HFF16 concluded yesterday with its annual Awards Show and Closing Party. The Awards show this year was at the Ricardo Montalban Theatre, and the venue was packed with excited participants and industry. The big winner of the night was the incredible solo show, My Big Fat Blonde Musical. Hats off to the lovely Theresa Stroll and her finance’ Robert McGlynn, who crafted a wonderful show about accepting yourself and never giving up on your dreams, which hit a chord with so many of this year’s Fringe attendees. So proud to have had the opportunity to see the opening night performance of this amazing show, which was one of my personal Top Ten shows at the Fringe.
Thanks to everyone on the Hollywood Fringe Festival staff, from Executive Director Ben Hill on down, for the incredible event you all put together. Thanks also to Director of Publicity Stacy Jones Hill for your amazing coverage of the event and the assistance you provided to media members like me, making HFF16 the best one yet.
Here’s the list of awards handed out last night:
Fringe Freaks (Community-Voted Awards)
Top of the Fringe: My Big Fat Blonde Musical
International: MacDeth!
Fringe First (World Premiere): My Big Fat Blonde Musical
Cabaret & Variety: Angel’s Flight
Comedy: Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance
Dance & Physical Theatre: Office Beat – A Tap Dance Comedy
Ensemble Theatre: Night Witches
Musicals and Operas: My Big Fat Blonde Musical
Solo Performance: Still Got It
Sponsored Awards
A Little New Music Award for Outstanding Songwriting: Thug Tunnel
Beyond Bechdel-Wallace Award: Disrupted
Cherry Poppins’ Cherry Picks: Ripest Show: Tilt & Here There Be Dragons
FPI’s Most Wanted Award: Actors Company, Fountain Theatre, Lounge Theatre, Macha Theatre/Film, Rogue Machine @ MET Theatre, Sacred Fools TheaterStephanie Fuery Studio Theatre, The Hotel Cafe: Second Stage, The New Collective, Theatre Asylum and Underground Theatre
O Face Awards for Orgasmic Achievement: Keight Leighn from (A)partment 8 (Most orgasmic performance), Will Michaels from Night Witches (Most orgasmic writing), Kitty Serial Killers – Sacred Fools (Most orgasmic production)
The Duende Distinction: Moving Art Collective: Metamorphosis (for overall production)
The Inkwell Playwright’s Promise Award: Vanessa Espino for Odilia
Lumpy-Cramp© Spirit of the Fringe, Never in the Box Award: Wheel of Invention
The Rogue Shakespeare Award for Artistic Excellence: Daniel Llewelyn-Williams for Writing/Acting Excellence in A Regular Little Houdini
The Unleashed Awards: Porn Rock (Most Unleashed Show), Jessica Moreno in All Aboard the Marriage Hearse (Most Unleashed Performance), Elizabeth Dement in Porn Rock (Tracey Collins Funny Girl Award)
The Encore! Producers Awards:
Three Clubs: 30:30:60 – A Competitive Birthday Event, 50 Shades of Shakespeare, A Whole Newd World: Cherry Tales at The Knock Shop, Broadway Noir, Live From The Grave…It’s John Belushi!, MADLIB! The Musical, Nilbog: The Unauthorized Musical Parody of Troll 2, Ruby, Human Test Subjects
Actors Company: Amy Snowden’s Confessions from LA to L.A., Charlotte’s Shorts, F—- My Life, Freakout, Girls Together Always, Makin’ A Movie featuring the Mad Jackrats (LPNSImprov), The Gay Guide to, Tinseltown, Thirteen’s Spring, She Got Off the Couch, YOU
Asylum: A Horse With a View, A Regular Little Houdini, American Man Dream, Awkwardly Fabulous, Bin Laden: The One Man Show, BOUND, CRAFTSMAN, Einstein!, Happy Hour, How to Be A Virgin (in 13 morally ambiguous steps), In The Garage, Kill All Politicians, Las Garcia, Night Witches, Occupation, Voices, Bull, Smoke
Complex Theatres: Time Stands Still, The Art of Falling Down, Suicide LIVE, I am Vertical, Cockroach Dialogues, Julianne: Live from LA!, Lolita, Daisy, Ophelia: A Love Story, MacDeth!, Punch and Judy, Slightly Dramatic, Sticky-Fingers Monologues, Tony Danza’s Letterz 2 2pac: an evening with Tony Danza, Washed in the Blood
Lounge Theatre: All Aboard the Marriage Hearse, Aurora and Larry, Bloody Beautiful, Cold Tangerines, Fairytales Against Humanity, Feast of Snacks, MmHmm, Please Stand Clear the Doors Are Closing, SpiritWheel, Strap-On, The Creeps, Uterine Affairs, Whalefail
Sacred Fools Theatre: Thug Tunnel, Office Beat: A Tap Dance Comedy, Alien Vs. Musical, Still Got It, My Big Fat Blonde Musical, Mark Twain Answers All Your Questions!, Tilt, Lamprey: Weekend of Vengeance, All The Best Killers are Librarians, Paul Dooley: Upright and Personal, Up Down Stick Stuck, Thanks a Lot! My Gratitusical, Penny For Your Thoughts, The Princes Charming, Come Fux With Us, Tell Me On A Sunday, Nine Dresses: Sex, Death, Fashion
If you live in Los Angeles, I strongly urge you to support the shows that have been selected for extensions. Keep the Fringe spirit alive. See you all next year.