiences are open and willing for something a little different so use the Fringe as an opportunity to develop, test and explore your work. NEW ARTISTSThe Sydney Fringe is constantly attracting new artists from a variety of backgrounds, mediums and skills. Use the Sydney Fringe as a great way to increase your network, making new connections with artists and industry professionals.

MULTI ART FORMSThe Fringe is genre fluid and a platform for all artforms. We don’t believe in boxing you in, allowing you to tag your work with a variety of genres as well as giving you access to artists and audiences from the full spectrum of artforms and mediums. We also support specific genres and their needs by creating hubs around specific genres and types of experiences.

OPEN ACCESSThe Sydney Fringe works to remove as many barriers to getting your art out there as possible. We are open access, which means we don’t curate the festival, so if you can put on a show, we’ll put you in the program. NEW AUDIENCESWe have an audience of tens of thousands of Sydneysiders that visit the Fringe every year looking for new work and new experiences. Put your art in front of a whole new audience from all over Sydney.

ACTIVATING SPACEWe are working all year round to find and activate new, under-used and unused space throughout our enormous city. Making sure you have access to anything from small cabaret rooms to giant empty warehouses, matched to your needs – from the traditional to the site specific. BRAND VALUE AND REACHThe Sydney Fringe Festival is growing and audiences know we’re here in September. In 2019 we reached over 39 million people through our PR and marketing campaigns, and almost 70,000 people attended Sydney Fringe. Be part of the noise. CAREER PATHWAYS/DEVELOPMENTUse the Fringe as an opportunity to set goals, push yourself with new deadlines, and get in front of local, interstate and international industry. Every year Fringe directors from around the world visit Sydney in September specifically to see shows in the Sydney Fringe programme. Our growing range of awards bring prestige as well as offering courses, supported touring opportunities, industry mentorships and cold hard cash. WE ARE MORE THAN JUST A FESTIVAL We are committed to year-round advocacy work to grow and strengthen the culture and night life of our city. The more of you we work with and hear from the better we can advocate for your needs - join us as we invest in the cultural life of our vibrant home. NEW PROGRAMSIn 2020 – in the midst of COVID, and unable to safely run a full festival – we returned to our first principals of supporting artists and venues. We created new projects and programs supporting creative community: including residencies, digital global touring, a podcast, a rejuvenated focus on access, and first steps towards a dedicated First Nations Program. These new programs will continue and grow in 2021 and beyond.

WHY BE PART OF SYDNEY FRINGE IN 2021?

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2019 SNAPSHOT

498EVENTS PRESENTED ACROSS

SYDNEY FRINGE IN 2019

1,623INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS

OVER 30 DAYS (32% INCREASE FROM 2018)

34NON-TRADITIONAL SPACES

MADE AVAILABLE BY SYDNEY FRINGE FOR EVENTS

84VENUES HOSTED SYDNEY

FRINGE EVENTS

27,798 TICKETS SOLD TO SYDNEY

FRINGE EVENTS

69,427 PEOPLE ATTENDED A FREE

OR TICKETED SYDNEY FRINGE EVENT

BOX OFFICE INCOME GENERATED ACROSS

THE FRINGE

$503,000 MARKETING REACH

(SET’S OF EYES ON SYDNEY FRINGE MARKETING)

39 MILLION

39.62%

OF AUDIENCE CAPACITY SOLD

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73.89% 57.08%53.10%

SYDNEY PREMIERES WORLD PREMIERES AUSTRALIAN PREMIERES

PERFORMANCE EXPERIENCE OF MAJORITY OF ARTISTS IN EACH EVENT

5-10YEARS

27.7

8%

34.5

7%

10+YEARS

0-5YEARS

37.6

5%

REGISTRATION

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REGISTRATION PROCESS

The Sydney Fringe is an open access event. The process to register and communicate with the festival and the venues happens mostly in a custom built online environment designed specifically by the Sydney Fringe for our artists. We did this to make things as automated and easy for you as possible! You will need to consider your answers carefully as the information you provide in the early stages will inform how we work with you during the venue matching process, and the information you provide in phase 2 will be used to populate your event page when the site goes live to our ticket buying audience.

Our EVENTOTRON portal makes it much easier to connect with other national and international festivals when you’re thinking about taking your show on the road. Most importantly, it’s easy to use.

REGO’S PHASE ONE: STEP 1: CREATE AN ACCOUNT + CREATE AN EVENT Once you have registered with your email address, you will be sent a password to your email. Use that password to login to EVENTOTRON. Once logged in, click + CREATE NEW EVENT.

STEP 2: ENTER PRODUCER AND SHOW DETAILS This is where you tell us about you and your event. We’ve kept the questions as simple as possible and you’ll be guided through the process with progress bars in each section.

You can track your progress in the progress bar at the side.

Once your event exists go to the festivals tab in the top right hand corner, find Sydney Fringe Festival 2020 and click ‘APPLY’.

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STEP 3: ENTER VENUE REQUIREMENTS AND PAY REGISTRATION FEE

The Venue Requirements section is where you provide us with information about what you need in a venue. The Sydney Fringe endeavours to ensure that everyone who wants to put on a show can find a suitable venue. It’s important that your answers to the Venue Requirements questions are accurate and detailed. (In this step you can also let us know if you have already secured a venue. Even if you have, we ask that you still fill out the venue requirements section – it’s helpful for our reporting and advocacy work to know what artists are looking for in a venue!)

When you’ve completed all the required fields the progress sidebar will look like the image to the right. If any of the three sections are not completely grey with a tick, click on the section name to navigate back and fill any missed fields. Once all fields are complete finalise your registration and pay your rego fee by clicking the orange ‘Click To Finalise’ Button. Once you’ve provided all your event and venue needs and paid your participation fee the button will turn green and say ‘Finalised’- your event is officially a part of Sydney Fringe 2020! You can now browse venues in the Venue Finder page to get an idea of where you might like to perform, and even get in touch with venues.

When you’ve paid your registration fee a member of the Fringe team will contact you to discuss venue options.

Please Note: We cannot begin the Venue Matching Process under any circumstances until you have paid your registration fee.

Whether your venue ends up being a Fringe Hub, a registered venue or a venue you found yourself, once your venue has confirmed your event, you can begin phase two.

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REGO’S PHASE TWO: STEP 4: VENUES & SESSIONS By now, you will have discussed your contract and fees with your venue and you may be linked up with them in Eventotron. If not make sure to navigate to the Venues page in the side bar, find your venue and hit “Apply” (see image on previous page). Once your venue has approved your application you can enter in the Sessions (dates and times) that you have agreed on as well as ticket categories and prices.

Once you have a session entered your venue page should look something like this (the more sessions the more rows you’ll have:

There’s more information about how to price your tickets under the ticketing and settlement section of this handbook. STEP 5: FESTIVAL GUIDE & WEBSITE Here, you’ll be able to upload your final copy and imagery for the Festival guide and see a LIVE PREVIEW of exactly how your listing will appear in the guide and online.

Check the ‘approve’ box only when you are completely happy with your entry, and have made sure that the text doesn’t meet or overlap with the genre logo’s. if it does, you’ll need to cut the text down!

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STEP 6: DEMOGRAPHICS & FINISH Once you’ve entered everything required for the festival guide and website we just have a few more questions for you – these are demographics questions which help us with our planning, and to advocate for artists all over the industry year round. Please fill them in detail, or make your best estimate if you’re unsure at the time you complete your rego.

The second phase of registration is only complete when your sidebar looks look like the image to the right.

INTERNATIONAL PERFORMERS

The Sydney Fringe welcomes International Performers. The Registration process is the same as for a local performers, but you will be required to answer a few more questions relating to financials and taxation (For further information refer “Ticketing and Settlements”)

If you are an international performer, you are responsible for ensuring that you have the correct Visa’s to perform in Australia. The Sydney Fringe can offer limited support in the area of Visa’s.

Please contact artists@sydneyfringe.com for further information.

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SEARCHABLE EVENT TYPES

GENRE – CHOOSE UP TO 5: These are your standard art-form genres – We know that many Fringe events are genre-fluid, that’s why we offer you the opportunity to select multiple genre tags. Audiences love this function, so select what feels right – just remember that audiences will be expecting a prominence of that genre in your event.

This year, we continue our focus on accessibility for diverse audiences, and access to diverse stories. You’ll be asked to select if your event includes any of the following access options, or subject matters. Only select content tags if your event has a true focus on issues of particular relevance to those audiences.

ACCESS TAGS STORIES AND CONTENT

Wheelchair Accessible Culturally & Linguistically Diverse People

Auslan Interpreted Performance/s Indigenous Australians

Audio Described Performance/s

People With A Variety of Abilities

Relaxed Performance/s LGBTIQ People

Older People

Younger People

Women’s Issues

Men’s Issues

THEATRE COMEDY

PHYSICAL THEATRE & CIRCUS

MUSIC

POETRY & LITERATURE

VISUAL ARTS & FILM

WORKSHOPS & TALKS

SPECIAL EVENTS/ACTIVATIONS

FRINGE KIDS

DANCE

MUSICAL THEATRE & CABARET

IMMERSIVE

AUDIENCES CAN ALSO SEARCH

BY EVENT NAME, VENUE, VENUE

PRECINCT AND DATE

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In 2021, knowing that the climate is even more challenging for artists than usual, we’ve working to reduce up-front costs to artists as much as possible. Registration fees have been slashed and there is a single registration fee amount for all events – whether you’re doing one performance or thirty!

WHAT DOES MY FEE GET ME? Fringe provides a range of services and benefits to registered shows. Your registration fee includes:

REGISTRATION FEES

GUIDE LISTING • An event listing/tile in the Sydney Fringe

printed guide (40,000 distributed in 2019 throughout metropolitan Sydney and beyond)

SHOW PAGE • A unique show page with ticket buying

click-through on the Fringe Website sydneyfringe.com

VENUE MATCHING • Venue brokering and advice services from

our team of dedicated staff

TICKETING AND BOX OFFICE • Management of all pre-sales provided by

the Sydney Fringe

• Management of ticketing promotions including multi-show deals and rushtix

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT • Free access to four pre-festival Artist

Masterclasses

• Free access to a range of in-festival artist development roundtables, meet and greets and forums.

• Eligibility to be considered for a Fringe Award

• Access to touring networks

FREE ENTRY & DISCOUNTS WITH YOUR ARTIST PASS• Access to see most shows for free (Events

for which the artist passes can’t be used will be published on the Sydney Fringe website in August.)

• Access to discounted advertising through Fringe Sponsors where possible

• food and drinks discounts at a range of Fringe venues

• Discounted / Free access to training and fitness with a range of Fringe partners, including Legs on the Wall

• More goodies to be confirmed.

MEDIA • The festival-wide visibility of 39 million plus

eyes cast over our press and media (media ‘reach’ 2019).

• The potential to be highlighted in Fringe Features and advertising, in media partner publications and online, where possible

• Potential inclusion in ‘what’s on this week’ Social Media promotion

• Potential inclusion in promotion of multi-show deals

Please note: Artists are responsible for all of the presentation, production and marketing costs relating to their events. Your event is not official until payment of the participation fee is received.

All Visual Art 1 – 3 Performances $281 $200Performing Arts Events, 1-3 Sessions $281 $200Performing Arts Events, 4+ Sessions $417 $200

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VENUES

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1. BYO VENUEIf you know what venue (or venues) you want to perform in you can contact them directly and book it in!

In Eventotron you’ll see a list of all the venues who’ve expressed interest in hosting Fringe events. Feel free to give one or more of them a call and apply to perform there.

If the venue you want to perform in hasn’t registered with Fringe you can still approach them and perform there. Just note that the venue manager will need to register in the Eventotron system – it’s a quick easy process (like a simpler version of the artist’s registration) and they can do this in April if you’re still figuring out the details during your registration.

In these cases your main point of contact for anything venue related is the venue manager. Fringe can of course support you if needed, but your event will be subject to a direct agreement between the artist and the venue in regard to venue hire.

2. VENUE MATCHING If you’re not sure what venue would be best for your event, you want assistance making contact with the venue, or you would like your event to be considered for one of our many Hubs, we’ll help match you up to a venue!

Unless you advise us in your registration that you’ve already confirmed a venue, once you’ve paid your registration fee a member of the Sydney Fringe staff will be in touch to discuss your venue needs in more detail and figure out the perfect venue for your show or event.

TWO WAYS TO FIND A VENUE

There are TWO ways you can go about finding the perfect space for your show:

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1) FRINGE HUBSThe Sydney Fringe and our partners manage several venues during the festival, and these hubs are the lifeblood of the festival. Audiences seek out events at Sydney Fringe Hubs based on the kind of experience they are looking for, and Hubs give artists access to spaces that are not accessible at any other time of the year.

Fringe Hubs are venues managed by the Fringe and our partners, such as Legs On The Wall, The Old 505, PACT and Actors Centre Australia.

Fringe Hub venues are set up with a variety of financial arrangements. As with registration fees we’re working to keep these as low as possible for 2021 (and into the future!).

Details of venue hire costs at fringe hubs will be available in Eventotron from April 1st.

1. Base Hire and Box Office Split - for the first time in 2020 we’re doing a box-office split at a number of hubs – reducing your up- front costs, lowering the risk for you, and ensuring that when you win we win. Hubs with a box office split will have a substantially reduced venue hire fee, and then The Fringe will retain a small portion of your box office at the end of the festival.

2. Straight Hire – some hubs will still charge a straight venue hire fee. Shows in these hubs will receive 100% of box office less any other applicable charges, and GST if applicable.

2) REGISTERED VENUESThe best place for your event might not be in a Fringe Hub. Lots of existing venue have a strong relationship with The Fringe, and we work with these venues to make sure their rent is affordable for our artists, and they can provide the resources our artists need. During venue matching we may broker a deal between your show and one of these existing satellite venues.

In these cases, once matched to a venue, your event will be subject to a direct agreement between the artist and the venue in regard to venue hire.

Depending on the venue, a number of hire structures may exist. Some of these include:

1. Straight Hire - Venues charge a fixed at rental per week or session

2. Box Office Split - artist and venue split the box office takings to account for venue hire

3. Base Hire / Box Office Split - venue charges a cheaper rental fee plus a share of box office (e.g. 10 or 15% of box office)

4. No Venue Hire – Some might offer you the venue for free. There may still be charges for tech, equipment, staff etc. Some venues will waive venue hire for events they feel will generate other revenue streams e.g. a bar. Remember to confirm all details directly with your satellite venue manager and obtain a venue hire contract from them.

TWO KINDS OF VENUE WE’LL MATCH YOU TO

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ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

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ARTIST E-NEWS You’ll receive regular bulletins with key deadlines, new opportunities and extra support for all those nuts and bolts along the way. They will be sent straight to your inbox so read them carefully and stay in the loop.

This year we’ll also keep in touch by text message – so that if something’s really important or exciting there’s no chance of it getting lost in a crowded inbox or junk folder.

AWARDSJudged by an industry panel of judges, awards for genre excellence are presented on the last Sunday of the Festival. In addition to genre excellence awards, all registered events are eligible to be considered for touring and development awards including :

• Melbourne Fringe Tour Ready Award • SYNZ Award (with NZ Fringe) • Perth Fringe World Award • San Diego International Fringe Festival Touring Award (USA) • Brighton Fringe Award (UK) • The EDGE Artist Development Award, supported by Inner West Council • Hollywood Fringe Award (USA)

Also for the second time this year, we will announce award nominees on a rolling basis through the festival. Judges will submit assessment from the prior week each Thursday. On Friday we’ll announce the nominees for that week in each category in an e-mail blast to our over 10 thousand subscribers - giving nominated shows a marketing push, and great talking point to crow about heading into the weekend.

ARTIST PASSThis year we’re expanding our artist pass programme – so you get more bang for your registration buck. FREE RUSHTIX:

If there’s an empty seat at a Fringe show, you can fill it for free as a Fringe registered artist. This is our way of helping artist to support each other and to experience the work the Fringe artistic community is making. It is a simple process. Just turn up before the show and if there is an available seat, it’s yours. FOOD AND DRINKS DISCOUNTS:

Thanks to our friends at Young Henry’s, you have access to a range of discounts on food a drinks at venues around the city, and especially at lots of Fringe venues. Check the website for more details closer to the festival. CONDITIONS OF USE: • Your pass will only be issued once – they cannot be replaced if stolen or lost • The pass is not transferable and photo ID may be requested. • If you are suspected of sharing your pass it will be revoked for the duration of the festival. This decision will be at the sole discretion of the Sydney Fringe management. • You must comply with the Front of House and Box Office policies of the venue you are attending. • Events for which Artist Passes cannot be used for entry will be published on The Sydney Fringe website. • Artist passes will be available from the Sydney Fringe office from August 2019, times will be advised in artist e-bulletins.

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

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FUND IT Fundraising and Budgeting When: Monday 10 May, 6-8pm Where: Fringe Head Office, 5 Eliza Street Newtown 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.

The Crash Course will guide beginners through major budget lines to consider, and throw in hot tips on reducing your costs and optimising your revenues - for beginners and experienced producers alike. Then we’ll take you through how to create a funding strategy and take a look at your funding option: sponsorship, partnerships, grants, private giving and crowd sourcing.

In The Deep Dives you can explore the grants landscape with Charley, or diversifying your income streams with Carmel

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

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Our 5 part Masterclass series, presented in partnership with NIDA, is designed to provide detailed hands-on advice to guide you through producing your event and improving your skills as a creative producer. Featuring experts from around the industry the masterclasses are full of important information for novices, hot tips for experienced producers, and chances to ask questions and hear from experts.

The masterclasses align with key festival dates to provide the support you need as you work toward target deadlines. For the first time in 2021 Masterclasses will be both Online and In Person, and for those who come in person will be followed by a chance to network with other artists over a drink from the bar.

PRODUCER MASTERCLASSES AND NETWORKING NIGHTS

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MAKE ITLighting, Sound, Design & Direction on a ShoestringWhen: Monday 21st June, 6-8pm Where: Fringe Head Office, 5 Eliza Street, Newtown & Online

How do you create bold and exciting work on limited budgets and in pop-up, low infrastructure or immersive spaces? This production 101 Masterclass is hosted by expert teachers in design, sound, lighting and direction. Learn some trade secrets, be inspired by some out-of-the-box ideas and embrace bare-bones and low-fi performance and the doors it opens rather than close.

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.

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SELL ITMarketing, Publicity + Social MediaWhen: When: Monday 31st May, 6-8pm Where: Fringe Head Office, 5 Eliza Street, Newtown & Online

If a great show happens in an empty venue and no-one is around for the brilliance, did it even really happen? There’s no point having a great show without an audience, so in this session we talk all things marketing: creating a marketing plan and strong marketing collateral, how to sell your event to media and the press, and leverage the editorial, creating effective publicity kits and generating audiences through a range of strategies.

We’ll also take a look 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

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SHARE IT Making your work accessible and inclusive. When: Monday 12th July, 6-8pm Where: Online 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. 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

The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is pleased to continue our partnership with the Sydney Fringe Festival which this year as the official partner of the festival’s Producer Masterclass Program, in addition to the sponsor of the Emerging Artist Hub. Through this partnership, NIDA continues to play a profound role in empowering Australia’s storytellers and cultural leaders. – NIDA

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GROW IT Developing A Rewarding And Fulfilling Practice In The Independent Sector When: Monday 2nd August, 6-8pm Where: Online 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 your practice is sustainable, enjoyable, and remains creative?

A panel of independent arts leaders 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 make bank, and how to make the most of unique opportunities. 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

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Live a unique creative experience

Join the creative community at Australia’s leading institution for dramatic arts education and training. nida.edu.au

→ Bachelor of Fine Arts→ Master of Fine Arts→ Vocational Diplomas→ Part-time Studios→ Weekend courses→ Evening courses

Higher Education Provider ID: PRV12052 CRICOS Provider Code: 00756M RTO Code: 90349

Acting – Costume – Cultural Leadership – Design Directing – Musical Theatre – Props – Live Production Scenic Construction – Stage Management – Writing

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FESTIVAL GUIDE

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Sydney Fringe is the publisher of all event information in the Fringe Guide and online at sydneyfringe.com. All material must be suitable for a wide audience. The following tips and conditions apply to all material you submit as part of your registration. EVENT COPYSOME TIPS:

• Make your copy short and sharp

• Quotes require “quotation marks”

• One exclamation mark is enough!

• Use Australian English

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT NOT TO PUBLISH:

• Copy that can incite racial, ethnic or homophobic hatred

• Copy that encourages or constitutes a criminal offense

• Copy that is detrimental or could cause damage to the Sydney Fringe

• Explicit language. What the f*ck? These can be included but please note that given the Festival Guide is distributed to a broad audience, we will replace one character with a symbol.

FESTIVAL GUIDE SEPTEMBER 2016

FESTIVAL GUIDE EVENT INFORMATION

EVENT IMAGESOME TIPS:

• Invest time in your image - images are the thing that will get you media attention

• Less is more, don’t overcrowd the image

• Make it bold and a standout

• Don’t include too many people. Sometimes, images need to be printed smaller and can look crowded

• Don’t include ANY text on your image. The event name will appear separately.

• Ensure you images are High Resolution

WE RESERVE THE RIGHT NOT TO PUBLISH:

• Images that have text on them

• Images that could cause damage to The Sydney Fringe

• Explicit or Pornographic images

• Images designed to cause offense or that could incite racial, homophobic, ethnic or gender hatred.

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TICKETING & SETTLEMENT

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WHAT DO YOU (THE ARTIST) PAY? ARTIST INSIDE CHARGE

Sydney Fringe does not charge any inside charges to registered artists for ticketing services. However this year, in service of our Audiences, the advertised ticket price will include the customer booking fee.

In 2018 our audiences told us that including fees in advertised prices was their main priority for improving the booking system – they’re happy to pay the fee, but they don’t want to do maths!!

WHAT FEES DO CUSTOMERS PAY? CUSTOMER BOOKING FEE

All tickets Sydney Fringe sells through sydneyfringe.com and at Sydney Fringe managed venues are subject to a $4 customer booking fee. These fees are payable by the customer at the point of sale, but the booking fee should be included in your advertised price.

Our audiences have told us that including fees in advertised prices is their main request for improving the booking system – they’re happy to pay the fee, but they don’t want to do maths!!

BREAKING IT DOWN TO ACCURATELY SET YOUR TICKET PRICE The Customer Booking Fee should be passed on to the customer and not incurred by you!

Making art can be expensive and audiences appreciate this.

Using an average of 30% capacity houses over your season is a good guide when working out what box office you need to recoup in order to break even with your projected income.

The average ticket prices at the 2019 Sydney Fringe Festival were around $24 Adult and $18 Concession before fees, with events ranging from FREE to $65 a ticket. Usually Group and Preview ticket prices are similar to Concession tickets (there’s more info on budgeting later in the handbook).

The price you advertise on your flyer and poster should be the same one you advise us of – the price that we print in the Fringe Guide and put on the website.

As most Sydney Fringe artists are not registered for GST, the Sydney Fringe will need to retain this amount to pay to the government on your behalf.

Also remember that the government and banks charge GST and Credit Card fees as percentages. This can make for messy ticket prices, so we recommend rounding up, which has the added bonus that you make a few cents extra per ticket!

Ticket price is entirely up to you, but if you’re wondering what to charge below are some recommendations, and a breakdown of what you will actually receive per ticket.

See table on the next page.

FEES AND CHARGES

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YOUR PRICE + GST + CUSTOMER TICKET FEE

INCOME REQUIRED

ADVERTISED PRICE

+ CREDIT CARD FEE

FINAL PRICE

What you need to make in the end

+10% +$4 What you charge inc. fees

THE PRICE IN THE GUIDE

+2% WHAT THE CUSTOMER PAYS

AN EXAMPLE OF A BIGGER MORE EXPENSIVE SHOW:

You need to make at least $25/ticket on average.

Go a couple of dollars over for Full Price and a couple of dollars Under for Concession.

Full: $28

+ $2.80 + $4.00 $ 34.80 $35 + $0.70 $ 35.70

Concession: $22

+ $2.20 + $4.00 $ 26.20 $27 + $0.54 $ 27.54

AN EXAMPLE OF A SMALLER SHOW: You need at least $20/ticket on average.

Go a couple of dollars over for Full Price and a couple of dollars Under for Concession.

Full: $23

+ $2.30 + $4.00 $ 29.30 $30 + $0.60 $ 30.60

Concession: $17

+ $1.70 + $4.00 $ 22.70 $23 + $0.46 $ 23.46

PRICE CATEGORIESThe Sydney Fringe has set the ticket categories that you will be able to select when inputting ticket prices in the registration system. Please note that your event does not need to include all price categories.

NB: If you are not registered for GST, your settlement (ie. what you received for ticketing income) will be GST exclusive.

TICKET PRICE BREAK DOWN

PREVIEW Discounted tickets for any sessions prior to the official opening of your season. Ticket price should be set lower than the normal adult ticket and be the only price available for the performance.

ADULT A standard ticket price category that should be applied to all sessions except previews.

CHILD For children 12 years and under who will occupy a seat. Children 2 years and under are free on lap.

CONCESSION Priced lower than a standard adult ticket, and applicable for holders of concession cards (pensioner, senior, student, unemployed).

ALL

If you are only charging one price for all tickets. It should be the only price you add.

GROUPS 6+ A discount for groups booking more than 6 tickets, set lower than an adult ticket price. Tickets must be purchased in one transaction for discount to apply.

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COMPLIMENTARY TICKETSYou book and manage your own comp tickets. Each show will be given a unique discount code that will allow you to reduce the price to $0 on up to 10% of your season capacity through the Sydney Fringe Buy Tickets page.

Comps over 10% of your capacity must be requested from Box Office Staff at least 3 days in advance of the session. MULTI-SHOW DISCOUNTS In 2019 we started trialling some multi-show discounts and in 2021 we will offer our audiences a chance to save by seeing multiple shows, and you the chance to reach a new audience by being part of multi show discounts, across all hub venues.

The multi-show discount will be 15% off all shows in one Hub when 3 or more events are purchased in 1 transaction. Evidence from 2019 suggests that this really does encourage audiences to see more, and see more work they had never heard of – they know about one or two shows, and then take a punt on the final shows to reach discount capacity, and everybody wins!

In 2021 all major managed venue Hubs will have mandatory opt-in for this Multi-Discount deal as part of your venue hire contract, so please factor this in when setting ticket prices.

TICKETING DATES15th July - Some Feature Events on early-release sale to the general public, and exclusive presales to Fringe Partners.

1st August – All shows, all tickets on sale to the general public. SALES AND DOOR LISTSProducers will have access to sales reports and door lists from 1 August 2019 when ticketing goes live. GSTIf you are not registered for GST, your Settlement will be GST exclusive.

SETTLEMENTSettlement of your ticket sales should be completed within four weeks of your last session/performance, provided that all required documents and information have been provided. This includes:

• Your end of season artist survey (this document is incredibly important for our advocacy work and reporting. It doesn’t take long!)

• A written record of Door Sales for your performance/s (This does not apply to Producers performing in Sydney Fringe Managed Venues).

• A valid and active ABN or a Statement by a Supplier, your GST status, bank account number, name and BSB. These details should be provided during registration.

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SETTLEMENT PROCESS STEPSOnce all sessions / performances are completed:

1. Artists to complete the ‘door sales’ survey and the Post Festival Artist Survey, which you will have received by e-mail.2. Sydney Fringe prepare a detailed Settlement 2. Statement showing the total ticket sales less customer booking fee and any other applicable charges.

3. Sydney Fringe emails the Settlement Statement to the Producer, which includes the total amount owing/payable. Note. If the Producer has an amount payable to the Sydney Fringe, an invoice will be issued to the Producer.

4. Producer to review the settlement statement and advise Sydney Fringe within the nominated timeframe if any changes are required.

5. Sydney Fringe will deposit the settlement funds into the bank account nominated during the registration process.

NB: Payments are made by the Sydney Fringe periodically. Failure to produce any outstanding documentation by 30th November 2021 will result in the Producer forfeiting their ticket revenue.

INTERNATIONAL PRODUCERS PERFORMING IN AUSTRALIAInternational Producers must be aware of the taxation requirements and laws for performing and earning income in countries where they are not citizens. The Sydney Fringe reserves the right to withhold or deduct tax from the Settlement of international producers, in accordance with Australian taxation legislation and international tax agreements.

During the Registration process, you will be required to answer questions relating to your Country of Residence and whether you are carrying on a business in Australia – this will impact the manner in which The Sydney Fringe applies tax to your Settlement.

We strongly advise that you seek advice on this as early as possible, so that there are no delays in Settlement.

Sydney Fringe will charge a fee of $30.00 per transaction to transfer/make payments into a foreign bank account.

 

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THE BUSINESS OF SHOW

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PRODUCING YOUR EVENT

It’s called Show Business for a reason.

We know you’re all amazing at the ‘Show’ bit– that’s why you’re here – but it’s important to remember the 50% (or more) of creating an arts event that is ‘Business’.

Marketing and Budgeting tips are further down in their specific sections. On the next three pages you’ll find a handy producer checklist in three phases with some tips. Keep a digital copy or a hardcopy handy throughout your project to make sure you don’t miss any major tasks – and feel free to keep it on file for future shows, at Fringe or elsewhere!

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BUILD A BUDGET

Be realistic – get quotes where possible and remember that there are always last-minute extra costs. If in doubt, over-estimate. BUILD A TEAM Think about what roles your show requires. If you have even the simplest lighting beyond the built-in fluros someone needs to have responsibility for this. What roles can you realistically amalgamate and which ones require special skills or a lot of time? FIND A VENUE For your Fringe show we’re here to help - if you don’t have a venue confirmed our staff will be in touch to help you find one! SIGN VENUE AGREEMENT For your Fringe show, if you’re in a managed venue we’ll issue you a comprehensive Managed Venue Licence Agreement. If you’ve found your own venue or we link you up with a satellite venue make sure you get an official document confirming all costs, times, dates and equipment provided by the venue. PAY VENUE DEPOSIT AND/OR REGISTRATION BOOK PHOTOGRAPHER If you can’t afford a professional photographer think who among your team and friends has the design eye to take some great images for you. SELECT A KICK ARSE IMAGE Your ‘hero’ image (the one you use for the Festival Guide, Webpage and any posters and Flyers) should be one consistent image, and it’s the first selling point of your show – make sure it’s good! WRITE YOUR BLURB Remember to keep it short, sharp and exciting. You might want a few versions – 40 words, 100 words and 200 words are a good start.

PRODUCER CHECKLIST - GETTING STARTED:

DETERMINE TICKET PRICES Don’t undercut yourself – audiences know that making art is expensive. Remember to account for the customer ticketing fee and GST in your advertised price. CONFIRM TICKETING PROVIDER For your fringe show you can tick this one off straight away – Fringe is your ticketing provider and will manage all presales! SET UP ANY TICKETING CODES For your fringe show we’ll issue you with a producer comp code, which you can use to book up to 10% of your season as complimentary tickets. If you want to add discount codes you’ll need to e-mail boxoffice@sydneyfringe.com WRITE YOUR MEDIA RELEASE MAP OUT YOUR MARKETING PLAN MAP OUT YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA STRATEGY DESIGN FLYER AND POSTER GET YOUR PUBLIC LIABILITY SORTED OR UPDATED COMPLETE YOUR RISK ASSESSMENT Most venues, and all Fringe managed venues will require you to fill our a risk assessment. These can be a little confusing if you haven’t done it before, but there are plenty of tutorials online. One good one is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=thDrGy7rgnQ DEVELOP A TICKET SALES STRATEGY CONFIRM ONEMUSIC (FORMER APRA/AMCOS) OBLIGATIONS

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BOOK IN A TRIAL SHOW For your Fringe show you might have a preview, if not, can you invite a few friends to your rehearsal space to see a run before your tech rehearsal? BOOK IN A DIRECTOR/ OUTSIDE EYE Your show might be led by a director, if not, it’s always useful to get an outside eye in – sometimes you’re so close to the show that you can’t see something blindingly obvious to an outsider. An outside eye should be someone who understand what you are trying to do, knows a bit about the artform, and who respects and likes your work and your team. BOOK IN TECHNICAL REHEARSAL If you’re in a Fringe Managed Venue, your technical time will be set, and will be in your venue hire contract. CONFIRM TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS If you’re in a Fringe managed venue, Fringe will provide these by July 1st. SEND OUT MEDIA RELEASES INVITE REVIEWERS TO YOUR MEDIA NIGHT

MAP OUT YOUR FIRST THREE NIGHTS WITH PAPERING AND/OR GIVEAWAYS In a short run you may not need to do this, but it’s always good to have a few friends on hand to come along to a quiet second show, or some giveaways you can run early in the season – word of mouth is your best marketing tool, but it only works if a few people have seen the show to begin with! BOOK IN REHEARSALS

PRODUCER CHECKLIST - GETTING READY TO OPEN:

WORK OUT A FLYERING STRATEGY AND BOOK IN A FLYERING TEAM Flyering is massive in some other cities, but Sydnesiders hate it. Cross this one off your list for Sydney Fringe, but come back to it if you tour – especially to the ‘big’ Fringes in Edinburgh and Adelaide. TRACK YOUR TICKET SALES

REGISTER FOR ANY RELEVANT AWARD APPLICATIONS At Fringe you will have opted in for awards during registration. WORK OUT A GIVEAWAY STRATEGY Giveaways in arts media publications and through aligned companies and venues are a great marketing strategy – and best of all they’re usually free! While they don’t guarantee new sales, they raise awareness of your event. Even those who don’t win will have the show on their mind and be more likely to come. Remember to follow up with un-successful entrants and encourage them to pay, or maybe offer them a discount code. BOOK IN VIDEO/PHOTO DOCUMENTATION This is particularly important if you want your show to have a life beyond its first season. If you can’t afford a professional photographer or videographer think who among your team and friends has the design eye to take some great images for you. CONTINUE TO MANAGE AND UPDATE YOUR BUDGET WEEKLY DOUBLE CHECK ALL DEADLINE FOR FESTIVAL/VENUE REQUIREMENTS For your fringe show The Key Dates page at the top of this guide is a good cheat sheet! PRE SCHEDULE SOCIAL MEDIAScheduling your social media is a great way to make sure you’re getting traction in the vital weeks leading up to opening, while reducing work load at the busiest time.

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COLLECT ALL REVIEW AND PRESS CLIPS Make sure to compile your press – it’ll come in handy for any future seasons or new shows you want to publicise, and for grant applications and the like. CONFIRM YOUR FINAL BOX OFFICE FIGURES Make sure to check these and confirm the records match. UPDATE AND CLOSE YOUR FINAL BUDGET FINALISE ANY VENUE SETTLEMENTS ENSURE ALL OUTSTANDING INVOICES ARE PAID IF WORKING ON A PROFIT SHARE MODEL, PROVIDE A FINAL ACCOUNTS BREAKDOWN AND ANY PROFIT SPLIT TO YOUR ARTISTS

PRODUCER CHECKLIST - GETTING IT ALL WRAPPED UP

OBTAIN YOUR CUSTOMER INFORMATION FROM YOUR TICKETING PROVIDER SEND OUT ANY THANK YOU NOTES TO YOUR TEAM AND SUPPORTERS FOLLOW UP ANY LEADS YOU HAVE MADE DURING THE FESTIVAL OR SEASON Quick follow up is important – both industry and new audiences will quickly forget why they were so excited about your work if they don’t hear from you. PAT YOURSELF ON BACK FOR A JOB WELL DONE. SLEEP!  

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Successfully managing a budget is essential to producing an event. Your chances of breaking even or generating profit are significantly increased when you accurately estimate your expenses and potential revenues. You will need a carefully thought through budget to ensure (and to prove to potential backers and investors) that you can deliver on your vision. Under taxation law, if you are earning an income from your event at Sydney Fringe, you are required to have an ABN and quote this on Tax invoices issued to the Sydney Fringe and your venue. Visit www.ato.gov.au for more information and don’t hesitate to contact our Artist Services Team to guide you in the right direction with any enquiries. The main aim of budgeting is to avoid any hidden or unexpected costs so that you can estimate, as accurately as possible, your end position. There are many different costs and revenue avenues that you should consider and these will significantly vary depending on the type of event, length of run, venue and the level of your experience. Below is a link to a preformatted budget template that provides a breakdown of most expenses you should consider, and is formated to automatically calculate totals and ticket prices for you. You should also keep track of the amount of time and resources you are contributing ‘In Kind’ – in kind means that the good or service isn’t paid for with money but is essentially donated, and can include everything from your time, to items for set and costume, to rehearsal space, free marketing and on and on. Please Note: In 2020 a breakdown of your ‘In Kind’ contribution will be required as part of your post festival artist survey. The Easiest way to complete this will be to print the budget template in this handbook (or use your own – with an In-Kind column), keep track using it, and upload a photo of it at the end of your season. Please Click Here to download the template as a pre-formatted excel spreadsheet. TIP: Baffled by budgeting? Attend our hands-on Fund It Masterclass, 15th April, held at Fringe Head Office, 5 Eliza Street Newtown.

BUDGETING

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HOT BUDGETING TIP: IF YOU HAVE NO MONEY, YOU’RE GOING TO NEED PLENTY OF TIME. IF YOU HAVE NO TIME, YOU’RE GOING TO NEED PLENTY OF MONEY.

Producing your event is a complex process with many facets – you can learn to do every part of it, and no task is beyond the reach of a relatively savvy newcomer, however learning new skills and executing the range of tasks required takes time and emotional energy.

Have a look at where your strengths lie and where you have blind spots, and then have a look at the financial resources you have available to you. Match the two up: spend money outsourcing the things that cause you stress or which will be too big a learning curve in the short term. Dedicate your time to achievable up-skilling and tasks where you know you can knock it out of the park.

VENUE FEES – The Fringe team will play an active part in matching events to the right venue. It is essential to have a clearly defined contract with your venue and to understand all the terms of that contract so that no unexpected expenses surface later on.

Make sure you’re aware of all the fees your venue is charging. Sometimes venue hire is all-inclusive but many venues itemise the services you’re buying from them under different categories. For instance at Fringe Hubs we have four kinds of fees: Hire Fees, Box Office Splits, Management Fees and Technical Services Fees. These come in a range of combinations and at a range of price points depending on the Hub, so check your contract for the details.

SALARIES AND FEES – you might not be paying yourself or your artists Salaries or Fees, but your time and their time still has value! What are you worth? Minimum wage, surely (around $20/hour, super incl)? If you have a degree in a related field or more than five years experience, you’e probably ‘worth’ award wages (around $32/hour, Super incl).

It’s good for both your mental health and the health of the sector to quantify this time – if you’re not getting paid for it, it becomes value ‘In Kind’.

IN KIND – in kind means any good or service that isn’t paid for with money but is essentially donated, and can include everything from your time, to items for set and costume, to rehearsal space, free marketing and on and on. If you’re applying for government funding they will require an annotation of the In Kind being provided, and at the end of your season Fringe will also require an estimate of In Kind value for our advocacy and reporting.

All value ‘In Kind’ should be expressed in your budget as an expense line AND an income line – think of it like this: paying someone to build your set would cost you $2000, but your uncle is doing it for free. That’s an ‘expense’ of $2000, and an ‘income’ of $2000 worth of free labour.

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REHEARSAL VENUE HIRE - For many independent groups and producers, budgeting for a rehearsal venue significantly impacts the bottom line. With few rehearsal venues in Sydney and higher rates of hire, this cost could potentially take smaller companies into a financial loss. Think outside the box here. Many indie shows are rehearsed in living rooms or unused residential spaces. Is there a local business, say your local cafe, which you could ask to rehearse in at night? PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCE - It is a requirement of registration that all Fringe shows be covered for Public Liability Insurance SYDNEY FRINGE GUIDE ADVERTISING - This is an optional expense that allows companies/groups to buy advertising space in the published Fringe Guide, 40,000 of which are printed and distributed to potential audiences. All details for advertising options can be found at sydneyfringe.com. This year we are offering artists affordable prices to advertise in our guide to make your show stand out during the Fringe. PUBLICITY AND PUBLICISTS - For larger or more established companies/artists, a Publicist is a very effective way of ‘outsourcing’ publicity and press to an expert. Many smaller arts organisations or those with short performance runs cannot afford these expenses. The Marketing section of this handbook should equip you with all the necessary skills and knowledge to tackle this task.

CONTINGENCY - It is important to budget for contingency as a buffer, should any unexpected expenses arise. Generally speaking, contingency is budgeted at 5 – 10% (10% is recommended) of total expenses. ONE MUSIC LICENSES AND PERFORMANCE RIGHTS – If your event contains any content that was created by another artist, outside your team for another purpose, you probably need to pay rights. This goes for everything from the entire script to small incidental pieces of music, and AV content. Plays can be purchased from a range of rights proprietors who represent the writers and their estates. Usually the published book contains the details of who the rights proprietor is. You should never register a performance of an existing script until you have acquired the performance rights. AV content can be purchased from stock footage providers, but most owned content – Clips from film and video clips for example – isn’t available for licensing. If you use music that your team didn’t make, you will need to apply for a license through One Music at https://onemusic.com.au/ - One Music will then pass your license fee on to Beyoncé, Briggs or David Bowie’s estate.

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ESTIMATING TICKET REVENUEFor many independent arts events, ticket revenue is the largest source of income. Accurately estimating ticketing revenue is important, to see if expenses will be covered or to see how much funding you will need to raise from other sources.

As a general guide, here’s the basic maths on making sure your budget covers costs:

Start by assuming your sales will be around 30%, that way if you sell out you’ll have some left over for ramen, and if you don’t you won’t take too much of a hit.

If you’re going to spend $2400 on all elements of your show, and you have no other income stream your pricing matrix would look like this:

Adjust the ticket price until your estimated income is the same as your estimated expenses (or more!) Remember to take account of Fees when making your budget. So having arrived at this number add those on. (see page 22)

If you look to the table in Ticketing & Fees section you’ll see that for this example you’d want to set your advertised ticket prices (including all fees) at around $30 Full Price and $23 Concession.

NUMBER OF PERFORMANCES X

VENUE CAPACITY X

EXPECTED ATTENDANCE (%) X

AVERAGE TICKET PRICE

(IE YOUR TICKET PRICE)

=ESTIMATED REVENUE

5 (E.G,) X 80 X 30% X $20 (E.G.) = $2400

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GOVERNMENT GRANTSArts Grants are available on the national (Australia Council), state (Create NSW) and local (council) levels. The process of applying for a grant is detailed and extremely time-consuming. For independent artists who are working with tight time frames, it is essential that you are completely eligible for a grant before dedicating time to writing the submission. For Fringe events, it may be worth considering development grants or cross-arts grants. Also, consider applying for local government funding if your projects meet the criteria - City of Sydney and Inner West Council for example both offer local council artist grants at various times of the year. PRIVATE DONATIONS / PHILANTHROPYAsking for money from your existing network of contacts is an excellent way to build a small bank of funding to get your project up and running. Private philanthropists may be supporters of your past work and could include family and friends who are keen to support your project. Philanthropy needn’t be a one-way street.

Consider the ‘benefits/rewards’ you could offer your patrons. These benefits could include acknowledgement in your print and online media, complimentary tickets to the event, a private performance for your patrons and special access to an open rehearsal (to name a few). MERCHANDISEMerchandise could include the selling of your show programmes, clothing (T-Shirts etc.), CDs, DVDs, high quality photographs or other novelty items. Make sure to budget for the cost of producing your merchandise when estimating your merchandise profit margin. Also, ensure that you meet all intellectual property requirements - you should own all the design elements and content of your merchandise.

SPONSORSHIP AND PARTNERSHIPSFinding corporate sponsorship can be time consuming and requires patience, but is well worth it if you manage to secure some funds for your work. The key to successful sponsorship is be targeted with which potential sponsors you approach. Successful sponsorship is not a matter of finding a company that you know generates profit and asking them for a donation. Instead, it is important to consider how your project relates to an organization, what the organisation gains from supporting your project and what nonfinancial benefits you could offer your sponsor such as logo placement, a private screening, a managing director introducing a show etc. It is also useful to consider what in-kind support a corporate sponsor could provide, that is nonfinancial

support. Think about the content of your work and what might be interest a sponsor. Sponsorship works best when it is targeted, specific and personal - pick up the phone and try to meet face-to-face. CROWDFUNDINGCrowdfunding is a very effective way of raising some up front funding. Crowdfunding offers a great platform for friends, colleagues and family to contribute while also reaching out to other potential donors who might get excited by your project. Popular Crowd-funding platforms include Pozible, Indigogo and Kick Starter.

TIP: Want specific strategies for raising funding? Attend our ‘FUND IT’ Masterclass with expert industry guests.

FUNDING AND RAISING MONEY

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MARKETING AND PUBLICITY

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50% ART, 50% SELLFor many independent arts companies and groups, limited resources and limited people-power means that most attention often goes toward producing the art or event itself, at the expense of a marketing and publicity effort. For groups that don’t have the budget to employ a Publicist, the push to get the work ready sometimes comes at a cost. The most consistent feedback we have had from Fringe artists over the past few years is that they felt that starting marketing and publicity earlier would have significantly increased their audiences, and therefore their income. We strongly recommend that you start your marketing effort well in advance of Fringe Month and that you dedicate equal time to marketing your work as you do to creating it. MARKETING BASICSMarketing is, basically, everything that you do as an artist or company to place and create an interest with your potential audience, encouraging them to see your event. With 400+ shows Sydney Fringe, like any Fringe Festival world wide, does not have the ability to provide extensive marketing support for each and every show. It is important that you create a marketing plan for August and September in order to gather the audiences you want. A marketing strategy is key.

• Why do I need to market?

• To create knowledge, intrigue and excitement about your event

• To maximize the number of tickets sold

• To raise the profile of your work, performance, artists, or company

• To form connections with like-minded peers and potential networks

• To place you as an artist in front of potential partners and sponsors

• To prepare you for future projects that you may have in mind – documentation

of your work or performance in the form of posters, flyers, photos, press clippings,

• To garner and gather reviews, etc.

PREPARATIONIt is crucial to create a marketing and publicity plan in advance – this will help push your event forward and create exposure to your intended audience. Think about the following:

• Target audience – Who are they and how can you best reach them? Are there specific communities that you need to tap into that you can access by direct contact or through less conventional channels? Make sure your audience isn’t too broad, as the more specific, the more targeted you can be. It is important to outline this from the start, as it will impact the look and feel of all your marketing material, the type of venue, the time of your show and the cost of tickets,

• Publicist – will you engage one or go it alone?

• What marketing material do you need? Promotional flyers and posters / digital or print advertising / social posts?

• What does your shows imagery look like? Define your identity, as consistency is key.

• Do you need to engage contractors to make this imagery professional, attention grabbing and depict your shows narrative? Graphic designer / Photographer – do you need one?

• Write your press release – see “Getting others to talk about you” for all your publicity tips and a press release template to get you started.

• What media outlets, agency’s or distribution businesses do you need to engage? What are their lead times and how do these work into your timeline?

• What is your budget? Split your budget between your different marketing channels [posters / fliers / paid advertising / social]

STARTING WITH STRATEGY

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YOUR VISUAL IDENTITY We cannot stress enough how important it is to have great imagery and publicity photos. It will be the best investment of your time and money. This imagery can be used across your marketing material and for press enquiries. Previous artists have had their images used time and time again throughout the Fringe period, due to their eye-catching and striking images that have appealed to press and media publications giving them that extra publicity for free. A clear, intriguing, professional image will sell your show better than anything. Make sure you have a strong image and logo that work together in several different types of collateral. See below for standard collateral specifications. When creating marketing collateral, keep in mind what the purpose is. Different collateral has a different purpose, and will be seen in different environments.

POSTER - Make sure all the show information is included, as well as the Sydney Fringe website for tickets. Make sure the poster is eye catching, even when sitting amongst a wall of other posters. Keeping in mind that people may not have time to read lots of text, so keeping the poster punchy and to the point is key.

FLYER - People will be picking it up and have more opportunity to read, adding awards and accolades or a short blurb about the show works well in this instance.

An image that will sit with copy - Such as a press image or an image for the Sydney Fringe guide or website, keeping it clean of any words, and letting the image speak for you will be important.

DIGITAL AD - Keeping the size of the ad in mind, and keeping copy to a minimum, with a strong image, will be key, as these tend to be small. Keep in mind that the purpose of this ad is to make people click, with the ad most likely clicking through to the ticketing page of your show with detailed information.

MOVING IMAGE - To compliment your imagery, a show reel, teaser or behind the scenes footage is very useful for social platforms, for us as the festival promoter to push, as well as press to pick up for digital articles. If you have the ability and the funds to produce video it can be a worthwhile investment.

CREDITING THE FESTIVALYou want people to know you’re an official participant of the Sydney Fringe Festival, and we want them to know it too.

All artwork must contain the Sydney Fringe Festival logo, with certain venues requiring specific logos from partners. These logo strips can be downloaded from the Sydney Fringe website, artist info page, from May 31st.

The billing required by your contract applies to all press releases and publicity materials. • For all festival productions, we require the following format:

[your producing entity], as part of Sydney Fringe 2021, presents [Your Show] • Or, in cases where producer billing follows the title, use the following:

[Your show], produced by [your producing entity] as part of Sydney Fringe 2021, • You must use our FULL NAME in official billing – Sydney Fringe 2021 – on postcards, posters, etc.

Always include www.sydneyfringe.com as the site for more information or for tickets. If you have a separate web address for your show, please direct people to it from the Sydney Fringe site rather than including it as the destination on your press release.

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STANDARD COLLATERAL SPECS FLYER

A5 / Postcard / DL 300 ppi jpeg/PDF

POSTER

A4 / A3 / A2 300 ppi jpeg/PDF

IMAGE FOR THE SYDNEY FRINGE FESTIVAL GUIDE

490w x 360h pxl 300 ppi jpeg/pdf

DIGITAL HERO IMAGE FOR SYDNEY FRINGE WEBSITE

1490 x 1060 pxl 96 ppi jpeg/png

DIGITAL GRAPHICS FOR SOCIAL

Minimum width 1080pxl x height may vary 72 – 150 ppi jpeg/png

(note: This is the standard size for an instagram graphic, that will also be bigger enough for facebook and other social platforms.)

DIGITAL ASSETS FOR OTHER PAID DIGITAL ADVERTISING

These sizes may vary but the standard sizes are below:

Half Page: 300w X 600h pxl Leaderboard: 728w X 90h pxl MREC: 300w X 250h pxl 96 ppi : >100kb jpeg/png

nb// there will be opportunity for advertising for both the digital and printed guide as well as on the website specs and details tbc.

MARKETING COPY / BLURB So, what’s a blurb? It is a short piece of copy that should encapsulate everything about your event, and convince the reader to snap up those tickets. Creating a good blurb is one of the most important things in your advertising arsenal. Right after your artwork, the perfect blurb can mean the difference between a sale and a pass. PEOPLE LOVE STORIES

Make sure your blurb contains details about your story, even if it’s a thin one. Don’t just fill your blurb with accolades, awards, stars, etc. Those are great but ensure that there’s a story that the reader finds compelling in your blurb. LET THE PEOPLE PICK YOUR WORDS FOR YOU

Hear how other people describe your work, and then look for commonly used words. LOOK AT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE WRITING

Visit other festival sites or ticket sales websites and browse through the shows, reading each blurb. Notice what techniques are used. After reading ten blurbs, decide which shows of the ten you would want to see? Which shows do you not want to see? Why?

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Come up with a creative, striking image that represents your show – think of something that will express your show’s identity and stand out. These shots will be used for marketing materials, on the Fringe website and in the Sydney Fringe Festival Guide

Energetic, strong and original images are a powerful tool. Strong imagery is also what will give your event much higher chances of press coverage.

>>We strongly recommend that any available marketing budget first be dedicated to capturing that strong image that will sell your show

PHOTOGRAPHY

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PRINTING AND DISTRIBUTION If you are thinking of distributing posters and flyers on your own, do bear in mind there are certain laws and regulations that you have to follow. It is ILLEGAL to put up street posters and distribute a large number of flyers without a license. Therefore, make sure that you respect other people’s property, receiving permission before you hang up your posters or when you distribute your flyers on shop windows, cafes and clubs. Otherwise the owner will remove your posters from the wall/window. Posters and flyers cost money, as you know already, so when they are taken down, that’s your money wasted.

You can always hire a professional poster/flyer distributor. There are a number of distributors in Sydney who can do the job for a fee and often, they can distribute in areas where a regular person can’t. Depending on the amount of flyers and posters, as well as areas that need to be covered, the fees will vary. So, make sure you do your research before proceeding.

ADVERTISINGIf you have budget for extra activity, paid advertising in the right places can greatly extend your shows reach.

• There are paid advertising opportunities in the Sydney Fringe guide, as well as on our website. These sit outside the standard listings and will draw more attention to your show. Contact our marketing team at marketing@sydneyfringe.com for more information about these opportunities.

• Taking out ads in print publications such as newspapers, and magazines, can be expensive, but if you are targeting the right audience, it can be budget well spent. The Sydney Fringe Festival has, in the past, partnered with certain print and digital publications, which has resulted in reduced advertising rates for artists. Keep an eye on artist communications for these opportunities.

• Digital advertising is a very cost effective, targeted and measurable way to advertise your show. This can be done through paid search campaigns with google adwords, contacting key websites that draw your target market, or putting money behind ads and boosting posts in social channels.

CROSS PROMOTIONCross promotion is one avenue that you should consider if you are sharing a venue with another act/event, or if you know other Fringe artists.

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The online realm is a big one, but when done right, can result in a significant increase of reach for a lot less money. Making sure you chose your digital channels with your target audience in mind, and build a strategy that links all your platforms together, with consistent, regular and engaging content.

SOCIAL MEDIASocial media has become a key player in the online world, which is supported by a whole range of statistics from last year’s festival. Since 2016 we have seen the number of people who visit the website clicking through from a social media link, exponentially grow, it is the third most used route to our website behind direct and search engines, as well as people surveyed stating Facebook in the top three most important sources of information about the Fringe.

Make sure you choose the right platforms for the amount of time you can invest, as well as thinking of your target audience. Facebook, instagram, twitter, snapchat, just to name a few, all engage people differently. Make sure you like the Sydney Fringe Festival page on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter [@sydneyfringe] and tag us as well at #sydneyfringefestival2021 and #sydneyfringe when posting on all channels. Facebook is one of the main platforms that sees results for shows across the board. Images and video rank the best of this platform, so keep them coming! Building a Facebook page and maintaining it is one of the best marketing strategies you can employ. It is something that empowers your artists and friends to help you promote your show. By creating a page instead of a group, your posts will be published in your fans’ mini-feeds, keeping you on their radar and hopefully attracting new fans. Creating a Facebook event is also a great way to get information out to audiences, and providing reminders and updates of the shows details.

PAID ADVERTISING ON SOCIAL

Facebook (and instagram) has made It harder and harder for events and businesses to reach their audiences without monetary investment in boosting posts or paid advertising. The key is engagement, if you create engaging content that people will like, comment on, share or watch this will increase your organic reach to your community. Putting a bit of budget behind these posts can be a great investment, and allows you to target the right people. When creating facebook ads, make sure to follow all the guidelines to get the best outcome for your investment.

>>We ask artists to not name any Facebookpages with ‘Sydney Fringe’ in their pagetitle. This will be an essential part of theartist contract and failure to comply withthis could result in the Fringe withdrawingan event from the Festival program.

GETTING IT RIGHT ONLINE

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>>It is crucial that www.sydneyfringe.com be the central location for information about all shows so that we can most effectively cross-promote, helping all shows (and the event as a whole) to be a success.

If you have an individual site for your show - great! – you still need to be directing people to www.sydneyfringe.com for tickets. YOU MAY NOT DIRECT THE PUBLIC TO CONTACT YOURSELF OR ANY THIRD-PARTY AGENT FOR ADVANCE TICKETS.

BLOGSStarting your own blog is also another good idea to promote your show, assuming you don’t have your own website already. Blogging is a really easy way to get some current content up to inform your audience. Having a connected dialogue with your audience is an essential way to get them feeling involved with your work. You want to be generating as much conversation about yourself and the Fringe as you can. Just be wary of too much shameless self-promotion, make sure your content is relevant.

These posts can be shared through social media platforms, as well as helping your searchability in search engines such as google, yahoo and bing.

FRINGE WEBSITEThis is where it all starts. The Fringe website receives hundreds of thousands of hits during the months of August and September. Everything we do will be about driving people to www.sydneyfringe.com in order for them to find out about our shows and to buy tickets.

EMAILYou have an email list, and so does everyone that is associated with your show or who wants it to succeed. Email them an e-flyer of your event, ask them to pass it on and spread the word. Send all your friends and families details of your show a few weeks before it opens, and another during the season. Ask them to forward it onto their networks and you’ll be increasing your reach enormously.

Start thinking about an email database that not only encompasses your friends but expands to include interested audience and industry members - ask people to sign up to your mailing list when they arrive at your show

YOUTUBE AND VIMEOMoving image is a very effective way to engage potential audience and to give them an impression of what to expect in the live experiencing of your work. You can shoot short videos on your mobile phones these days, easy unloadable to social media. Film behind the scenes or even short segments of rehearsal or performance.

OTHER PROMOTIONAL ACTIVITIESWhen Sydney Fringe Festival launches in September, it shouldn’t mean your marketing efforts have come to an end. The Festival will be the most critical period for all your promotions. Make sure you are aware of what else is happening during The Fringe. Have your posters and flyers handy with you at all times, since you’ll never know when you’re going to need them, and above all else just keep spreading the word.

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PUBLICITYGood publicity is an essential element in organizing your event. Publicity, in simple words, means media coverage for your show. It is a free flowing medium and it is important to remember that this is not a form of free advertising, because it cannot be paid for and you cannot totally control what media writes about you. There are a few main reasons why publicity should be harnessed: one, to recruit your specific target audience; and two, to gain profile and recognition for your artists as well as organizers, sponsors, company; to send your message out to a wider audience that you may not be able to reach personally. The media coverage that publicity brings is a greater cache than advertising since it carries third-party editorial endorsement. When done correctly and effectively, it will be able to increase the promotional efforts and level of awareness of your event.

The mediums of publicity include newspapers, radio (mainstream and community), TV (mainstream and community), and the web. If you’re looking at print media, it could mean targeting daily newspapers (The SMH or the Daily Telegraph, Sunday papers), community newspapers, monthly magazines (Time Out Sydney), Gay Press (such as Star Observer) or street press (such as Impress, The Music and Brag). Each publication has a different focus, so pick up a copy, get a sense of the house style and tailor your message to them.

Remember, print needs strong images, so here is where your photos can help you. Offer them straight away – preview versions in low resolution first. Or they may want to send their own photographer, so have a photo idea or location prepared and ready to go. Fringe can provide contact details for Fringe friendly publicists upon request.

THE SYDNEY FRINGE PUBLICISTSydney Fringe Festival has a Publicist dedicated to promoting the Festival as a whole. Sometimes there are opportunities to showcase some events through our Publicity channels. The more proactive you are with providing us with a media release and interesting stories/images, the more we can do to try assist in the promotion of your event.

MEDIA CONTACTSAssign someone in your team to collate press contacts and to start to make approaches with your press release. Also have your team pool their collective resources and industry lists and create a mailing/email/phone list of people that you want to know about the show

>>Please note; for privacy reasons The Sydney Fringe is not always able to share contact details for media contacts.

GETTING OTHERS TO TALK ABOUT YOU

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You’ll need to generate Press Releases in order to create publicity. The purpose of these is to create an angle for media to generate a story. Include positive press quotes, details of cast, a synopsis of the show’s content, and any newsworthy details. Keep it simple, always be positive, play up any topicality and keep in mind the needs of the publication and your target audience.

Remember to include: • Who is involved? • What the event is about? • Why should we be interested? • Where is it happening? • When is it on? • The Title of your Show • The Name of the Company creating it • Cast and Creatives • Dates, Times and Venue/s • Ticket prices and details for purchasing tickets • Your Contact name and phone number (for media) • The Sydney Fringe logo

Keep the press release to one page when possible, and no more than two. When you exceed the one page maximum, insert the word MORE at the bottom center of the first page. Subsequent pages should be numbered and alongside the page number, indicate the topic.

WRITING A PRESS RELEASE

You want to balance it so that it’s both exciting enough to ignite a journalist’s interest, without sounding too much like a completely self-promotional attempt. Writing for the media is different from writing any other marketing pieces. Cut most hyped adjectives (awesome, fabulous), unless they’re positive statements you can attribute to someone in the form of a quote. Also, get colleagues to proofread the release, and check it again yourself. The last thing you want is date and spelling errors (especially of names), or any other factual inaccuracies. Again, really think about what makes your show unique, different and newsworthy, and make that the focus of your media release. Be mindful when contacting journalists that some won’t have time to acknowledge your release but may still be annoyed to have it sent twice. Be polite. Be diplomatic. Keep in mind that journalists don’t know a thing about your show, and may just not be interested, without a strong angle. Remember this when contacting a journalist, and make sure they know what you feel is the newsworthy angle of what you’re doing. Be prepared to accept a ‘no’ with good grace. Still want some more details about Marketing and Publicity? Attend our ‘SELL IT’ Masterclass, Monday 1st June, Fringe Head Office, 5 Eliza Street Newtown.

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For Immediate Release: [DATE RELEASE IS ISSUED]

[YOUR COMPANY NAME HERE] PRESENT “[YOUR SHOW TITLE HERE]” [MIGHT INCLUDE WRITTEN BY/DIRECTED BY, ETC.] PLAYS AS PART OF THE SYDNEY FRINGE 2016 DATES OF PERFORMANCES [THE RUN] OFFICIAL OPENING DATE: [IF APPLICABLE] THEATRE / VENUE NAME [STREET ADDRESS]

PARAGRAPH DESCRIBING SHOW: PLOT, THEMES, ANY SOURCE MATERIAL (“Based upon”), etc. Not too many adjectives. For example: a show can be called “a dark comedy” – but you should not say “a wildly funny romp” – that’s for the press to say. Adjectives should only be used in so far as they DESCRIBE the show (tone, style, etc.) ...not editorialize about as press quotes would.

A PARAGRAPH on CAST / DESIGN CREW. Who plays who and who designed what. Credits for actors / designers can be listed here as well.

BIO PARAGRAPH on WRITER AND / OR DIRECTOR (bios for any noteworthy creative team members can go in this next paragraph or two. Keep bios to a paragraph each – at most)

BIO on PRODUCTION COMPANY / THEATRE COMPANY if there is one. Mission statement can go here.

FINAL PARAGRAPH: RECAP OF THE SPECIFICS and TICKET INFO. SHOW TITLE plays at THEATRE as follows: LIST SCHEDULE. Tickets are $XX and can be purchased online at www.sydneyfringe.com. For more information, please visit www.sydneyfringe.com

Contact: [YOUR PRESS CONTACT NAME HERE] at [PHONE / EMAIL ADDRESS FOR PRESS CONTACTS]

PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE

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THE BUSINESS SIDE

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PUBLIC LIABILITY INSURANCESydney Fringe Festival requires all events to take out Public Liability Insurance (PLI). This coverage protects you financially in the event that an audience member is injured or third party property is damaged as a result of your negligence. Producers in Fringe managed venues are required to submit a Public Liability Certificate of Currency for $20 million to ensure that Public Liability coverage is active.

Public Liability does not cover injury to performers or to you and your property. These are at your discretion to address and could include additional insurance being taken for contents, injury or worker’s compensation depending on your circumstances.

As a general rule, the riskier the event is to the public, the more expensive and difficult to secure public liability insurance.

It is important to consider the structure of your group/company when searching for affordable public liability insurance (PLI). For example, you may want to consider PLI for one project where the insurance only covers the duration of your event. For performers or companies who work across the year, consider taking out annual public liability insurance either as a group or individually.

Artist/producers in Fringe managed venues need to email copies of their certificates of currency to artists@sydneyfringe.com by the 1st July 2019.

APRA / AMCOSMusic has become a vital part of the performance landscape. APRA administers the rights of songwriters, publishers and composers in Australia and New Zealand. If you are planning on using copyrighted music (pre-recorded or live) in your Fringe event, you are required to obtain the appropriate license and pay any relevant fees. For more information and resources on music copyright: www.apra-amcos.com.au

COPYRIGHT AND ROYALTIESThe Sydney Fringe Festival subscribes to the principles of copyright and intellectual property as they are outlined under Australian law. Copyright ensures that the owner of the work is acknowledged as such and that any relevant fees for using the work are paid. Fringe artists are obligated to obtain the written permission from the copyright holders, owners or originators of a work and pay any relevant fees for the use of that work. The Sydney Fringe can provide artists with assistance in checking whether a work is protected under copyright. If a work does not have the rights to be performed, it will likely be withdrawn from the Festival program.For more information on copyright, visit the Australian Copyright Council: http://www.copyright.org.au

LETTER OF UNDERSTANDING / AGREEMENTA Letter of Understanding / Agreement, more formally called a Memorandum of Understanding, is a useful and effective document that sets out the agreement/terms of a relationship to avoid any misunderstanding and to ensure that all parties agree on the terms. Letters of Understanding ensure that you have agreements in writing which are signed and dated for accountability. Examples where Letters of Understanding are useful include: between producer and performers; between producers and designers; between members of groups creating a Fringe Event and those financing one.

A Letter of Understanding could cover issues such as: • The parties the agreement is between • Financial obligations • Reporting obligations • Time commitments expected • Confidentiality clause • Who owns the copyright to a newly created work • Dispute resolution processes

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WORKING WITH CHILDRENGroups working with children are required to have each of their members pass a working with children clearance. Also, groups working with children are bound by industry legislation regulating the pay, working conditions and maximum time commitments of a child in a production. For detailed advice on working with children, visit the Arts Law Centre of Australia at: www.artslaw.com.au/

ACCESSIBILITYThe Sydney Fringe has committed to working closely with Accessible Arts NSW to find opportunities to improve accessibility over the coming years of Fringe festivals.

Although you may have little power over changing your venue’s accessibility, there are many things you could consider to make your events/productions more accessible to a wider audience. The Fringe Guide to Accessibility will be available for download from the Fringe Website in late May 2016. For great genre-specific ideas and more information regarding issues of accessibility, ensure you visit the Accessible Arts website: http://www.aarts.net.au

VOLUNTEER INSURANCEVolunteers are not covered under your Workers’ Compensation or your Public Liability Insurance. Ensure that you discuss this with your insurance provider and perhaps ask your volunteers to sign a release form to indicate that they are responsible for their own insurance.

PERSONAL INJURYPublic Liability does not cover you or members of your group for injury while performing. You may like to explore Personal Accident and Injury Insurance. Discuss these options with your insurance provider.

>>DISCLAIMER: The Sydney Fringe is not a licensed insurance or financial advisor and therefore cannot give advice on specific insurance matters, policies or products. You need to speak to a licensed insurance provider and use the information on these pages as a guide only. Sydney Fringe will not be liable for any artists insurance issues directly or indirectly.

SAFETY / WH+SArtists and venue managers have a responsibility to meet WHS and Building Code/Safety standards. Artists in Fringe-managed venues will be required to submit a risk assessment as a condition of hire. These are due by the 15th July 2018 to artists@sydneyfringe.com

SMOKING REGULATIONSIn NSW it is not considered an offence to smoke during a performance where smoking is deemed ‘necessary’. However, as with Victoria, WorkCover would prefer that real tobacco cigarettes were not used and encourage the use of an apparatus or prop to replicate smoking. No smoking will be permitted in any Fringe managed venue.

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sydneyfringefestival@sydneyfringe @sydneyfringe