Rochester, NY – The 2022 Rochester Fringe Festival opens tomorrow and runs for 12 days through Saturday, September 24. The 11th Annual Rochester Fringe will offer more than 500 performances and events – over 125 of which are free – in 30+ downtown venues.
High-resolution photos, video and other press assets – including a link to request reviewer tickets – may be found at https://www.rochesterfringe.com/press.
Tomorrow’s official media opportunities:
- 5:30–7PM: Fringe’s opening night celebration at One Fringe Place (corner of Main and Gibbs Streets, across from Eastman Theatre). Check out the 2022 Spiegelgarden – home of the Theatre Bar, Box Office, food trucks, lawn games/furniture, firepits and more. Catch the first performances of Dashboard Dramas, Bushwhacked Backyard Bonfire, and Bushwhacked British Bake Off: Game of Scones as well as free fun that includes the Pedestrian Drive-In, where this year’s theme is “A Celebration of Song & Dance on Film.” Opening night will feature what is widely regarded as the greatest movie musical of all time, SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN, which is currently celebrating its 70th anniversary. Get interviews w/ Festival Producer Erica Fee and others, and join the Launch Party inside the Spiegeltent, where you can also catch a world-premiere production created especially for Fringe: Cirque du Fringe: Afterglow.
- 5:30-7pm // Fringe Launch Party, Spiegeltent
- 5:30-6:30pm, 6:307:30pm // Dashboard Dramas VIII, Spiegelgarden
- 6:30-7:30pm // Bushwhacked British Bake Off: Game of Scones, Spiegelgarden
- 8:30-9:30pm // Bushwhacked Backyard Bonfire, Spiegelgarden
- 7:30-9pm // Cirque du Fringe: Afterglow, Spiegeltent
- 8:00-9:43pm // SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, Spiegelgarden [FREE]
VENUE-CURATED SHOWS
- 6-7pm // Velvet Determination, The Spirit Room
- 7-8pm // Sinatra & Friends Returns, Java’s Cafe [FREE]
- 7:30-8:30pm // Public Water Supply, Rochester Music Hall of Fame
- 8-9pm // Stand Up For Drag, Geva Theatre Center
- 8-9pm // BIODANCE/Elemental Forces Redux, The Theater At Innovation Square: The Stage
- 9-10pm // How To Meditate: A Burlesque Show, The Spirit Room
All things Fringe can be found at rochesterfringe.com, which also features a variety of helpful search options (search shows by venue, age, dates, free, ASL interpreted, etc.). The free, 112-page Fringe Guide is currently at more than 40 Rochester locations (full list at https://rochesterfringe.com/visitor-info/festival-guide).
Tickets may be purchased online at rochesterfringe.com (no fees), by phone at 585-957-9837 (phone fees apply), or in-person at the Fringe Box Office (corner of Main and Gibbs Streets), and at venues one hour before show time (if tickets remain).
More About Rochester Fringe Festival:
The 12-day Rochester Fringe Festival has become the largest multidisciplinary performing arts festival in New York State and one of the top three attended Fringe Festivals in the United States. More than 500,000 people have attended nearly 4,000 performances and events at the Fringe since its inception in 2012. The non-profit organization’s mission is to offer a platform for artists to share their creativity and develop their skills, while also providing unparalleled public access to the arts. It strives to be diverse and inclusive, and to stimulate downtown Rochester both culturally and economically. It showcases the work of regional, national, and international artists from emerging to superstar.
More About Fringe Festivals:
In 1947, eight theatre groups showed up - uninvited - to perform at the newly established Edinburgh International Festival in Scotland. Although not listed in the official program, the groups performed anyway, at venues they found for themselves. The following year, a Scottish journalist coined the term “festival fringe” to describe these non-curated shows that began turning up annually. The Edinburgh Fringe is now the world’s largest arts festival and the third largest event after the Olympics and the World Cup. Today, there are more than 250 Fringe Festivals worldwide, with nearly 50 in the United States. The Rochester Fringe Festival was the first in Upstate New York.
2022 Sponsors Include:
New York State Council on the Arts; City of Rochester; University of Rochester; Monroe County; Ames Amzalak Memorial Trust; Daisy Marquis Jones Foundation; Rochester Area Community Foundation; Nocon & Associates; Rochester Institute of Technology; Waldron Rise; Elaine P. & Richard U. Wilson Foundation; Louis S. & Molly B. Wolk Foundation; Konar Enterprises; Mary Mulligan Trust; J.M. McDonald Foundation; Max and Marian Farash Charitable Foundation; VisitRochester; Nazareth College; St. John Fisher University; Monroe Community College; The Pike Company; 13WHAM TV; CITY Newspaper; D&C Digital; WXXI; Fred & Floy Willmott Foundation; Wegmans; Hyatt Regency Rochester; ESL Foundation; Canandaigua National Bank; Genesee Beer; The Rubens Family Foundation; City Blue; Aspire Transformation Services; Benderson Development; Hamilton A/V; Wilkins RV; McCarthy Tents & Events; Broccolo Tree & Lawn Care; The Harley School; Boylan Code; Bond Schoeneck & King; Yelp!; and the House of Guitars.
COVID-19 Update:
The Rochester Fringe Festival and each venue in the Festival independently establish their own COVID-19 guidelines. At this time, the Fringe does not currently require vaccination checks for Parcel 5. To confirm the rules in place at the time of a Festival performance, please visit rochesterfringe.com/covid-protocols; these rules will be continually updated so you should check them at the time of a performance you plan to attend. The Rochester Fringe Festival encourages mask wearing regardless of the rules set forth by each venue.
