
[NoHo Arts District, CA] – This month’s The State of Show Business: “Other People’s Work.”
It is that time of year again. The Hollywood Fringe Festival is in full gear all over the Hollywood area. There are musicals, solo shows, and dramatic and comedic presentations. Cabaret shows, drag shows, large casts, small casts, and many many more categories of talent and endeavors. It is an opportunity for me to get out of my studio and away from my editing bay, or my first, second or third draft of a script. No shot lists, preproduction meetings, hunting for money, casting, hiring crew, and location scouting. It’s the time of year that I look forward to and see what my fellow artists are up to.
It was now time to drive to Hollywood and enter a small black box theatre, sit back, and relax and enjoy the show. And then write six reviews for six shows in three days. To be perfectly honest, I was asked to review these six shows because the supreme reviewer was way out of town and so six people settled for me. And it’s a good thing they did, because I may have not have taken the time to see six shows and revel in the artistic endeavors of artists that put their hearts and souls (and their own money) in the shows that are presented at the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

Now, I have been to lots and lots of film festivals around the world and what they share in common is the commercial aspect of the work. Will somebody buy it? How much will the distributors pay? Streaming or theatrical? Netflix, Amazon, or Apple TV+? Did we win any awards. And on, and on. But the artists that present their work are just hoping for an audience, laughter, a sigh. Did I come across well? Did they get the test, message, moral of the story? I had forgotten that art can be just for the sake of the art. Right now, I am about to embark on my own insane film project in Europe and I am concerned about all the aspects that come along making a feature film. But, for one weekend, I was humbled and reminded that even a film deserves the respect of telling a story the best way one can and hoping that one person walks away after the lights come up, a bit changed.
I was a bit changed six times in three days. I admit that I laughed, cried, moved by an experience I had no personal knowledge of. I was diverted from my everyday cares and participated in that holy communion of art and audience. Thank you Hollywood Fringe for being a part of my journey.