Original, immersive and experimental performances on the “fringes” of mainstream theatre are the hallmark of the Denver Fringe Festival. This year, the festival is set for Thursday to Sunday, June 8 to 11, 2023 with 150+ total live performances of 55 productions at 12 indoor and outdoor venues in the Five Points/RiNo Art District.
The Festival spans all types of performing arts, including theater, dance, comedy, improv, cabaret and more. There are eight original plays, six immersive experiences, a two-day KidsFringe with free shows for families and street performances over four days of unbridled creativity.
Like other Fringe festivals around the world, the primary goal of Denver Fringe is to support independent artists.
This festival provides a platform, promotion and marketing, tech and the team required to get new work on stage and seen, encouraging artists to get creative and push the boundaries of performance art.
The variety offered at the Denver Fringe is unparalleled. For those looking for something…
TOPICAL / THOUGHT PROVOKING:
Prison Boxing – A one-woman show about a Juilliard actress’ 23-year career teaching theater in maximum-security prisons.
Johnny Jane – A new play that explores identity, forgiveness, love and othering through the lens of a transgender boy.
FUNNY / UPBEAT:
Spontaneous Dance Party – A humorous exploration of life’s roughest storms: love, death, and disco.
And Toto, Too – A cabaret-style diva retrospective about being the era’s most famous canine performer and companion to starlet of the century, Judy Garland.
FRESH / NEW:
AI Spy with My ChatGPT Eye – An immersive theater experience where participants use generative artificial intelligence (ChatGPT) to help a playwright perfect a script.
Infected – An immersive horror audio drama adventure where the audience experiences a 360 soundscape while following live actors through the streets.
Among the Denver Fringe Festival 2023 shows
Superhero III: Young Superhero
June 8, 9 & 10 at the Mercury Cafe Ballroom
With great power comes great responsibility for GenZ, seeing as they are charged with saving the planet and humanity as we know it (whether they were consulted about it or not). Superhero III: Young Superhero is an original comedy created by the ensemble and is filled with scripted and unscripted text, abstract vignettes, synchronized movement sequences, first-date awkwardness, and so many superpowers. And of course, a Supervillain will be thwarted along the way. The show is brought to you by the winners of the official 2022 Denver Fringe Festival #FringeAF award for “embodying the true essence of the fringe.”
They Breakup at the End
June 8, 9 & 10 at Savoy Flex Theater
They Breakup at the End is an exploration of how love, hate, and acceptance occur throughout the course of the relationship between A and B. The two main characters are never given names, or genders, in an effort to explore how we all experience the same desire to find love, be loved, accept the failure of love. This event is therefore best suited for an 18+ audience as the themes and language are adult in nature. This is a highly experimental theater piece, that plays with the concept of time and the progression of these two people trying to navigate themselves, and each other.
American Addict: A Devised Piece
June 9, 10 & 11 at Cleo Parker Robinson Dance
American Addict: A Devised Piece is a new performance that addresses the current crisis of drug and alcohol addiction in our community and our nation as a whole. By interviewing addicts in recovery, their friends and family, healthcare workers and professionals, and by studying the disease of addiction in-depth, Jennifer Rincon and the Visionbox Ensemble have developed a script with the primary purpose of removing the social stigma and shame that keeps so many addicts from finding recovery.
Un/classica(eria)l
June 8, 10 & 11 at Cleo Parker Dance
Un/classica(eria)l is a full-length aerial dance performance performed by Denver Aerial Dance Collective. This show is inspired by timeless classical music, which has been remixed to give these beautiful melodies a new sound and perception. Our aerial dancers will amaze you with their strength, beauty, and grace as they spin, leap, and drop from great heights.
Ticket Info
Denver Fringe strives to make the arts accessible to everyone, with tickets priced at $15 per show. Community support leads to artist support, with seventy percent of ticket revenue going straight to the performers. You can buy tickets to shows on the Denver Fringe website.
KidsFringe 2023
Once again, this year’s festival also includes a KidsFringe, a weekend-long (June 10 & 11) celebration of the performing arts with FREE shows at the Savoy Denver (2700 Arapahoe St., Denver).
No tickets are required for KidsFringe shows. Just show up. Here’s the schedule which is the same for both days.
10 a.m. — Family Fun Concert with BenAnna Band
A children’s band that focuses on inclusion and music for all ages, abilities and identities that will have kiddos and caretakers playing along. (for all ages, 45 min)
11 a.m. — Father Featherbottom’s Forgotten Fairytales
An interactive children’s show featuring two actors, a collection of colorful puppets, and modern lessons for contemporary kids. Created and performed by Audacious Theatre Company (for ages 4+, 45 min)
12 p.m. — The Olive Tree: A Stardust Kingdom Adventure
Join Destiny the Fairy and Darcy the Pirate on a quest to save a magic tree in this interactive audio adventure (for ages 3+, 15 min)
12:30 p.m. — A Witch In Stardust Kingdom
Join Darcy the Pirate and Destiny the Fairy as they investigate a newly arrived Witch in this interactive audio adventure (for ages 3+, 15 min).
You find complete schedules and ticketing information at denverfringe.org.