The Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society, alongside their newest patron Brian Cox, are putting in the work to help American artists experience the Edinburgh Fringe.
A new U.S. extension of their Keep it Fringe fund will help American artists offset the costs of bringing a show across the Atlantic. The American edition will be unveiled in 2025. It follows in the footsteps of the U.K. edition, which was launched in 2023 by the Fringe Society’s honorary President, Phoebe Waller-Bridge.
Said Cox, “As a Scottish performer who lives in the U.S., I’m doubly invested in this project to strengthen the cultural bond between our two countries. There’s already an incredibly strong shared heritage between Edinburgh and the States—one of Edinburgh’s foremost theatres for new writing, the Traverse, was founded by a US.. airman named Jim Haynes in the 1960s. The U.S. Keep it Fringe fund aims to enable and encourage the next generation of emerging U.S. talent at the Fringe, ensuring that a spirit of adventure and collaboration can continue.”
Through efforts within this calendar year, the U.S. fund aims to raise $350,000, which will be awarded in grants of $4,500 to help at least 50 American artists bring work to the Fringe in 2025. Recipients will also receive a support package to aid audience and career development, with specific focus on marketing, screen development and industry networking opportunities.
The initial partners of the program include JetBlue, Playbill and individual donors Heather and Paul Innella, and Scott and Holly Plank. Additional sponsors and donors will be announced at a later date.
Said Shona McCarthy, the Chief Executive of the Edinburgh Fringe Society, “The Fringe has been a touchstone in the careers of so many artists both at home and in the US—Lin-Manuel Miranda came to the festival in his pre-Hamilton days with Freestyle Love Supreme in 2005, while the Broadway hit SIX had its world premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017. We want to make sure that creative pipeline remains active, giving the stars of tomorrow the chance to hone their craft at one of the greatest celebrations of arts and culture on the planet—the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.”
In order to be eligible for a U.S. Keep It Fringe grant, artists must be based in the States, and they must set out clear ambitions for the future life of the work and/or their career. Priority will be given to artists lacking a high public profile, or who facing barriers to funding and arts engagement. Additionally, their submitted show show must capture the Fringe’s defiant spirit of artistry without borders, and the show must not be in receipt of any U.K.-based Arts Council or Creative Scotland funds.
Additional information on the US Keep It Fringe fund, and its application process, will be made available in 2025. Those wishing to support the Fund in its initial fundraising period should visit EdFringe.com.
