The Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest Steals Theatre Lovers' Hearts

The Orlando Fringe welcomed 3,500 people over four days during the 4th annual Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest. This international event is billed as a way for people who are new to the theatre world to come and enjoy exciting shows and open their eyes on a small and easy-to-introduce scale.

The annual event presented twenty local, national, and international award-winning shows as well two shows geared towards children at the new Kids Fringe Mini-Mini-Fest. One of the shows, Go! from Crack an Egg TVY!, proved to be so popular with parents, that event organizers added a second performance at the last minute to accommodate the demand. Critics from Orlando Sentinel and Orlando Weekly presented LARRY by CANDY BONES/ Candice Robert from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, with their Critics Choice Award. Aside from the many sold-out performances at the festival, patrons could also lend a hand in creating art provided by Visual Fringe. Creations made by the festival's patrons will be on display during the 14-day Orlando International Fringe Theatre Festival in May.

To give theatre-goers a sneak peek into the creative process, Orlando Fringe incorporated four staged readings of plays coming to the festival in May. Audiences were invited to a special talk-back with the playwrights and performers after the readings.

"It was such an exciting event. Everyone was having such a good time," says Orlando Fringe Executive Director Alauna Friskics. "It was great to see the familiar faces of our Fringe family having a blast next to new faces getting their first taste of Fringe."

Orlando Fringe saw a 7% increase in ticket sales and provided over $19,000 to the performing artists. These numbers exceeded last year by over 5%. Without a doubt, it is safe to say that The 4th annual Orlando Fringe Winter Mini-Fest was delivered on its promise of hot, fresh theatre now.