Since our first festival in 2012, seating for PortFringe has been General Admission Rush. But what, exactly, does that mean? It means that all seating is general admission: first-come, first-served. You buy a ticket or pass (see Box Office Details [link] for ways to buy) that gets you into any PortFringe show at any time, as long as there’s still room for you. Unlike a normal ticketing experience, most of the time you aren’t buying a specific seat for a specific show. Buy a pass or a ticket any time, get in line early for the show you want, and settle into that front row seat!

This all might seem intimidating – especially for new PortFringe audience members – but don’t sweat! General Admission Rush is a critical component of the PortFringe model – designed specifically to create a festival atmosphere that encourages risk-taking, adventurous theater-going! Show passes are, just like Fringe, wild and risky and fun. We invite you to join us on the fringey side.

Handy tips for Fringe-ing

Buy a Pass! This is the easiest way to Fringe and means you’re spending more time seeing shows and less time at the box office. You’ll still want to arrive early for best seats, but the money part is done and dusted!

• A Three-Show Pass ($38) is good for one admission to any three shows, saving you more than $2 per event!
• An Everything Pass ($133) gets one person in to see each show once–including late-nights!

Prefer to dip in and out? Start off at Fringe Central, buy a stack of General Admission tickets ($15), and have at it. These tickets are good for any Fringe show — on a space-available basis, of course.

Got a must-see show that you’re worried will sell out? Grab a limited Advance Ticket online (until midnight the day before showtime) and your ticket will be waiting for you at the venue. Make sure you arrive *at least* five minutes before showtime to claim your ticket.

Excepting special circumstances, there will be NO LATE SEATING at ANY PortFringe show. Queues form one half-hour before showtime, so if you want that front-row seat, bring a book/friend/snack, arrive early, and wait it out.

Plan ahead. Look at the schedule and develop your PortFringe “plan of attack,” especially if you want to SEE IT ALL. There are a couple of ways to do that — your mileage may vary. Got some down time? Grab a drink at one of our host venues, or a snack at one of Portland’s outstanding food trucks, or take a minute to post your Fringe adventures to social media! (If it’s not on Insta, did it even happen?)

Above all – Don’t Panic, and HAVE FUN Remember that (except the late-night shows) each PortFringe production has three performances during the festival week – there will multiple opportunities for you to see the shows you’re most excited about, and myriad opportunities to see shows that you know nothing about!

Questions about Rush Ticketing? Contact us any time!