Applications are now closed and all slots have been drawn
Deadline to apply: 8:00am ET on December 5, 2024
Lottery Draw: December 9, 2024
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2025 Guides and Policies
Check out these two documents to get a full picture of how the Main Venue Lottery works and all the information you'll need to apply:
2025 Main Lottery Application Guide
2025 Toronto Fringe Participation Policies
HOW DOES THE main venue LOTTERY WORK
As a non-juried festival, the Toronto Fringe selects shows at random in a lottery draw to program the festival’s slots in main performance venues. The lottery draw takes place in early December (check back here for the exact time and date). In line with all other Fringe Festivals who adhere to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) principles, the Toronto Fringe does not evaluate the artistic merit of applicants, or the viability of their work.
An individual and/or company can apply to the lottery only once. If a duplicate application is received, whether it be Main Admin or company name, the application received second will be removed from the lottery. The individual who submits the application is the Main Admin Contact. You must provide a company name at the time of application. Neither the company name nor the Main Admin can be changed at any time thereafter.
The Toronto Fringe offers multiple main categories to which to apply to, based on the permanent residence of the applicant, duration of show, age demographic of audience, or performance genre. Main Admin Contacts will select one lottery category to apply to that is most applicable to them. Main venue slots are programmed at conventional theatre spaces which range in size from solo spaces to theatres that seat over 200. You must also select which venue tier you require when you select your lottery category (does not apply to KidsFest category). Finally, our lottery is drawn in two phases to ensure that at least 50% of participants are Indigenous, Black, or People of Colour. You may indicate that you should be included in the first phase of the draw on the application form.
Once applications close, unique lottery numbers are assigned to every applicant based on your category. These will be posted to your event application in Eventotron, and an email notification will be sent out via Eventotron. The full list of applicants with their lottery number will also be posted on fringetoronto.com prior to the lottery draw.
There are a set number of Main Venue slots available in the festival, and they are approximately allocated in the following amounts: 10% International participants, 10% National participants, 80% Ontario participants.
All lottery categories will be drawn on December 9, 2024. Each category will be drawn by the three venue tiers, in two phases per tier. Where there are 5 or less slots available, the category will be pulled from an all-tier draw, and the venue size slot will be determined by the selected company. Where there are also 2 or less slots available, the category will be drawn in a single phase from a general draw. Shows will be assigned to a specific venue within their selected venue tier at a later date at the discretion of the Festival. All shows will be scheduled for up to 7 performances by the Festival, spread over the 12 days of the event (July 2-13, 2025). Shows in small venues and in the KidsFest will be scheduled for up to 8 performances.
Lottery Categories
ONTARIO 45-60min
- Main Admin Contact has landed immigrant status, permanent residency, or Canadian citizenship
- Main Admin Contact’s permanent address is in the province of Ontario, Canada
- Show duration cannot exceed 60 minutes and is not less than 45 minutes
- All single tickets are sold at general admission price
- Eligible for all venue tiers
NATIONAL 45-60min
- Main Admin Contact has landed immigrant status, permanent residency, or Canadian citizenship
- Main Admin Contact’s permanent address is in Canada (exclusive of Ontario)
- Show duration cannot exceed 60 minutes and is not less than 45 minutes
- All single tickets are sold at general admission price
- Eligible for all venue tiers
INTERNATIONAL 45-60min
- Main Admin Contact’s citizenship is non-Canadian (this category does not include Canadians with dual citizenship)
- Show duration cannot exceed 60 minutes and is not less than 45 minutes
- All single tickets are sold at general admission price
GENERAL 75 min
- Show duration cannot exceed 75 minutes and is not less than 60 minutes
- All single tickets are sold at general admission price
- Eligible for Medium and Large Venues only
- A $75 CAD surcharge will apply, in addition to the venue tier participation fee
GENERAL 90 min
- Show duration cannot exceed 90 minutes and is not less than 75 minutes
- All single tickets are sold at general admission price
- Eligible for Medium and Large Venues only
- A $150 CAD surcharge will apply, in addition to the venue tier participation fee
DANCE
- Dance/physical movement must be the primary method of storytelling for the show
- The show duration can be within any of the following time frames:
- cannot exceed 30 minutes and is not less than 20 minutes
- cannot exceed 45 minutes and is not less than 31 minutes
- cannot exceed 60 minutes and is not less than 45 minutes - All single tickets are sold at general admission price
- Eligible for all venue tiers, but Small Venues may not be suitable for most conventional dance productions
SENIOR
- The main admin contact must be 60+ years old, or the show must feature work specifically created by adults that are 60+ years old. At least 50% of the company (i.e. cast, creative team, key producing roles) must be 60+ years old.
- Main Admin Contact has landed immigrant status, permanent residency, or Canadian citizenship
- Main Admin Contact's permanent address is in the province of Ontario, Canada
- The show duration cannot exceed 60 minutes and is not less than 45 minutes
- All single tickets are sold at general admission price
- Eligible for all venue tiers
TEEN
- The show must feature work specifically for and/or by youth between ages 13-18 years
- Main Admin Contact has landed immigrant status, permanent residency, or Canadian citizenship
- A brief show synopsis is required with application to this category
- The show duration cannot exceed 60 minutes and is not less than 45 minutes.
- Eligible for all venue tiers
- Single tickets may be sold at general admission price or youth price (min $15 adult, min $8 ages 13-18)
- Eligible for all venue tiers at a reduced participant fee
- Main Admin Contact's permanent address is in the province of Ontario, Canada
KIDSFEST
- The show must feature work for children (ages 12 and under) and their families
- A brief show synopsis is required with application to this category
- The show duration cannot exceed 60 minutes and is not less than 30 minutes
- The venue is pre-allotted for these slots by the Festival
- Single tickets may be sold at general admission price or child price (min $15 adult, min $6 ages 12 and under)
Venue Tiers
Main venue slots will be pre-allocated to one of three venue size tiers. This is to ensure our festival is the right size for the shows that are drawn, and each show will be placed in a venue that is the correct size it requires. Main Venues are indoor. The total number of main venue slots in each venue tier are determined by the venues in the festival. There are three size tiers, plus the KidsFest Venue.
Scroll up to see a full appendix with more detail about each main venue is available at the top of this page.
LARGE VENUES
- Seating capacity of 171 or more
- Shows will receive a max of 7 performances
- Participant fee is $960 CAD/ $900 CAD for Teen Category
2025 Large Venues:
- Michael Young Theatre (50 Tank House Lane)
MEDIUM VENUES
- Seating capacity of 81-170
- Shows will receive a max of 7 performances
- Participant fee is $860 CAD/ $800 CAD for Teen Category
2025 Medium Venues:
- Tank House Studio (50 Tank House Lane)
- Helen Gardiner Phelan Playhouse (79 St. George Street)
- Tarragon Theatre Extraspace (30 Bridgman Avenue)
SMALL VENUES
- Seating capacity 80 or less, with the majority of small venues falling with in the 40-60 seat range
- Shows will receive a max of 8 performances
- Participant fee is $760 CAD / $700 CAD for Teen Category
- Most of our small venues are converted studio spaces, meaning they will not always have a traditional backstage area and may not have the ability for exits on both sides of the stage
- Typically, small venues are not well suited to shows with large casts.
2025 Small Venues:
- RBC Studio (50 Tank House Lane)
- TD Studio (50 Tank House Lane)
- Tarragon Theatre Solo Room (30 Bridgman Avenue)
KidsFest Venue
All KidsFest shows at the 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival will take place at the Soulpepper Garland Cabaret (50 Tank House Lane).
- Seating capacity is 75
In each category, slots will be drawn for an allotted number in each venue tier. Where there are 5 or less slots available in a category, events will be drawn from an all-tier draw, and the venue size slot will be determined by the selected company. KidsFest category slots are pre-allotted to a venue by the Festival. Senior, Teen, Dance and General 75 and 90 MIN categories will be pulled from an all-tier draw, and the venue size slot will be determined by the selected company.
If you are drawn, you will not be able to change your venue tier at a later date. Please use the information above to determine which venue tier is best suited for the size and scale of your show.
TWO-PHASE LOTTERY
Toronto Fringe commits to reserving at least 50% of available Fringe slots in the Main Lottery for participants who are Indigenous, Black or People of Colour. The two-phase lottery draw is a measure we’ve implemented to deliberately strengthen equity, diversity, and inclusion at the Festival.
When we hold the 2025 Main Venue Lottery, each category's draw will have two phases:
- PHASE ONE: Applicants who identify as Indigenous, Black, or a Person of Colour will be entered into the draw exclusively for the first 50% of all available slots in the category.
- PHASE TWO: Once at least 50% of total slots are filled by IBPOC applicants, or if no more IBPOC applicants remain to draw from (whichever occurs first), the remaining slots will be drawn from all applicants in the category.
The Main Admin Contact is considered the individual applying who must identify as IBPOC for the application to be included in the first drawing phase. We strongly encourage that applicants who select this also commit to at least half or more of their creative and performance team identifying as IBPOC as well.
Categories which have less than 2 available slots for the lottery will be pulled from a general draw. Categories which have an odd number of slots will include the swing slot in the first phase of the draw.
HOW TO APPLY TO THE Main Venue LOTTERY
Applications must be submitted through Eventotron, the festival management portal. If you require an alternative method or support in submitting your application, contact Programming Manager Suzanne Wilkie at suzanne@fringetoronto.com or by phone at 416-966-1062 ext 228.
- In a web browser, go to eventotron.com
- If you have not previously applied to a Toronto Fringe festival, you will need to sign-up for a new account. The email you use here to create an account is what we will use to contact you with any information about your application.
- Search for our festival in the Festivals & Seasons – 2025 Toronto Fringe Festival
- Click APPLY.
- Select “I’m creating a new event” and enter an event title. Click NEXT.
Your Event title is the title of your show. It can change later in the process if you are accepted into the Festival. Please note “TBD”, “TBC”, “Untitled” will not be accepted as an Event title. The application must be completely filled out before submitting.
To see all the questions that will appear on the form, check out the Application Guide linked at the top of this page.
NOTE: Your form should autosave as you fill it out. To be sure information is not lost, click out of the field you have edited and look for a blue SAVING icon turn to green and say SAVED in the top right corner. You can start filling out your application and submit it at a later time. When you click APPLY, select “My event is already in Eventotron” instead of a new one, and select your existing application from the drop down menu.
HOW TO PAY THE APPLICATION FEE
Once you have filled out the entire application form, you are ready to submit it and pay the application fee. You can select to pay online with a credit card, by cheque, or in person with cash. The application fee is non-refundable.
Cost to apply to Main Venue Category: $30 CAD (non-refundable). If the full price is a barrier, there are two alternative price options to choose from, $20 or $15.
- Online: Visa or Mastercard only
- By cheque: made out to "The Fringe of Toronto Theatre Festival" and sent to 100 Broadview Avenue, Suite 322, Toronto, ON, M4M 3H3
- In person with cash: If you select this option, please e-mail suzanne@fringetoronto.com to arrange a time to drop by the Fringe office (100 Broadview Ave, Suite 322). Our usual working hours are Monday-Friday, 10:00am-5:00pm.
WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU ARE DRAWN IN YOUR CATEGORY
If your number is drawn, you’ll be offered a slot in the Festival! Results will be posted to fringetoronto.com within two business days following the date of the lottery. All applicants who were drawn will be contacted by email. To accept the slot, you’ll need to pay the Participant Fee and will be sent detailed instructions to do so. The deadline to pay and confirm your acceptance of the slot is January 10, 2025. If you decide not to accept the slot, you can forfeit, and we will reach out to the first company on the waitlist in the correct category.
Once you’ve paid the fee, you’re in! If you need to withdraw for any reason, you are eligible to receive 100% of the Participant Fee refunded if you withdraw by January 10, 2025. If you withdraw after January 10 but up until and including March 14, 2025, you are eligible to receive 50% of the Participant Fee refunded. After March 14, 2025 you will forfeit 100% of the Participant Fee. There will be a $10 CAD administrative processing fee for all refunds.
HOW DOES THE WAITLIST WORK
A waitlist will be drawn for every category in the Main Venue lottery. These numbers will be drawn from a general draw, unconditional of phase or venue tier. If a company that was offered a slot in a category withdraws, the Festival will reach out to the first applicant on that waitlist. If that applicant is unable to accept it due to the venue size, they can remain on the list, and the Festival will move to the next applicant on the waitlist. You can withdraw from the waitlist at any time, and no fees are owed until you are offered and accept a slot. The Festival will cease offering slots to the waitlist after June 13, 2025.
2025 Main Lottery Application Guide