Last night, Capital Fringe held a “State of the Fringe” meeting. Jonathan Fischer was there for City Paper, and turned in an excellent update on the status of the Fringe which includes a discussion of how long might the organization be able to hold on to their Fort Fringe headquarters, and which neighborhoods are under consideration when they do have to move (the redevelopment project Square 450, will begin at some point. ) And, in what elicited the most suggestions from the audience made up mostly of Fringe supporters and DC theatre professionals – when they do move, will they rent or own?
In what should be considered a model for transparency for agencies everywhere, Executive Director Julianne Brienza and the Board revealed the good news: following three years of ending up in the red, last year’s Festival landed the non-profit a surplus of nearly $61,000. They also released such financial details as the rent they pay for the leaky Fort Fringe, and projected costs for a new facility (millions for a new one, hundreds of thousands for a rented one). Read the complete article here.
While these considerations invariably affect future Fringe festivals, they have no impact on this year’s 18 day Capital Fringe which will be ready to roll on July 11th.
