INDYFRINGE FESTIVAL to Celebrate 21st Edition With 63 Shows in Indianapolis

The 21st annual IndyFringe Festival will return to Indianapolis August 13–23, 2026. Featuring 63 shows by more than 500 artists from around the world and right here in Indianapolis, this year’s festival offers a bold mix of drama, comedy, dance, puppetry, music, poetry, storytelling, magic, drag and LGBTQ+ theatre. Tickets: $12-22, with flex passes, rush ticketing discounts, and pay-what-you-can shows available. Buy at the door or online. 

New in 2026

Busking Stage: Each Thursday through Sunday, enjoy free, live street performances. Meet the “Love Detectives,” interact with puppets, jam to live music, marvel at close-up magic, and more at the Aerofab Busking Stage on Mass Ave. 

The KidZone at IF Theatre will feature free performances, crafts, and games for children and their families. New programs start every 90 minutes. 
Subscribe-it-Forward: When you order a six-ticket flex pass, receive a second flex pass to give to someone else. 

Curated Adventures: Use your flex pass and choose one of 12 “curated adventures,” collections of six shows in genres such as dance, comedy or new plays, as well as themes like "Global Perspective" and "Fierce Fab Femmes."  

Venues

Venue 1: The Basile Theatre at IF, 719 E St. Clair St.
Venue 2: The Barnes & Thornburg Blackbox, 719 E St. Clair St., also home 
                to the outdoor Curtain Call Cantina. Come grab a drink between shows!
Venue 3: The District Theatre Mainstage, 627 Mass Ave. 
Venue 4: The District Theatre Cabaret, 627 Mass Ave. 
Venue 5: The Athenaeum Basile Theatre, 401 E. Michigan St. 
Venue 6: The Arabian Room at the Murat, 504 N. New Jersey St., use entrance 
                closest to North St. and take the elevator or stairs up to the second floor.   

Festival Highlights

Since its founding in 2005, IndyFringe has brought more than 234,000 visitors to the Mass Ave Cultural Arts District and returned over $2.6 million to artists. That makes it the fourth most attended fringe festival in the country. It’s in the top five in the country and top 15 in the world for the number of artists served. Thanks to Everwise Credit Union’s sponsorship, 70% of all box office revenue goes directly to participating artists. This year, 60% of the acts are from Indiana, with 33% produced by BIPOC creatives and nearly half from first-time producers. 

Fun Fact: Fringe started as a rebellion. In 1947, the Edinburgh International Festival denied entry to eight theatre groups. Instead of backing down, the artists performed outside on the “fringe” of the event space, launching a global movement of “Fringe” festivals around the world from Calgary to Melbourne, and here in Indianapolis.

Theatre Productions:

A Bed of Thorns

A Sapphic spin on a classic fairytale that warns there are some fates worse than death.

A New World Coming: Conversations with Cass Elliot

A New World Coming — a trippy TV talk special where Cass Elliot returns to us, armed with 52 years of hindsight, razor wit, fearless politics, myth-busting truth, and unforgettable music, from “Dream a Little Dream…” to “Make Your Own Kind of Music.”

Hot, Cheap, & Ready (The Special Sauce Monologs)

You ever wonder about the real stories behind the sexy women of some of the most iconic fast food chains? Did they lose their brand deals? Do they have daddy issues? How many sauces did they actually taste? Who is Melinda? Is anything in this show true?

LOLCow by Casey Ross

“LOLCow: Noun, plural—LOLCows...Internet slang—derogatory, in nature—for a person whose eccentric or foolish behavior can be exploited to amuse an audience.” LOLCow by Casey Ross is an unflinching look into the darkness of the Internet’s autonomy...

The Perfect Rap Show

A concert built in real time. The Perfect Rap Show is a genre-bending live experience where performance, pressure, and identity collide in real time—with no chance to hide what breaks.

Cowboy Meg’s Saturday Morning Roundup

While hosting her wildly popular TV show, Cowboy Meg faces unexpected physical, mental, and existential obstacles that she must wrangle while entertaining her live studio audience. Saddle up, Lil’ Buckeroos for Cowboy Meg's Saturday Morning Roundup!

MASHA

A comedy about sad things like suffering, angst, more suffering, and white women’s tears. MASHA asks what it means to be an artist under ~ the circumstances ~

Teeny Tiny Tempest

Marooned on a secluded island by her sibling, a woman plots her daring escape through the powers of light, sound and dark magic with one singular sight in mind. Vengeance.

A Distant Sound of Thunder by Eric Bryant

A blackout. Disappearances. An impromptu cookout. Neighbors learn about the secrets they have been hiding. Who will survive the impending storm?

Black Obsidian

In Black Obsidian, Bryce, a young Down-Low Black man facing loss and identity challenges explores themes of homelessness, societal stereotypes, and highlights the importance of community support and self-acceptance in the Black LGBTQ+ community.

Boy Meets Musical

Remember Cory, Shawn, and Topanga? What happens when their perfect sitcom lives are flipped upside down by a sudden jump to the real world? BOY MEETS MUSICAL by Matt Day lets these 90's Teen Beat heartthrobs discover life beyond the TGIF lineup.

Breakneck Midsummer Night’s Dream

Shakespeare’s beloved comedy in a hilarious, sexy one-hour romp by just six people! Rated among the “Best of the Best; Highly Recommended” (Orlando Sentinel, 2024), “Best Ensemble” (KCFringe, 2025), and “A fringe favorite” (Cherry&Spoon, Minneapolis, 2023).

Cicada by Jerre Dye

"Jerre Dye’s mesmerizing tale of love, loss and letting go." — Chicago Stage Standard

"Jerre Dye’s poetic southern drama rides over waves of angst and anger, laced with moments of unexpected humor." — Chicago Theatre Review

Jacked: A Beanstalk Remix

Jacked: A Beanstalk Remix flips a classic tale with hip-hop, spoken word, and bold storytelling. Follow Jack on a high-energy journey of identity, family, and finding your voice.

Rideshare to Elsewhere

On Christmas Eve aspiring musician Travis Crow boards a tour bus bound, he believes, for fame and glory. Along the way the mysterious driver stops to pick up other lost souls. When the bus arrives at their destination Travis has a choice to make.

Scouts’ Honor

On her honor, Lacy tried to serve her troop and her country. Now she’s on trial for taking cookie sales too far. This original musical comedy puts badges, justice, sisterhood, and snack-based capitalism on trial.

Phantom of Diopra, IL

In this musical parody of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom haunts a tiny regional theater in a small town in Illinois. He is thoroughly unimpressive and incompetent, but the only one who seems to notice is Christie.

Before Breakfast by Eugene O’Neill

This gripping one-act drops you into a tense morning in a small apartment, where a weary wife’s relentless monologue unfolds to reveal a marriage under strain. This production turns ordinary domestic life into a powerful emotional showdown.

Cocaine by Dustin Yocum

"Two actors in a room with working lamps casting real shadows, the kind of tactile, sweaty intimacy that reminds you why this art form has survived every technological shift that was supposed to kill it." — Amy Penne (Smile Politely)

EMPTY NIGHT by Abhisek Bhattcharya

An injured thief faces a wounded tigress as both try to find food for their children. Abhisek Bhattacharya’s award-winning play, Empty Night, is a story of a predator-prey encounter and discovering what it truly means to be human.

Fear and Love with Band Practice

Berlin’s Band Practice bring two interactive theatre shows to Indianapolis: DONT BE SCARED (19.08 & 21.08), a dark clown workshop about fear, and LOVE DETECTIVES (20.08), a real dating experience meets clown show.

Maniac

Maniac is a solo clown show loosely inspired by history's most intelligent serial killer—blending masks, movement, lo-fi origami, and absurd logic into a lunatic tribunal of comedy, tenderness, and chaos.

Unalived and Lowkey Forgotten!

A true crime podcaster obsessed with theatre of the past accidentally meets the ghosts of two vaudeville-era stars who relive their final performance before history forgets them. True crime + Grey Gardens + Sesame Street = Spectrecle!

The Keeper by King Richard

The Keeper (or Who Remembers The Human Behind The Headline, When The News Cycle Ends & The Blood Has Been Cleaned From The Collective Consciousness?) follows an immortal charged with remembering the names and lives of those who have been lynched.

“Then, Eve” by Billie Jane

Fresh off successful runs in Sydney, Australia, and London, England, award-winning playwright Billie Jane makes her Indy debut with a "sharp and sensitive" (Orlando Weekly) solo show about how God created Adam—and Eve created herself.

Shades of Gay by David Taylor Little

Six gay men share their lives over the course of a single day experiencing love, loss, fear, expectation, regret, and humanity in multiple snapshots.

Whatever Happened to Gold D. Locks?

“Gold D. Locks and the Three Bears” ends happily for the child—but not for the bears, who suffer losses without justice. Whatever Happened to Gold D. Locks? retells the tale through forest animals, revealing the rest with audience participation.

All You Can Eat by Christopher Whitman

All-you-can-eat pizza, pasta, salad, and dessert. This shift is far from routine as a ragtag crew weathers one of the darkest days of the year: Black Friday. A fast-paced comedy capturing the ins and outs of who makes your food.

Hoosier Holidays by The Morrigan Theatre Company

Four holidays. Four Hoosier playwrights. One Indy Fringe show. Join us to journey through Halloween, Christmas, and other holidays, from the POV of a mother, a betrayed lover, a failed businessman, and a young girl reliving her past.

Queens

King Henry VIII is trapped in purgatory and bound to his throne by a sinister Fool. Here in his gilded cage, he is forced to relive the sins he committed against his queens, mistresses, and people over and over again for eternity.

“Spin” by Becky Schlomann

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