I didn’t sign up to be a grantwriter. I wanted to be a choreographer. I discovered that, to make my work, I needed to find support. So I embarked on a painful learning process of trial and error, making every possible grant writing mistake. Over the years, I have raised three million dollars from funders like Creative Capital, The Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Endowment for the Arts, and The Rockefeller Foundation.

I want to share with you everything I’ve learned. Based on 30 years of grant writing and art making, I teach principles for writing simple, clear grants. No bull, no fancy diagrams, just real-world tools for being an artist who writes grants.

I learned the most about grant writing by sitting on the other side of the table: serving on grant panels, reading hundreds of artist proposals. As part of this workshop, we will all act as a “fake grant panel,” reading, scoring, and discussing real artist grants.

Read more about Artists U here.

Let’s make complex fabrications simpler and cheaper! This workshop teaches you the skills you need to make a stage-worthy replica of an object. Walk away with a new repertoire of fabrication techniques, and a resource packet for your future prop-making endeavors.

This hands-on workshop will be broken down into 3 parts:

Part 1: Participants learn (or brush up on!) papier mache technique using a simple recipe designed to make sturdier, more versatile props.

Part 2: Working from 2D picture references, participants break an object down to its essential components. They then replicate the subject from a pile of recycled materials, ending up with a base structure ready for papier-mache treatment.

Part 3: Participants learn a non-toxic, single-use mold making technique for papier mache.

Great for: Anyone looking to expand their stage props fabrication skills!

Minors must be aged 16+ or accompanied by a guardian.

As a theater-maker, the set pieces you use must be structurally sound and properly assembled to make a safe, playable stage. But where do community theater or Fringe artists acquire set pieces? Salvaged from a professional theatre’s dumpster? Pulled up from a damp church basement? Wherever they come from, the set pieces you use often need significant cosmetic and structural repair. This workshop teaches you to first assess and repair stage flats and platforms, then tech them together into a simple set. The instruction takes into account the limited resources and budget of a small-scale theater maker or educator. Leave this workshop with the skills you need to construct a safer set for your next show!

Participants must be 18+ years of age

Whether you’re a stage manager, sound designer, or curious technician, learning QLab is an essential skill for anyone working in live performance. This workshop is perfect for beginners who want to build confidence with QLab—an industry-standard software used to run sound, video, and lighting cues for theatrical productions.

You’ll learn how to take the audio files you already have—like a Spotify playlist, downloaded sound effects, or original compositions—and begin building a cue list that can run an entire show. By the end of this session, you’ll be able to confidently create, edit, and organize basic sound, light, or video cues for live performance, giving you a valuable new tool to add to your resume and production toolkit.

In this workshop, you’ll learn how to:

• Import sound files and organize your cue list

• Set up fades, loops, and stop/start commands

• Build transitions between cues and manage cue timing

• Troubleshoot common QLab issues

• Think like a board operator and sound designer as you prepare for tech rehearsals

What to Bring:

• Your own sound files (MP3s, WAV files, or links to music/sounds you want to use—playlists are welcome)

• A Mac laptop with QLab pre-installed (free version is fine)
  → If you don’t have access to a Mac, let us know in advance—we’ll make sure one is available for you to use during the session.

Note: QLab is only compatible with Mac OS, so please plan accordingly. This workshop will focus on skills and tools available in the free version of QLab.

If you’re prepping for a future show, looking to expand your design skills, or just want to understand how sound gets cued in a professional setting, this workshop will get you up and running.

Great for: Self-producing artists, stage managers who also operate shows, technicians not yet familiar with QLab

You don’t need a full professional lighting rig to create striking theatrical effects. This workshop will guide you through the fundamentals of building dynamic lighting looks using affordable, off-the-shelf lighting gear from places like Home Depot, Lowe’s, or your local hardware store.

Designed with independent artists, small companies, and DIY theater-makers in mind, this session will break down how to design and implement effective lighting setups using practical, budget-friendly tools—perfect for fringe shows, storefront stages, pop-up performances, or immersive events.

With step-by-step instruction, participants will:

• Learn how to choose and modify inexpensive lighting fixtures for theatrical use
• Explore color, angle, intensity, and placement to build mood and focus
• Understand basic wiring, safety, and power supply setup for portable lighting
• Get hands-on experience assembling and testing a simple, versatile light kit

By the end of the workshop, you’ll have put together a single channel lighting system with power, a fixture, and control. You’ll gain confidence in how to create lighting that enhances storytelling—even without a traditional theater lighting system.

Great for: Emerging designers, solo performers, directors, or educators looking to add lighting design to their toolkit.

Are you producing a show without a Production Manager? Are you afraid of scenery or confused by sound? Does your venue provide you with lighting but you have no idea where to begin with it? Do you wonder how to plan a load-in? Then come ask questions of Producers and Production Managers that have been in your shoes!

This workshop is a panel discussion with four local working professionals centered on preparing participants for managing their own productions. Ideal for self-producers, folks curious about production management, and industry professionals who find themselves needing to pick up the mantle of Production Manager for their show, this panel will discuss Production Management norms and best practices.

Attendees will walk away with a better understanding of workflows, areas of attention, and things-to-know when acting as Production Manager for your show. Topics will include finding a venue, interfacing with venue staff, common terms and workflows, and advancing your show.

Panelists:

Kay Ruthemeyer Hammer, FringeArts Director of Production

Skye Fort, Pig Iron Production Manager and past Cannonball Producer

Becky Wright, Freelance Director and Producer

Linnea Bond, Writer, actor, and producer of ‘Heart Ripped Out Twice and So Can You!,’ Community Organizer

This workshop will include virtual participation via Zoom for folks who cannot attend in person.

Great for: Self-producing artists, producers and stage managers for small-scale work

During this hands-on woodgraining workshop, Scenic Charge Keri Kelly introduces participants to the wonderful world of scenic painting! What can it achieve and where can it fall short? “Woodgraining” is arguably the most common application of scenic painting, and can be achieved through a variety of methods. The process of woodgraining teaches participants the fundamentals of scenic painting. Participants learn useful painting techniques while gaining experience with commonly used scenic tools.

Great for: Those who are going to paint their own scenery, artists who want to learn a new technique, or just like having fun painting

This workshop is for those aged 18+. 

This workshop will teach attendees the basics of audio editing. Sound editing skills can take your show to the next level by customizing your sound directly to your show’s needs. After this session, attendees will be able to edit existing files, create soundscapes by combining multiple files, and manipulate their sounds to achieve custom effects. 

In this workshop, you’ll learn:

• When to use playback (like QLab) vs when to use an editing software
• How to use editing software
  • Import sound files from a variety of sources
  • Editing basics
  • Equalizing (EQing) – how to make your files sound their best or achieve a certain effect
  • Effects – what type of effects are available to you and how to apply them to your audio files
  • Exporting sound files to common formats
• Overview of editing softwares available and their price points

What to bring:

• Your laptop with programs preinstalled (we’ll send out instructions in the lead up to the workshop)
• Your own sound files (mp3 or similar)

Great for: Self-producing artists, entry-level audio technicians/designers looking to add to their skillset, other technicians looking to broaden their horizons

Thinking about buying a home?

Are you curious about what the process is like, what you should plan for, and what the first steps are?

Are you an artist with an unusual income structure, wondering if homeownership is even possible for you?

Ben and his team have been helping artists and the people who love them own houses for over 30 years. If homeownership is something you think might interest you, Ben is here to tell you how you can make that happen! He’ll discuss the process of home buying in the Philadelphia area, mortgages and costs, the local housing market, what to do first, and what to do next. Whether you’re planning for next month or next year, bring your questions and Ben can help you figure out next steps.

This workshop is geared towards anyone thinking about buying a home– not just artists!

Questions about the workshop?

Please reach out. “Call me before you think you need me!”

About Benjamin Camp

Benjamin Camp and his team have represented hundreds of artists who have taken the leap to become homeowners. As a (mostly) retired theater creator and performer, he understands the complications and opportunities of homeownership for artists and people with non-traditional income structures.

When he’s not working with homeowners and buyers or running the Camp Cammisa Steinreide Joslin (CCSJ) Team, Benjamin enjoys founding and developing arts and culture organizations. He is the co-founder of  Team Sunshine Performance, a company that creates original performance events and theater in Philadelphia, and Camp Bonfire, which hosted summer camp retreat weekends for adults. He’s also the parent of a middle schooler, serves as a Trustee for Friends Select School, and consults for various arts organizations and small businesses, and tries to see live art whenever possible.

This workshop provides producers with a toolkit for producing their shows while answering some of the most commonly asked questions. The workshop will begin with Fringe Arts’ Managing Director, Melissa Bridge, teaching basic budgeting terms and strategies, and walking through the creation of an example budget. FringeArts’ Director of Marketing, Melissa Negro, will review marketing services offered to festival participants and provide guidance on how to create your own marketing plan. Finally, our Director of Venue and Patron Services, Devi Bass, will review best practices for managing your front of house experience at your show and review festival ticket policies and procedures.

We will eat good food. We will take breaks and breaths. We will have time for writing prompts, big group discussions, and smaller conversations. We will talk about:

+ RECOGNITION. Most artists massively under-recognize what they accomplish. This makes moving forward more difficult, as we strain to prove things about ourselves that are already true.

+ RESOURCES. We will look thoughtfully at the resources that sustain us: money, of course, but also our cooperative, barter, collaborative economies, those precious community-held resources that cannot be defunded.

+ RECOVERY. We will consider our nervous systems: How do we resist and recover from depletion and overwhelm?

The circle of artists is the resource. I will bring prompts and tools, but we all have much to offer and much to learn from each other.

Read more here.

There are always more potential audiences for your work, people who would love to connect to what you are doing.

Being specific about who already connects to your work—and who might connect—allows you to find your real audiences.

Over time, gentle, intentional efforts to cultivate new audiences add up, and can massively expand your reach.

To quote my friend, hiphop artist FatRat da Czar: “Sometimes artists don’t think small enough. Getting fifty people to show up at your gig is an accomplishment, and you can build on it.”

Read more about Artists U here.