It’s Fringe season once again!

The Minnesota Fringe Festival opens Thursday, Aug. 1, kicking off a week and a half of hour-long stage shows at 14 venues around Minneapolis.

This year’s Fringe consists of 105 shows by more than 600 artists — performed, collectively, about 500 times at 14 venues around Minneapolis, most of which are clustered around the Cedar-Riverside and Uptown neighborhoods. All told, this equates to somewhere in the ballpark of 25,000 seats, according to Minnesota Fringe executive director Dawn Bentley.

Ready to live life on the Fringe? Here’s what you need to know.

WHAT THE HECK IS FRINGE?!

Good question. Now in its 31st year, the Minnesota Fringe Festival is part of a worldwide movement of theater festivals that are not juried, i.e. open to anyone. Here, that means all the participating shows have been selected randomly via a lottery system.

Fringe shows run the gamut of genres, from political comedies to improv to dance theater to solo dramas to horror puppet shows to more experimental, homespun productions. It’s a theatrical grab-bag of sorts by a range of performers, from actors who should probably become famous someday to well-meaning thespians who, let’s just say, shouldn’t quit their day jobs. You never know exactly what you’re going to get — the inevitable hits and misses are part of the fun.

WHAT SHOWS SHOULD I SEE?

We’ve got you covered. Starting the first night of the festival, a crackerjack team of Pioneer Press reporters will post select show reviews at twincities.com/tag/fringe-festival.

WHAT’S NEW AT THE 2024 FRINGE?

As part of the Minnesota Fringe’s accessibility efforts, some free tickets are available. During each show’s debut performance during the festival, six tickets are set aside free for students of any age, including college, with a student ID. Also, for any show throughout the entire festival that has disability accommodations available, six tickets will be available for free. Both are first-come-first-served, at the venue’s box office.

This is also the first year of the Midwest Touring Trifecta, a relationship between Minnesota Fringe, KC Fringe in Kansas City and Indy Fringe in Indianapolis. Via another lottery, one show from each festival was randomly selected to be automatically entered into all three Fringe festivals, and the festivals collectively provide logistical resources to help facilitate the three-festival tour.

“Beanie Baby Divorce Play” by Melancholics Anonymous was one of the thirty shows that previewed their acts during a Fringe Festival preview night at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis on Monday, July 22, 2024. (Devanie Andre / Pioneer Press)

HOW DO I ATTEND A SHOW?

You’ll need two things: A button and a ticket.

Your button — a one-time purchase of $5, available at any Fringe venue — gets you into the festival itself. Every Fringe-goer needs their own button, no matter how many shows they’re seeing, and each button is good for the whole 2024 festival. Plus, it gets you discounts at participating theaters, bars and restaurants.

And your ticket — $20 per show — gets you into the individual show you want to see. There are two ways to buy tickets:

1. Online: up until midnight the night before the show. This is the only way to guarantee yourself a seat. When you get to the venue, even if you pre-purchased a ticket, you still need to check in at the box office.

2. In person: at the venue, starting 30 minutes before showtime. Every show will have some tickets available at the box office, but it’s first-come-first-served, so no promises. (Venues are cashless, so card/check only.)

WHERE DOES THAT MONEY GO?

The price of your button helps support the operations of Minnesota Fringe overall. As for your tickets, 70 percent of the sale goes directly to the artists.

Vee Signorelli share a short scene from “Love Lies a Bleeding” during a Fringe Festival preview night at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis on Monday, July 22, 2024. (Devanie Andre / Pioneer Press)

WHAT IF I’M RUNNING LATE TO A SHOW?

You’re probably out of luck, sorry. Fringe is generally quite punctual, so please be on time — or, even better, a few minutes early. No guarantees they’ll seat you if you come late, and no refunds, either.

WHAT FREE STUFF CAN I GET AT FRINGE?

After the final show closes each night, head to Fringe After Hours, which takes place at various restaurants around the festival. You still pay for food and drinks, of course, but there are free activities, games and some bonus performances most nights. More info on the Fringe website.

Diehard fans can also play Fringo!, aka Fringe Bingo, and win 5-show passes. You can get a Fringo! card at any box office, and if you see six shows vertically/horizontally/diagonally on the card, drop it off at the HUGE Improv Theater or the Barbara Barker Center for Dance. They’re doing two drawings — if you complete your card and drop it off by Aug. 6, you could win a 5-show pass to this year’s festival, so you can close out the second weekend with a bang. If you complete your card by Aug. 11, the last day of the 2024 festival, you could win a 5-show pass to next year’s Fringe.

Oh! You can also get free stuff by being a Fringe volunteer. Fans as young as 12 years old can be put to work, mostly ushering, but there are also more hardcore jobs for versatile “Fringe Mavericks” and “odd jobs” for those who want to stay behind-the-scenes. Incentives include a Fringe button and discount codes to see shows for free, as well as a T-shirt.

The Dime Stage Co. gIve a short preview of their “The Zoo Story” during a Fringe Festival preview night at Mixed Blood Theatre in Minneapolis on Monday, July 22, 2024. (Devanie Andre / Pioneer Press)

WHAT’S THAT I SEE ABOUT TIPPING?

Fringe artists generally fund their entire productions themselves. Some performers — though not all — accept tips as a way to say thank-you for an especially moving, hilarious or horrifying production.

Artists with “tip jars” have dollar emojis on their Fringe website show pages, which link to Venmo, PayPal or Cash.me accounts. Some artists will also have info about tipping in person. Tipping is completely optional.

GET ME MORE FRINGE RIGHT NOW!

You got it. On Wednesday, July 31 — the day before the festival starts — you can see snippets of some touring shows during the second of two Fringe Preview nights. You don’t need a ticket to go, but you do need a button. The previews start at 7:30 p.m. at Mixed Blood (1501 4th St. S., Minneapolis). Multi-show passes for this year’s festival will also be for sale there.

Now head to the Fringe website at minnesotafringe.org, where you’ll find show descriptions, a full schedule, ticket information and venue locations. Happy Fringe!