I spent some time yesterday going through the list of shows at the upcoming Hollywood Fringe Festival to figure out how I want to program my weekends in June. Previously, I was only able to hit one or two fringe shows. I’m still only going to be able to hit a small percentage (3.3%) (as I only have weekends available — weeknights — and even Friday night — in Hollywood is an impossibility with my work schedule), but I am going to be able to squeeze in a few more. Doing this, I realized what the HFF really needs: a smart scheduler. This scheduler should:
- Permit you to select the shows that are of interest to you, either individual, by category, by company, or any variety of selectors. It would also permit you to rank the shows from “must see” to “like to see” to “don’t schedule”
- Indicate the dates and time ranges you are available for shows throughout the festival period.
- Indicate the spacing you want between shows to accommodate transit time
- Indicating the meal times you want (ranges) and meal durations (so you can get lunch/dinner breaks)
With the above information, and the knowledge of show start times and running times, it would generate for you an optimal schedule that fit as many of the must-sees as possibles, and as many of the “likes to see” in the remaining spaces. After the ticket sales start, it would also have the capability to go out and ticket all the shows for you. The scheduling is a relatively complex CS problem to find the optimum schedule, but I do believe it should be doable. I think a website version would be best — I don’t believe in phone-apps for single-use purposes.
P.S.: Curious as to what shows I’m thinking about? Here’s the list of what I blocked onto my calendar: Clybourne Park, Max and Elsa. No Music. No Children., Wombat Man, Marry Me a Little, Nigerian Spam Scam Scam, Merely Players, Uncle Impossible’s Funtime Variety & Ice Cream Social, Medium Size Me, and Might As Well Live: Stories By Dorothy Parker. I had to work around some previously scheduled or blocked events: Grease (the Movie) at the Colony at 2pm on Sat. 6/6, a MoTAS Jethawks game in Lancaster (killing the entire day of 6/7), a morning Bat Mitzvah on Sat 6/13, a potential evening activity on Sun 6/14, and a drum corps show in Riverside on the last Fringe day, Sun 6/28. Shows that looked interesting, but I couldn’t schedule, were: Alien vs. Musical, Breaking Bard, Nerd Anarchy: A Fantastic New Musical, Sin: A Pop Opera, Adam and Eve… and Steve, Stupid Songs, Amelia’s Going Down, Enshrouded in an Apocalyptic Mood, … and I’m sure there are others. With 241 shows (go to here and click “search”), so many sound interesting….
