The Cincinnati Fringe Festival will return for its 23rd year, bringing an assortment of one-hour live performances created and performed by independent theater artists at pop-up venues throughout Over-the-Rhine.
The festival runs May 29 through June 13 and offers more than 160 ticketed events, free Kids Fringe programming on weekend afternoons, a full Saturday of back-to-back American Sign Language-interpreted shows, and a free Late Night event every night at 10 p.m.
The lineup features original theater and experimental performances from more than 35 independent local, national and international theater artists.
The two-week celebration of theater, art, music, dance, puppetry and more showcases performances at pop-up venues around Over-the-Rhine, including churches, storefronts, street corners and other unexpected sites.
“The Cincy Fringe is really special,” said Katie Hartman, now in her fifth year as producer of the event. “It’s famous for being a festival where artists and patrons mix and mingle in the Know Theatre’s Underground Bar. Every night, after seeing a wild variety of shows from a wide array of artists, folks meet there and talk about all the art they just saw and the party just keeps going. It’s a joyful and generous place where people get to show up as their favorite self; we’re so excited to welcome folks into that experience.”
This year’s primary lineup totals 25 productions and features new work from 13 local creators, 10 productions from across the U.S. and two international artists from Canada and Australia. The festival includes 21 world premieres, 13 regional premieres and 10 producing companies making their Cincinnati debuts.
The festival will emphasize creative community care and radical self-expression across five venues in Over-the-Rhine: Know Theatre, Gabriel’s Corner, two venues within First Lutheran Church and the Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine.
Ticketing
Single tickets are $20. An All-Access Pass is available for $330 and covers one entry into all primary lineup, limited run, Fringe in Development and Kids Fringe performances. A five-ticket Flex Pass is available for $90 and can be used in any combination of shows and transferred among individuals. Volunteers attend shows free of charge.
Half of all box office revenue goes directly to producing Fringe artists.
The full schedule and single tickets are available on the Fringe Festival’s website.