Opportunities for Artists: Toronto Fringe Festival

Hello, Fringers! We’re happy you’re here! The 37th annual Toronto Fringe Festival will run July 2-13, 2025. 

What is the Toronto Fringe Festival?

The Toronto Fringe Festival is Ontario's largest theatre and performance festival, taking place every summer in July. Since 1989, the festival has been unjuried, meaning the shows have been chosen by lottery or first-come-first-served processes rather than by curation, opening the stage to all who have a story to share. 

The Toronto Fringe holds a lottery to program the main festival venues by selecting shows at random in a draw. This draw typically takes place in the late autumn. In line with all other Fringe Festivals in Canada, the Toronto Fringe does not evaluate the artistic merit of applicants, or the viability of the work – all applicants have the same chance of earning a show slot as the rest of their category. The power of the Fringe Movement is that there are no gatekeepers. It's a platform for everyone to learn about and experiment with the arts.

Didn't get drawn in the lottery? The Toronto Fringe also offers the opportunity for producers to apply for Satellite Venues and Unconventional Venues.

Applying to the Fringe is a great way for emerging artists to learn how to produce a show from start to finish in a supported and professional environment, or for seasoned producers to take a risk and try something new!

How can I get my show in the Fringe?

Please note, applications for all categories for the 2025 festival are now closed. We will start accepting applications for the 2026 festival in November 2025.

There are 3 ways to apply to produce a show in the Toronto Fringe Festival:

Who can apply to produce at show at Fringe?

Anybody can apply with a show to the Festival – absolute amateur to established professionals, and local, national and international participants are all welcome. The individual applying is referred to as the MAIN ADMIN CONTACT and is considered by the Fringe Festival to be the primary producer of the show. The Main Admin Contact enters into a binding agreement with the Festival upon acceptance of a show slot. 

You must provide a company name at the time of application. The main admin contact and the company name cannot be changed at any time thereafter. 

You will also need to provide a secondary contact – this doesn’t necessarily need to be someone critical to the creation or producing of your show, but they can be. They will be contacted if the Festival is unable to reach the Main Admin Contact with critical information or questions about their application and/or event.

The show you apply with can be anything you want – the festival will never intervene artistically (as long as no laws or Festival policies are being broken). Dance, drama, comedy, digital, immersive, solo, magic, musical, for kids, for teens – you name it, you can probably produce a Fringe show about it. The Festival also encourages and has resources to support participants to include and increase accessibility measures in your performance run. 

Why produce your show at the Toronto Fringe Festival?

Fringe covers part of the cost of producing a show, which can otherwise be $10,000+ if self-producing. Together, we can help lower the costs for everyone involved.

For those drawn in the Main Venue Lottery and Satellite Venue Lottery, participants pay a Participant Fee for their slot and receive a performance venue with technical staff. Those selected as an Unconventional Venue are responsible for the costs and agreements associated with their venue, and pay a Participant Fee that scales with their potential revenue. 

All participants in the Fringe receive support from box office staff, front of house staff; also ticket sales service, venue insurance, and a share of our festival marketing. Participants are expected to cover artist fees, royalty fees, set/costume costs, show-specific marketing, and other production costs. 

It’s Better Together

This shared producing model allows your dollar to stretch further, because we are pooling our resources and working together. As always, you take home 100% of the ticket revenue and Fringe takes a small surcharge on each ticket.

When you produce a show at Fringe, you're joining a community – this isn’t simply a co-production agreement. Being part of the Fringe community means access to a step-by-step Producing 101 pathway, greater reach for your show due to our province-wide marketing campaigns, and hands-on support from our fabulous team.

If you are drawn in the Lottery, you enter into a shared producing model with the Fringe.