{"id":2452606,"date":"2026-06-10T10:02:40","date_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:02:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2452606"},"modified":"2026-06-10T10:02:40","modified_gmt":"2026-06-10T10:02:40","slug":"is-hollywood-fringe-finally-becoming-the-theater-festival-that-l-a-deserves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/is-hollywood-fringe-finally-becoming-the-theater-festival-that-l-a-deserves\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Hollywood Fringe finally becoming the theater festival that L.A. deserves?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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When Lois Neville and Ellen Boudreau-Den Herder became co-executive directors of the Hollywood Fringe Festival in early 2020, their first job, Neville likes to joke, was to cancel it.<\/p>\n

The trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic closures led to even greater challenges for the city\u2019s theater community as sales to live shows continued to plummet, arts grants were canceled and audiences dwindled. Remarkably, when it came to the Fringe Festival, those problems added up to a major opportunity to rethink the sprawling event \u2014 criticized for its lack of cohesion \u2014 into the kind of theater festival L.A. deserves.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s event has a record number of participants, and is set to break even after operating at a loss for the last two years. The motto \u201cL.A. is a theater town\u201d is emblazoned on posters and T-shirts all over the festival, which kicks off Thursday and runs through June 28, featuring thousands of artists in nearly 500 live performances, including clowning, solo shows, dramas and musicals.<\/p>\n

The COVID pause allowed new leadership to address major issues including longstanding complaints about a lack of diversity and representation. They also moved from a volunteer-run organization with a yearly stipend for employees to a paid model because, said Den Herder, \u201cYou can\u2019t keep staff if you\u2019re not paying them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aside from the cost and challenges of mounting even a simple show, the start of 2020 saw the passage of AB5<\/a>, the California bill that required independent contractors to be treated as employees \u2014 which meant theaters couldn\u2019t operate on a volunteer model. This caused many theaters to drastically cut their schedules and costs, or close altogether.<\/p>\n

But AB5 also led to Hollywood Fringe becoming a refuge for artists, who can stage their shows independently while enjoying the institutional backing of a ticketing system, publicity and other benefits. As an added bonus, the money from ticket sales goes directly back to the shows.<\/p>\n

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The cast of the Jem and the Holograms parody musical \u201cTruly Outrageous,\u201d which played during the 2023 Hollywood Fringe Festival. Pictured, from left, Veronica Carey Matthews as Synergy, Cassie Lujan as Kimber, Soda Persi as Aja, Danielle Crook as Jerrica and Ayla Rose Barreau as Shana. <\/p>\n

(Rebecca McGlynn)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

That community aspect of Fringe is invaluable to artists.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s about connecting with your community and making new artistic friends \u2014 which is so important since L.A. has lost a lot of its artistic connective tissue,\u201d said Padraic Duffy, managing director of Sacred Fools Theater Company, whose Broadwater complex will host 108 productions this year \u2014 up from an average of 40 to70 in recent years.<\/p>\n

Mark Vigeant will appear in three shows, including his comedic solo show \u201cOut There,\u201d before it travels to the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. \u201cFringe is the only place I can put up my ridiculous, category-blending comedy and count on an enthusiastic audience to show up,\u201d said Vigeant.<\/p>\n

Participating in the festival paid off in other ways too. Vigeant said he met \u201cthe love of [his] life\u201d at Fringe, and after his 2024 \u201cThe Best Man Show\u201d won best comedy at the festival, it became a special on Dropout TV.<\/p>\n

Fringe is also a win for the public, who have a wide variety of acts and times to choose from. \u201cIt\u2019s like a tasting menu,\u201d Den Herder noted. \u201cThere are so many styles and they\u2019re done quickly and all times of the day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Vigeant noted the quality can vary. \u201cThere are no gatekeepers, which means the ceiling is sky-high and the floor is as low as it gets; I\u2019ve seen genuinely mind-blowing shows at Fringe, as well as a whole lot of crap.\u201d<\/p>\n

But with short run times and tickets averaging less than $20, Neville said it\u2019s a good place to take a risk. \u201cYou might not be able to afford to spend hundreds of dollars on an unknown, but here you can try everything and might find something you never knew you would love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some big trends they\u2019ve noticed this year include around 40 clown shows, big ensemble casts and what Neville referred to as \u201cartivism,\u201d tackling topical subjects and \u201cusing theater to change the world.\u201d<\/p>\n

One such show is \u201cRadical Acts With Ram\u00f3n,\u201d featuring artist Ruby Marez\u2019s Puerto Rican drag king alter ego. Ram\u00f3n is a staple at Fringe, having won several awards for previous shows.<\/p>\n

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Ruby Marez as Ram\u00f3n from \u201cRadical Acts With Ram\u00f3n.\u201d<\/p>\n

(David Haverty)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

\u201cIt deals with the rise of tech authoritarianism and the surveillance state, which doesn\u2019t sound like it could be made fun or into a game,\u201d said Marez. \u201cBut Ram\u00f3n always finds a way to \u2018put the vitamins in the ice cream,\u2019 so to speak. Expect games, clowning and catharsis that transform helplessness into empowerment and isolation into belonging.\u201d<\/p>\n

Marez exemplifies the rising representation at the festival, which has seen big changes behind-the-scenes largely thanks to Den Herder and Neville. Their first year in leadership positions was supposed to ease them into the transition, but the pandemic forced them to pivot.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn some ways it was a blessing,\u201d admits Den Herder. \u201cWe got to learn by stopping, taking an assessment, and listening to the community. And we really wanted to change the culture of Fringe.\u201d While the fest is known for being a big celebration, Den Herder said the environment could be a \u201chigh-drinking culture that often became cliquey.\u201d<\/p>\n

The pair had already been working to make the festival more inclusive. \u201cEven when I was coming up in Fringe, I was not always comfortable as a woman, and that was a problem,\u201d Den Herder said. \u201cWe really needed to listen to women, non-binary individuals and people of color who felt excluded from the space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her first project in 2016 as outreach coordinator was to help launch the festival\u2019s scholarship program, which has since helped fund more than 128 works.<\/p>\n

They also knew formal parameters were needed. \u201cIn the early days of Fringe, we had one rule: \u2018Don\u2019t be a jerk,\u2019\u201d said Neville. \u201cAs we grew, we needed to expand on that to ensure the boundaries and expectations were clear.\u201d<\/p>\n

In 2018, before they took on their current leadership roles, the pair helped put together a code of conduct. And, for the first time, began banning people from the festival for bad behavior.<\/p>\n

The code of conduct made it clear that \u201csexual harassment and sexual assault are completely forbidden\u201d and that one should \u201cknow your limit when it comes to alcohol and other substances.\u201d In addition, aggressive behavior, verbal and physical intimidation and hate speech were banned.<\/p>\n

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Co-executive directors of Fringe Lois Neville, left, and Ellen Boudreau-Den Herder inside Fringe Central. The pair has worked to make the festival more cohesive and inclusive.<\/p>\n

(Carlin Stiehl \/ For The Times)<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/figure><\/div>\n

This happened during the nationwide #MeToo reckoning, but they still encountered resistance. \u201cIt was a shock to some people,\u201d Den Herder said. \u201cSome would refer to it as \u2018curation\u2019 or say we were \u2018excluding men\u2019 or frame it as sinister. But we didn\u2019t want to take away the party \u2014 we wanted to take away the idea it was a frat house with no rules.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville continued, \u201cWe began pushing the idea that you are welcome to our festival, but it is a privilege, not a right. And everyone deserves a space that is safe and allows room to grow. And I really think that year off helped reinforce that we were coming back in a bigger and better way.\u201d<\/p>\n

This change was partly accomplished by the creation of the Access Artist Advisory Board, which was dedicated to making things more accessible \u2014 physically and emotionally, but also financially.<\/p>\n

Still, nobody is part of Fringe to make money. The administration isn\u2019t driving around in fancy cars \u2014 Neville doesn\u2019t even own an automobile and Den Herder shares one with her husband.<\/p>\n

\u201cFringe is not a career-maker, it\u2019s a launching pad,\u201d Neville said. \u201cYou cannot do it and think it\u2019s a sustainable career financially.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neville noted that in addition to their annual report, a postmortem survey tracks \u201chow happy people are,\u201d and if they feel the cost was worth it. Last year the results came in at over 67% positive. This year they are hoping for even better. This can only happen, the Fringe leaders said, if Angelenos donate generously to arts funding \u2014 and reap the benefits by supporting subjects they\u2019re interested in.<\/p>\n

You\u2019re not just funding artists, Den Herder pointed out, \u201cYou\u2019re funding your world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Click here for Hollywood Fringe 2026 tickets, schedule and additional info<\/i><\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018 The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n

\u2018 Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.latimes.com \u2019 <\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When Lois Neville and Ellen Boudreau-Den Herder became co-executive directors of the Hollywood Fringe Festival in early 2020, their first job, Neville likes to joke, was to cancel it. The trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic closures led to even greater challenges for the city\u2019s theater community as sales to live shows continued to plummet, arts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2452607,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[25172],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2452606","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/Is-Hollywood-Fringe-finally-becoming-the-theater-festival-that-LA.com2Fe22F522F2422dd7b4bab831351b0406f.jpeg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452606","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2452606"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452606\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2452608,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2452606\/revisions\/2452608"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2452607"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2452606"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2452606"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2452606"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}