Fringe Artspace to close in early 2025 with Orlando Fringe pulling the plug on the venture

Fringe ArtSpace officially opened in January 2023 to much fanfare, now sadly the downtown Orlando theater is set to close in January 2025.

Orlando Fringe has announced that it is to turn off the spotlights forever on its Downtown Orlando theater incubator, Fringe ArtSpace.

Fringe ArtSpace officially opened on January 11, 2023, and at the time, the then Executive Director of Orlando Fringe Alauna Friskics commented. "This is just the beginning. We have so much more in store and are looking for many more ways to bring artists together and let their voices and stories be heard. Stay tuned for much, much more."

Sadly the theater will not be providing any future platform for artists to be heard, with the Fringe leadership commenting that despite targeted financial support from the city’s Downtown Development Board earmarked for artists, Orlando Fringe continues to face overwhelming challenges beyond the scope that these funds allow Orlando Fringe to address.

The ongoing costs associated with the service and maintenance of an aging facility at that location – including utilities, HVAC replacement, flooding, safety concerns, and limited parking options – have made continued operations untenable. These costs are even harder to shoulder while Orlando Fringe continues to struggle with low box office revenue.

With that in mind, the venue will close forever in early February 2025, until that time shows will continue as normal, including The Red String (Nov. 15), When Love Is Found: A Tribute to the Muppet Christmas Carol (Dec. 5-8) and more still to be announced, including the scheduled Winter programming, FestN4, from January 9-12.

The lease for the space was up at the end of this year, but the City of Orlando are supporting Fringe’s use of the space through the end of February to help the non-profit complete its run of scheduled shows.

The 9,100 square foot Fringe ArtsSpace which is the former home of Mad Cow Theatre, includes two performing theatre spaces: a mainstage with 166 seats and a black box with 40-60 seats.

Here is the statement in full from Orlando Fringe announcing the closure:

"In our continued commitment to improving the care and sustainability of our organization and its community of stakeholders, the Orlando Fringe Board of Directors and Leadership Team have made the responsible decision to cease operations at Fringe ArtSpace by the end of February, 2025.

Despite targeted financial support from the city’s Downtown Development Board earmarked for artists, Orlando Fringe continues to face overwhelming challenges beyond the scope that these funds allow us to address. The ongoing costs associated with the service and maintenance of an aging facility at that location – including utilities, HVAC replacement, flooding, safety concerns, and limited parking options – have made continued operations untenable. These costs are even harder to shoulder while we continue to struggle with low box office revenue.

Although this decision has been made deliberately and after much difficult discussion, we are deeply saddened by the impact the closure of Fringe ArtSpace will have on our artists, audiences, staff, and community. However, we look forward to being better positioned to focus our energy and resources on evolving and cultivating the event at the heart of the Orlando Fringe, the annual Orlando Fringe Festival, which will continue to be an integral contribution to the cultural fabric of our city.

We want to express our heartfelt gratitude to everyone who has been a part of this journey, and we deeply believe that the spirit of creativity and collaboration that defined our time at the Fringe ArtSpace will continue to thrive as we enter this new chapter of Orlando Fringe history together."

Check out all the latest news and more from Orlando and throughout Central Florida.

Gotta Go Orlando offers the latest entertainment news, together with all the latest events and things to do throughout Central Florida. We feature concerts, theater, culture, nightlife, food & drink. theme parks, attractions, festivals, events, and more.

With news and information being released on a daily basis, we encourage you to sign up for our newsletter and stay in the loop with all the latest exciting news from our local community. You can also join the local conversation on X, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube.