Artist Zone
Your guide to taking part in the Festival
Vancouver Fringe 2023
Summary
Vancouver Fringe is proud to offer all artists equal opportunity to participate in its annual Festival by use of a lottery system. Any interested parties are thrown into a hat each December, with selections being made shortly after in February.
The schedule is then built around all artists who confirm, with Vancouver Fringe supporting the tech, marketing & box office required to draw in a crowd.
We are proud to make the process as easy as possible, so artists can remain focused on what they love – creating awe-inspiring work for our audiences.

Apply for Vancouver Fringe 2023!
Applications for our 2023 Lottery are NOW LIVE! Open until Jan 13, 2023, this is your opportunity to register your interest for our 2023 Festival with whatever exciting creative pursuit you have in the pipeline.
We look forward to having you join us as Vancouver Fringe once again takes over Granville Island and beyond from Sep 7 – 17, 2023.
All submissions require a $55 Application Fee, with further information about the process available in our step-by-step guide below. Please ensure you have read all documentation before submitting your application.
Application Steps
Please Note: The applications deadline for our 2023 Lottery are now closed. Participating artists in this year’s Festival were announced on 9 Feb, 2023.
Using our entry submission platform, Eventotron, you can throw your name into the hat for our latest Fringe Lottery. This will provide you with a chance to participate in this year’s Fringe Festival from 7 – 17 Sep 2023. All applicants are required to cover a $55 administration fee, payable during the submission process.
To ensure the lottery is managed fairly, artists must only submit one performance per year. Artists who submit more than one performance (error aside) risk losing their place in the lottery without a refund offered.
We particularly welcome and encourage artists from equity-seeking groups, with 50% of lottery slots in each category being pulled from those who self-identify.
Exemptions
All digital pre-recorded shows and site-specific shows will feature in the 2023 Festival program. A $55 administration fee is still required for this, alongside reduced participation fees ($100 digital pre-recorded / $500 site-specific). Please be sure to mark your event as either ‘Digital’ or ‘Site-specific’ during the submission process.
Please Note: All acts drawn in our Fringe Lottery now have until Wed 15 Mar to pay their participation fees and secure their spot in this year’s Festival.
Should your event be pulled from the lottery draw, you have 14 days to confirm your participation and pay the relevant fee to secure your spot. Should you choose not to participate at this stage (or the confirmation deadline has passed), we will begin approaching artists on the waitlist to fill the vacancy.
Participation Fees (payable on Eventotron)
- Shows up to 30 mins: $550
- Shows up to 60 mins: $750
- Shows up to 75 mins: $850
- YTP, Teen & Senior Shows: $550
- Site-specific shows: $500
- Digital Pre-recorded shows: $100
Site-specific shows
- Artists will be contacted in June to determine site location on Granville Island and assist with any necessary site permissions.
- Artists must be able to accommodate six performances across the Festival.
- Artists must hire their own technician for lighting and sound.
- Artists will create their own schedule and submit to the Fringe.
Subsidies
We make 10 subsidy spaces available for artists who self-identify their economic or accessibility needs. Artists can apply for this subsidy in confidence via executivedirector@vancouverfringe.com.
Once a show has been selected from the Fringe Lottery and all participation fees have been paid, artists will be required to submit their show materials within 14 days. These include:
- Key image
- Rehearsal/production photos
- Trailers
- Reviews
- Full show recording (Digital pre-recorded shows only)
- Closed Captioning for the D/deaf/hard of hearing community or Audio Description for the low vision community (Digital pre-recorded shows only)
Please log back in to Eventotron to submit these materials. If you have a confirmed place, an updated entry form will be available via your account.
Following this, we will begin programming venues, populating the website, and building the Festival schedule.
- If artists do not self-identify as equity-seeking during the entry submission process, these events will join the non-equity seeking lottery.
- We will not be managing the ‘Bring Your Own Venue (BYOV)’ category for 2023.
- Vancouver Fringe will do its best to match artists and shows with an appropriate venue.
- A waitlist for each category will be created during the Fringe Lottery.
- You must provide a ‘Company Name’ or ‘Main Contact Name’ at the time of application, and this name cannot be changed at any time thereafter.
- We reserve the right to withdraw events from the Festival at our discretion (subject to discussion).
- If artists cannot deliver promotional materials to deadline, we reserve the right to exclude the show from certain materials.
- Tickets are sold for $15 inclusive of taxes and fees. Artists will receive 100% of the base ticket price ($12 per ticket). Discounted tickets may be purchased with a Friends membership or in a multi-buy promotion, which may impact total compensation.
- Participation Fees must be paid in full, or the artist risks removal of their event. A new artist or company will then be chosen from the appropriate category on the waitlist.
- A listing in the 2023 Digital Program Guide
- Fully managed Box Office
- Front of House services, delivered by our Volunteer team
- A tech team member per show (in-person events only)
- A curated media list (artists are required to contact the press for individual shows)
- 100% of the regular Box Office revenue generated by the performing artist or company
- Opportunities for paid ad space in the 2023 Digital Program Guide, on social media and/or our eNewsletter (on a first come, first served basis – places limited)
- Coverage in at least one social media post across all platforms and within one of our eNewsletters, alongside the wider festival campaign (site-specific shows only)
- Entries Open for Fringe Lottery: Wed 7 Dec 2022
- Entries Close for Fringe Lottery: Fri 13 Jan 2023
- Lottery Winners Announced: Thu 9 Feb 2023
- Participation Fee Deadline: Wed 15 Mar 2023
- Show Materials Deadline: Sat 1 Apr 2023
- Advertising Spots Deadline (eNews, social media etc): TBC
- Adverting Materials Deadline: TBC
Categories
- Adult (19-59)
- Teen (13-19)
- Young People’s Theatre (8-12)
- Senior (60+)