Capital Fringe Festival no longer on the fringe; 19,000 tickets sold

Washington DC - About 19,000 tickets were sold for this year's Capital Fringe Festival, roughly 1,000 more than were sold last year for the annual event. The festival, in its second year, showcased 116 performances by local and touring performers during its July 19-Sunday run.

"We sold out a few shows last year; this year, we sold out entire runs," said Festival Director Julianne Brienza, adding no shows were canceled from lack of ticket sales.

The productions this year included everything from burlesque puppetry to tales of female pirates. "Chocolate Jesus," a production by D.C. storytelling group SpeakeasyDC, sold out all five of its shows, according to SpeakeasyDC Director Amy Saidman.

Saidman said the group's following helped contribute to the success of the show but also credited a spirited marketing campaign - more than 50 percent of its audience had never seen the group perform before.

Theater J launched a festival within a festival with its "Voices from a Changing Middle East." The program featured eight different shows, according to Rebecca Ende, director of marketing and communications for the company.

"There's so many things out there, that it's kind of hard to get your piece heard above the noise, and since we had eight shows, it was a bit of a challenge to make sure each show got its fair share of press," Ende said. About 1,500 people saw at least one of its 26 performances.

Shirley Serotsky, co-founder of D.C.'s Bouncing Ball Productions, directed three well-attended pieces including "Cautionary Tales For Adults" and "Collaterally Damaged."

"We learned a lot from last year; we basically tried to do much simpler shows, technically, to avoid any kind of snafus we possibly could avoid," Serotsky said.

Brienza said she imagined ticket prices next year would remain the same, at $15.

The festival is non-juried, meaning there is no screening process for shows. Serotsky said that meant while some people might feel $15 is too much to pay for some productions, other ones featuring renowned D.C. actors are much cheaper than what audiences normally pay for such a piece.

Brienza hopes to bring the Fringe to more D.C. neighborhoods next year.