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44-690: Founded in 1992, it was the second official fringe theatre festival in the United States and is now America's oldest still-operating fringe theatre festival, celebrating its 30th anniversary in 2021. The festival has been voted the Best Local Festival of Orlando and has been dubbed “Orlando’s Most Unique Cultural Experience.” The festival is organized by Orlando Fringe, a 501(c)(3) organization which provides venues for artists and supporting services. Founders Terry Olson, Rick Kunst, and Andy Anthony originally came to Orlando as members of

88-549: A Fringe venue. These venues are operated by the festival's partners but are still part of the festival. In 2022, these included: Fringe artists frequently pitch productions or performances that occur in unconventional locations to the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival. These unique venues have included a campfire in front of the green venue and a cargo van in the parking lot. Fringe theatre Fringe theatre

132-549: A common organising group that handles ticketing, scheduling, and some overall promotion (such as a program including all performers). Each production pays a set fee to this group, which usually includes their stage time as well as the organizational elements. The organising group and/or the venues often rely on a large pool of volunteers. Ticket pricing varies between festivals. At UK fringe festivals, groups can decide their own ticket prices, and some sell tickets at fixed rates in one or two tiers, or in groups of 5 or 10. Although it

176-566: A digital projector and a full-service box office and concession stand. The ceiling of the theatre was dark blue, resplendent with stars. In 2008, the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation completed the restoration of the Garden Theatre. Restoration brought the Garden Theatre back to its original architectural simplicity, in keeping with the character and revitalization of historic downtown Winter Garden, making

220-491: A fringe theatre show permit audiences to attend multiple shows in a single evening. Performers sometimes billet in the homes of local residents, further reducing their costs. Garden Theatre (Winter Garden, Florida) The Garden Theatre is a refurbished, historic theatre located at 160 West Plant Street in Winter Garden, Florida , United States. The Garden Theatre, which hosts over 200 events

264-485: A higher level. Donor perks start at $ 25 where members receive entry to the exclusive Club Fringe Lounge inside the Orlando Museum of Art. Members donating $ 2,500 or more receive a bevy of benefits including, free Club Fringe t-shirts, collectors pins, free show tickets, and a dedicated festival parking spot. The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival partners with community venues to turn their location into

308-735: A new theatre in 1969. In 1969, Haynes created the Arts Lab in London , but it only lasted for two years. Peter Brook along with another American Charles Marowitz opened the Open Space Theatre on Tottenham Court Road in London in 1968. Young British writers, after the May 1968 events in France , wrote agitprop plays, including David Hare , Howard Brenton , David Edgar . Meanwhile, in

352-410: A nonprofit organization, forming its first Board of Directors and adopting its bylaws. The 4th Annual Orlando Fringe Festival saw 70,000 people attend the festival, which had expanded to 7 venues. In 1999, Orlando Fringe was ranked the #1 U.S. Fringe Festival for attendance, with 13,000 tickets sold, and #1 among U.S. Festivals for dollars returned, with over $ 60,000 going back to artists. Orlando Fringe

396-514: A program aimed at celebrating the Fringe donors. Originally named Club 25, any individual making a donation of $ 100 or more would gain membership. Memberships included special early ticket buying and access to an air-conditioned tent on the Fringe Lawn. The program changed its name to Club Fringe in 2017 and changed the program to include a new tier system that rewards donors who support Fringe at

440-592: A season, including professional level theatre, music, dance, and films. The Garden Theatre serves as the primary performing arts center for the Winter Garden area. The theatre first opened in December 1935 as a single screen cinema and was the first in Central Florida built for " talkies ". Several renovations changed the face of the theatre until it closed in 1963, as movie attendance declined in

484-463: A slot in the festival, with up to three performance slots given and 100% of ticket sales returned to the program. Fringe also provides workshops on industry topics, marketing support, and an opportunity for students to perform on a world-renowned stage and make connections with performers from around the world. The Free Outdoor Stage on The Orlando Fringe Lawn offers visitors to the festival an interesting and unique experience between shows and throughout

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528-603: Is theatre that is produced outside of the main theatre institutions, and that is often small-scale and non-traditional in style or subject matter. The term comes from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe . In London , the fringe are small-scale theatres, many of them located above pubs, and the equivalent to New York's Off-Off-Broadway theatres and Europe's "free theatre" groups. In unjuried theatre festivals, also known as fringe festivals or open-access festivals , all submissions are accepted, and sometimes

572-488: Is an extension of the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival that produces live performances, workshops, and immersive activities aimed at the "young and young-at-heart". The Kids Fringe team brings play and entertainment to events such as the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival and Winter Mini-Fest. In addition to Fringe events, Kids Fringe has also brought free activities to events like Audubon Park Garden District, Come Out with Pride, and other events throughout

616-744: Is the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club , Jerzy Grotowski 's Theatre of 13 Rows, and Józef Szajna 's Studio Theatre in Warsaw. The Adelaide Fringe in Adelaide , South Australia, now second-largest annual arts festival in the world (after Edinburgh Fringe), started in 1960 as an adjunct to the main Adelaide Festival of Arts . Haynes, while at the helm of the Traverse, was receiving state support and even got

660-507: Is the method used to choose participants. Typically, conventional festivals use a jury selection process, whereas many fringe festivals do not use a jury process in their selection criteria, hence the descriptor unjuried or open-access. There are exceptions to this; some fringe festivals (e.g., New York International Fringe Festival ) do employ a jury-based selection process. All performers are welcome to apply, regardless of their professional or amateur status. No restrictions are made as to

704-427: Is the most prudent course so the festival can come back strong next year." On April 23, 2020, Orlando Fringe announced an online festival called "Fringe Today" that would span May 12–25, the same dates as the canceled annual festival. The event took place on Zoom and Facebook with the feed broadcast on the festival website. The online event featured live and recorded performances, interviews, and demonstrations. During

748-437: Is unusual for the organising group to choose any winners of the festival, other organisations often make their own judgements of festival entries . Productions can be reviewed by newspapers or publications specific to the festival, and awards may be given by certain organisations. Awards or favourable reviews can increase the tickets sales of productions or lead to extra dates being added . The limitations and opportunities that

792-510: Is welcome to enter their work regardless of experience level. Fringers of the Future is a program dedicated to supporting the teachers who shape the next generation of performing artists. Any middle or high school can apply to perform at the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival in May with waived application and performance fees. A lottery drawing is held to determine which schools are offered

836-602: The Bush Theatre and King's Head Theatre , both of whom survived the crash. 7:84 and Red Ladder Theatre Company were some of the surviving touring fringe groups. Fringe theatres were attractive to people in the 1960s due to their adventurousness but became less wild in the 1970s while the standards of production rose. In 1982, the first fringe festival in North America was started in Edmonton , Alberta. It

880-664: The Edinburgh Fringe . The experience made a strong impression on the troupe. A few years later, co-founder Rick Kunst, inspired by the Edmonton Fringe Festival in Canada , suggested to Olson that SAK consider bringing a fringe festival to Orlando. The pair decided to bring on Andy Anthony as a third founding producer, as Anthony had extensive experience on the Canadian fringe circuit. The team determined

924-473: The SAK Theatre Company , which produced, performed, and managed live audience participatory comedy shows at Disney’s Epcot . When Disney failed to renew their contract, SAK refocused on launching its own Orlando theatre venue, hosting a troupe of performers who traveled to Renaissance fairs and fringe festivals. In the early 1980s, a group of SAK's touring artists, led by Olson, performed at

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968-622: The 1960s, similar to the United States' Off-Off-Broadway theatres and Europe's "free theatre" groups. The term came into use in the late 1950s, and the show Beyond the Fringe premiered in Edinburgh in 1960, before transferring to Broadway and is the West End . One of the early innovators in fringe theatre was an American bookseller, James Haynes , who in 1963 created the Traverse Theatre in Edinburgh. Also noted in this period

1012-438: The Central Florida area. Visual Fringe is the visual arts portion of the Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival, featuring drawing, painting, sculpture, design, jewelry making, and more. It is entirely unjuried and uncensored, with 100% of the money made in art sales going back to the artists. The exhibition includes a gallery, art market , workshops, classes, crafts, demonstrations, selfie backdrops, and events. Anyone

1056-650: The Lowndes Shakespeare Center. In 2017, the 1st Annual Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest took place January 5–8. It consisted of only four venues and 21 shows hand-picked from the past festival. The 26th Annual Orlando Fringe Festival attracted 70,400 attendees and expanded to 14 days. That same year, Executive Director George Wallace left the Orlando Fringe to work for the Indianapolis Fringe Festival. Alauna Friskics

1100-595: The Orlando economy. In 2014, Orlando Fringe hosted the CAFF and USAFF Conferences, welcoming representatives from 70 fringe festivals from around the world. In 2015, an economic impact study showed Orlando Fringe's impact surpassed 2 million dollars in local revenue. Attendance surged by 30%, making it the most financially successful festival in history, with more than $ 375,000 in artist payments. Orlando Fringe moves its year-round operations to Loch Haven Park, housed inside

1144-478: The Seattle Fringe Festival closed, making Orlando Fringe the longest continuous-running Fringe Festival in the United States. In 2004, the 13th Annual Orlando Fringe Festival venues split between Downtown Orlando and Loch Haven Park. The following year, the festival shifted to Loch Haven Park entirely. In 2009, an economic impact study of the festival showed that it contributed $ 1.46 million to

1188-479: The United States, experimental theatre was growing due to the political protest of the Vietnam War . The Living Theatre , founded by Julian Beck , is considered the leader of the " flower power " and "hippie" movement. By the early 1970s, many fringe theatres began to receive small subsidies. After the 1973–74 stock market crash , many fringe companies were forced to close. New playwrights were established at

1232-498: The building January 1, 2004, through an operating agreement with the City of Winter Garden. The warmly-lit interior of the 299-seat theatre has Mediterranean revival architecture with a Spanish tile courtyard, "Romeo and Juliet" balconies, and lanterns in the windows over the proscenium arch with palm trees decorating either side of it. The theatre newly features a 12 ft × 24 ft (3.7 m × 7.3 m) screen with

1276-429: The entire festival. The stage offers free cross-genre live music, live art, dance parties, dance troupes, stand-up comedy , comedic improv , poetry competitions, literary readings, and promotional snippets for official Orlando Fringe shows. Visitors to the festival can grab a drink, pull up a chair, and take in the sights and sounds of the two free outdoor stages. In 2016, to celebrate the organization's 25th anniversary

1320-414: The festival founders determined that Orlando was better suited for a Canadian management style. The Orlando International Fringe Festival premiered with a ten-day event opening on April 24, 199. Performers were chosen on a first-come-first-served basis, with the 28 performing groups. The total annual operating budget was $ 79,000. The second annual festival saw attendance of 25,000 – 30,000 people, doubling

1364-495: The festival structure would be a combination of the Canadian fringe production models with the guiding principles of Edinburgh Fringe. While the Edinburgh Fringe had no central production team and relied on individual performance groups to find their own venues and manage their technical needs, the Canadian fringes provided venues, technicians, and equipment to cover basic sound and lighting. After experiencing both models,

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1408-529: The fringe festival format presents lead to some common features. Shows are not judged or juried. Depending on the popularity, some fringe festivals may use a lottery system to determine which shows are selected. Shows are typically technically sparse. They are commonly presented in shared venues, often with shared technicians and limited technical time, so sets and other technical theatre elements are kept simple. Venues may be adapted from other uses. Casts tend to be smaller than mainstream theatre; since many of

1452-502: The mass gathering at the festival. In 1948, Robert Kemp , a Scottish journalist and playwright, described the situation, "Round the fringe of official Festival drama, there seems to be more private enterprise than before ... I am afraid some of us are not going to be at home during the evenings!". Edinburgh Festival Fringe was founded under the name "Festival Adjuncts", in 1947 . The fringe movement in Britain has been said to start in

1496-535: The nature, style or theme of the performance, though some festivals have children's areas with appropriate content limitations. Festivals may have too many applicants for the number of available spaces; in this case, applicants are chosen based on an unrelated criterion, such as order of application or a random draw. The number of performances varies among different fringe festivals. Larger festivals may have thousands of performances (e.g., Edinburgh's 2013 festival had 45,464 performances). Fringe festivals typically have

1540-539: The new age of television . Soon after, the site became a farming supply store, where the interior seating was removed and the sloped floor was filled and leveled with cement. In 2002 the City of Winter Garden purchased the site and the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation , a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization , began restoration of the theatre. The Winter Garden Heritage Foundation acquired

1584-472: The newly created role of Theatre Producer. The 28th Annual Orlando Fringe Festival was proclaimed "The Best Year Ever," with attendance at an all-time high. On March 19, 2020, festival organizers announced that due to the outbreak of COVID-19 , the 29th Annual Orlando International Fringe Festival was canceled. Executive Director Alauna Friskics said of the cancellation, "We have worked countless financial scenarios and considered all stakeholders. We believe this

1628-547: The number of attendees from the year prior. The festival hosted 35 performance groups from as far away as Uganda , the United Kingdom , Norway , and Canada with two new venues added to meet demand. In 1994, Orlando Fringe became the southernmost member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals . The 3rd Annual Orlando Fringe Festival saw 50,000 attendees. The following year, Orlando Fringe became

1672-428: The opening ceremonies, Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer proclaimed that Fringe Today would count as the 29th festival for the organization. On February 17, 2021, festival organizers announced they would be returning on May 18–31, 2021 with a live in-person festival and introduced DigiFringe, a digital performance festival that would take place June 4–18, 2021. Orlando Fringe hosted delegates from other Fringe Festivals around

1716-530: The participating acts may be chosen by lottery, in contrast to juried festivals in which acts are selected based on their artistic qualities. Unjuried festivals (such as the Edinburgh Festival Fringe , Edmonton Fringe Festival , Adelaide Fringe , and Fringe World ) permit artists to perform a wide variety of works. In 1947, eight theatre companies showed up at the Edinburgh International Festival , hoping to gain recognition from

1760-646: The performing groups are traveling, and venues (and thus potential income) tend to be fairly small, expenses must usually be kept to a minimum. One-person shows are therefore quite common at fringe festivals. Fringe festival productions often showcase new scripts, especially ones on more obscure, edgy, or unusual material. The lack of artistic vetting combined with relatively easy entry make risk-taking more feasible. While most mainstream theatre shows are two or three acts long, taking two to three hours with intermissions, fringe shows tend to be closer to one-hour, single-act productions. The typically lowered ticket prices of

1804-553: The world as host of the World Fringe Congress on May 19–23, 2022. In January 2023, Orlando Fringe opened the 9,100-square-foot Fringe ArtSpace, taking the place of Mad Cow Theatre at 54 W. Church St., with the mission of offering "artist-focused programming" focused on "building a dynamic, inspiring community of artists and arts lovers with the purpose of providing artists a safe environment to create, experiment, collaborate and showcase their creations." Kids Fringe

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1848-551: Was named the new Executive Director as a result of her work with the nearby Garden Theatre in the city of Winter Garden, Florida , and her previous involvement with Orlando Fringe. In 2019, the Winter Mini-Fest expanded to include new works from favorite Orlando Fringe performers and works by performers who have never performed in Orlando. Micheal Marinaccio moved to the newly created position of Show Director while his former associate producer, Lindsay Taylor stepped into

1892-468: Was ranked #5 in North America for attendance and dollars returned to artists. In 2002, a fire broke out in the old Bryan Hotel on West Church Street, where Orlando Fringe stored its schedule boards, podiums, and archives. No programs or photos survived the fire. Local businesses and artists rallied to raise funds for Orlando Fringe. The 11th Annual Orlando Fringe Festival shifted to May to make it easier for local theme park employees to participate. In 2003,

1936-635: Was then a theatre component of the larger Summerfest but evolved to become a stand-alone event, the Edmonton International Fringe Festival , one of the largest annual arts events in Canada and still the largest fringe in North America by attendance. The oldest fringe festival in the United States is Orlando , FL, founded in 1992. There are more fringe festivals in North America than any other continent. One distinction between fringe festivals and conventional arts festivals

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