Hollywood Fringe Festival

What Hollywood Fringe Festival does

Hollywood Fringe Festival (HFF), operated by Stagey, LLC, is an annual open-access performing arts festival held each June in Los Angeles, founded in 2016 (originally as Hatchery Arts). The festival differentiates itself with an uncurated participation model — any artist can register a show without selection-committee approval — and distributes productions across 50+ partner venues in Hollywood and greater Los Angeles, including Zephyr Theatre, Hudson Theatres, The Broadwater, and the Los Angeles LGBT Center. It serves three primary constituencies: emerging and experimental theatre artists seeking a low-friction platform to premiere work, local audiences seeking affordable live performances across genres, and under-resourced artists who receive support through the Scholarship Program and Artist Fund. The organization runs year-round programming to bridge the gap between festivals, including workshops, town halls, networking mixers, and a digital event venue, complemented by participatory community channels on Discord, Facebook Live, YouTube, and Instagram.

The product surface spans a web-based ticketing platform (no native mobile app), a dedicated Artist Hub, the ACCESS Committee for equity and inclusion, scholarship and artist fund programs, and a Creative Workshop Series. Physical revenue products include the Fringe Button ($5 general public / $3 participating artists) required for entry to most events, merchandise, and ticketed parties and cabarets. The platform integrates with Zoom, Discord, Facebook Live, and YouTube for virtual and hybrid events — a capability formalized during the COVID-19 era when the 2020 in-person festival was cancelled and replaced with virtual programming (Fringe From Home). The underlying technology stack is a conventional web application using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript, with no disclosed proprietary AI, ML, or advanced technical components, and no public API.

HFF's revenue model is diversified across five streams: participant registration fees (subscription-like recurring revenue from artist onboarding), ticket sales commissions on the ticketing platform (transaction fees), Fringe button and merchandise sales, donations and a $100 annual membership program, and venue/space rental arrangements with partner theatres. Distribution is primarily direct-to-consumer through the HFF website, with venue partners acting as resellers/channels and a global virtual/hybrid streaming footprint for remote audiences. The organization is led by Co-Executive Director Ellen Boudreau-Den Herder and Festival Director Lois Neville, with Carly Regal serving as Industry + Press Director. No venture capital funding, parent company, or public investors are identified in the source data.

Name

Hollywood Fringe Festival

Legal name

Stagey, LLC

Website

https://hollywoodfringe.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hollywood Fringe Festival is an annual open-access performing arts festival in Los Angeles, operated by Stagey, LLC, that hosts thousands of emerging and experimental artists across 50+ venues each June and generates revenue from ticket commissions, registration fees, admission buttons, donations, and venue partnerships.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Performing Arts Festival

NAICS

Promoters of Performing Arts, Sports, and Similar Events without Facilities (711320)

SIC

Services-Miscellaneous Amusement & Recreation (7990)

akta.pro primary industry

Fringe & Experimental Performing Arts (MPAGABAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Musical Theatre (Non-Broadway/Fringe) (MPAGABAG)

Keywords

• Performing arts festival
• Live theatre events
• Artist ticketing platform
• Community arts programming
• Emerging artist support

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Participant Registration Fees: Artists pay registration fees to participate in the festival, securing their spot in the program and gaining access to the ticketing platform, marketing tools, and festival resources.
2. Fringe Buttons/Merchandise: Sale of Fringe buttons (admission passes required for entry to events), merchandise, and branded items through the online market.
3. Ticket Sales Commissions: The platform processes ticket sales for all festival events and performances, generating commission revenue from transactions.
4. Donations and Membership: Voluntary donations and membership program providing benefits to supporters who contribute to the organization's mission.
5. Venue and Space Rental: Partnership with local venues for festival performances generates revenue through venue arrangements and space utilization.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Hollywood Fringe Festival produces an annual open-access performing arts festival each June in Los Angeles, aggregating third-party artist productions across 50+ venues with no selection-committee approval required. The organization operates the supporting ticketing infrastructure (hollywoodfringe.org), venue partnerships, artist resources (Artist Hub, scholarships, Artist Fund), and year-round community programming including workshops, town halls, and special events. Revenue is generated through ticket commissions, mandatory Fringe Button admission passes, participant registration fees, donations, memberships, and merchandise.

Product overview

Hollywood Fringe Festival operates as a unified annual performing arts festival platform with integrated components: the core June festival hosting thousands of artists across multiple LA venues, supported by a ticketing platform, Artist Hub resources, and scholarship programs. The portfolio includes Creative Workshop Series for artist education, community events (Opening Night Party, Closing Night Party, Fringe Awards Ceremony), and specialized offerings like Fringe Runway fashion show. Year-round programs include off-season events, digital/virtual venues, and the Artist Fund supporting underrepresented performers. The platform functions as both an event management system and community-building infrastructure for emerging theatre artists.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Hollywood Fringe Festival (Annual June Festival) Annual open-access performing arts festival held in June in Los Angeles, aggregating thousands of artist productions across 50+ venues with no jury or selection process. Operates as a training ground for emerging artists to become producers.
• Ticketing Platform Web-based ticket sales system for festival show tickets, Fringe Buttons, and event admissions through hollywoodfringe.org, processing transactions for all festival events.
• Fringe Button Festival admission pass sold for $5 to general public and $3 to participating artists; required for entry to most festival events and parties after standard opening times.
• Creative Workshop Series Educational programming including Writing for Fringe 101, budgeting workshops, marketing and ticketing guidance, accessibility training, and immersive theatre panels for festival participants. Pay-what-you-can with suggested $10 price; some workshops free with reservation.
• Opening Night Party Annual festival kickoff celebration featuring VIP early access, entertainment, and community gathering; $25 pre-sale for VIP early access at 5pm including photo op, swag bag, and specialty performances.
• Fringe Awards Ceremony Annual ceremony recognizing outstanding performances and productions across multiple award categories during the festival.
• Closing Night Party End-of-festival celebration following the Awards Ceremony to close out the annual festival.
• Fringe Runway Annual fashion show event during festival week showcasing costumes from festival productions, also conducted via Instagram during pandemic restrictions (2021).
• Hollywood Fringe Digital Event Venue Virtual venue space offering complimentary registration for free online meet-ups, workshops, and projects related to the performing arts mission.
• Venue Partner Network Distributed network of 50+ partner venues across Los Angeles including Zephyr Theatre, Hudson Theatres, The Broadwater, LA LGBT Center, Three Clubs, and many others that host festival performances.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hosts thousands of artists annually from Los Angeles and around the world
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Company of AngelscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-production partnership for the Scholarship Program and events like the State of BIPOC Theatre panel. Company of Angels is a nonprofit theatre organization providing artistic development opportunities.
• Celebration TheatrecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented Writing Queer Solo Work workshop at Creative Conversations Event 2022. Celebration Theatre is a nonprofit celebrating LGBTQIA+ community through innovative productions.
• RespectAbilitycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented Disability Inclusion in Storytelling workshops. RespectAbility is a nonprofit fighting stigmas and advancing opportunities for people with disabilities in arts and entertainment.
• League of Experiential and Immersive Artists (LEIA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented Adapting Immersive Theatre Panel during pandemic. LEIA is an organization created by and for immersive theatre producers advancing experiential arts through collaboration and education.
• No ProsceniumcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented Immersive at Fringe 101 workshop for HFF23. No Proscenium is a publication dedicated to exploring immersive and experiential arts, founded by Noah Nelson.
• NewFilmmakers LA (NFMLA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-presented Fringe to Film/TV Pipeline panel at HFF25 Discover Fringe. NFMLA is an organization supporting independent filmmakers and providing industry networking opportunities.
• Theatre Commons Los Angeles (TCLA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-hosted Mobilize for the Arts panel at HFF25. TCLA is a theatre community organization fostering collaboration among Los Angeles theatre practitioners.
• Los Angeles Female Playwrights Initiative (LAFPI)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAFPI Mixer + Micro-Reads event at HFF25 connecting with female playwrights in the Los Angeles theatre community.
• Broadwater LAcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorVenue partnership at The Broadwater complex (6324 Santa Monica Blvd), including The Plunge at The Broadwater bar venue. Broadwater LA is a theatre complex providing multiple performance spaces.
• Summerhall (Edinburgh Fringe)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership connecting Hollywood Fringe artists to Edinburgh Fringe through showcases like A Night in Hollywood, artist mixers, and advice panels for artists interested in Edinburgh.
• DropoutminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCo-hosted Building Your Show Beyond Fringe panel for HFF26, discussing audience-building and cultivating fandom for self-sustaining projects.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Winnipeg Fringe Festival: A major Canadian regional fringe festival within the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals, operating an open-access multi-venue model with ticketing and artist services analogous to HFF.
• Minnesota Fringe Festival: A longstanding US midwest open-access fringe festival with lottery-based artist selection, multi-venue programming, and year-round community engagement similar to HFF.
• Brighton Fringe: England's largest open-access arts festival, operating an artist-registration model across numerous Brighton venues with ticketing and marketing support comparable to HFF.
• Toronto Fringe Festival: Canada's largest open-access fringe festival. Operates an uncensored, lottery-based artist selection across multiple Toronto venues, with comparable ticketing infrastructure and community programming.
• San Francisco Fringe Festival: Open-access performing arts festival operating across multiple San Francisco venues with an artist-driven, community-focused programming model.
• Edinburgh Festival Fringe: The world's largest and original open-access performing arts fringe festival. Operates the same open-participation model across hundreds of venues in Edinburgh, making it the closest direct comparator to Hollywood Fringe's structure and value proposition.
• Adelaide Fringe: Australia's largest fringe festival and the second-largest globally. Runs an open-access multi-venue festival with ticketing, artist registration, and venue partnerships analogous to Hollywood Fringe's model.
• Orlando Fringe: The oldest fringe festival in the United States, operating in Orlando with a similar open-access multi-venue format and artist-driven programming model.
• Cincinnati Fringe Festival: US midwest open-access fringe festival offering uncensored, lottery-based artist programming across multiple Cincinnati venues, comparable in scale and format to Hollywood Fringe.
• FRINGE WORLD Perth: Western Australia's largest annual multi-genre fringe festival. Operates a ticketed, distributed-venue festival model closely paralleling Hollywood Fringe's structure and community-led approach.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/hollywoodfringe
• YouTubeyoutube.com/hollywoodfringe
• Facebookfacebook.com/hollywoodfringe
• Instagraminstagram.com/hollywoodfringe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Hollywood Fringe Festival