PORTFRINGE 2016   *Celebrating Our Fifth Year of Fringe!*

JUNE 18 – 26

We are PortFringe! We are a by-lottery, non-juried fringe theater festival. We support new, edgy, and experimental performance in our city of Portland. We celebrate the imaginative and the weird. We seek to eliminate financial and logistical barriers so that artists can focus on their work (and maybe even make money doing so). We celebrate and contribute to Maine’s vibrant performance art community. We do this out of love and passion – for theater, for creativity, for cardboard props, and packed houses. Plus, it’s super fun.

WHAT IS FRINGE?          

MISSION: The mission of PortFringe is to support theater and performance artists, to encourage experimentation and innovation, and to provide an accessible, affordable outlet for exciting work that enriches our creative community.

HISTORY: PortFringe launched in 2012 as a five-day, cutting-edge theater festival with 40 acts ranging from serious to silly and everything in between. With generous support from our community, an army of volunteers, and a pool of talented actors, directors, designers, and producers, PortFringe showcases an impressive depth and breadth of local and national talent. In our second year, PortFringe grew to over 60 acts – all in Portland’s walkable downtown Arts District.

COMMUNITY: Perhaps best of all, PortFringe generates thousands of dollars of ticket sales ($20,000 in 2014) ALL OF WHICH is funneled directly back to the artists. A recent Americans for the Arts Economic Impact calucation estimated that our 5-day 2013 festival generated about $150,000 of revenue for our city and business community. PortFringe demonstrates that there is a hunger in Portland, Maine for eclectic, homegrown, and fun arts programming — and that such creative pursuits can also be economically viable.We hope you will join us for our 2015 Festival!

PORTFRINGE CREW

Corey Anderson – technical operations
Mariah Bergeron – website and social media
Catherine Buxton – volunteer management
Lisa Boucher Hartman – venues and events
Stacey Koloski – artist relations
Carmen Mandley – community outreach
Deirdre Fulton McDonough – marketing and press relations
James Patefield – box office