Wear Layers.
Some theaters will be saunas without air conditioning. Others (like the Players Theatre this year) are ice boxes. Add weather that can range from the high 80′s during the day to the low 60′s after that Midnight show, and being able to peel up or down as the occasion requires can make for a much more enjoyable time.
Be Considerate. Fringe doesn’t check bags for refreshments and snacks. If you brought it in, take it with you. If it’s got a crinkly wrapper, open it before the show starts, or risk being reduced to a pile of ash by incendiary glares by your theater-mates.
Lineups are love.
Think pre-show party. Get your nose out of that program guide and mingle. Meet folks. Trade tips on shows you’ve seen and heard about. Be flattered when that experimental theater artist flirts shamelessly, even if they’re in a unitard.
Be Green.
Be faithful to a single Festival Guide. Don’t feel like you’re rejecting an artist when he cheerfully offers you a postcard for a show you already know about. Look them in the eye let them know. Or, drop the card on the promotion table of the venue after you’ve read it. 4-color post cards cost money, and the “struggling artist” is a cliche for a reason. Programs will be happily reused. Unless you’re going to add it to a treasured collection, return it on your way out.
Catch the Buzz.
Subscribe to NYCFringeGuide Newsletter and Follow the official FringeNYC Twitter account. Attend the free preview performances for the first three Saturdays of the Fest. Hang out at the FringeCafe and FringeClub.
There’s no such thing as fashionably late at the Fringe.
Even if you have tickets, plan on being at least 15 minutes early if you want decent seats. FringeNYC is ruthless when it comes to door times. There is no late seating, and you will miss your show. That volunteer that has to turn you away? Remember it’s not their fault, they’re just doing their job… for free.
Have fun.
Be entertained. Laugh, sob, gasp, and clap shamelessly when you’re genuinely moved. When you see that solo artist who changed your life over at the next venue, tell them. Ask them to sign your playbill, it’ll make their day. It takes courage to get up in front of a group of strangers, and most don’t do it because they loathe recognition.
Be Heard.
Fill out that Audience Favorite ballot in your playbill. Add your reviews over on the BroadwayWorld forum and All That Chat, Tweet, tell that cutie on line what your faves thus far have been. Hm? They’re not cute and smell vaguely of tuna casserole? Tell them anyway.
