Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival

The Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival, nicknamed "IndyFringe," is a 10-day showcase of traditional and non-traditional theatre, dance, music, improvisation and a wide range of other performance and visual arts, performed and created by local, national and international artists. The festival features performances by 40 adult performance groups and 12 teen performance groups (the teen performances are dubbed "FringeNext").

History

Based on the Fringe Festival that began in Edinburgh, Scotland, when rogue theater groups set up on the edges of the Edinburgh International Festival in 1947,[1] IndyFringe's roots are found in Mayor Bart Peterson Cultural Tourism Initiative in 2001. A group of experts and citizens met for "Theatre City Indianapolis 2012" and came up with the idea for an Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival. Central Indiana Community foundation donated seed money and IndyFringe was born.[2]

The first year for the festival was 2005. The festival drew 4,775 patrons in its inaugural year. In 2006, a substantial increase in publicity and media coverage resulted in attendance doubling, with 9,677 patrons.[3] In 2010, there were 11,214 attendees.[4]

Schedule

The festival is typically presented in late August and early September near the Labor Day holiday weekend. The 2007 festival is scheduled for August 24 to September 2, 2007. The 2008 festival is scheduled for August 22–31, 2008. The 2009 festival is scheduled for August 21–30, 2009.

Performance groups are invited to apply for a place in the festival on February 1 each year. Eighteen places are reserved for performance groups from Indiana. Twelve places are allotted to performance groups from across the United States. Six places are allotted to international performance groups, and the remaining four places are allotted at the discretion of the organizers.

Performances are presented at five Indianapolis area venues: the American Cabaret Theatre, the Phoenix Theatre, ComedySportz Theatre, Theatre on the Square, and the Murat Theatre. All are located in the Massachusetts Avenue Arts and Cultural District within easy walking distance of one another.

Past performers

References

  1. ↑ Crews, Nick (August 21, 2006). "IndyFringe goes mainstream", Indianapolis Business Journal 27 (24): 3.
  2. ↑ Lieber, Tammy (August 15, 2005). "Festival prepares to kick off with help from friends", Indianapolis Business Journal 26 (23): 9.
  3. ↑ Indy Biz Now > IBJ Articles
  4. ↑ Harry, Lou (August 31, 2010). "IndyFringe by the numbers", Indianapolis Business Journal. Retrieved October 21, 2012.

External links