The Rochester Fringe Festival’s 2024 lineup boasts 250 shows with a total of 650 performances. The festival, in its 13th year, runs Sept.10-21.
The lineup announcement today included Fringe board chair Mark Costello, producer and CEO Erica Fee, and guest speakers Rochester Mayor Malik Evans, Monroe County Executive Adam Bello, and City Council Member-at-Large Mitch Gruber. Each emphasized the great economic impact the Fringe Festival has had on Rochester.
More than 750,000 people have attended over 5,000 Fringe events since the first one in 2012. Various events occur in 30 venues throughout the city, from large outdoor spaces like Parcel 5 and International Square to intimate venues like Java’s, Selena’s, and Writers and Books.
The Fringe Festival concept originated in Scotland in 1947, when several uninvited performance groups crashed the first Edinburgh International Festival. Soon, that prestigious arts festival had an accompanying “fringe” event, which now presents thousands of shows each August.
Today, 250 Fringe Festivals are active throughout the world. Among the 50 in America, the New York Times recently pointed to Rochester’s Fringe Festival as “one of the country’s more prominent multidisciplinary events.”
(Photo courtesy of Rochester Fringe)
The festival’s performances range from single-performer shows, to theatrical productions and concerts large and small. In addition, there are large-scale environmental installations like this year’s “Daedalum: Architects of Air,” described as “an inflatable art work, with tunnels and cavernous domes, experiencing a range of color, light and sound.”
One Fringe Place, across from the Eastman Theatre, serves as the festival’s hub for nightly indoor and outdoor shows, food trucks, a bar, and a century-old Spiegeltent (“Mirror Tent”) that boasts stained glass windows, magical faceted mirrors, a velvet-draped ceiling, VIP booths, and a vintage bar, all imported from Antwerp, Belgium.
While many shows take place at this location, venues and acts radiate out into the city in every direction.
Along with the big names, the festival has traditionally offered performing outlets for all sorts of individuals and groups. Organizers present a handful of special events, but the vast majority are chosen and presented by the venues themselves.
The festival’s comedy headliners, which have included big names like John Mulaney and Eddie Izzard, can be counted on to fill Kodak Hall; this year’s star, Pete Davidson, who appears on Sept. 13, should be no exception. Featured comedy performers at the Spiegeltent include nightly performances of “Cirque du Fringe Varieté,” described as “comedy meets circus meets kitsch”; and award-winning comedian Marcel Luconte, a favorite on the British Fringe circuit, in Les Enfants Terribles: A Game Show for Awful Children, a kids-show parody with audience participation.
.JPG){kind=link}
Bello announced the return this year of several popular, family-friendly events: a Kids’ Day on Sept. 21, which will include pumpkin painting, chalk art, and a Kids Disco; Fringe Street Beat, a breakdancing competition, also on Sept. 21; and a Gospel Sunday on Sept. 13.
Another returning show is “Monuments,” 3D projections by Australian artist Craig Welsh that will pay tribute to three people from the Rochester community by projecting their faces on tall trees. And Rochester native and New York Times puzzle creator David Kwong will bring “The Enigmatist,” an immersive magic puzzle and cryptology experience. Fringe producer/CEO Fee said several more shows will be announced in coming weeks.
For times, and ticket prices, click here.
David Raymond is a Rochester Beacon contributing writer. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].
A portion of your story should be updated. You may want to add an ‘editors note’ since P. Davidson had to drop out of the festival.