Lucy Eveleigh Steps Down as Executive Director of Toronto Fringe After 11 Years

The Toronto Fringe, the non-profit charitable organization that runs Ontario's largest theatre festival, announces the departure of Executive Director Lucy Eveleigh after six years in this position, and 11 years in total at the organization.  
 
“Working at the Fringe over the last decade has been a privilege and an honour,” says Lucy Eveleigh. “I have worked with some of the best people in the business, the hardest working and talented artists, generous and kind donors, and dedicated volunteers, including a fantastic board (past and present). I will miss the Fringe very much, but I will now take on the role of ambassador in continuing to champion the Fringe wherever I go. I am grateful for all I have learned here, the chance I have had to play, experiment, and better the organization each day, and I am excited to see who is next to take the reins. I look forward to seeing lots of folks out at Next Stage over the next 12 days, to celebrate and to say goodbye.” 
 
Lucy will continue to lead the organization through the Next Stage Theatre Festival, taking place October 18-29, 2023 at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, and until a new Executive Director is appointed by the end of the year. 

Originally from Somerset, UK, Lucy joined the Toronto Fringe as the Managing Director in 2013 after previously holding senior management positions at the SummerWorks Performance Festival in Toronto, Just for Laughs in Montreal, and the Pleasance Theatre in London, UK. In 2017, Lucy was appointed the Executive Director of the Toronto Fringe.  

Over her tenure with the organization, Lucy led the Toronto Fringe through massive successes including record-breaking ticket sales at the Toronto Fringe Festival in 2019, and through its most challenging years including the COVID-19 pandemic and aftermath. Lucy's leadership resulted in an overhaul of the Fringe's ticketing system to be completely paperless. She oversaw the movement of the Fringe Club at Honest Ed's to Scadding Court in 2017, its rebranding as the POSTSCRIPT Patio in 2018, and the most recent move to the Tranzac in 2022. Lucy spearheaded new accessibility policies and initiatives, resulting in a total integration of “Access” as a core value of the organization. She also led the Fringe through two multi-year strategic plans. Lucy also served as the President of the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF), and so showed her leadership and love of the Fringe movement with Fringe Festivals in Canada and internationally. 

“Lucy's tenure at the helm of Toronto Fringe has been transformational. Under her leadership she advanced a culture of innovation that included further digitizing the festival, as well as accountability that rippled through every facet of the organization,” said Jason Murray, Chair of the Toronto Fringe Board of Directors. “She assembled a dedicated and passionate team, empowering them to take ownership of their projects and to think beyond conventional boundaries. She doubled down on efforts to further diversify the festival and make processes more equitable and accessible, forged strong community partnerships, worked in partnership with the Board and Fringe staff to increase fundraising successes, bridged the festival through the pandemic by leading the development of two online Fringe Festivals, and the list goes on. What an impressive journey it has been. As Lucy prepares to step down from her role as Executive Director, she leaves behind a legacy of profound and lasting change that will ensure the ongoing success of the festival. Thank you, Lucy, for 11 incredible years with the Toronto Fringe!” 

The Toronto Fringe was founded in 1989 and is a grassroots, charitable, non-profit organization that serves indie artists and artsworkers. Toronto Fringe presents the 16th annual Next Stage Theatre Festival at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre from October 18-29, 2023, and the 37th Toronto Fringe Festival from July 3-14, 2024.  

Applications are now open for the new executive director. Interested applicants can email their application to the following address by or before Friday, November 3: board@fringetoronto.com. A job description and application details can be found at https://fringetoronto.com/get-involved/work-with-us.  

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