Theatre Company Applications

Policies and Information

Please read this information carefully. It is your agreement with the Hamilton Fringe Festival and we will abide by the terms.

Participation 

The Hamilton Fringe Festival accepts applications in several Categories. We also have category quotas for applications - a total of 35 companies consisting of:

Category A
90 Minute Production (4 slots)

Category B    
International Company - 60 Minute (4 slots)

Category C    
National Company - 60 Minute (12 slots)

Category D    
Local Company - within 150 km of Hamilton - 60 Minute (15 slots)

Category E
Bring your Own Venue (BYOV) - No time restriction but a maximum of 8 shows

For companies whose play does not suit traditional theatre stages, please ask us for additional details.  A Bring Your Own Venue may be shared between two companies.

You are strongly encouraged to plan to participate in the full 11 days of the Fringe. Performance times are between 12 noon and 12 midnight and each company will be scheduled for 7 (seven) performance times between those hours. Note: due to the number of companies, the Fringe will not guarantee that we can accommodate special requests regarding performance dates/times. 

Applications are accepted beginning December 1, 2009. The deadline for Category B through E applications is March 29, 2010. For Category A the deadline for applications is February 26, 2010. You will be notified by email as soon as your application has been processed.

The Application form must be completed in full and include 2 cheques.  The first cheque is a processing fee of $20 (non refundable) and the second is an application fee of $650 for Category A applications and $550 for Category B, C, D, E applications.   Cheques must be in Canadian funds and made payable to the Hamilton Festival Theatre Company.  The application fee will not be deposited until after you have been officially accepted.

We will accept only one application per person and one application per company. Primary and alternate contacts may be involved in only one production. The primary contact is the only individual who is authorized to submit or to make changes to company information. All Fringe correspondence will be sent to the primary contact.

While other performers and crew may choose to be involved in more than one production, they will be responsible for ensuring that no scheduling conflicts prevent or interfere with any of your performances. The Fringe will not adjust any scheduling to accommodate performers appearing in more than one production. Double casting is discouraged.

Production Rights

The Hamilton Fringe Festival will not knowingly produce a show without the permission of its originator(s). You are obliged to obtain written permission from the playwright/author/originator and pay any fees required for the production rights. As well, you are expected to obtain the necessary releases or pay appropriate fees to any professional associations to which you belong. Failure to do so could result in disqualification without refund or written notice.

Your Show

Your show should be no longer than 60 minutes unless you are applying for a 90-minute time slot.   Shows running longer then this time allotment will be ended by the Venue Technician bringing up the houselights, and patrons will be asked to leave the venue.

Your show should be production-ready with simple technical and production requirements. There are no limits on artistic content. Each company will be scheduled for seven (7) performances and we require that the company abide by the schedule. Please plan to commit to the full run of the Fringe from July 15-25, 2010. You will also have a 3-hour tech rehearsal between July 10-14, 2010. All companies will have a variety of performance times between noon and midnight.

Venues

Each venue is unique in staging and seating capacity, ranging from 50 - 200 seats. You will be provided with site specifications and other details of your venue at a later date.

Each venue will have basic lighting and sound. There will be an experienced technician for each venue and you will have a 3-hour technical rehearsal time. You are expected to provide a Production or Stage Manager and crew necessary to set and strike. Each company is allowed 15 minutes for set up and 10 minutes for strike. The audience is seated 5 minutes prior to show time.  

The Festival reserves the right to move performing companies into a different venue (without prior notice), if circumstances require it.  All venues will have a minimum seating capacity of 50 seats.  The average audience at the Hamilton Fringe for the past four festivals (2006 - 2009) has been 20 to 30 patrons per performance.  All venues are capable of accommodating this audience capacity.  Participants are encouraged not to budget for more then this capacity in determining their production expenses.

Tickets and Revenue

Participating companies/artists receive 100% of their box office receipts. The Fringe will provide house management, ticketing and box office services. The Fringe single ticket price is $9.  We have a festival “binge” pass; patrons pay $48.00 for 6 performances. You will receive $8.00 for each ticket used for admittance to your show. There are a limited number of these passes and they are intended to encourage patrons to see more shows.

The Hamilton Fringe now offers an online box office.  Artists will be paid $8.25 for each ticket sold online.  Artists will receive all tickets bought and paid for their production, irregardless of whether the ticket holder attends the performance.

Particular notice is directed to the fact that: the Hamilton Fringe requires all patrons and Fringe participants to purchase a Fringe Backer Button (a one-time $2.00 cost) in order to gain admission to the venue. This rule applies to everyone (ALL patrons, company members, company comps, etc.).   Anyone without a button may be removed from the premises at the Festivals’ sole discretion.  If you are doing group sales on your own, be sure to factor this cost into your calculations.

Box Office revenue will be disbursed no later then 11pm on each performance day and must be collected by the primary contact.  Not including online ticket sales, Box office cash sales left with the festival longer then 72 hours will be considered a donation to the Hamilton Fringe and a tax receipt will be issued in September.  Artists are hereby advised not to treat the festival box office as a bank.

Fees

The Application fee for 2010 is $650 for Category A, and $550 for Categories B through E (Canadian), plus a $20 registration fee that is non-refundable for all those who apply. Fees must be submitted with your completed application. Please make all cheques payable to Hamilton Festival Theatre Company. Do not mail cash. The application fee will not be deposited until after you have been officially accepted.  Applications whose cheques are returned for any reason by the bank will be charged a $25.00 NSF fee and risk losing their performance slot. 

Acceptance / Confirmation

Applicants who have been successful at winning a slot will receive confirmation by email. Your application fee will be deposited immediately.

Once the category quotas are filled, applicants will be placed on a waiting list. You will receive notification of your status. Your application fee will not be deposited until there is an opening. Waiting list payments will be held until May 30, 2010 and then returned uncashed to applicants if they are not finally accepted. If you are put on our waiting list, you may withdraw at any time and your full payment will be returned. 

Refund Policy

If a successful applicant withdraws from the Fringe for any reason, the following policy determines the refund (if any):

On or before April 25, 2010, participants who withdraw will lose $300.00 of their paid fee. After April 25, 2010, participants will lose their entire paid fee. The $20 processing fee is non-refundable for all applicants and will be deposited upon receipt of your Application form.

The primary contact is the only individual who may withdraw from the Fringe. Any intent to withdraw must be made in writing and is effective from the date the Fringe receives the written notice. Waiting list applicants who are accepted into the Fringe will be held to the above Refund Policy.

International Applicants

The Hamilton Fringe considers International applicants as those whose members reside outside of Canada. These applications must be postmarked from outside of Canada. Please contact us if you have any questions regarding your eligibility in this category. It is your responsibility to ensure that you acquire the necessary visa(s), work permit(s) and/or waiver(s). If you do not apply for or receive a waiver, the Fringe is required by law to withhold 15% of ticket revenues and the company must then apply to Revenue Canada for a tax refund.

If You Are Accepted

• You keep 100% of your box office ticket sales
• The Fringe provides house management, ticketing, and box office volunteers
• The Fringe provides your venue equipped with basic sound and lighting and one technician
• You will be included in all Fringe publicity: our program, on our website, and overall event publicity
• Plan to have a great time living on the Fringe!

It is your responsibility to arrange accommodations while you are at the Fringe. Upon request, we will send information about accommodation in Hamilton at a later date.

Finally...

Submission of your application and fees means that you have read and agree to all the above policies. Please contact us if you have any questions or need clarification of these details. We recommend that you make a copy for your own records.

Any individual or company is eligible to apply to the Hamilton Fringe Festival, but only one application can be submitted per individual/company. Every application must have a company name and this name cannot be changed once the application has been received. The primary contact cannot be the contact for a second company applying to the Festival. If the primary contact (whom we consider to be the show’s producer) for a company is unable to continue with the production, the Festival reserves the right to remove the production from the Festival and apply the appropriate withdrawal policy. Companies accepted into the Hamilton Fringe Festival cannot sell or transfer its spot in the Festival to another company. If a company sells or transfers its spot, both companies will be removed from the Festival and will forfeit the full application fee.

Please be aware that by signing your application, your company agrees to adhere to the laws of Ontario, and the policies, procedures, and safety guidelines as set forth by the Hamilton Fringe® Festival, as well as act in the best interest of the Festival at all times. The Festival reserves the right to remove any company or cancel any/all performances of a company that does not abide by the policies of the Festival. If your company is accepted into the 2010 Hamilton Fringe Festival, your application will be considered a signed agreement between you and the Festival. 

Please make your cheques or money orders payable to: Hamilton Festival Theatre Company.

Mail or drop off completed application with required cheques to: 

Hamilton Fringe Festival
c/o 279 King Street East
Hamilton, Ontario
L8N 1B9

For further information contact us at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or by phone at 905-543-8718.