Fearless Fringe Sponsorship

When we started talking about Fearless Comedy, one of the things I was really interested in doing was a sponsorship program for the Minnesota Fringe.

The idea was pretty simple.  I wanted to help encourage comedy producers to give the Fringe a try.  I know that navigating the Fringe for the first time can be pretty challenging and the costs can look a little daunting.  If we could make navigating that experience a little easier, I felt that it would be a great initiative for our new company and for the Twin Cities theatre community.

Today we announced the Fearless Fringe Sponsorship program and I couldn’t be happier.

How does it work?  Simple – we’ll have an application on our website going up on the 1st of December.  It’ll ask you to explain your idea and tell us why you think we should sponsor you.

We’ll accept applications through the 1st of January and then we’ll pick a winner to be announced at the January 12th launch party.

The winner will be responsible for applying to be a part of the Fringe lottery and they will pay the $25 application fee.

If their show is picked in the lottery, Fearless will pay the producer fee of $350 – $450.  We’ll also provide script support, casting support, marketing support – basically whatever help we can reasonably provide.

The producer in turn will agree to state that the production is a joint production with Fearless Comedy.  If their show makes money, they will pay back the producer fee plus %15 of what they made beyond that amount.  This money will be used to help fund future sponsorships as it is our goal to eventually sponsor at least 2 productions per year.

We’ll take applications from anyone who wants to produce a show.  We aren’t limiting applications to first time producers.  The only requirement is that the production be a comedy.

I’m really hoping this idea takes off.  I don’t imagine there will be a ton of applications the first year but if we can reach just a few folks who might be afraid of the process, it will be worth doing.

If you know someone (or you are someone) who is thinking about doing a Fringe show this year, tell them about the Sponsorship Program.  Encourage them to give it a try.  Help us enrich the Twin Cities comedy scene and the Minnesota Fringe Festival!