04/05/2018
Apply directly to venues at rochesterfringe.com by April 30th
Organizers of the KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival opened the 2018 show-submission process yesterday, on April 1, 2018 at 9 a.m. (EST). Through April 30 at 11:59 p.m. (EST), artists and producers from all over the world may submit production proposals directly to the 2018 Fringe’s 20+ venues via rochesterfringe.com. Complete how-to-apply instructions are available on the website (backstage.rochesterfringe.com
Unlike most U.S. fringe festivals, there is no fee to apply, and the registration fees (ranging from $50-$150) are due only after the contract with a venue is finalized. Registration fees go toward the show’s inclusion in the Fringe program guide and website, a centralized box office, and more.
“As always, we encourage shows to submit their applications early, as venues will begin booking their lineups immediately,” advises Fringe Producer Erica Fee.
Venues accepting submissions this year are: The Avyarium by WallByrd Theatre Co., Blackfriars Theatre, Central Library (three spaces), Eastman School of Music (two spaces), Geva Theatre Center, Java’s Café, Lyric Theatre (two spaces), MuCCC, School of the Arts (four spaces), and Writers & Books.
A site-specific option is also available, in which the shows propose a location other than a traditional theatre space, such as a phone booth, parked cars, buses, and elevators. The Fringe is very much in favor of this sort of unorthodox theatre because it engages audiences in unexpected ways.
Self- or Fringe-curated venues include Kodak Hall at Eastman Theatre, the Spiegeltent and Spiegelgarden, Parcel 5, Gibbs Street, Garth Fagan Dance Studio, George Eastman Museum, RIT at The Little, RIT’s Gallery r, and Rochester Contemporary Art Gallery.
The Fringe itself presents some big-name headliners and all free outdoor entertainment as a way to draw audiences to the festival’s East End hub as well as to its Neighborhood of the Arts (NOTA) satellite hub.
“In addition to making the arts accessible to audiences, our other key mission is to make audiences accessible to artists, providing them with a platform to share their ideas and develop their skills,” Fee explains, adding that this philosophy holds true for the more than 200 fringe festivals around the world that now take place on every continent except Antarctica.
The 2017 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival (September 14-23) was “our most successful Fringe yet,” reports the non-profit board of directors that organizes the fast-growing, multi-genre performing arts festival. Attendance at more than 500 performances and events – 175 of them free of charge – was estimated at more than 78,000. In addition, more than 85 ticketed, submitted performances at almost every Fringe venue sold out.
Due to popular demand, the 2018 KeyBank Rochester Fringe Festival will expand to 11 days (Wednesday, Sept. 12 – Saturday, Sept. 22). The complete lineup will be announced Tuesday, July 10, 2018.
