Theater and Fringe festivals offer independent performers a chance to showcase their work in theatre, comedy, music, dance, and more. Theater Festivals take place in cities around the world and provide open-access, non-juried opportunities for artists to participate. Whether you’re looking for information on how to apply, key dates, venue details, or how to get tickets, BroadwayWorld's Theater and Fringe Festivals database is a central resource for finding and participating in Fringe festivals worldwide.
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Adelaide
| Adelaide Fringe Festival Adelaide Fringe is the largest arts festival in the Southern Hemisphere and the second-largest worldwide, transforming Adelaide and South Australia into a cultural hub for 31 days each year. The 2025 festival will run from 21 February to 23 March. Open access by design, Adelaide Fringe allows anyone... |  |
Atlanta
| Atlanta Fringe The Atlanta Fringe Festival is an unjuried, lottery-based festival that welcomes artists of all backgrounds, disciplines, and experience levels. By eliminating a traditional selection process, the festival ensures a diverse and inclusive lineup, making it accessible to both emerging and established ... |  |
Central New York
| Rochester Fringe Since its debut in 2012, the Rochester Fringe Festival has drawn more than 750,000 visitors from around the world to experience over 5,000 diverse performances and events. As New York State’s largest multidisciplinary performing arts festival, Rochester Fringe has gained national recognition a... |  |
Central Pennsylvania
| Scranton Fringe Festival The 2025 Scranton Fringe Festival will take place from September 25 to October 5, 2025, in downtown Scranton, PA. Since its founding in 2015, Scranton Fringe has been dedicated to showcasing independent performing arts, transforming various venues—such as theaters, libraries, bars, and storefr... |  |
Central Virginia
| Richmond Fringe Richmond Fringe is a boutique-sized, curated, profit-sharing festival that brings together the diverse creative communities of Richmond, Virginia. Organized by Spectacle & Mirth, this festival fosters artistic experimentation, collaboration, and mutual aid, ensuring that performance art remains ... |  |
Chicago
| Elgin Fringe The Elgin Fringe Festival is an uncurated, lottery-based festival dedicated to bold artistic experimentation and innovation. The festival showcases a diverse range of performance art, including theatre, dance, comedy, music, and other undefined art forms, presented in intimate settings across downto... |  |
Cincinnati
| Cincy Fringe The Cincinnati Fringe Festival, known as Cincy Fringe, is a 14-day celebration of theatre, art, music, film, dance, and more. Running each May and June, the festival presents over 170 performances across 35+ productions, alongside art galleries, screenings, concerts, workshops, and nightly parties. ... |  |
Cleveland
| BorderLight Festival BorderLight brings thousands of audience members to downtown Cleveland to experience affordable, surprising performances from across the theatrical spectrum. Some performances are outside and free, while others are staged in novel spaces. By making theatre more accessible, BorderLight engages Clevel... |  |
Denver
| Denver Fringe The Denver Fringe Festival is an open-access, non-juried performing arts festival dedicated to supporting independent artists and promoting diverse artistic voices. Featuring original, innovative, and experimental work, the festival welcomes a wide range of performance genres, including theatre, mus... |  |
Edmonton
| Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival The Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival is North America’s largest and longest-running Fringe Festival, returning for its 44th edition from August 14–24, 2025 in Old Strathcona, Edmonton, Alberta. It is one of the top five fringe festivals worldwide. The festival hosts 200+... |  |
Indianapolis
| IndyFringe The IndyFringe Festival is Indianapolis’ largest performing arts festival, transforming the city into a hub of creativity for 11 days each August. Produced by IF Theatre, the festival provides a platform for artists of all disciplines, from theatre and dance to stand-up comedy, circus, and mag... |  |
Kansas City
| Kansas City Fringe The KC Fringe Festival is Kansas City’s largest celebration of arts and culture, returning for its 20th season with a two-week lineup of performances, film screenings, visual arts exhibitions, and special events. As a non-juried and non-censored festival, KC Fringe provides a platform for arti... |  |
Los Angeles
| Hollywood Fringe The Hollywood Fringe Festival (HFF) is an open-access, self-produced performing arts festival that provides a platform for emerging, experimental, and underrepresented artists. Since its inception, HFF has served as a training ground for artists to become producers while fostering a thriving creativ... |  |
Maine
| PortFringe PortFringe is Maine’s annual Fringe Festival, celebrating creative expression, artistic activism, and cultural connections. Since its launch in 2012, PortFringe has grown from a scrappy, five-day festival into a staple of Portland’s vibrant arts scene. Each year, the festival welcomes ar... |  |
Minneapolis / St. Paul
| Minnesota Fringe Through their summer festival and dynamic year-round programming, Minnesota Fringe is an artistic disruptor for local and national artists — to take bold risks, develop new ideas, and hoist themselves to the next rung of their artistic ladder. As the producer of the largest performing arts fes... |  |
New York City
| FRIGID New York The New York City Fringe Festival is FRIGID’s largest festival, featuring 60 productions across four venues in 2025: Under St Marks and Wild Project in the East Village, The Chain Mainstage and Studio in Midtown, and The Rat NYC in Dumbo. Running from April 2 to April 20, the festival showcase... |  |
| United Solo Festival United Solo Theatre Festival, the world’s largest solo theatre festival, will hold its 18th and 19th seasons in Spring and Fall 2025 at Theatre Row on 42nd Street in New York City. The festival is open to solo performers across disciplines, including theatre, storytelling, stand-up, dance, mus... |  |
Orlando
| Orlando Fringe The Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival is the longest-running Fringe festival in the United States, celebrating its 34th year from May 13-26, 2025. Established in 1992, Orlando Fringe is a 100% unjuried, uncensored, and inclusive performing arts festival that gives 100% of ticket sales di... |  |
Pennsylvania
| Philadelphia Fringe Festival The Philadelphia Fringe Festival, presented by FringeArts, is a citywide celebration of artistic innovation and contemporary performance. Each September, the festival transforms Philadelphia into a hub for creativity, featuring over 1,000 performances across a wide variety of disciplines, including ... |  |
Pittsburgh
| Pittsburgh Fringe The Pittsburgh Fringe Festival is an annual celebration of performing and visual arts, providing a platform for innovative and experimental performances. Applications for the 2025 festival are now open, welcoming artists from various disciplines, including theatre, dance, music, spoken word, and vis... |  |
Raleigh
| Asheville Fringe Arts Festival The Asheville Fringe Society is dedicated to cultivating strange and wonderful work that lies outside the mainstream. The Asheville Fringe Arts Festival provides artists with opportunities to explore the edges of their work, to collaborate across genres and to bring new and innovative performances t... |  |
Rhode Island
| Providence Fringe Festival The Providence Fringe Festival (FringePVD) is a two-week celebration of bold, innovative, and unconventional performance art. Founded in 2014 by The Wilbury Theatre Group, the festival nurtures both emerging and established artists while providing the Providence community with fearless and affordabl... |  |
San Diego
| San Diego International Fringe Festival San Diego International Fringe Festival artist applications are now open. Since 2012, they have welcomed national, international, and local artists for an unparalleled event celebrating creativity in our region. The 2025 festival will take place from May 15 - 25, 2025. |  |
San Francisco
| San Francisco Fringe Festival The 2025 San Francisco Fringe Festival will take place from August 8 to August 24 at the Taylor Street Theatre in downtown San Francisco. The festival is open to all artists and performances are selected randomly by lottery, with no censorship or curation. This marks the 34th annual edition of the f... |  |
Scotland
| Edinburgh Fringe Festival The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the largest multidisciplinary arts festival in the world, taking place annually in Scotland's capital. The festival is open access, meaning there is no central selection process—anyone with a venue can register and take part. With thousands of shows across ... |  |
Tampa
| Tampa Fringe The 2025 Tampa International Fringe Festival will take place June 11-22, 2025, in Historic Ybor City, Tampa. Founded in 2016, Tampa Fringe is an uncensored, unjuried performing arts festival and a proud member of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF). This means it follows core Fringe ... |  |
Winnipeg
| Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival The Winnipeg Fringe Theatre Festival is a 12-day alternative theatre festival held annually in July in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Established in 1988 by the Manitoba Theatre Centre (MTC), it is one of the largest independent fringe festivals in North America. The festival follows three key principl... |  |
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