Orlando Fringe (Website) just celebrated its 32nd year of presenting fringe theatrical productions in the City Beautiful, and this year’s fest featured over 1,600 artists from around the world.
The 14-day Orlando Fringe Theatre Festival featured over 120 shows running from burlesque and spoken word, to musicals, comedy, magic, and more. This year it succeeded in attracting over 67,241 attendees, sold 43,428 tickets and paid over 2,000 Fringe artists, and sold 614 pieces of art in the onsite gallery, Visual Fringe.
“We are beyond thrilled to celebrate our big return this year. Though we returned to the in-person festival the last two years coming out of the global pandemic, this year we truly felt the positive impacts more of the community coming back together to really enjoy and experience everything that is uniquely Fringe. We are proud to be the longest-running Fringe in the US, to unite local, national and international artists within our beautiful community and to create this uniquely diverse arts experience each year.”
– ALAUNA FRISKICS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ORLANDO FRINGE
During closing ceremonies, Orlando Fringe named Open Scene, Sonflower Joy Music, and Without Fear Theatre as the organizations chosen for the inaugural season of “The Collective” incubator program at Fringe ArtSpace. The three selected organizations will be participating in an 18-month program for emerging and established arts companies/organizations to grow to the next level and produce full-run productions at Fringe ArtSpace year-round performing arts venue.
The productions will become the showcase productions for the Fringe ArtSpace season beginning in Spring 2024. Each of the three recipients will receive up to $20,000 to produce their shows and attend sessions, as well as over $35,000 in in-kind services sponsored by the Downtown Development Board.
“We are elated to name these organizations as the members of our first Collective and get this dream of a program on its feet,” says Orlando Fringe Artistic and Marketing Director Desiree Montes. “Coming off of our incredible 32nd festival, which serves as a pipeline for many organizations to create, experiment, and grow, we are excited to expand that platform through our year-round performing arts venue and The Collective program to continue amplifying voices, uplifting and highlighting our artistic community.”
