The 15th annual ESL Rochester Fringe Festival kicks off Tuesday, Sept. 15. One of the largest Fringes in the country happens right here for 12 days each year. But with more than 700 shows, it can be tough for attendees to choose what to experience. Pro tip: there’s a handy show finder right on the website where you can narrow by category, price, venue, date and more — and as always, the CITY crew rounded up a few picks of our own from this year’s lineup.
6 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 16 | 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 24
School of the Arts: Black Box Theatre, $12
For a dancer, the maturing body can be seen as a detriment. But for Cat D. Olson, it’s a beautiful part of the process of shifting and growing as an artist. With “DANDELION,” Olson / CAT + THE COYOTE continues a solo exploration — examining memory and nostalgia, what it means to age and how relationships shift throughout life. Known for combining theatrical experimentation with exquisite modern technique, Olson’s choreography offers audiences a fresh perspective on the evolving body. “DANDELION,” which Olson first began developing in 2022, follows the ways a dancer’s body evolves and absorbs movement over time. Dance can be both physical and spiritual, making it the perfect art form to examine how memories and past experiences influence our present-day bodies. Presented non-linearly, each chapter reflects a different era of Olson’s life. The full-length evening includes work from previous performances at Nazareth University and Dances at MuCCC. —SYDNEY BURROWS
6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 17
School of the Arts: Allen Main Stage Theatre, $15
This cheekily named show from mother-daughter performer-choreographer team Roseanne DiMaria (director of RaNdOm dAnCeRs) and Neyda Colón-DiMaria (director of Nomad Dance Theatre) is a love letter by, for and about women. A multigenerational cast will use dance, song, spoken word and instrumentation — including music from local artist Zahyia — to explore themes from the plights of menopause and a mother’s love to the giggles of girlhood and the way politics can harm women and society overall. Girl power, harnessed for good. —LEAH STACY
“Tea Party at the End of the World”
Various times and dates, performances begin Thursday, Sept. 17
Main & Gibbs streets, $29+
Writer/performer Jessica Creane’s show has a simple enough premise: a bunch of people sit around drinking loose-leaf tea and contemplate the apocalypse. It was inspired by its creator’s time spent as an artist-in-residence in the Arctic Circle, a place so geographically and spiritually close to the edge of the world that it may qualify as one of Dante’s circles of hell. And it’s not just about existentialism; tea service is provided in the ticket cost. At least you can enjoy a cuppa as you probe into life’s tragicomic mysteries. —PATRICK HOSKEN
“Illumina”
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18 + Saturday. Sept. 19 | 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 25 + Saturday, Sept. 26
Rochester Contemporary Art Center’s side lawn, free
This theatrical visual-art exhibition is more of a collaboration — between RoCo and MCC’s On the Edge Drama Troupe, yes, but also between the artists and the audience. As a “shared work of illuminated art,” the piece known as “Illumina” invites those viewing it on the lawn next to the gallery to help create the final master image. The installation plays with light, the interactivity and utility of art as a shared experience and the spirit of cooperation, making it a perfect distillation of public art. —PATRICK HOSKEN
Thank You Kiss Presents: “Please Excusememe”
7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 18 | 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26
The Focus Theater, $18
If there’s anything we all need right now, it’s a good laugh. The kind that really gets you cramping, maybe even wiping a tear away. Speaking from personal experience, that’s entirely possible at a show put on by sketch-comedy group Thank You Kiss — Marc D’Amico, John Forrest Thompson, Beth Winslow and WXXI Connections’ own producer Megan Mack — collectively, one of the funniest ensembles to climb a Rochester stage. TYK members have studied and worked at renowned comedy theaters like iO, The Second City and the Annoyance, not to mention winning The Missouri Review’s prestigious Miller Audio Prize for Humor. Laughter is the best medicine, so prescribe yourself a ticket before the shows sell out. — LEAH STACY
“Versa-Style Street Dance Company: Rooted Rhythms”
7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 19 + Saturday, Sept. 20
Sloan Performing Arts Center: Smith Theater, $15
Street dance isn’t just for the streets. And thanks to University of Rochester’s fall guest artists, Rochester audiences will have a unique chance to see the energy of street styles on the concert stage. Co-artistic directors Jackie Lopez, AKA “Miss Funk,” and Leigh Foaad, AKA “Breeze-lee,” lead Versa-Style Street Dance Company, a hip-hop dance troupe that brings together professional street dancers of all styles. Founded in Los Angeles, Versa-Style is inspired by the city’s rich street-dance culture, where movement is both a form of artistic expression and a way to build community. With “Rooted Rhythms,” the company shares an evening of repertoire that incorporates street dance styles like waacking, popping, and house, alongside Afro-Latin styles like salsa and West African. The performance moves between collaborative choreography and energetic freestyle, offering a glimpse into the communal roots of these diverse dance forms. —SYDNEY BURROWS
2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 + Sunday, Sept. 20 | 2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26
School of the Arts: Black Box Theatre, $15
After a sold out debut at last year’s Fringe, writer-performer Kelly Dee is back with her one-woman show and secondhand treasure trove, “the estate sale,” based on Dee’s own work as an estate sale business owner in Florida. The 60-minute narrative explores the laughter and reflection that come with farewells and feels like part memoir, part therapy — appropriately including an immersive option to “add to cart.” Dee travels with a host of thrifted finds for attendees to browse and purchase before and after the show. Recommended for 18+ due to sensitive themes. —LEAH STACY
“Rochester City Ballet: Two Tales of Dr. Seuss”
2 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 19 + Sunday, Sept. 20
School of the Arts: Allen Main Stage Theatre, $15+
Theodore “Dr. Seuss” Geisel made few, if any, straight lines with his pens in his fantastical stories. As such, his timeless tales lend themselves wonderfully to corporal movement. This showcase centers on David Palmer’s unique “Green Eggs and Ham” choreography (with ASL elements incorporated) as well as a new ballet inspired by “The Sneetches.” The result is a family friendly dance storytelling experience as spirited (and persistent) as Sam-I-Am with a breakfast plate. —PATRICK HOSKEN
7:30 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 20 | 7 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 24
Multi-use Cultural Community Center (MuCCC), $15
If you could rewind a relationship back to the first date — before the skydiving, before the children, before the end — would you do it again? “Bright Half Life,” a 2015 play by Julliard playwriting professor Tanya Barfield, explores this question through a nonlinear structure. It’s rare to see a two-hander play center on an interracial Sapphic relationship; even more so to have the queer couple portrayed so authentically, for both its beauty and flaws. Out of Pocket Inc., known for producing complex and relevant contemporary plays in Rochester, stages this gem of a play in the intimate MuCCC space. Starring local theater staple Stephanie Roosa and rising talent Ryley St. Rose-Finear under the direction of Erin-Kate Howard, this one’s sure to shine bright. —KATHERINE VARGA
9 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 22 – Saturday, Sept. 26
Spiegeltent, $31+
Back by popular demand every year, “Shotspeare” is 90 minutes of raucous fun helmed by Fringe favorites Matthew Morgan and Heidi Brucker Morgan. A band of five Bard-fluent actors will revive their boozy interpretation of Shakespeare’s “Othello” for 2026, and a sixth cast member will be pulled from audience volunteers each night. ChatGPT could never. —LEAH STACY
10:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26
Central Library: Harold Hacker Hall, free
Remember the olden days when instead of turning to a chatbot for amusement and advice, people would talk to … Other people? At its best, Fringe provides shows like this as a reprieve from our tech-obsessed present and a celebration of humanity at its most basic. Inspired by Teatro Lambe Lambe, a Brazilian shortform puppet show intended for an audience of one, “Small Talk Theatre” will include local puppeteering and acting talent performing for enthusiastic viewers of all ages. This is the first year of what’s aiming to become a Fringe favorite. It’s free, it’s personalized and it’s at the public library; what’s not to love? —KATHERINE VARGA
