Selection Process
True to the spirit of creating challenging, indigenous and innovative theatre that touches the heart and mind, the team from The Necessary Stage is the organising committee of the M1 Singapore Fringe Festival.
Why should I participate in the Fringe?
The M1 Singapore Fringe Festival is an exciting festival that is all-inclusive, covers a range of art forms, and is one of the few festivals in Singapore with a strong curatorial identity. Through the Fringe, we aim to present the best of contemporary, cutting-edge and socially-engaged works to the Singapore audience.
Furthermore, the Fringe positions itself as a creative centre, with the twin-purpose of innovation and discussion, whilst providing a platform for meaningful and provocative art to engage our increasingly connected and complex world.
Through the Fringe, you will be able not only to reach out to new audiences in Asia and the region, but also to tap upon our organisational and production expertise in the presentation of your work. You will also get to rub shoulders with fellow artists, promoters and directors from all over the world, and this should present itself as a wonderful networking opportunity, as well as a space for discourse and explorations into future collaboration.
How do I take part at the Fringe?
In order to take part at the M1 Singapore International Fringe Festival, you need to consider, first and foremost, if your proposed work is relevant to the theme for the Festival. The Necessary Stage curates each Fringe Festival based on a specific theme, and while the interpretation of the subject may be very wide, it is imperative that your work address an aspect of the theme as much as possible.
If you consider your work to be appropriate for the theme, you should download the application form, which can be found on the website here.
Do note that the deadline for applications for 2013 is Friday 16 March 2013 and late or incomplete applications will not be entertained. We do get inundated by applications during the period, so we would appreciate it if you could send in a comprehensive and complete application, with relevant documents, CD/VHS/VCDs/DVDs, press kits and photographs attached.
What happens next?
The Necessary Stage collates all the applications that come in, and our curatorial team then devote a few months to peruse every single application and relevant media. We have several meetings to shortlist applicants, based on the strength of their work and relevance to the theme.
Once the shortlist has been narrowed down, we will inform all applicants of the results, and selected applicants will then need to provide us with more information pertaining to their funding status, availability, technical requirements, and so on.
Though the majority of the Fringe is programmed for a specific year, we consider artists on a year-round basis. We may consider your proposal for a future year if we are interested in your work, but not able to programme it for the current year.
Will you be able to pay for all aspects of my production?
As with all other Fringe Festival, we run on an extremely tight budget. What the Fringe is able to offer in terms of remuneration are local costs - that is, accommodations in Singapore, food - as well as a small artist honorarium. We also cover the cost of venue rental and basic production and technical crew.
However, we generally do not provide airfares, freight and relevant costs (e.g. travel insurance) to fly you over to Singapore for the performance. We strongly advise all artists to apply to their local arts funding bodies for traveling subsidies. Should you require a letter of support if you are selected to perform at the Fringe, do feel free to contact us for assistance and we would be glad to help in any way possible to make your trip a reality. On our end, we also try to source for sponsorships by working with corporate sponsors, embassies and cultural agencies in Singapore. Occasionally we are able to obtain significant sponsorship amounts and grants to assist in the travel costs of the artists, though this should not be taken as a given at any point in time.
This may all sound a little daunting, but don't despair as we do try to help guide you through the process. We have been extremely successful in attracting, securing and assisting artists to perform at the Fringe, and should you have any queries pertaining to this aspect, please feel free to contact us for a chat. Last but not least, you need a fabulous show - but we're sure you knew that already.
Do I get a cut of the ticket sales?
As the Fringe will be paying for all venue, ticketing and production costs in presenting your show, we will need to recoup our cost and will therefore not be able to provide you with a percentage of the ticket sales.
What we do offer though is a small artist honorarium aside from local costs. Furthermore, you will enjoy the administrative, marketing and production assistance of the Fringe. We have, for instance, a very robust and aggressive marketing campaign for the Fringe, and collaborate with all our venue partners, supporting embassies and the media to ensure that the Fringe is a resounding success.