SO MUCH FESTIVAL! Are you ready?

We cannot contain our excitement anymore... the 2017 Charm City Fringe Festival will have the largest number of performances since our inception six years ago. We've worked really hard to provide artists with spaces to share their craft and, each year, it's getting better and better. With 26 shows and more than 90 performances during the 11-day festival, this year we've moved to a centralized two-block campus in the Bromo Arts District between November 2-12, 2017.

Our line-up includes performers from all over the North America, who will come to Baltimore to present new and experimental work. This year’s shows include a thriller on roller skates, a rock opera, and a one-person show starring “All Things Considered” host Emil Guillermo. Check out the full line-up with info on each performance. We'll announce the schedule and tickets in the next few weeks but, in the meantime, you can buy passes! Once you take a look at the line-up, we know you'll want to see more than one show...

Festival venues are conveniently located within three blocks in the Bromo Arts District, with the new Le Mondo space serving as the festival headquarters and location of Fringe After Dark performances and parties. Additional venues include the 14 Karat Cabaret at Maryland Art Place, Downtown Cultural Arts Center, and 322 North Howard Street.

As previously announced, this is the first year Charm City Fringe is partnering with the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore and the Bromo Arts District, which is providing financial and programming support. Charm City Fringe is also made possible with support from the Maryland State Arts Council.

Special programming leading up to and during the festival includes Fringe After Dark events at Le Mondo of live music, spoken word, dance parties and more; a pop-up gift shop; and the “Baltimore Star Walk” honoring 20 Baltimore legends, including Billie Holiday, Babe Ruth and Tom Clancy. More programming details will be announced soon so save the date in the meantime!

Posted on September 12, 2017 .

New spaces, new places: some important announcements

Alright y’all, this is gonna be a big one. We’ve got two big announcements for you, but before we get to that, let’s not forget about this year’s Nights on the Fringe!

This year’s Nights took place June 2nd and 3rd. Here are the highlights:

  • Aaron Henkin, Umar Khan, and Josh Kuderna set the stage for the night with witty banter and great chemistry!
  • All artists were great!  Some standouts were Cagesafe Production’s multi-media presentation of their web series Blue Light and Grim Jackson’s high energy, and thought-provoking slam poetry.
  • House band, Telepathic Dog, kept the evening moving with sweet jazz tunes.
  • Awaiting patrons outside of Baltimore Theatre Project were stilt walkers, jugglers, accordionists, and more!
  • We wish Katie Kopatjic luck as she makes her way to Scotland for the 70th Edinburgh Festival Fringe!

You can relive Nights on the Fringe by checking out the full gallery of photos.

This year’s theme

Our city hosts incredible venues like the Hippodrome, Everyman Theatre, Center Stage, and a myriad of performing arts groups. Baltimore has hosted, and continues to host, an array of famous performers and artists throughout the years. Fringe helps cement newer artists and give them a chance to show their work to our city.

Fringe is just one part of Bird City’s theatre community, but we aim to make it one where all kinds of performance arts can show their work, whether they’re mimes, poets or an acro yoga troupe. It’s not just for artists — it means that our city’s residents get a taste of a variety of performances.

This year, we will also bring the performing arts directly to Baltimoreans outside the walls of our venues, through promotion, direct interaction, and performance. All of these ideas are summed up neatly in this year’s theme: “theatre without boundaries.”

The arts deserve a chance to enrich everything. Let’s show Baltimore City all sorts of performances and create opportunities for artists, and bring the arts into nontraditional venues. These ideas will wind throughout the festival, in the selection of performances, the venues, and the way we promote the arts in Baltimore.

We’ve found a new home

Charm City Fringe has been around for 5 years, and in all that time we’ve bounced between venues in northern Baltimore, often in buildings that are kind of far from each other. This year, however, you’ll be able to attend the whole festival in one place at one time.

This year, we’re heading downtown to the fast-growing Bromo Arts District. It’s host to performing arts organizations like Everyman Theatre, EMP Collective, The France Merrick Performing Arts Center, and more. We’d like to thank the district and the Downtown Partnership of Baltimore for providing programming and financial support.

Our festival will run from November 2–12, all across Bromo in locations like the Maryland Art Place, the Downtown Cultural Arts Center, and Le Mondo. This move is going to let attendees see the festival all in one location, and walk from venue to venue with ease, all while being near downtown’s amenities. We hope to see you there!

One more thing…

Fringe has a lot of moving parts, and pulling off the festival off every year takes a lot of work. We can always use help with things like ticket-taking and concessions. If you want a chance to help out there, or anywhere on the Fringe team, join our Charm City Fringe Volunteers group. We’ll post whenever we have volunteer opportunities, or when we find cool stuff. Can't volunteer but still want to help? Consider donating to Fringe so we can keep giving artists a venue to showcase their talent.

Posted on June 28, 2017 .

Applications Open for 6th annual Charm City Fringe Festival!

Charm City Fringe is a performing arts festival celebrating exciting and boundary-pushing performances in theatre, comedy, puppetry, dance, music, and art. Running for 10 days in November across multiple venues, artists, guests and volunteers assemble to perform and enjoy works that excite and surprise.

Sound appealing to you? If you're a performing artist, come fill out the application! If you have other talents and want to volunteer your skills to help plan or staff the Fringe, let us know here.

Can’t wait until November?!

We need eye-catching and awe-inspiring street acts to wow our guests at this year’s Nights on the Fringe! Located at the Baltimore Theatre Project, Nights on the Fringe, June 2nd and 3rd, is a preview of what guests can experience at the full Fringe Festival in November. We’re looking for buskers, mimes, circus acts and street performers for paid work before the shows start each evening.

This is paid work in early June, and the show has sold out before, so email us at info@charmcityfringe.com for more info.

Stay tuned for a big announcement regarding the 2017 Festival home, Nights on the Fringe line ups and more coming soon!

Posted on March 28, 2017 .

How to Fringe: Artist Bios Released, Special Fest Events, & New Fringe Benefits

Alonzo LaMont, Jr's beautiful B-Side Man will debut at CCF this November at Stillpointe Theatre.

The festival is just a month away! Don't miss out on any of the fun. Here's what you need to know as we get close:

Join the Family

Our volunteer application is open and waiting for you! See new and emerging theatre, meet the artists, get a glimpse behind the scenes, and get great swag. Fill out this brief form to be a volunteer this year with the Charm City Fringe Fest!  Email volunteer@charmcityfringe.com with questions. Visit charmcityfringe.com/jobs/ for remaining paid positions.

Open (Your) House

Some of our incredible emerging artists travel thousands of miles to Fringe.

This year, if you sign up and are selected to house an artist, you will earn an all-access festival pass for each artist that you billet as well as other great swag like our fifth anniversary t-shirt and more. Email info@charmcityfringe.com with information about yourself and your accommodations.

Artists & Schedules

101-10-11

We're not talking in binary, that's the number of shows, venues, and days of Fringe this year! Because there's so much to dig into, start exploring this year's artists today. Visit our artist pages today to read each artist's bio, show description, and more! On each artist page, you will also find their personal schedule and performance venue.

Visit our online box office to reserve your buttons and passes today or go straight to our artist pages to browse and purchase individual tickets.

Expertly choreographed, 12x6 marks the return of excellent contemporary dance to Fringe this November.

Fringe After Dark

Back again for a fourth year, our popular after party series features loads of live music and comedy from some of the region's best and most exciting acts. 

Saturday, Nov. 5: Tom Hanks (MUSIC), 10 p.m. @ Joe Squared
Wednesday, Nov. 9: North Ave Comedy (COMEDY), 10 p.m. @ The Crown, 1910 N. Charles St., Baltimore
Thursday, Nov. 10: Gin & Jokes (COMEDY), 9 p.m. @ Joe Squared
                               FAM (MUSIC), 10 p.m. @ Windup Space, 12 W. North Ave., Baltimore
Friday, Nov. 11: Swinging on the Fringe (MUSIC), 9 p.m. @ Joe Squared
Saturday, Nov. 12: Funk on the Fringe (MUSIC), 9 p.m. @ Joe Squared

Other Special Festival Events

Launch Party: Thursday, Nov. 3, 7 p.m. @ Joe Squared, 33 North Ave., Baltimore
Previews & Opening Production: Friday, Nov. 4, 9 p.m. @ Stillpointe Theatre, 1825 N. Charles St., Baltimore
Closing Party & Awards: Sunday, Nov. 13, 7 p.m. @ Ideal Arts Space, 905 W. 36th St., Baltimore

Where to Fringe: Venues

We've introduced a bunch of new venues this year. Visit our venues page to explore each and help plan your trip. Our festival map will be posted in late October.

The absurdly funny Chris Davis will make his Baltimore Fringe debut with his one-man Apocalypse Now at Church & Company.

The absurdly funny Chris Davis will make his Baltimore Fringe debut with his one-man Apocalypse Now at Church & Company.

Posted on October 3, 2016 .