ORLANDO — The wait and suspense is almost over.
Anyone who submitted an application for next year’s Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival will soon find out who got accepted. Orlando Fringe is hosting its annual Fringe Lottery on Monday, Dec. 2 at Fringe ArtSpace in downtown Orlando.
Tempestt Halstead, artistic director for Orlando Fringe, said the Lottery Event will start at 6 p.m., although lobby doors at ArtSpace open at 5 p.m. if anyone wants to show up early and get a drink. This will also be a community event featuring a potluck dinner.
“This event is open to anyone who would like to join us at ArtSpace to watch the lottery event live and in-person,” Halstead noted in an email newsletter.
What is Orlando Fringe Lottery?
Applications to the Fringe Festival, held for nearly three weeks every May leading up to Memorial Day weekend, typically open in September, and the winners are selected through a lottery system in December. Results are posted on Fringe’s website.
“Can’t make it live?! No worries, we will be live streaming the event on our socials and website so you can invite the rest of your team to celebrate from the comfort of their home,” Halstead noted. “Link to watch LIVE STREAM or on our social media.”
Fringe ArtSpace is at 54 W. Church St. in downtown Orlando. In addition to the bar being open, Halstead said there will also be a Fringe Potluck dinner starting at 5 p.m. for anyone who attends the lottery.
“Plan to join in-person? Join us for a Fringe Family Potluck before the lottery at 5 p.m.,” Halstead noted. “Bring a dish to share and join us for some fringe-y fun! Grab some food and watch with anticipation and watch who is pulled in the lottery! All are welcome!”
This will also be one of the few remaining events held at ArtSpace.
What is Happening to Fringe ArtSpace?
Orlando Fringe moved into ArtSpace in January 2023, after the property got vacated by Mad Cow Theatre.
But two years later, Fringe has announced, they will be vacating the space.
“In our continued commitment to improving the care and sustainability of our organization and its community of stakeholders, the Orlando Fringe Board of Directors and Leadership Team have made the responsible and proactive decision to cease operations at Fringe ArtSpace by the end of February, 2025,” Orlando Fringe noted in a news release drafted by Halstead, Genevieve Bernard, Fringe’s director of experience, and its managing director Melissa Fritzinger.
Fringe added that it was no longer feasible to remain in this space due to financial pressures.
“Despite targeted financial support from the city’s Downtown Development Board earmarked for artists, Orlando Fringe continues to face overwhelming challenges beyond the scope that these funds allow us to address,” Fringe notes. “The ongoing costs associated with the service and maintenance of an aging facility at that location – including utilities, HVAC replacement, flooding, safety concerns, and limited parking options – have made continued operations untenable. These costs are even harder to shoulder while we continue to struggle with low box office revenue.”
In the meantime, ArtSpace will continue hosting new events at their downtown location. Fringe noted that its annual FestN4 will be held there from Jan. 9-12, “as well as other programming happening soon and soon to be announced. We hope you come out to support these artists and shows that completely deserve it.”
To learn more about FestN4, click here.
“We are deeply saddened by the impact the closure of Fringe ArtSpace will have on our artists, audiences, staff, and community,” Fringe noted. “However, we look forward to being better positioned to focus our energy and resources on evolving and cultivating the event at the heart of the Orlando Fringe, the annual Orlando Fringe Festival, which will continue to be an integral contribution to the cultural fabric of our city.”
Orlando Fringe also has office space at the Lowndes Shakespeare Center, 812 E. Rollins St., where most of the Fringe shows will be performed next May.
What Is Orlando Fringe?
The 2024 Orlando Fringe Festival was held at the Lowndes Shakespeare Theater in Loch Haven Park, when there were more than 400 performances leading up to Memorial Day Weekend.
The Orlando Fringe Festival is the oldest Fringe in the nation, and in 2022 celebrated its 31th year. It was created in 1991 by Terry Olson (who is now the director of the Orange County Division of Arts and Cultural Affairs), Andy Anthony and Rick Kunst, and held in 1992 in downtown Orlando.
The concept was simple: a festival featuring multiple theatrical shows, mostly done in venues in empty storefronts. In 2004, the festival started to relocate to Loch Haven Park, and from 2005 on, the festival has been held entirely in that park and in nearby Ivanhoe Village. It’s the longest running Fringe Festival in the United States, a 14-day festival held in the spring.
Michael Freeman is an Orlando journalist, playwright, and author of the book A Christmas Eve Story. Contact him at Freelineorlando@gmail.com.
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