Fringe

Fringe theatre is a term used to describe alternative theatre, or entertainment not of the mainstream. The principal and largest fringe theatre festival is the Edinburgh Fringe. It was started in 1947, and now boasts over a million tickets sold annually. The genesis for the festival was the Edinburgh International Festival; at this event, a number of theatre groups who were not official participants staged shows at venues located at the "fringe" of the main festival. All performers are welcome to apply, regardless of their professional or amateur status. No restrictions are made as to the nature, style or theme of the performance. (Some festivals have children's areas, with an appropriate content limitation.) Many festivals find too many applicants for the number of available spaces; in this case, applicants are chosen based on an unrelated criteria, such as order of application or a random draw. The one common limitation of a Fringe festival is a geographic one; applicants may be divided into groups to ensure a mix of local, national and international talent.Fringe festivals typically have a common organising group that handles ticketing, scheduling and some overall promotion (such as a program including all performers). Each production pays a set fee to this group, which usually includes their stage time as well as the organizational elements. Performers sometimes billet in the homes of local residents, further reducing their costs.