DC playwright Gwydion Suilebhan argues that perhaps it has.
This year, the price of a Fringe ticket has gone from $15 to $17, and the required one-time purchase of the Fringe button has increased from $5 to $7.
If you decide to see only one show in Fringe this year, Gwydion calculates, and you order online, your credit card will be charged $27.75. Too high a price, he argues, for Fringe shows.
Like most artists, Capital Fringe has been important to his career.
“I love the DC Fringe. I love that it gives young theater practitioners a chance to make a splash. I love that it gives veteran theater practitioners an opportunity to experiment. I love that it serves as a laboratory in which one can learn all the ins-and-outs of producing theater. I love the stripped-down aesthetic of a lot of the work that gets produced. I love how goofy and personal some of the shows seem to be (even though I typically don’t choose to see those shows). I love that it stands as a giant contrast to the thriving theatrical mechanism that runs in the city throughout the rest of the year.”
You can read his well argued piece here and join the discussion already going on there, or start one here.
Are you seeing more or fewer shows this year?
Has the increased price affected your ticket buying?
If you think the ticket price should be lower, what’s your idea about how we can get the big, boisterous, risky theatre festival we want while keeping Capital Fringe afloat?
Chris Klimek has an excellent look at this issue in today’s City Paper, including an interview with Julianna Brienza “Ticket sales cover about 23 percent of the festival budget, Brienza says, a figure that doesnt fluctuate much year to year. She says that nearly everything the festival must pay for, from utilities to lumber to permits issued by the Department of Consumer and Regulatory affairs, costs more than when the festival began. Until now, the festival hasn’t been passing those costs on to consumers.” http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/fringe/2011/07/20/receipt-wisdom-are-tickets-to-fringe-shows-too-damn-high/
Yes, absolutely it has. The argument for the price, of course, is that compared to seeing shows at Signature or Arena or the Shakespeare Theatre, it’s still a bargain.
And that’s true… for some of those shows, you can’t get a ticket under $60. But Fringe — while wonderfully experimental and creative — can DEFINITELY be a risk when it comes to seeing quality performances. I’ve seen some of the best, unique shows there, but others have been truly awful. And most average at only an hour long, with many less than that. So while theatregoers save money compared to more expensive theatre, it’s not necessarily the best “bang for your buck” anymore, if you factor in the actual quantity and quality of the performances you’re seeing. Most savvy audience members might opt to see shows with $10 tickets, free events, or find coupons and discounts for more expensive pieces.
Which IS unfortunate, given the great opportunities that Capital Fringe has given artists. But the price should be more flexible. At the Edinburgh Fringe, some shows are free, while others are 5 to 10 pounds. That’s a great difference in price range, and so it gives audiences choice and advances one of the prime goals of fringe theatre movements, which is to make art accessible to everyone.
Too expensive? Check out our “Fringe of the Fringe” production ROCK BOTTOM A ROCK OPUS at DCAC, based on the Michael Shilling’s novel dubbed “the greatest rock’n’roll novel of all time,” developed by the creators of DIAMOND DEAD (2008 Best Musical Pick of the Fringe). 18+ for nudity, language and graphic sexual situations. Enter code “Joey” this weekend for $10 tickets. rockbottommusical.com
Heck yes, $27.75 is too high for a fringe show. With discounted tickets available for theatres around town, it’s possible to pay $25 and see something more worthwhile. For the last few years, I’d buy a button & 4 Fringe tix and go to a few different shows as an experiment but the price now is excessive. There are one or two shows that interested me but the times/dates didn’t match my schedule.