New York International Fringe Festival - Administrative Offices

As a relative newcomer to the theater and the world of its festivals, I was a bit nervous about producing with an outfit as legendary as the NY International Fringe Festival. But from the moment my play was accepted through production, my ensemble was treated with respect and deference by the festival organizers. I was most struck by their accommodating my request to have our production moved to a more suitable venue after I explained to them why it would be best. Professional, sensitive and sharp, the NYC International Fringe Festival has survived and thrived for so long for a good reason: they are great at what they do and supportive of the creative spirit and instincts of its participating artists.
Dec 30th, 2015

Sharing my experience in case there are international (artist) participants in the future. International artists beware - even though they are your petitioner, Fringe does not support you through the Visa process and does not have any rules/deadlines regarding this process. What neither Fringe or their recommended lawyer will tell you is that even if you submit all of your documents on time, you may not receive Visa approval/denial until 3 weeks/one month before the festival. This means you're taking a huge risk financially as Fringe expects you to prepare for the festival without Visa approval. We brought up our concerns over their lawyer not submitting our Visas according to agreed upon deadlines many times and were brushed off, encouraged to stay in the festival and "trust the process." At one point, Fringe and the lawyer seemed to have lost our visa application, with each stating the other had it, for over a month's time. Our worst fears came true when our Visa ended up being delayed and we lost a ton financially. Fringe initially offered us a partial refund and then ignored us, we had to file a dispute with our credit card company to get the money back. We tried to file a complaint with their board of directors and never heard anything back, highly unprofessional, poorly run, and heartless organization. If you're going to participate in this as an international artist, I strongly advise getting your own lawyer, setting your own deadlines, and to not incur any additional costs until you get your Visa approval well in advance (no matter what Fringe and their lawyer tell you - and they'll be dismissive/non-responsive, and will string you along). Local artists may have had a more positive experience, but international artists (all of us that year, 2018) were put in the highly stressful position of preparing for the festival without Visa approval, and were seemingly forgotten about when it came to helping us through the process, addressing concerns, adhering to timelines, and being 100% honest with us on the implications of Visa denial. We felt strung along and scammed, truly one of the most devastating (financial and otherwise) experiences of my life. Good luck and be careful.
Sep 13th, 2019

The NY Fringe Festival is, I'm sure, impossible to organize to everyone's satisfaction. It's so damn big, and being done on such shoestring resources. However, when I had a serious problem with the venue to which my play, HICK: A LOVE STORY, had been assigned, Elena, the director, took that seriously. I must admit, I was surprised. I expected to receive a "So sorry you're unhappy but we just can't change it" reply. I would have accepted that. We had asked for a venue with a large audience capacity and had been assigned a 50 seat theater. Elena told us the length of our play (2 hours) and the limited dates we could perform had seriously limited where she could place us. We shortened HICK to 1 1/2 hrs and eliminated our restriction on dates available. Elena switched us to a 120 seat theater, where we did very well, got a Fringe Fave award and were invited to be part of the Fringe Encore Series. And, as agonizing as it was to cut a half hour from our precious little baby, it greatly improved the script, and we haven't restored any of the cuts.
Feb 26th, 2016

I am sorry it took so long for me to actually write about my experience with FringeNYC. I am a suburban father and husband. Getting a show in New York was nothing but a distant dream. That being said, when my play Random Us got in, I was surprised and of course elated. We did not have a production company behind us- it was just my small cast and stage crew. At first, we were overwhelmed but the Fringe admin team and volunteers really helped. They were so wonderfully responsive to our questions and understanding of our lack of experience. We ended up having the time of our lives! Random Us had sold out shows and the audience reactions were outstanding. Random Us actually won a producer's award. I can say without hesitation, Fringe changed my life for the better. I am newly inspired and writing more and more- I hope to return to Fringe again someday. Elena and crew- thank you!
Feb 15th, 2016

Great Festival!
Oct 17th, 2015