Celebrating its 15th anniversary in 2011 the New York International Fringe Festival is undoubtedly one of the Big Apple’s most highly anticipated arts festivals of the year. Dubbed the largest event of its kind in North America FringeNYC is renowned for its diverse and multi-faceted repertoire that includes the active participation of over 200 arts, theatre and performance arts companies from across the globe. Taking place in 20 venues scattered across New York for 16 days this annual melee of artistic expression has become a highlight in the city’s cultural calendar with over 75,000 visitors from far and wide heading to the Big Apple to be a part of the festival.
Established in 1996 this one of a kind festival is the brainchild of John Clancy, Elena K. Holy, Aaron Beall and Jonathan Harris. Complete with every conceivable type of performance art matter such as stand-up comedies, musicals, plays, magic shows and even mimes the bulk of the festival’s headlining acts take the stage in 19 downtown theatres as well as locations spread out across the Lower East Side, Greenwich Village, the East Village and downtown Manhattan.
Divided in to sub-events namely FringeU( educational material), FringeAL FRESCO (free outdoor events) , FringeART (art shows), FringeJR ( events for children ), FringeHIGH (events for young adults) and FringeCLUB (after-show events for audiences and artists) the over 1200 performances at FringeNYC truly does include something for every spectrum of society.
The acts on show at the FringeNYC are selected by a jury unlike other Fringe festivals and nearly 200 shows are thereby selected to be performed at the festival while 20 out of these are then chosen for the FringeNYC Encore Series which takes place for 2 weeks in September.
Noteworthy shows that made its debut at FringeNYC include Debbie Does Dallas musical, the Broadway sensation Urinetown and The Black Rider while the Collective:Unconscious and Charlie Victor Romeo also won audiences over with their groundbreaking adaptations.
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