How PortFringe All-Rush Ticketing Works!

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. The Frugal Fringer Pass gets you into each show once (not including late-night), while the Fringe Fanatic Pass is all-access, giving you free range to see whatever you want, whenever you want. You’ll still want to arrive early for best seats, but the money part is done and dusted!

Prefer to dip in and out? Start off at Fringe Central (look for the storage container in the Belleflower parking lot), buy a stack of single tickets, and have at it. Single tickets are priced on a sliding scale (from $price to $price or anything in between) and can be used for any show, including late-night events. So stuff your pockets with tickets and use them throughout the week!

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!