Artists toolbox

New Zealand currently has no regulations for COVID-19. If the situation changes NFF will follow any government advice or regulations in place at the time.

Red Door Theatre
95 Atawhai Drive. By Founders Heritage Park.

The Refinery ArtSpace
115 Hardy Street

Studio One
115 Hardy Street (entrance through The Refinery ArtSpace)

Image: We need one photo to represent your show in our printed programme and on our website . We recommend this is the same image that you use for your poster.

We will use the image in a square format. It should be approx 1mb in size.

50 word blurb: This is what represents you in the printed programme and online, and needs to tell people why they should come to your show. This, alongside the photo, is what most people will see before deciding to buy a ticket!

Plus one word: We don’t want to catagorise you but… people do like it. Please choose one word to define your show. These are our standard genre, but if you really don’t fit into any of these, please create a new one: Theatre, Comedy, Improv, Music, Dance, Cabaret, Spoken-Word, Family.

Age rating and warnings: We do not normally put R ratings on shows, unless you want to. Our standard ratings are R13 & R16.

We do put a warning if appropriate, e.g. for violence, nudity or swearing where you would not expect it, e.g. early theatre shows.

Trigger warnings: People coming to Fringes expect to be challenged, so we do not put trigger warnings unless there is something that could genuinely cause issues or distress.

50 – 300 word blurb: We will use this additional info wherever we have a chance to expand, for example if we have media requests.

Reviews: Short, snappy excerpts of reviews are helpful for us.

 Our Accommodation Partner is YHA Nelson. They are delighted to offer a 10% discount off bookings from 22 March to 1 April.

Their accommodation ranges from beds in dorms through shared, doubles and single rooms. They are five minutes walk from The Refinery/ Studio One or about 30 mins to The Red Door Theatre.

Address: 59 Rutherford Street, Nelson.
To get this discount please contact them directly through their website, using the PROMO CODE: FRINGE23.

Book Accommodation at Accents Hostel

Apply promo code once you have selected your room.

If you have any issues please call 03 545 9988

Along with the show title and image (hopefully the same one as on the website), listed below are some other things that your poster should have.

1. The Nelson Fringe Festival Banner. To go at bottom of poster.
   Download Fringe Poster Banner png
2. Venue name and address – (see Venues above)
3. Show date(s)
4. Show time
5. R restriction if needed

Remember your poster will be displayed in public so should not cause offence to anyone.

You may wish to put a ‘tag’ line.

We do not recommend putting the following on posters.

• Long text – people don’t read it!
• Ticket prices – although we have a standard ticket price (plus booking fees), patrons can choose to pay more for their tickets to support artists – it all gets quite confusing on a poster.

Remember the point of your poster is to push people to the website where they can see more details.

Nelson Fringe will put up generic Fringe posters around Nelson and Tasman. We will also put up individual show posters in venues and other limited locations.

You may print as many or few posters as you wish. If you are local to Nelson, we encourage you to distribute posters or flyers to cafes and noticeboards etc.

If you want to print posters and/or flyers there are three options.

1. Print and distribute yourself.
2. Print yourself and deliver to the Fringe via – Refinery ArtSpace, 114 Hardy St Nelson 7020.
3. Use our ‘Poster Print’ Service. Send us your poster file and out Print Partner CopyArt will print and deliver. We will then put up in venues and some other places.

Details of ‘Poster Print Service’ below.

Purpose: This service is aimed at non-Nelson based companies so that we can print and put up the posters at venues etc before you arrive in town. If you are Nelson-based you may find it easier to print your own and simply deliver some to us at the Refinery before Monday 24 Feb. Please do not deliver more as we will not be able to display them (though you are welcome to go to cafés, etc in town).
Deadline: 5:00pm Monday 24 Feb (NZ Time)
Tech specs: PDF sized to portrait A3 (420mm x 297mm) with an additional 3mm bleed outside and at least 5mm margins inside to text. JPG files 300dpi resolution or at least 2MB in size. PDF is preferred to a JPG.
Paper: 130gsm Gloss paper.
Cost: We’ve yet to confirm the costs for 2025, but here’s what we had last year, so you can assume there will be a small increase: (incl gst) Poster Package – $15 for 3 x A3 and 4 x A4. Flyers – $50 for 100 x A5 (these will be at the box office and are also available for you to hand out).
Payment: The cost will be deducted from your ticket settlement after the Festival. If you want to take advantage of this service, please send your files to info@nelsonfringe.co.nz.

Programmes: We are happy to hand out free programmes for your show as the audience goes in, however we cannot sell them. We are happy for you to sell merch, however you will need to do so in a way that does not effect the smooth running of the venue.

Merch: The Fringe is not able to sell merch on your behalf.

Artists card will offer discounts at some cafés and bars as well as ‘stand by’ tickets to up to three shows.

We will prepare Artists Cards for all performers individually listed in the programme. If you have performers not listed, technicians or other support staff please let us know at info@nelsonfringe.co.nz.

Please pick up your artists card from The Refinery ArtSpace any time the box office is open.

Can we get Comps for our friends?
You can have four comps to give away.

Can I get Comps for other shows?
No!

Does The Fringe give out any other comps?
We will give out comps to accredited press, sponsors, judges and a few prize winners. Occasionally other people whose presence we believe benefits the Fringe or yourself, bookers, potential funders, etc.. These will all be recorded. We also allow Fringe Staff and Volunteers to go into shows if there are empty seats.

If you have someone coming who you think should have a complimentary ticket please discuss with the Box Office

So there is no way I can sneak into a show?
Your Artist Card will allow you to get into three shows on a ‘standby basis’. Your card will be punched each time – so remember to pick up your card.

Do you want to know how your Tickets Sales are going? Not everyone does!

Simply email us at boxoffice@nelsonfringe.co.nz and we can link you to Eventfinda. Please note we can only link to emails on your application form.

Nelson City Centre is pretty small and you can walk around most of it quite easily.

Nelson has a brand new fleet of electric busses with much improved routes. Unfortunately they must be solar powered because they all stop when the sun goes down, around 17:00 – 18:00! You can find the timetables here

From The Airport: Busses run from early morning to early eve.

Alternatively you can grab a taxi (about $35 to the city).

Supershuttle cost around $10 but you need to book in advance and you can have a long wait.

Nelson Fringe Awards will be decided by an independent panel. You will automatically be entered into all awards except the Development Award, which has the following criteria:

An award for a piece of work that has had no more than two previous runs anywhere, and a total of no more than six performances.

If you are eligible for the Development Award please let us know at info@nelsonfringe.co.nz.