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Downtown Rochester is set to come alive, bursting with acrobatics, music, theater, disco, and inventive performances for the 14th time.
The 2025 ESL Rochester Fringe Festival, which begins Sept. 9, is expected to draw about 100,000 people to the center city. Attendees will have an opportunity to choose from 1,600 artists. As expected of the Rochester Fringe, these artists represent more than a dozen countries in addition to the U.S., officials say, including Italy, France, Taiwan, the UK, and Canada.
This year, comic Cheslea Handler is the headliner. Her performance on Sept. 13 at Kodak Hall places her among past performers such as John Mulaney, Eddie Izzard, Patton Oswalt, Marc Maron, Mike Birbiglia, Tig Notaro, and Colin Jost.
In announcing the lineup in July, founding festival producer and CEO Erica Fee asked the question, “How will you Fringe?”
Fee’s question goes to the heart of the festival—a wide array of performances, some spectacles, serving up a buffet of experiences for the festival goer.
For instance, the free show at Parcel 5 titled “SPHERE” is a debut by Italy’s eVenti Verticali. A performing troupe, eVenti Verticali tells a story about Earth, encompassing greed, beauty, energy, fragility, and a collective embrace. A giant luminous sphere, suspended 60 feet in the air, is surrounded by aerial dancers. Lights, music and acrobatics complete the picture.
Rochester Fringe is one of the only Fringe festivals in the country that offers such large-scale and free public programming, organizers say.
“SPHERE” will be a “mesmerizing outdoor spectacle,” says Fee, who was recently appointed to the New York State Council on the Arts.
“TRACES” from Théâtre de L’Entrouvert, another free show, will feature 25 people from Rochester of different ages, cultures and backgrounds. It is designed as a public conversation of sound, movement and sculpture. For an immersive experience, the Fringe has a large sight-and-sound show, using points of suspended light to create feelings of presence and movement, officials say.
With opportunities to showcase a variety of artists and performers across genres, organizing the Fringe brings Fee great joy. The Beacon posed a few questions to Fee. Her answers are below.
ROCHESTER BEACON: The ESL Rochester Fringe Festival begins soon. What shows are you most excited about?
ERICA FEE: There are so many amazing shows and experiences to be excited about this year, but like any good parent, I don’t have any favorite children. We do encourage attendees to try something they’ve heard of, then take a risk on something new!
One show that is keeping us on our toes is SPHERE, which is direct from Italy and created by the company eVenti Verticali. This will be a mesmerizing outdoor spectacle complete with a giant sphere (go figure!) hoisted up above the crowd—with acrobats inside and outside! This will occur four times at Parcel 5—on the final two nights of the festival (Sept. 19 and 20) at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
We also have the incredible SUMBERGENCE—direct from the UK—a one-of-a-kind immersive, outdoor light experience in the Spiegelgarden (Main and Gibbs streets). That will be truly beautiful. And, of course, we have the return of our gorgeous Spiegeltent including the world-premiere of Cirque du Fringe; Claws Out!; Edinburgh Fringe First award winner The Event; Fringe family favorite Gospel Sunday hosted by Rev. Dr. Rickey Harvey; and The Returns Department, starring Montreal’s Kif-Kif Sisters, who are identical twins and clowns!
All 39 venues did an incredible job with their unique lineups. There is something for everyone whether you love music, dance, theatre, comedy … even history, magic, gaming and wrestling!
Tickets to all shows are available online at rochesterfringe.com or on the new Rochester Fringe Festival app, which is available for download from the Apple App Store or Google Play Store. Tickets may also be purchased in person during the festival at the main box office at One Fringe Place (Main & Gibbs) or at the door of any venue.
ROCHESTER BEACON: Every season comes with its own set of hurdles, whether artistic, financial, or logistical. What were some of the unique challenges you faced in organizing this year’s Fringe, and what approaches or partnerships helped you navigate them?
FEE: It goes without saying that operating New York State’s largest multidisciplinary performing arts festival comes with challenges. I personally get through some of the challenging times with the fantasy that someday I will host my own late-night show where I simply get on stage and read my emails aloud! In the meantime, my mantra is “It takes a city to raise a Fringe.” We have a unique set-up in that we have 39 venues programming their own shows, creating their own lineups, and really giving it their all. This allows for incredible diversity in the programming and we can’t wait to see everyone bring their A-game to the Fringe.
ROCHESTER BEACON: In what ways do you see the festival shaping Rochester’s cultural identity?
FEE: Rochester has always punched above its weight when it comes to arts and culture—and I think the Fringe really highlights this! I remember when we first started the festival and we had so many naysayers who said, “Why would anyone want to come to Rochester for a world premiere?” That was depressing, personally, to me, and I was thrilled that by the end of that first year’s festival, I was then hearing, “Well, this is how we do it!” Studies have even demonstrated that events and festivals like these can have a measurable impact on a community’s self-esteem.
The Fringe is a nonprofit organization, unlike most area festivals, and our mission is to provide platforms for artists, incredible, accessible arts to the community, “fresh blood” for our venues through new attendees, and increased economic activity. A recent Americans for the Arts study showed that the average ticket-buyer also spends an additional $38.46 per person on top of their ticket purchase. So often, the arts and culture sector is looked at through such a narrow lens, when in fact it is a major economic driver and cities and regions that have really leaned into it have found that it can be totally transformative. As a new council member of New York State Council on the Arts, I’m looking forward to championing the transformative nature of arts and cultural events statewide.
ROCHESTER BEACON: Looking ahead, how do you envision the festival adapting—whether through new art forms, technology, or community partnerships—to continue engaging future generations?
FEE: What is great about the Fringe is that it’s become a bit of an institution now, but one that can be flexible and nimble on its feet. I’m already hearing of venues planning shows for 2026, which is thrilling. Of course, applications open in February at RochesterFringe.com for any show looking to perform, and what is fantastic is that we absolutely cannot predict what shows will apply. In terms of future technology, I feel that as AI starts to seep into all parts of our lives, there will be one area that it cannot replace, and that’s live performing arts. In fact, many AI experts have predicted that live arts will not just survive, but thrive in an AI-centric society, so I think we are really on the brink of a watershed moment for the industry.
Smriti Jacob is Rochester Beacon managing editor.
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