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The Fringe Team

Who are we?

Prague Fringe is now in its 16th year and takes place in the Malá Strana (little quarter) district. A beautiful district below the castle running along the Vltava river. All our venues are within easy walking distance of each other. 

Fringe Team:

Fringe Director & Founder – Steve Gove

Associate Director – Carole Wears

Technical and Production Director – Giles Burton

Production Coordinator - Barbora Jakubcová

Festival Manager - Rosie Dwelly

Operations Manager - Alison Brodie

FOH Supervisor - Frances Lamb

You will meet at least one member the Fringe team early in the festival, at your venue during your tech period. Whilst Budečská is the address that appears on our communications with you, it is actually not an office, its a private residence which is not suitable for visitors, the hub of the festival is in and around Malá Strana...and don't you worry we'll be making our way round your venues during tech to say hello and help familiarise you with the festival, meeting places etc and the Festival assistants and Fringe Technicians will be on hand to assist with your requirements.

Who are the Festival Assistants? 

All of the Front of House and Street Team staff are non-paid volunteers, many of them have flown themselves to Prague to assist us on the festival because they are interested in theatre, they get free entry to all shows, but it will never be to the detriment of your ticket sales.  Also of course they are just the people to spread news of your show across the city!!  Please treat these volunteers with respect and remember they are responsible for adhering to Fringe regulations to help the whole event run smoothly.  

Venue info for company producers and technicians

Detailed application info available here:  Application Information

Venue packs:

Malostranská beseda

A Studio Rubín 

Divadlo Kampa 

Divadlo Inspirace 

Cafe Soda - coming soon

Golden Key 

Cafe Bar 3+1 (Formerly Kavarna 3+1)

Malostranská beseda Multi-purpose room    

Bums on Seats

Your essential guide to marketing your show and more. Please share with all members of your company. 

Download or read online here

UPDATED DECEMBER 2016

Your show photo

Rules for show photo submission, deadline December 15th 2016: 

We need one photograph to represent your show in our printed programme and on our website as a teaser to what you are offering, so choose carefully. 

SENDING INSTRUCTIONS: 

* Send one photograph to us via https://www.wetransfer.com/ (super easy to use and no sign up required). 

* Photo file name must be your show title i.e. myshowtitle.jpg  

* You will be asked for 'Friend's Email' please enter photos@fringe.cz as the recipient.

* You will receive a confirmation email when we have received and downloaded your photo. 

* DO NOT email the photos directly to us.



PHOTO RULES: 

* Must be a photographic image and NOT a graphic design/drawing

* Must NOT include any text, numbers, or logos

* It is NOT possible to make changes once the photo is submitted. 



* The photo you send us must be the same one you will use on other marketing materials (i.e. posters, leaflets, social media) to avoid confusion and to maintain a consistent marketing campaign.  

* Choose an image with bright, vibrant and eye-catching colours. Darker/black and white images have less impact. 

* Keep the 'action' of the photo in the centre as opposed to off-centre. 



PHOTO SPECS: 

Use landscape orientation (not portrait). 

A .jpeg photo with around 5:3 ratio, 2-4 MB in size, minimum 300dpi when 8,5cm (1000px) wide. 

We reserve the right to crop the image to fit the brochure format. 

PRAGUE FRINGE AWARDS

As you may know Prague Fringe Festival has 3 award categories
They are detailed here 

Please take a look at the information for the Inspirativni cena (Inspiration Award)  

An annual award, chosen by an anonymous and independent panel to a piece of work (not a reworking), which has had no more than 2 runs anywhere. The award is suitable for theatre, dance, storytelling, spoken word, opera, and physical theatre with a strong element of character development or narrative .

If you are eligible for this award or would like any clarification please e-mail Carole   by 1st May 2017.  

Fringe Photography and Facebook Promo

An effective way to give your show an additional marketing boost is to sign up for our Sneak Peek Facebook photo album scheme.
Just fill in the online form (uploaded here early 2017) to book one of our official Fringe photographers to document your Fringe rehearsal and/or performance. We'll then post a selection of the best images in an exclusive Sneak Peek album on the Prague Fringe Festival Facebook page. You can also be sent a copy of the photos in hi-res for use in future marketing.  

The fee of 500kc (approx €18) is simply be deducted from your final settlement at the end of the festival. 

You can scroll through examples of last year's Sneak Peek albums here

Your Print Materials

When you arrive in Prague, please drop your posters and flyers at the print room.

The print room is located on the 2nd floor of Fringe venue Malostranska beseda (the door will be marked with a sign) and will be in operation from Friday 26th May onwards.

Opening hours for print drop off will be confirmed nearer the term. 

Fringe Sunday - your involvement

Fringe Sunday is our free-to-attend 'Fringe market place' which takes place on Sunday 28th May. Full details here

This event is a great promotional opportunity for your show as well as chance to meet other companies performing at the Fringe...

How it works: 

All companies are invited to perform a ONE MINUTE piece to the audience and press in attendance; an extract from the show which will entice people to come and see the whole thing. 

ONE MINUTE may not sound like very much but the idea is to leave people wanting more! 

The event is a short, snappy, fun and tempting introduction to Fringe 2017 and with nearly 50 companies to represent, we must ask you to adhere to the time allocated.

Each ONE MINUTE piece can be framed with an introduction – who you are, what the piece is called and a capped with an announcement about where you are playing and when.

You will be asked to register your interest closer to the time. 

If you are interested in being represented at the event but won't yet be in Prague or are unable to attend due to rehearsals etc, you have the option to submit a ONE MINUTE video clip to promote your show instead.

Top Cheap Lunch Spots

Here's our list of highly recommended places to grab a decent lunch before the Fringe kicks off. Reasonably-priced, well-located and tasty tasty tasty!

 

 

The Director's mini guide to Prague

Some top tips from Fringe director Steve Gove. Cafes, bars and restaurants, some in the Fringe zone. 

Read online or download here.

Where to stay in Prague

With so many options to choose from, it can be hard to know where to start your search for accommodation during the festival.

Here's our list of suggestions to get you started, with special Fringe discounts included!

Download the PDF here

How to Promote Your Show:

Check out our very useful 'Bums on Seats' guide which is full of the most up-to-date info on how to maximise your audiences and make the most of your time here in Prague.

Contains:

  • Poster style guide
  • What do do with your print materials before and during the Fringe
  • Press and media info
  • Venue names and addresses
  • and other useful tips 

This document was updated in DECEMBER 2017

 

How the Fringe is promoted

Fringe is not omni-present in the city for a number of reasons - as is the case for the dozens of other non-commercial festivals, there is no mass presence across the city, instead the festivals rely on cooperations with others to cross market and it's very successful. Part of the reason Prague so beautiful is down to its UNESCO protected status which involves heavy restrictions on the erection of banners/posters in the city centre. 

Here's an insight into the hidden marketing gems we use that you may not be aware of:

Partnerships with local tour guides - distributing flyers and info to raise awareness among visitors.

Promotion to tourists via our accommodation partners Asten Hotels & Mosaic House, posters and flyers in hotel reception/lobby, special food and drink offers and accommodation discounts for Fringe friends. 

A dedicated street team distributing flyers and information to tourists and visitors in the city centre throughout the festival. 

Holding slide before all screenings at Kino Svetozor for a month leading up to the Fringe. Svetozor is a large alternative cinema, expected reach of 10,000 views.

Huge electronic billboard advert on the main highway through the city (2 of them regularly repeated 24 hours per day).

Partnership with Prague City Tourism - flyers and posters in all of their city centre locations (including info stand at the airport) and incentives for their staff to promote the festival. 

Special relationships with many of the large multi-national companies with headquarters in Prague to promote ticket sales among their thousands og English-speaking employees. 

Airport transfer drivers distributing flyers and info about the event to arriving tourists.

Leaflets in non city-central locations (major universities and arts institutions, student dorms,  popular bars and cafes for expats and theatre-goers, international schools, other theatres etc).

1,000 brochures to key target partners, cafes, fringe venues etc. 

1,500 further brochures at venues during Fringe.

Emails to hundreds of English teachers targeting 10s of 1,000s of Czech school kids via our schools liaison programme in collaboration with Prague Youth Theatre. Mailouts to hundreds of schools with English programmes in the Prague area promoting group booking options. 

Fringe partner Tesco My Narodni - Facebook competition for free tickets and window display in large, high-profile spot in city centre, 10,000 Fringe leaflets distributed throughout the store, 10s of Fringe posters in store and at entrances.

Facebook 'partners' - As well as the obvious partners - theatres, media sites etc, most non commercial festivals cross-promote in Prague - mainly on Facebook and by mailing lists... Fringe friends' Facebook pages have fans totalling 100s of thousands.

As with every Fringe, self promotion is a major part of making your show a success - please refer back to the bums on seats document for full details.

Where to build set/props in Prague

We recommend DIY Praha, a self-service workshop run by a native English speaker. Rent tools/equipment by the hour. Also offer delivery service. 

Communication with and between Fringe artists

Important information from Fringe HQ will be sent to you via our email newsletter system. Check your spam/promotions folder if you think you're not receiving updates. 

Join the 'Prague Fringe Artists and Producers' group on Facebook to connect with fellow performers and promote your shows before the festival begins. 

The Fringe Club

Come and join the party at the Prague Fringe Club, held every night at Malostranská beseda.

All parties start after the last show of the day and end when the sun comes up.

A full line up of nightly events will be posted nearer the time. 

Free entry and open to all performers, crew, festival assistants, audience members, local fun-enthusiasts and their friends! 

If you're interested in performing at or being involved with the club nights, please email rosie(at)fringe.cz 

Pre-sales and comps

How are my pre-sales going? 

Pre sales are a tiny part of the overall sales for the Fringe here in Prague. The vast majority of sales are walk-ups. The starting allocation (usually 20) via our presale ticket agent is a small percentage of the total door sale and is being monitored - extra tickets are added as and when is necessary. 

Can we have complimentary tickets for friends/company members? 

There is a policy on complimentary ticket requests for company use or performer comps which is - there aren't any!  This is a trial and error decision, which in the end is fair to all.  We know how much it costs all companies to stage their works at the festival, (many travel from across the world) and thus how important tickets sales and revenue are.  Some companies are large, some are small, and the same with venue size so there could be no fair way of doing it.  Also the cost of individual tickets is so low that this is the fairest, simplest and most democratic way to do things.  If you have individual show sponsors or guests coming to your show the best thing to do is buy their tickets or have them buy their tickets from Ticketstream, as they can provide receipts which we can’t on the door so they/you may be able to use them to claim back expenses.

Does the Prague Fringe give out any complimentary tickets? 

Any complimentary tickets which the Festival gives out are to accredited press, sponsors and Fringe staff through the festival office, and subject to availability after sales so there is no detriment to your ticket income.  There are also promoters from across the World Fringe Alliance attending the festival who will also have access to shows.  All will be recorded. 

Show Programmes and Merchandise

Can we sell programmes for our show? 

If you wish to bring your own hand-printed complimentary programmes, please give them to the Festival Assistants before your first show and they will happily give these out to your audiences, but we don’t sell programmes.

Can we sell merchandise for our show? 

We do not sell merchandise, you are welcome to sell your owns CDs etc after your show but please do it outside the performance space so that you are not cutting in to the get-out/get-in times of your show and the next.

OTHER HELPFUL FAQs FOR PERFORMERS

Why is there no poster up at my venue yet?  

Some venues are too busy with their season shows to have enough space to put up Fringe materials until the beginning of the festival. This is unfortunate but to be expected with these intimate Fringe-style theatres which have limited display space. Don't be concerned if you don't see your poster when you arrive at your venue for rehearsals, as soon as the festival begins and the dedicated team of Festival Assistants begin their hard work then your posters will appear across the Fringe 'zone'. The main Fringe flyers and posters will of course have been at all the theatres for a few weeks. 

Is photography allowed during our show?

One of the largest sources of annoyance to our audiences is photography as it distracts them from your performances.  This year we are really trying to minimise this and will be making pre-show announcements to this effect. 

How can we promote other shows?

Yes please! It is quite common for groups to give a brief curtain speech thanking the audience, asking them to tell their friends if they have liked the show and recommend other shows they have seen and liked – we do ask that you do not criticize other shows though! 

How can I get online during my visit?

WiFi is available for free in most cafes in Prague and some of the Fringe venues also have access.

If you would prefer to have more permanent WiFi, all providers here will sell you a sim card with no contract and have various wifi packages - look out for the o2, Vodafone and T-Mobile stores on every corner. Some staff in each branch will speak English.

Can I park somewhere in the Fringe zone?

Central fringe parking is available in a secure car park at Divadlo Kampa. The owners will charge 600kc per day - payment can be arranged through the Fringe. Please contact giles(at)fringe.cz about this and he will arrange it through our Production department.



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