something special for North Devon

INTRODUCTION

Fringe TheatreFest, now in its 14th year, is a four-day festival of comedy, drama, street-theatre, dance, music and magic that takes place in Barnstaple at the end of June. But it’s also more than that. It’s a cross-community venture that sees individuals, companies and organisations working together in a variety of ways to create something quite unique in the UK.

Yes, there are Fringe Theatre festivals elsewhere – Edinburgh invented the idea – but none in the UK that follow this particular model. The inspiration comes from Canada. And the resultant Fringe TheatreFest is a high-energy, low-cost, ultra-friendly festival boasting a variety and standard of performance which by rights could only exist in a city, but which attracts national and international companies to Barnstaple.

Ticket prices are low (£3-£6); most performances are in specially converted non-theatre venues – there’s a real sense of adventure in entering these spaces; a number of events are in the shopping centre or out on the streets; this all adds up to Fringe TheatreFest being an experience that’s open to everyone.

Over the four days of the festival, the coffee shops, bars and eateries of the town centre are filled with chatter of people trading opinions, swapping tips on what to see and planning how to cram even more shows into their schedule. In 2019, they had 220 performances by 80 different theatre companies to choose from. 2,560 tickets were sold for performances in regular, ticketed venues whilst a further 2,600 attendances were recorded for performances in public spaces and informal venues.

Venues are made available either for free or at significantly reduced rates. In 2020, venue partners so far include the Town Council, Green Lanes Shopping Centre, The Bridge Trust, Golden Lion Tap, The Southgate, The Plough Arts Centre at St Anne’s, Barnstaple Library, Barnstaple Museum, Queen Anne’s Café and The Baptist Church. There will be others.

Help in kind – including the loan of equipment – comes from many quarters including Swimbridge Jubilee Hall, Bideford College, Multi Story Theatre Company, The Monday Collective and St John’s Garden Centre.

Funding support for specific elements of last year’s Fringe came from North Devon Community Councillor Grants, Fullabrook CIC and the Rotary Club.

Support from Sponsorship and Advertisers principally covers the costs of marketing and publicity but also a proportion of infrastructure costs – insurance, security, training and equipment.

In 2020 we want to deploy some of the marketing and publicity budget to focus on building audiences from further afield. We are in discussion with the Town Council and District Council as to how best to approach this. We do have regular visitors from other parts of the UK who take their holidays in North Devon centred around the festival. This is an area that could be further developed.

The principal physical marketing tool is the Fringe TheatreFest programme. 7,000 copies are distributed widely across North Devon from the middle of May. At the same time posters go up, distributed to libraries, schools, shops and businesses across North Devon while banners appear at various strategic sites in Barnstaple and surrounding towns. We have a year-round social media presence on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram and this kicks up a gear form May onwards. The website is the main on-line source of information. In the fortnight leading up to the festival we have a prominent display in Barnstaple Library, articles in the local papers, items on the radio (BBC and VoiceFM) and sometimes TV coverage. During the festival, our gazebo is prominent in the High Street, every venue is identified with a numbered Fringe board and a Fringe flag and outside events are also marked by mobile Fringe flags.

Many give of their time and expertise. Fringe TheatreFest is administered on an entirely voluntary basis by a committee made up of members with relevant professional experience. Fringe TheatreFest is a non-profit Unincorporated Association. An 80-strong volunteer force supervises the venues, stewards outside events, runs the box-offices, provides the technical infrastructure, assists with publicity and is the warm and welcoming public face of Fringe TheatreFest.

Fringe TheatreFest 2020 will present 47 companies in ticketed venues (141 performances) and up to 32 companies presenting outdoor shows and shows in informal spaces, likely to include Green Lanes Shopping Centre, High Street, The Strand, The Square, Bridge Chambers, The Liberal Club, Barnstaple Library, North Devon Museum and many more.

We will again be hosting the heady mix of comedy, drama, dance and family theatre that Barnstaple has come to expect. There are wonderful local performers and there are national and international companies drawn by the lure of the friendliest Fringe in the UK (so we are reliably informed).

SPONSORSHIP OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR BUSINESS

Festival Sponsor £2,000

• Your business promoted as the overall sponsor of the event
• Your business banner at all seven of the ticketed venues (for you to supply)
• Your business flyers on marketing tables throughout the festival (for you to supply)
• Your logo prominently displayed on Fringe TheatreFest posters
• Your logo prominently displayed on the front of the 7,000 Fringe TheatreFest programmes
• Your logo on the Fringe TheatreFest website with a link to your website
• Your logo on Fringe TheatreFest Facebook page
• Sponsorship announcements to the local media including listings, local newspapers,radio

Talo Homes has recently agreed to be the Festival Sponsor for the next three years and so this option is no longer available.

Venue Sponsors

The Tent on the Strand £500

St Anne’s Arts Centre £500

The Golden Lion Tap £500

The Baptist Hall £500

The Southgate £500

The Guildhall £500

The Castle Centre £500

venue sponsorship includes:

• Your business promoted as the sponsor at the venue
• Your business banner inside and outside your venue (for you to supply)
• Your business flyers on marketing tables throughout the festival (for you to supply)
• Your logo on the venue page and back page of the 7,000 Fringe TheatreFest programmes
• Your logo on the Fringe TheatreFest website with a link to your website
• Your logo on Fringe TheatreFest Facebook page
• Sponsorship announcements to the local media including listings, local newspapers, radio

Gold, Silver and Bronze Sponsors

Gold sponsor £250

• Prominent acknowledgement, including logo, on the back cover of the Festival programme

Silver Sponsor £100

• Prominent acknowledgement, including logo, in the Festival programme

Bronze £50

• Prominent acknowledgement in the Festival programme

All sponsorship packages can be fine-tuned to suit our sponsors' requirements.

2020 EVENT SUMMARY

Event: Fringe TheatreFest

Date: Thursday 25 June – Sunday 30 June 2020

Times of event: 11am – 11 pm

Activity: 147 performances in ticketed venues and a further 80 performances outside and in informal spaces (Pay-What-You-Will via collections buckets) across Barnstaple Town Centre

Ticket prices: £6 / £4 concessions / £18 Frequent Fringer Voucher (for 6 shows) or Pay-What-You-Will collection buckets

Insurance: Hiscox Insurance Company: £5 M public liability insurance + £10 M employee’s liability insurance

MARKETING ACTIVITY

The event is marketed through local press/radio, newsletters and community magazines, posters, street-banners, social media (Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) and by word of mouth. The most prominent and enduring physical marketing tool is the programme of events which this year will be 7,000 copies of a 24-page A5 booklet.

GOVERNANCE

Fringe TheatreFest is a non-profit Unincorporated Association led and run by a local volunteer management committee comprising of a chairman, secretary, treasurer and 9 members.

we hope you will come on board with us...

to explore this further, please contact Gill Nathanson at gill@theatrefest.co.uk or on 07974 569849