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<\/p>\nOrlando International Fringe Theatre Festival returns to celebrate 35 years<\/p>\n
The 14-day immersive cultural experience will feature more than 1,000 ticketed performances spanning theater, dance, storytelling, musicals, comedy and more.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCELEBRATING 35 YEARS OF THEATER, DANCE, STORYTELLING, MUSICALS, COMEDY, AND MUCH MORE. THAT\u2019S WHAT\u2019S AHEAD. WHEN THE ORLANDO INTERNATIONAL FRINGE THEATER FESTIVAL RETURNS TO ORLANDO. AND JOINING ME NOW WITH YOUR INVITATION, WE HAVE ORLANDO FRINGE ARTISTIC DIRECTOR TEMPEST HALSTEAD. GOOD TO SEE YOU. GOOD MORNING. YES. AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGER BRUCE COSTELLO. GREAT TO HAVE YOU, BRUCE. ALL RIGHT, LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT THIS FESTIVAL. FOR 35 YEARS YOU\u2019VE BEEN GOING STRONG. IF YOU\u2019VE BEEN IN CENTRAL FLORIDA FOR ANY AMOUNT OF TIME, YOU PROBABLY HAVE HEARD A LITTLE BIT ABOUT IT. BUT IF SOMEBODY HAS NEVER GONE, WHAT DO YOU WANT TO KNOW AT THE CORE? IT IS A THEATER FESTIVAL, YES, BUT IT\u2019S SO MUCH MORE THAN THAT. IT\u2019S A REALLY COMMUNITY DRIVEN EVENT. WE HAVE FREE PROGRAMING, WE HAVE A LAWN YOU CAN HANG OUT ON FOR FREE, GRAB A DRINK, LISTEN TO MUSIC. WE HAVE KIDS FRINGE. WE HAVE VISUAL FRINGE. SO THERE\u2019S SO MUCH MORE TO THE FESTIVAL THAN JUST THEATER. BUT IT\u2019S NOT JUST TYPICAL THEATER, IT\u2019S MUSICALS. IT\u2019S STAND UP COMEDY, IT\u2019S DANCE. IT\u2019S SO LIKE SO MASSIVE IN WHAT WE DO. THERE\u2019S SOMETHING FOR EVERYBODY. AND BRUCE, WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO? YEAR 35 HERE? THIS IS A BIG ONE. OH, YEAH. SO AND WE\u2019RE ACTUALLY THE OLDEST FEST OF THIS KIND IN THE U.S. CONGRATULATIONS. YEAH. THANK YOU. THERE\u2019S ONLY ABOUT 25 FRINGE FESTIVALS IN THE ENTIRE U.S. AND SO IT\u2019S A PRETTY SPECIAL THING THAT WE HAVE. SO I\u2019M JUST EXCITED TO GET TO SEE SO MANY FRIENDS THAT COME EVERY YEAR TO GET TO SEE NEW SHOWS AND MEET NEW FRIENDS. IT\u2019S A BIG COMMUNITY THAT WE HAVE. YEAH, COMMUNITY IS A BIG PART OF THIS. AND LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT HIGHLIGHTS FOR THIS BIG CELEBRATION OF OF THE 35TH. WHAT\u2019S NEW? MAYBE WHAT ARE YOU EXCITED FOR PEOPLE TO EXPERIENCE THIS YEAR? WE\u2019RE REALLY TRYING TO ENGAGE THE LAWN FOR FREE ACTIVITIES A LOT MORE. SO ON THE FIRST SATURDAY, WE\u2019RE GOING TO HAVE PARTNERING WITH GOBLIN MARKET, WHICH IS A GREAT MARKET. YOU CAN HAVE OUTDOOR, RIGHT? YEAH. OKAY. AND THEN ON THE SECOND SATURDAY, WE\u2019RE DOING FRINGE MARKET, WHICH IS OUR OWN MARKET. WE\u2019RE GOING TO HAVE 50 DIFFERENT VENDORS ON THE LAWN. YOU CAN BUY OUR ARTISAN GOODS, THINGS LIKE THAT. AND THEN ON BOTH SUNDAYS, WE\u2019RE GOING TO HAVE THE KIDS ENTREPRENEUR MARKET. SO THAT IS STRICTLY KID MADE GOODS. AND THEN THEY\u2019RE SELLING IT TO YOU ON THE LAWN. HOW DO KIDS GET INVOLVED? THEY\u2019RE ASKING FOR LIKE SUMMER JOBS AND THINGS. I\u2019VE GOT ARTISTS AND PERFORMERS THERE. YEAH. JUST COME ON THE LAWN AND HAVE THEM DO. A COUPLE OF JUGGLING TRICKS. YEAH, MAGIC AND ART AND. YEAH. OKAY. ALL THIS STUFF IS GREAT. AND WHEN WE\u2019RE TALKING KIDS, THERE ARE THINGS FOR THEM. BRUCE. YEAH. YOU GUYS HAVE HAVE THESE UNIQUE EXPERIENCES. THAT\u2019S CORRECT. SO IN THE WEEKENDS WE HAVE OUR KIDS FRINGE. SO FROM 10 TO 2 SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS DURING THE FESTIVAL, IT\u2019S TOTALLY FREE FOR ANYONE TO ATTEND. THERE\u2019S ACTIVITIES, THERE\u2019S PERFORMANCES. SO WE REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT THE FESTIVAL IS FOR EVERYONE. IF YOU ARE SOMEONE, THERE\u2019S SOMETHING THERE FOR YOU. SO WE WANT TO BE VERY INCLUSIVE IN THAT REGARD. YEAH. AND LET\u2019S TALK SPECIFICALLY, AND I MAY BE PUTTING YOU ON THE SPOT HERE. IS THERE ONE THING, A SHOW, A COMEDIAN, SOMETHING? BRUCE, WHAT ARE YOU MOST EXCITED ABOUT THIS YEAR? I KNOW IT\u2019S IT\u2019S MAKING YOU PICK YOUR FAVORITE AND THAT\u2019S TERRIBLE. BUT IS THERE SOMETHING AND YOU CAN\u2019T TALK ABOUT THE LAWN AGAIN BECAUSE THOSE ARE AMAZING. I MEAN, HONESTLY, WHAT I LIKE THE MOST IS SEEING SOMETHING THAT I KNOW NOTHING ABOUT. JUST WALKING INTO THAT THEATER WITH NO EXPECTATIONS. AND THEN THAT IS HOW I FOUND SOME OF MY MOST FAVORITE SHOWS I\u2019VE EVER EXPERIENCED. JUST BLOWN AWAY. SO IT IS JUST TAKING A CHANCE ON SOMETHING, EVEN A GENRE. YOU\u2019RE LIKE KIND OF HESITANT ABOUT. IT\u2019S LIKE, THIS IS THE OPPORTUNITY TO TAKE THAT CHANCE. IT\u2019S LOW RISK. IT\u2019S ONLY 15 BUCKS. LIKE THERE\u2019S NOTHING THAT COULD GO WRONG. YEAH, THE, THE SORT OF THING I ALWAYS SAY TO PEOPLE IS, YOU KNOW, I\u2019VE SEEN SHAKESPEARE BEFORE, BUT I\u2019VE NEVER SEEN SHAKESPEARE DONE BY A PODIATRIST BEFORE. SO, YOU KNOW, I THINK OPENING UP YOUR, YOUR HEART AND YOUR MIND TO LIKE PEOPLE WANT TO TELL THEIR STORY IN THIS WAY. AND THAT\u2019S SO MAGIC. I THINK YOU\u2019LL SEE EITHER THE BEST THING OR YOUR IN YOUR LIFE, OR YOU MIGHT SEE THE STRANGEST THING IN YOUR LIFE. BUT EITHER WAY, BOTH ARE REALLY GREAT. YEAH. AND THAT\u2019S THE THING IS IT\u2019S THIS EXPERIENCE. AND WHAT\u2019S SO POWERFUL WITH COMING TOGETHER, LIVE PERFORMANCES IS WE ALL COLLECTIVELY EXPERIENCE SOMETHING THAT CAN NEVER BE DONE EXACTLY THAT SAME WAY AGAIN. AND WE\u2019RE ALL PART OF IT. SO IT\u2019S AWESOME. WELL, TICKETS ARE STILL ON SALE. HOW DO WE FIND THOSE? YOU CAN GO TO ORLANDO FRINGE DOT ORG. YOU HAVE ALL THE TICKETING INFORMATION. IT\u2019S FROM FREE TO $15. YOU DO NEED A TICKET AND A BUTTON. YOU DO NOT NEED A BUTTON FOR THE FREE PROGRAMING. SO JUST COME ENJOY. HAVE FUN, BE WHO YOU ARE AND THAT QR CODE ON YOUR SCREEN. YOU CAN SCAN IT WITH YOUR SMARTPHONE RIGHT NOW. THAT WILL GET YOU TO MORE INFORMATION. OR WE\u2019RE GOING TO POST IT ALL ON WESH.COM. TEMPEST. BRUCE, THANK YOU BOTH SO MUCH. THANK YOU. CONGRATS ON 35 YEARS. YEAH. ALL RIGHT, LET\u2019S TURN OVER TO FIRST WARNING METEOROLOGIST ERIC BURRIS, BECAUSE ERIC, WHEN WE GOT OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES, WE DO LOOK AT THE WEATHER VERY CLOSELY. WE DO. CAN I JUST SAY LIKE, KEEP FRINGE WEIRD? I LOVE THAT SO MUCH. DO YOU SELL THAT SHIRT?\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival returns to celebrate 35 years<\/p>\n
The 14-day immersive cultural experience will feature more than 1,000 ticketed performances spanning theater, dance, storytelling, musicals, comedy and more.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 9:26 AM EDT May 8, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n