IF Theatre’s annual IndyFringe Theatre Festival celebrates 20 years this fall.
The 20th Anniversary IndyFringe Festival presented by Everwise Credit Union returns Aug. 14-24, featuring 515 artists across six stages in 69 shows and 245 performances. The annual celebration of theatre and performing arts presents Hoosiers with an opportunity to engage with a variety of immersive and interactive arts experiences presented by local, national and international creatives.
Since its inception in 2005, IndyFringe Festival has supported more than 7,200 new and emerging artists on stages across the city. It has returned more than $2.5 million to Indianapolis’ creative market. Thanks to the Theatre City Indianapolis Summit in 2002, IndyFringe Festival has celebrated the city’s creatives alongside national acts and global artists in Mass Ave Cultural Arts District — from puppetry and ballet to stand-up comedy, Bollywood dance, spoken word poetry and more, according to a press release.
This year, IF Theatre continues the work the 2025 IndyFringe Festival reflecting the organization’s 20-year history of “daring to uplift emerging artists and making niche art forms like clowning and magic accessible to a wider, mainstream audience,” according to a press release.
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A generous sponsorship from Everwise Credit Union, allows IndyFringe Festival return 70% of all box office revenue back to the artists producing the work — 33% of whom are Black, Indigenous or artists of color and more than 100 of whom are students. However, this year IF Theatre is also investing in a variety of free community experiences — such as hiring buskers to entertain audiences on Massachusetts Avenue between venues, a karaoke night and local merchants, tarot readings and musical performances during Fringe-A-Palooza.
IndyFringe Festival returns to the Atheneum with performances scheduled on the Basile Theatre stage (Venue #5). Still, it will expand to include new venues, such as the stage at VisionLoft Events (Venue #6) at 235 N. Delaware St.
Also new this year, seven artists from the inaugural class of the Flanner Fringe Lab will present new plays, including Ms. Latrice Young’s “Dis Bitter Poetry,” Earnest Mack’s “The Big Book Signing,” Napademic’s “Universe City,” Logan Stacer’s “Psalm 27 Club,” Skye Walker’s “A Place for Plant People” and CAS productions’ “Ain’t But a Few of Us Left.”
Audiences can view shows written and produced by Flanner Fringe Lab’s key instructor, Dr. Austin Dean Ashford, on select nights.
Tickets to the 20th Anniversary IndyFringe Festival presented by Everwise Credit Union are $12-$22 with select performances offering pay-what-you-can. A 6-Ticket Flex Pass is $99 and guests who purchase one can gift a free flex pass to a first time Fringe Festival attendee. Group discounts are available for groups of 10 or more.
For more information, contact max@indyfringe.org.
For more information about ticketing or to view a complete performance schedule, visit indyfringe.org/festival/shows.
Contact Arts & Culture Reporter Chloe McGowan at 317-762-7848. Follow her on X @chloe_mcgowanxx.
Chloe McGowan is the Arts & Culture Reporter for the Indianapolis Recorder Newspaper. Originally from Columbus, OH, Chloe has a bachelor's in journalism from The Ohio State University. She is a former IndyStar Pulliam Fellow, and has previously worked for Indy Maven, The Lantern, and CityScene Media Group. In her free time, Chloe enjoys live theatre, reading, baking and keeping her plants alive.
