3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Indianapolis Star
IndyFringe is celebrating 20 years this month. Here's a guide to the festivities
When IndyFringe launched in 2005, organizers intended for the theater festival to grow the city's economy and champion Massachusetts Avenue's creativity. In the 20 years since, the event has brought more than 217,000 people to the district to see more than 7,200 artists perform cutting-edge theater, magic, puppetry and other experimental shows.
Now the festival is the state's largest performing arts experience, said Paul Daily, executive director of IF Theatre.
The festival returns from Aug. 14 to 24, and it's celebrating its anniversary by paying homage to its roots. All of the show venues are within walking distance of each other in the Mass Ave area.
Buskers will perform for the first time since before the pandemic, extending the festivities. The street entertainment will include hand-pan music, breakdancing and performer Sarah Beth Nelson, who will create custom blessings and curses on handmade paper for patrons, Daily said.
"It creates that festival feel," he said. "Whenever you're in one of the venues, you feel like you're at a festival. And then you step out on the street, and if there's not reminders of that feel around you, it quickly disappears. So we want the whole avenue to feel like a festival the whole time."
The event will continue to highlight stories by artists who are Black, Indigenous and of color with the new Flanner Fringe Lab, a collaboration between Flanner House and IF Theatre. The former promotes quality of life on the northwest side by offering educational, economic and social resources to residents. The latter runs IndyFringe and provides separate year-round programming.
The lab, which was developed over the past year, began when Daily and Austin Dean Ashford, director of the Flanner House Arts Stage Academy, discussed how IndyFringe's opportunities could spread to more areas of Indianapolis.
"What would happen if we took (Fringe) to other parts and helped drive the economy of other communities in the city?" Daily said. "So in that conversation, it seemed like all the pieces fit together to do everything we wanted to do."
So far, 12 artists have gone through the lab and developed plays, he said. Six of the students and Ashford will appear in this year's IndyFringe. Their shows are marked in the program.
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This year's festival comprises 69 shows and 245 performances. Of the 515 artists 61% are from Indiana, 36% are national acts and 3% are international acts, according to IndyFringe's news release.
Here are a few highlights below. Additionally, "Fringe-a-palooza!", which celebrates the festival's 20th anniversary, will run from noon to 6 p.m. Aug. 17. Find the full schedule and showtimes at
Shows will take place in the venues listed below. This year, the festival is returning to the Athenaeum's Basile Theatre and adding VisionLoft Events, where IndyFringe has built a custom stage. Find listings by venue at
Tickets are $22 for adults and $16 for children, students and ages 65 and up. Some shows have a pay-what-you-can option, which has a $10 minimum and will add $2 in fees. Six-ticket flex passes are $99, and those who buy one will be given an additional flex pass to give to someone who hasn't received one before. To buy tickets, visit or call 317-210-4639.
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