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Thursday, Jun 19 3:01 PM

Fifth Annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival Most Successful Ever

Following 12 days of theatre, film, dance and music, the fifth annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival comes to a close. The festival was a success featuring 37 different shows, 170 performances and nearly 250 local regional and national artists.

This year’s festival set new records with audience attendance up nearly 12 percent. The two-week span of the festival saw a total of nearly 6500 audience members, much more than in preceding years. There was also a 44 percent increase in pass sales. “The 2008 Festival proves that we’re still growing,” says Eric Vosmeier, Producing Director of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival. “The Festival continues to expand its numbers by drawing patrons from Dayton, Indianapolis, Lexington and beyond.”

Throughout the course of the festival, critics, producers, and audience members vote for their favorite Fringe shows. The winners of the Critic’s Pick of the Fringe Award for this year is OATMEAL AND A CIGARETTE from Bad Dog! Productions of Ithaca, NY. The Producers’ Pick of the Fringe goes to MORTEM CAPIENDUM from Four Humors Theatre of Minneapolis, MN, and the Audience Pick of the Fringe Award is DON’T MAKE ME PULL THIS SHOW OVER: DISPATCHES FROM THE FRONT LINES OF PARENTING from R3 Productions of Cincinnati, OH. The Producers “Flick of the Fringe” is awarded to THE JOB from Screaming Frog of Los Angeles, CA and Audience “Flick of the Fringe” goes to EMULSION by Cider Mill Productions of Cincinnati, OH.

Jason Bruffy, founder of the Cincinnati Fringe Festival and Artistic Director of Know Theatre of Cincinnati, which is the producing organization of the Fringe, is especially pleased with this year’s turnout. "It is truly amazing to see how the festival has grown. The tremendous support of all who work in and around the festival, the amazing artists, and the energy of festival patrons help keep Cincinnati on the map as a destination fringe," said Bruffy. “I am excited to see what the next five years hold for Ohio’s largest performing arts festival.”

New additions to the Fringe this year include:
• Extended Visual Fringe with partners at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, which culminated in a new public work of art located on the south wall of Know Theatre. “The mural project brings new prominence to the Visual Fringe and provides a piece of public art that gives the theatre a much needed street presence from Central Parkway and will serve as a landmark for the neighborhood.” says Vosmeier.
• Expanded Film Fringe sponsored by Mark and Linda Bowen, which saw a 300 percent increase in audience attendance.

The festival’s success can be attributed to more than 150 volunteers and Fringe sponsors including Melody Sawyer Richardson, The Court Family Foundation, Dr. Robert Thieruff, Dr. Emeritus at Xavier University, CityBeat, Tom Schiff and Christian Morlein Lagers, as well as many venue sponsors including The Hodges Law Group, Mark and Linda Bowen, Eric Avner and Adrienne Cowden, Rivertown Breakdown/Riversweep/Paddlefest, Randy and Suzanna of Textbook Recycling, Janice Flanagan, Jo Ann and Kirk Kavanaugh, and the Model Group/Urban Sites who also made the festival possible.

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