PORTFRINGE 2021 APPLICATIONS HAVE CLOSED.
STAY TUNED TO HEAR ABOUT THE ARTISTS TAKING PART IN OUR 10th BIRTHDAY FESTIVAL!
SAVE the FESTIVAL DATES: June 11-19, 2021

Hi Artists! Whether you’re a PortFringe repeat offender or visiting our site for the first time, we’re so glad you’ve found us! This page is specifically designed for Artists interested in participating in our festival (if you’re looking for general information about PortFringe, you can find that here).  And if you can’t find what you’re looking for below, contact us any time at portfringe@gmail.com.

Application & Other Dates and Deadlines for PORTFRINGE 2021:
February 15, 2021 – Applications Open!
February 24, 2021 – Applications & Application Fees Due 
February 28, 2021 – Lottery results sent to artists (on or before this date)
March 5, 2021 – All production/participation fees due (PAY PARTICIPATION FEES HERE)
March 8, 2021 – PortFringe releases the final list of PF21 Artists to the public (on or before this date)
May 2, 2021 – Final Show videos must be submitted to PortFringe (on or before this date)
June 11-19, 2021 – PortFringe 2021 – Live watch-parties, workshops and other special events
June 20-30, 2021 – PortFringe 2021 shows will stream on-demand 24/7

Is PortFringe the Right Fit for You?
You can read more about our festival culture in non-COVID-times by clicking here. The spirit of this information still applies, even in this time of digital, socially-distanced pandemic event production!

Everything we do, we do it for you, Artists. We are passionate about being uncensored and un-juried, and we will give your show the warm embrace of our festival, regardless of what you choose to present. PortFringe is the ideal laboratory for experimenting with your art. A testing ground for Your Big Ideas. If you’ve been looking for a reason to step outside — maybe even WAYYYY outside — your comfort zone, PortFringe may just be the perfect fit. 

What’s New in 2021?
IN SHORT: EVERYTHING IS NEW. No. Like. Really. Read on!

FESTIVAL FORMAT: PortFringe 2021 will be a “fringe-on-film” experience, featuring the short-format, original work (see below) of 21 Artists/Companies. All work will be presented in live, online, watch parties, bringing together audience members and artists for community and conversation as part of each streaming event. The festival week will also include online Artist workshops, social events, and other opportunites for connection. And as a bonus – all PF21 shows will be available for (non-live) on-demand streaming after the festival ends, through the end of June. Please note: If it is possible to do so safely, legally, and in a way that makes us all feel good about it, PortFringe will consider the possibility of additional in-person watch parties, workshops, etc. That’s probably gonna be a close-to-game-time decision, and we appreciate your patience.

• WHO MAY APPLY?: Anyone! PortFringe welcomes applications from any Artist who feels their work is a good fit for our festival. We welcome the participation of non-local touring Artists in 2021, but regret that the pandemic prevents us from offering billeting/homestays and other hospitality assistance this year. Interested Touring Artists are encouraged to participate in our digital festival by virtually connecting from their home city/state/country in 2021. 
• ARTIST SELECTION PROCESS: PortFringe is a completely un-curated festival, and all shows are selected through a random lottery draw. PortFringe 2021 will include the participation of several Artists from our (cancelled) 2020 Festival who deferred their participation to this year. We expect there will be 8 of these Artists joining us for PF21. PortFringe is holding 50% of the remaining PF21 performance spots for BIPOC Artist Applicants. Self-identified BIPOC Artist applications will be drawn until the reserved spots have been filled, or until all BIPOC Artist applications have been drawn – which ever comes first; after which all remaining spots will continue to be filled by random selection from the general pool of applicants. (In the event there are more BIPOC Artist applicants than there are reserved spots, remaining BIPOC Artist applicants will be folded back into the general lottery).
• RUN TIMES: Your recorded show must be no more than 20 minutes. No exceptions.
• TYPES OF PERFORMANCE GENRES: Any and all! If it’s original content, and you can record it, we’ll take it! Due to the digital nature of our festival, PortFringe 2021 requires that your work be completely original and/or based upon something in the public domain. Unless you can provide proof of a licensing agreement that allows for unlimited digital streaming of your show in both a live and on-demand basis, we are unable to accept shows for which you do not control the creative ownership. Other than that caveat, PortFringe is an uncensored festival, and ANYTHING you want to do with your (up to) 20 minutes is up to you. (There are some community guidelines in the application you will want to review, but rest assured you have enormous latitude in using this platform to freely express yourself and your work). Record a live performance, make a short film, — stretch the boundaries of the digital medium to do whatever you’d like. It’s your show, your voice, and your time.
• NUMBER OF SHOWS IN THE FESTIVAL: PortFringe plans on presenting the work of 21 Artist/Company applicants. We are embracing one of our favorite and most popular festival components — the PortFringe multi-feature event — and we will be packaging your show with two other PF21 shows to create a one-hour event. In other words, the 21 shows will be presented as seven, three-show, one-hour events throughout the week.
• BOX OFFICE DETAILS: As a reminder, PortFringe is an all-volunteer-run, CAFF Member Festival and we return 100% of gross box office receipts to our Artists. As with all PortFringe multi-feature events in our live in-person festivals, box office proceeds will be split evenly between the three shows sharing the one-hour spot. And remember this includes not only the tickets sold for your in-festival watch-party events, but for any on-demand tickets that are sold after the festival ends, through the end of June. While the financial success of these digital events are hard to pin down, PortFringe estimates that box office payouts for the PF21 will be in the $350-$1,000 range (per Artist/Company).
• WHY ARE WE DOING THIS? If you’ve fringed with us before, you already know that creating a close-knit community of Artists, audience members, volunteers and other members of the public is at the heart of what makes PortFringe, PortFringe. The multi-feature event instantly creates community by bring three different shows together — three different artist pools, three different styles of show, three different audience draws, etc. We can’t wait to host events and watch parties where y’all can connect in real time with each other, and audience members in the digital format. We will do everything we can to make sure PF21 still retains that friendly, warm, authentic, homecoming vibe… What’s more – if you’re a nuts-and-bolts kind of person, we’ll also point out that with only seven one-hour events in the entire festival, that means little to no market competition, and more opportunities for audience members to see EVERYONE’S work in the festival. All of which makes it easier for PortFringe to do more of the heavy lifting of marketing your work this year… which means during the festival, you can hopefully spend less time hustling, and more time relaxing and connecting with the PortFringe community.
• OTHER ARTIST PERKS:
  • COMPS: PF21 Artists will have the opportunity to see each other’s work at no cost.
  • ARTIST-LED WORKSHOPS: Artists will have the opportunity to propose and present workshops during the Festival week.
  • SOCIAL EVENTS: Online/virtual events could include preview shows, a festival kick-off, and a 10th Birthday Party closing event.
  • PRESS/REVIEWS: Our panel of independent critics will be deployed right away in the early days of the festival – you’ll have at least 2-3 reviews for your future press efforts. Additional reviews may also be provided by the local press outlets in Portland.
  • AWARDS: PortFringe presents Patron, Peer, and Volunteer Choice Awards, as well as “Spirit of Fringe Award” bestowed at the discretion of the Planning Committee. Our independent critics panel also bestows additional awards in a series of fun and quirky categories. 

What do we need from you?

YOUR FULL COMMITMENT TO PORTFRINGE! If you’re looking for a festival where you can submit your pre-recorded work, peace out, and wait for your check after the week ends, this is not the festival for you. We ask each of our Artists to commit to full participation in PortFringe 2021. We know it’s a virtual festival, but your active participation in each and every one of your scheduled performances is important. We’d also love to see you lead (and/or attend) Artist workshops, support your fellow Artists by attending their shows, and participate in other social events offered to you. Again – part of the PortFringe experience — the part that’s the most important to us — is the camaraderie and magic that happens when we gather in community together. Zoom isn’t the same — but it’s what we’ve got, and you better believe we’re gonna seize the day.

YOUR COMPLETE APPLICATION AND PAYMENT OF ANY RELEVANT FEES. We have endeavored to streamline our application as much as possible this year – that said, please make sure you provide all of the requested information, and that you’re reading everything you are being asked to sign off on. 

About Artist Fees: PortFringe is an all-volunteer-run Festival, with all ticket proceeds being returned in full to the participating artists. The Festival is funded entirely by the generous financial support of our sponsors, advertisers, donors and friends, and through application and participation/production fees paid by Artists. The PortFringe participation fees are among the lowest (if not the lowest) of any other festival in the world, and we do everything we can to ensure our Artists see a return on their investment in our festival community.

• Application Fees: PortFringe has lowered our Application Fee from $25 to $15 (USD, non-refundable) for the 2021 Festival. Application fees are due at the time of application, or no later than February 24. PAY APPLICATION FEES HERE.
• Production/Participation Fees: The Production/Participation fee has been lowered (from a range of $150-$250) to a flat rate of $135 (USD, non-refundable unless PortFringe cancels the entire 2021 Festival). Production Fees for accepted artists are due no later than March 5, 2021.

There are no other fees for particpating in PortFringe.

What your 2021 Production/Participation Fee Includes:

• THREE LIVE PERFORMANCES: At least three live, scheduled, online/virtual (or in-person if possible/safe) “watch party” screening events during the week.
• UNLIMITED ON-DEMAND STREAMING UNTIL JUNE 30: Additional on-demand (non-live) streaming after the festival ends – through June 30, 2021.
• MARKETING SUPPORT: Comprehensive marketing efforts, including listing in the official digital PortFringe Festival Guide, and robust marketing of the 7 PortFringe multi-feature events.
• BOX-OFFICE MANAGEMENT: Comprehensive and transparent box office and accounting oversight and management. Ticket and pass prices have not been set for the 2021 digital festival, but will be based on a single ticket base price of $15. We are exploring both a “pay what you can” option (for greater financial accessibility). and a “pay it forward” option (so audience members can pay more than the ticket price in support of your work). 
• A PORTFRINGE BFF: A dedicated management-level PortFringe “Buddy” assigned to help YOU and your show through the entire process from lottery to final payout and everything in between!

APPLICATIONS HAVE NOW CLOSED.

please contact us with questions!