the blog

We are thrilled to introduce a new series to the blog, Artists Q&A. It is another avenue to provide platforms for artists and celebrate all that is fringe. This week, we are featuring Canadian artist Holly Brinkman, whose newest show is A Woman's Guide to Romance Novels.

Last week, I had the honor of attending the 2026 World Fringe Congress in San Diego, CA, during the San Diego International Fringe Festival. I was fortunate enough to catch a few shows throughout the week. It was exciting to see that SD fringe secured a few new state-of-the-art venues in partnership with San Diego State University. Additionally, the Baja Fringe Bi-National Fringe Program featured a multi-day lineup and was well-received. Now on to the Reviews!

The Edinburgh Fringe Festival has long been known as a launching pad for bold and boundary-pushing theater. For Xhloe Rice and Natasha Rowland, a New York–based duo creating absurdist clown physical theater, the journey to Fringe began with little more than a duffel bag of props and a desire to share their work with a wider audience. What they discovered in Edinburgh not only transformed their careers but also reshaped their understanding of what success at Fringe really mean

From comedy to matchmaking to fringe, Olivia Raine Atwood has learned that each unexpected turn in life and work has been pointing her in the same direction. Olivia is a comedian, writer, matchmaker, fitness instructor, and award-winning fringe performer whose career path could best be described as “a series of accidental perfect fits.”

Orlando Fringe is the longest-running fringe in the United States, and has long been on my list of fringe festivals to attend. Sadly, my lottery number has never been pulled (does anyone have a hankie?), but I do keep a regular eye on the festival. I’m thrilled to give my top picks of this year’s festival. While I have to narrow down my picks, I’m gonna have some bonus picks (because you deserve it and I love you).

Penny Peyser’s journey in entertainment is a lesson in adaptability, resilience, and creative reinvention. From off-Broadway to Hollywood to Edinburgh Fringe, her career reflects a simple truth: sustaining a life in entertainment requires both flexibility and the courage to create your own opportunities.

You might be wondering: wasn’t there already a fringe festival in DC? The answer is yes, but Capital Fringe is no more. Here’s what happened and why we said yes to District Fringe.

Shelley Cooper has earned recognition in the Fringe theater world for her ability to bring historical figures to life through compelling solo performances. Her works, La Divina: The Last Interview of Maria Callas and Jenny Lind Presents P.T. Barnum, merge storytelling, music, and careful research to offer audiences a deeper, more nuanced understanding of iconic women whose legacies have often been shaped by myth rather than fact.

Fringe festivals have long been a home for the unexpected. They thrive on bold ideas, unconventional storytelling, and artists who do not fit neatly into a single category. For performers with seemingly mismatched skills, fringe offers something rare: permission to combine them all and see what happens.