the blog

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.

Fringe theatre has always been built on movement. Artists travel from city to city, crossing borders with stories shaped by where they come from and where they are going next. International touring fringe artists are not an added bonus to the ecosystem. They are fundamental to it.

Accessibility in fringe theatre is not just a matter of compliance—it is a commitment to inclusion. New tools like SlideTeller help ensure that the full experience of a performance is available to all, regardless of how someone receives it.

“The best work is being done on Fringe stages. You can’t get more inventive, you can’t get more raw, and it’s everything that pushes my theatrical buttons,” Britt Lafied, SoHo Playhouse Managing Director.