The 2025 Cincinnati Fringe Festival
Celebrating the Joyful and Defiant Spirit of Independent Theatre Artists for 22 Years
Announcing this year’s extraordinary Festival Lineup
The Cincinnati Fringe Festival returns for its 22nd year with a radical vision: art as liberation! Diversity as non-negotiable! Joy and radical kindness as acts of resistance! As the tentacles of American imperialism turn inward on its people, the Cincy Fringe champions trans, queer, and marginalized artists, radical creativity, and the power of independent art to resist tyranny.
From May 30th to June 14th, the festival will unleash a whirlwind of uncensored theatre and experimental performance from more than 40 independent local, national, and international theatre artists. The Cincy Fringe is Cincinnati’s Summer Theatre Party – a 14-day celebration of the joyful and defiant spirit of artists who refuse to be silenced.
“Fascists are terrified by free expression,” says Katie Hartman, Cincy Fringe Producer. “When our history is erased and voices are suppressed, making art is rebellion. When we elevate marginalized artists, when we create space for joy, when we gather together to experience this incredible diversity of perspectives, we’re not just putting on a festival – we are building a better world.”
This year we march onward carrying the torch of creative community care and radical self-expression with:
- 26 Primary Lineup Productions
- 42+ Productions and over 190 performances (Including 3 Fringe Development projects, 9 Limited Run Productions, and 2 Kids Fringe shows) to entertain at 6 venues across Over-the-Rhine: Know Theatre, Gabriel’s Corner, Coffee Emporium, First Lutheran Church, and the Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine.
- Kids Fringe Performances on Weekend Afternoons
- Free Nightly After Hours Events in the Know Theatre Underground Bar
- Introducing Conceptual Fringe: 4 productions ranging from performance art for an audience of one to unique and experimental happenings that defy the festival boundaries of time and space.
TICKETING INFORMATION
- 50% of all Box Office revenue is given to the Producing Fringe Artists.
- Single tickets to the 2025 Cincy Fringe are $20
- The Full Schedule will go live and single tickets go on sale Tuesday, April 29th at 12p EST at www.cincyfringe.com
- The All-Access Pass ($330) is good for one entry into all Primary Lineup, Limited Runs, FringeDevelopment and Kids Fringe performances.
- Our 5-ticket Flex Pass ($90) can be used in any combination of shows and is transferable among individuals.
- Volunteers see shows for free
- All passes are currently on sale at www.cincyfringe.com
This year’s Primary Lineup totals 26 productions and features new work from 13 local creators, 10 productions from across the U.S., and 3 international artists from Canada and Australia.
With 32 world premieres, 11 regional premieres, 1 national premiere and 19 producing companies that have never-been-seen in Cincinnati, adventurous audiences are guaranteed an experience of a brave and unabashed creative community that can’t be had anywhere else.
The 2025 Cincy Fringe Festival Primary Lineup
1 Gay Wedding and Absolutely No Funerals
Ben & Justin Present
Cincinnati & Columbus, OH
Hair? Done. Nails? Done. Dead Body? We’re working on it.
A Cabaret of Legends
Dynamite Lunchbox Entertainment
Orlando, FL
A cabaret of black female vocal legends from Ella to Beyonce.
ARSENIC AND OLD SPICE
Silver Linings Productions
Cincinnati, OH
Tried Neville and Barry’s “special” cake? It’s to die for.
Bruce Ryan Costella: MUTTNIK
Bruce Ryan Costella
Orlando, FL
The first dog in space tells its life story.
BUBBLEGUM
Solasta Theatre Lab
Cincinnati, OH
A NOT-for-children children’s show whimsically set in a dumpster fire.
Camp Loretto
Jack Fogle and the River Rat Puppet Collective
Cincinnati, OH
Hi Camper! Ready for an unforgettable day at Camp Loretto?
Date Me
Carolyn Guido Clifford and Tessa D’Errico
Cincinnati, OH
Looking for the perfect meet-cute? You + Us + Fringe
Eleanor’s Story: Life After War
Ingrid Garner
Los Angeles, CA
Granddaughter performs teen’s return to America after surviving WWII Berlin.
History Hates Lovers
Queen City Queers Productions
Cincinnati, OH
Learn from history, or be doomed to repeat it.
Jon Bennett: AMERICAN’T
JON BENNETT
ADELAIDE, AUSTRALIA
Jon moved to the USA during Covid and was arrested at the border.
Likes Moths to a Flame: New Dances
Megan Flynn & Teresa VanDenend Sorge
Cincinnati, OH
Like moths to a flame – Do we blow out the match, or light a thousand?
Martin Dockery: Every Good Story Ends With One
Martin Docker
Brooklyn, NY
An all-true, hilarious story about an unbelievably mysterious romance.
Me, Myself and Other
Diana Romero/Maggie Whittum
Los Angeles, CA
A heathen crip battles outside forces to finally find herself.
Somewhere Over the Holler
Pones
Cincinnati / Northern KY
Sharing rural queer stories through film and dance.
Stuck
Wicked Cat Productions
Brooklyn, NY
Teenage fantasy becomes messy reality when old friends reunite.
Tea TIME
Erika MacDonald
Covington, KY
It’s about tea! It’s about time! F**k off, I’m steeping.
The Campfireball
Cory Howard
Johnson City, Tennessee
A storytelling show about you — the audience!
THE FAMILY CROW: A Murder Mystery
The Pucking Fuppet Co.
Toronto, ON, Canada
Puppets! Puns! Murder!
The Second Circumcision of Lili Rosen
Lili Rosen
New York, NY
Trans woman of Hasidic experience grapples with her most controversial decision yet.
The Squid and The Octopus
Jim Julien
Drexel Hill, PA
Cephalopod shadow puppet show with knives!
Traitors
Stix Eris
Cincinnati, OH
In the near future, queer gangs survive under tyrannical rule.
TRUMPETS! A Pretty Gay Video Game Play
Studio Apartment Theatre Collective
Cincinnati, OH
One part parody, two parts fanfiction, three parts identity crisis.
Velma & Clarice (a.k.a. The AMAZING Amazing Race Roadtrip)
Patricia Mullins
Cincinnati, OH
Sisters on a Thelma & Louise-esque Romp Across the Country
Whispers From The Deep
A to Z Productions
Covington, KY
WINNING:Winning
Sweet Action Theatre Company
Toronto, ON, Canada
A silent-ish clown journey to unlock the true winner inside.
Yoga for Falling Apart
Feminist Commune Theatre Collective
Wooster, OH
A one-woman show masquerading as a yoga class 🙂
2025 Cincy Fringe Festival Limited Runs
[TITLE OF MEMOIR] or 2.5 Pots of Coffee a Day is Too Much and Other Advice I Didn’t Think I Would Need to Hear or On How Judith Light Saved My Life
p.s. Please thank…
FaithGGI Art
Cincinnati, OH
Comedy, chaos, and caffeine-fueled confessions.
A Clockwork O’Fringe
Gauravi Shah
Newport, KY
Question reality. Are you in control?
Alphas: On Fire! – A Comedy Variety Show
Alphas Comedy
Cincinnati, OH
A joyful women’s variety show with improv, sketch, music, & dancing!
Plan V: The Rise of Reverence
Dance Naked Creative
Portland, OR
Patriarchy perishes. Shame abates. Pleasure prevails! Feminism foils fascism!
trueFRINGE 2025
True Theatre
Cincinnati, OH
Fringe artists sharing true, personal, behind-the-scenes stories!
Yes anD&D!
Cincy Shirefolk
Cincinnati, OH
A completely improvised D&D gameplay performance – with audience participation!
2025 Cincy KIDS Fringe
FORGING LEGENDS: The Tall Tale Chronicles
sKribble sKratch Productions
Cincinnati, OH
Active imaginations vibrantly bring beloved tales and new stories to life.
The Green Moon/La Luna Verde
Gabriel Martinez Rubio/Dos-Corazones Productions
Cincinnati, OH
Shadow puppetry, Modern Dance, and Poetry inspired by Garcia Lorca.
2025 Cincy Fringe Development
In The Presence Of…
Leave No Trace
Cincinnati, OH
Nature documentary-ghost story of the great blue heron.
The Mother
Claudia Pompeya
Cincinnati, OH
One clown. Infinite mothers. A mythic fever dream.
Z is for Zebra
Katie Scarlett
Cincinnati, OH
Humor, heart, and pill bottles. Class is in session.
The 2025 Cincy Conceptual Fringe
Confide & Dance/Sing/Sit
Performance Gallery
Cincinnati, OH
Opportunities to engage, awaken and affirm yourself and your community.
Invisible Women
Miami University/Ashley Goos
Oxford, OH
Interdisciplinary, hands-on, choose your own adventure, centering women’s experiences
Perspectivation
Jim Sorge
Cincinnati, OH
Immersive dance meets VR: reimagining perspectives.
Think Tank: A Public Display Of Creation
Amica Hunter
Mount Vernon, WA
Amica Hunter (ANATOMICA, SeaMAN), plunges into a voluntary captivity performance-art experiment.
We are Know Theatre of Cincinnati: where artists and audiences can come together to produce and experience work that you haven’t seen before. We strive to build a community around viscerally theatrical, exciting new works.
The 22nd Annual Cincinnati Fringe Festival is made possible by a generous partnership with our neighbors Coffee Emporium, First Lutheran Church, and the Miami University Center for Community Engagement in Over-the-Rhine.
Know Theatre is supported by the generosity of tens of thousands of contributors to the annual ArtsWave Campaign, the region’s primary source for arts funding.
The Ohio Arts Council helps fund Know Theatre with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence, and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans.
Know Theatre is also supported by the Greater Cincinnati Foundation, which provides a simple, powerful, and highly personal approach to giving.
Know Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group and an Associate Member of the National New Play Network.
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Cincinnati, OH — May 5th — What happens when you turn a live show over to the audience? That’s the question The Campfireball, an original, ‘reverse-storytelling’ show premiering at the 2025 Cincinnati Fringe Festival, attempts to find out. Inverting the passive viewing experience of traditional storytelling, creator and host Cory Howard creates active, absurd, and unconventional conduits through which the audience has the chance to share their real-life stories, and have their narratives become the centerpiece of the event. And that’s the show.
At 5 PM on June 15, we begin with Songs Without Words (or, the Mendelssohn Play) from Jennifer Vosters out of Chicago, IL. Songs Without Words is the humorous, heartbreaking true story of one artistic soul inhabiting two very different artists. Solo performer Vosters brings composers Fanny and Felix Mendelssohn to life with a tour-de-force performance that wrestles gender and genius, family and fame, siblinghood and the power of art.
Next on the schedule at 6:45 is The Last Witch in Ireland: The Story of Bridget Cleary, from InBocca Performance out of Cincinnati, OH. In 1895, Michael Cleary declared his wife had been replaced by a changeling whom he’d burned and buried as he waited for his real wife to be returned. Who was Bridget Cleary, the last witch burned in Ireland? Who are we women – the wife or the changeling?
The final encore performance of the 2024 festival is 1-Man No Show, from Isaac Kessler out of Toronto, ON, at 8:30. This riotously funny solo clown-show-meets-performance-art piece is described by Kessler himself as “the most theatrically anti-theatre show you’ve ever seen.”
Behind the Curtain Cincinnati 