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

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

, when rogue theater groups set up on the edges of the Edinburgh International Festival

Edinburgh International Festival

The Edinburgh International Festival is a festival of performing arts that takes place in the city of Edinburgh, Scotland, over three weeks from around the middle of August. By invitation from the Festival Director, the International Festival brings top class performers of music , theatre, opera...

 in 1947. 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.

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.

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

Indiana

Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...

. Twelve places are allotted to performance groups from across the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. 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

Indianapolis

Indianapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Indiana, and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city's population is 839,489. It is by far Indiana's largest city and, as of the 2010 U.S...

 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

• Indyprov
  Indyprov
  INDYPROV formed after completing a series of workshops conducted by David Brunoehler in October, 2003 at Crackers Comedy Club in Downtown Indianapolis, Indiana. Brunoehler, an Indianapolis native, was a founding member of the troupe “Interplay” and had co-founded the National Improv Theatre in New...
  
  
• Heartland Actors' Repertory Theatre http://www.nuvo.net/category/tags/indianapolis-fringe-festival-theatre

Indy Fringe Board

Board of Directors

Pauline Moffat, Executive Director

Jill Ditmire, President

Lori Kaplan, Vice President

Jeff Kelsey, Treasurer

Tom Battista, Chair, Technical Committee

Wendy Harrison, Finance Committee

Nora Campbell, Secretary & Co-Chair, Visual- Fringe Committee

Elizabeth Simon, Co-Chair, VisualFringe Committee

Gary Reiter, Finance and Building Committee

Sandra Bickel, Governance Committee