Open call is one of the common methods for festival to receive proposals from a wider base of international and local artists. However, sometimes the application process can be a barrier to stop artists from submitting their works as every festival has their own format and channels for the application. 

As festival managers, we must ensure that the application process is as accessible and simple as possible while collecting the necessary information and material for the artistic director to proceed with the decision-making process. 

For example, if the application process will take place on an online platform, the flow of application process should be designed in a way that the applicants/artists could save their data step by step or have an offline guideline available. 

There are the methods to consider easing the application process: 

• Creating a guideline for the application form to ensure that the artists know the required material and supporting documents before the submission. It is good to include the timeline of the application process and highlight the important dates, i.e., deadline for submissions, and notifications, so that the artists could plan their schedule as well. 

• Organise briefing sessions for the artists to meet up with the festival’s team. It can be physical meet ups for local artists and/or virtual meetings for international artists. The sessions can be a briefing on how to fill up the form and the programme’s criteria that the festival organisers have determined for that specific edition, or it can be a session for the artists to present their works. 

• Provide a channel to communicate with the festival organisers, i.e., email or social media for enquiries. 

Notification of the application status is important for the applicants/artists to know the application status. The applicants should be notified whether the application is success or not. This communication process is important for the festival to keep the relationship with the artists. 

Due to differences regarding working culture, the expectation will be different when it comes to the usage of rehearsal space. We need to prepare both artists and technical crew by highlighting the terms/rules that they need to take note of. On the other hand, the festival must be willing to meet in the middle if the artists or technical crew need more time for the rehearsal or site-specific needs.

It is important to communicate with the artists if there will be invited guests, i.e., press and/or volunteers with the purpose of publicity/sponsorship, attending the full-dress rehearsal. The festival should get the permission from the artists before they could extend their invitation.

It is always ideal if festivals are able to pay the adequate funding to the artists and for the works they bring to the festival. However, this is not always the case when the festivals are struggling with tight budgets and financial planning. 

Therefore, it is important for the festival to understand the artists’ need and requirement. Both parties need to negotiate how to best meet each party halfway by presenting the work within the festivals’ budget while not underpaying the artists and technical crew.

Some questions to ask ourselves in terms of our marketing strategy while taking care of the artists are: 

• Does our marketing strategy consider the audience and type of event that will be presented? 

• Are we including all the information required by the artists, including acknowledgement of donors or grants they received, to create the work? 

• How can we create synergy with the artist and their followers in terms of social media to benefit each other and create loyalty?

Artists and technical staff will usually submit their required hospitality/technical rider for the rehearsals and performances. As festival organizers, it is important to be prepared to meet their needs as much as possible and to be in constant communication before the performances, so they know and understand what to expect. Some questions we must consider are: 

• Can we provide the number of dressing rooms assigned? If not, what is our proposed plan for backstage areas? 

• Regarding technicians: can we meet all the technical requirements, labour needs, and proposed schedule submitted on the technical rider? If we cannot source a specific lighting or sound unit, what options can we provide to them? 

• What are the rules of the technical crew and how can we adapt the schedule to meet the load-in, rehearsal, performance, and load-out needs? 

• Preparing a Welcome Packet is very important for the artists and technical crew to feel welcomed. Some of the items to include are:

o Welcome letter signed by the curator/festival organizers 

o Backstage badge with essential information (phones for the hotel and management staff in case of emergency) 

o How to get around guide, including general instructions for public transportation 

o Venue information 

o List of grocery stores, pharmacies, hospitals, physical therapy, and other site-specific needs 

o Brochures with information about the city, where to eat, etc. 

As festival managers and producers it is important to understand that, for an artist who will be participating in our festival, this represents an opportunity of connecting with other presenters and could open the possibility for exhibiting their work elsewhere. From the negotiation stage of the agreement with the artist, we should make clear how many complimentary tickets we will be providing to the artist, and, if possible, how many tickets can we hold from sale for their purchase (ideally at a special pricing). 

While our income depends heavily on ticket sales, it is understandable the number of complimentary tickets or discounted tickets is limited. However, we could figure out if there are any other ways on how we can support our artist with their possible presenters, donors, and other stakeholders. Or if we can offer an open dress rehearsal for these purposes? 

Festival is a good platform to present artists awards considering the considerable amount of artists coming together in a city. Awards can be a motivation for artists, teams, and technical crews to continue producing good works. It is a recognition and acknowledgement to the artists’ effort and talent as well. Certain awards in fringe festivals could be organised by third parties or sponsored by certain organisations that express the interest in sponsorship or support for the festival’s activities. 

Links: 

• Adelaide Fringe Festival 

• Edinburgh Fringe Festival 

• UK Festival Awards (This award is for Festivals) 

As mentioned above, our festival can be a very important opportunity for an artist to network and obtain future work, by having presenters, donors, and stakeholders come to the performance and meet with them.

When programming and scheduling our festival, we should be mindful of these needs and have spaces ready for this to happen. Can we provide a Green Room for the artist to meet his/hers/their guests after the performance? Can we reserve rooms for meetings to happen during rehearsals and the run of the performances?

Providing hospitality for our artists and technicians is a crucial thing to do during the run of the load-in / rehearsals / performances. 

While some artists will provide a hospitality rider before arrival, we should make sure we make our best efforts to meet up to their requests. If there is something we cannot arrange, or do not have the resources to provide it, we should communicate this before their arrival and offer a solution to their needs.

 If no rider is provided, we should also indicate the hospitality to be provided, so they know what to expect. At the minimum, we should always offer water, coffee, tea, and some snacks (always consider any restrictions the artists might have, such as vegan, vegetarian, gluten free, allergies, etc.). 

It is also easy to forget about the technical crew during load-in/load-out shifts, who work very long shifts under stressful conditions. Providing coffee/tea/snacks during coffee break is a wonderful way to make them feel welcome and create positive energy form the beginning. Sometimes, because of tight schedules, they might have to work during meal-breaks or have meetings during that time. In these situations, we should make sure they are well fed and well taken care of.

• Always be around or reachable and ready to communicate when the artists are in the festival. 

• Permit Application: 

o Festivals must provide sufficient information to artists and technical crew to enter the country i.e., documents to prepare, procedure upon their arrival in airport, person to contact in case of emergency at immigration, amongst other vital information. 

• International Travel during Covid-19: 

o Brief artist and technical crew with the local conditions and things to prepare if quarantine is required. 

o Brief artists and technical crews on all matters regarding local restrictions and mobility regulations.