2025 Dates Announced!

March 20-29th, 2025

​Get the dates in your calendar!  Show applications are opening soon!

If you don't have a fully produced show ready to go, but still want to take part - we will also have a number of smaller opportunities this year!  Want to try your hand at Storytelling?  Try our StorySlam!  Have something more involved (skits, circus, a piece of a show?)  try our Yinzer Variety Show!  Are you a Choreographer, but don't have a full hour performance?   Check out our Choreographer's Showcase show!  We also have full shows, and group shows for Visual Artists!

See you in March!

HOW-TO Sessions

Keep an eye on our social medias for How to Do the Pittsburgh Fringe online sessions.  A place to learn, and even if you've been before to ask questions.  ALSO, we'll be doing a session on "What Fringe Next?" about how to tour to other fringes, and another session on how to go to the mother fringe - Edinburgh Fringe.  All dates and events on our socials - or email us for details!

Want to see last year's shows to see what we've had in the past?

You also might want to check out our archives!

Older Stuff :)

Open Office Hours 2024

We are running a series of open Zoom calls you can pop in or out of anytime during the hour to get live answers to your questions!  Check back here for more dates and times as we book them.
Friday February 17th 9pm-10pm - done

Saturday February 18th 10am - 11am - done

2023 Applications Open!

2023 Dates Announced!

April 26 - 30, Wednesday to Sunday.​

2022 Awards Selected​

As selected by The Young-Howze Theatre Journal Critics...
​
  1. Best Show - Selke Award - Unintentional Significance by Autumn Kaleidoscope
  2. Spirit of the Fringe - Torrey Shine
  3. Best Local Show - Selected Fabrics by Mita Ghosal
  4. Best Comedy Writing - The Booth by Thoreau, NM - - A Production Company
  5. Best Dramatic Writing - Hi, My Name Is by BOH Team Productions
  6. Best Experimental - Caprice by Evening Crane Theatre
  7. Best Puppetry - Unintentional Significance by Autumn Kaleidoscope
  8. Best Movement Artist - Selected Fabrics by Mita Ghosal
  9. Best Show with Music - FRED - A New Australian Musical Reunion Rehearsed Reading by Thornhill Theatre Space
  10. Best Visual Artist in the Group Show - Steven Goossen
  11. Best Visual Art Full Show- Subcultures of Pittsburgh by Zsuzsi Matolcsy

Our Virtual Festival is OPEN!

Announcement about 2022 Shows!

Catch our Variety Show - April 1st!

Stop by during Unblurred on Penn Ave, and catch a variety of performers getting back on stage and trying out some new acts.  Who knows what you’ll see!  It could be dance, comedy, circus, music, storytelling, theater, or something we haven’t thought of yet.  Support our artists getting back on stage live and in person by stopping by to catch some acts!

We won Fringe of the YEAR!!!!  Whoohooo!!!!

We were nominated for FRINGE OF THE YEAR!!!!

We are so excited to be nominated for Fringe of the Year by Young-Howze Theatre Journal!!!!
​
We also had 17 nominations for shows that were in our festival last year!!  

Apply to the 2022 Festival!

 We are  now accepting applications for the 2022 Pittsburgh Fringe.

Virtual Festival
Virtual Visual Art Group Show
Variety Show Application
Virtual Visual Art Full Show - Contact us!

​
Our performing fringe this year is separated into two categories: a live small variety show taking place on April 1st during Unblurred, right on Penn Ave.  Then, a week later, we will have the return of our Virtual Pittsburgh Fringe.

Also our Virtual Visual Arts will return just as last year.  A group show (each artist contributes up to 3 works), or full artist shows.  Just apply for the group show - all are welcome, or email about the full show to make arrangements with us.

Performers are encouraged to apply to any or all.  We look forward to seeing what you come up with!

Click the button below to find out more!

2022 Dates Announced!

This year's festival will be spread out over two weekends, one weekend of in person shows, and one weekend of virtual shows.

In Person Yinzer Variety Show: April 1
Virtual Shows: April 8-10
Virtual Visual Art Group Show: April 1st
Virtual Visual Art - Full Shows- could open April 1st, or April 8th - Artist Curator decides.  

2021 Reviews are out!

Check out reviews at this link: ​https://rndyounghowze.tumblr.com/post/651186337281605632/pittsburgh-fringe-2021-award-winners

2021 Awards Announced!

As selected by The Young-Howze Theatre Journal Critics...
​
  1. Best Show - Selke Award - Tilted Frame @ Home, Combined Artform
  2. Spirit of the Fringe - Genny Yosco (Pittsburgh Fringe Brunch, im ur hamlet)
  3. Best Local Show - James Royce, Royce Live
  4. Best National Show - Now, Now, Now...
  5. Best International Show - Safe, FMG  
  6. Best Performer Comedic- Robin Rothman, Trudy Carmichael’s Improvised One Woman Show
  7. Best Dramatic Performer- Donna Kay Yarborough, Rosegold 
  8. Best Director - Mita Ghosal and Sue Abramson, Of Lungs and Leaves
  9. Best Solo Show - Owen Corey, This Little World: A Solo Performance of Shakespeare's Richard II
  10. Best Ensemble - The Professionals
  11. Best Improv - Bingewatch 
  12. Best Show with Music - Ease of a Murder, Gwendolyn Fitz Music
  13. Best Dramatic Writing- Pedro Diegues, Self Care Tips With Tiffany
  14. Best Comedic Writing- Michael Knight, The Fabulous King James Bible
  15. Best Digital  Effects - Cookie Tongue, Kaleidoscope Bone House
  16. Best Practical Effects - Jim Julien, Shadows of My Family
  17. Best Live Show - Comedy of (Zoom) Errors
  18. Best On-Demand Show - Tango In The Dark, Pointe Tango
  19. Best Interactive Show - Glamourpuss, Double D
  20. Best Children’s Show - Countdown to Clowntown, Sphere Clown Band
  21. Best Documentary- Needs, Amanda Levesque and Tom
  22. Best Visual Artist in the Group Show - Ravindra Kamath
  23. Best Visual Art Full Show- staci b.
  24. Audience Choice Award - #txtshow (on the internet)

Check out our 2021 SHOWS!

With over 50 shows this year, in all sorts of genres, there is something for everyone!  

2021 Pittsburgh Virtual Fringe by the NUMBERS

53 Different Titled Performances
5 Art Exhibitions

23 Shows doing it Live
35 Shows On-Demand
​
5 International Shows

15 World Premieres
2 US Premieres
26 Pittsburgh Premieres

9 Zoom Shows
5 YouTube Live Shows
22 YouTube Shows
​5 Vimeo Shows
​

Our Halloween Treat to You!
Actual Spooky Stories

Local Pittsburgh Actors tell true spooky tales from Pittsburgh.  
If you enjoyed the Halloween show, or enjoyed our festival in the past, please donate even a few dollars to help us weather this COVID arts crisis.

CashApp: cash.app/$pghfringe

Venmo: @pghfringe

Paypal Me: paypal.me/PittsburghFringe

If you have the means to help, please help us continue to help artists.  We know we can assist more artists with each dollar you give.  In our organization, each dollar goes a long way.  With one of the smallest festival budgets in Pittsburgh, and one of the smallest art budgets in Pittsburgh, our organization really packs a powerful punch in artistic impact per dollar. Our festival in 2019 had about 100 performances/events of 50 different titled shows in just 4 days.  Even our Virtual Festival is one of the first virtual festivals of this size with 20 productions in 2 days.  

We know not everyone can help, and that is OK.  We don't want anyone to burden themselves helping us.  But if you do have a few spare dollars to share with us, we will be able to continue to help the artists that we as a society need more than ever today.  ​

City Paper Best of PGH
Pittsburgh Virtual Fringe Festival was SECOND PLACE for Best Virtual Event!!!!

With our quick turn to virtual after a last minute cancelation of our early April festival, and planning an entirely new festival in less than a month, we managed to get SECOND place for the Best Virtual Event in Pittsburgh!!!  This is an amazing award to get after having to pull it together so fast!  

We want to thank all the performers, who learned how to go virtual and even created new shows in less than one month.  Our performers and staff really put in a lot of effort to make this happen, and we want to Thank You all so much!!!!

There were almost 600,000 people who voted, so this is really amazing!!!  Thank you!!!
We have an amazing collection of shows from across the U.S.!  And all sorts of genres!  Comedy, Theatre, Music, Dance, Puppets, Performance Art, Visual Art, Circus and more!  Everyone should be able to find something they like!  

We have 19  performances three days (mostly 2) online!  And we're working on a sprinking of shows throughout the rest of May.

Pittsburgh Virtual Fringe 

Click brochure to see it!

2019 Festival Brochure
105 Performances of
​49 different shows
in 4 days!
(See our archive for all our past festivals!

Fringe Buttons!!!  

NEWS ABOUT US:

Picture
Read our preview by Pittsburgh in the Round! Push the logo to follow the link to the review!
2025 Dates
March 20th-29th!

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