Fringe Festival finds a (virtual) home

Executive director Dawn Bentley welcomed Fringegoers to the 2015 festival. /Courtney Pedroza

The show will go on for Minnesota Fringe Festival, which is digital this year but will take place when it was originally scheduled, July 30-Aug. 9

There will be two ways for audiences to participate. Each night of the virtual fest features one or two live performances online, hosted by artists on their streaming platforms of choice. Those performances are free. The Fringe also is raising $100,000 for the 2021 festival and has set up a digital hub that will require the $5 purchase of a Fringe Button, plus ticket charges as determined by artists. Digital hub patrons can access an unlimited number of shows, both live and recorded. Through June 15, the festival also is accepting applications from shows and performers.

For those who can't wait, the Fringe is connecting audiences to online programing from the sort of artists they might expect to see at the festival. "Which Middle Name of Philip Seymour Hoffman Are You," an award winner at last year's event, will be presented free, June 5 and 12. You can register for that live, Zoomed performance by Jake Mierva and Danylo Loutchko at allegedtheatre.com. Performances by Sheep Theater, Sam Landman and other artists are currently available at their sites, as well.