Tampa Fringe 10. (Photos courtesy Tampa Fringe)
The Tampa International Fringe Festival has been a home for artists who don’t fit neatly into boxes for a decade. It has been an evolving space for the beautifully strange, deeply personal, politically charged, joyfully queer and more.
With its 2026 theme “Go Beyond Theatre,” the festival leans fully into that identity for its 10th celebration. Tampa Fringe returns to Ybor June 10-21 with over 30 shows at the Kress Contemporary and The Commodore.
What began as a scrappy experiment has grown into one of Tampa Bay’s most adventurous arts gatherings, drawing performers from around the world. Its 10th year arrives at a moment when queer artists are still fighting for space, visibility and the freedom to tell the truth of their lives, making this year’s lineup feel especially alive.
The festival remains unjuried, uncensored and chosen by lottery, which means emerging artists and seasoned performers share the same ground. Every ticket dollar goes directly to the artists.
“For our 10th anniversary, Tampa Fringe is embracing the idea that live performance can be anything — strange, joyful, personal, risky, interactive, political, absurd, intimate or completely undefinable,” organizers share. “Fringe is where artists are given permission to experiment, and where audiences are invited to discover something they never expected.”
Free previews began June 10 and return June 17 to give audiences a rapid-fire taste of what’s ahead. Kids Fringe also returns with free programming for younger audiences and Fringe buttons remain the key to entry; they are free with your first ticket purchase or available as pay-what-you can. Individual tickets range in price depending on the production.
This year’s LGBTQ+ artists and queer-centered stories span humor, grief, identity, history, and the kind of honesty that only Fringe stages seem to invite.
They include “A Funeral for Someone You Didn’t Know,” an immersive farewell; “Beyond Tears,” a story about trauma, silence and survival; “Clayton the Dork,” a workshop solo piece by Daniel McCoy; “Forgive Me Grandma, For I Have Sinned,” a one-woman show diving into identity and “Gertrude Stein Has Arrived,” a return to 1934 New York.
“If we comprehend how the two most famous Jewish lesbians in history survived the 20th century Nazi occupation of France, we can hope for our own survival of the 21st century occupation of America,” says playwright Betty Jean Steinshouer.
“Grief is a Messy Bitch” is “a piece that has been brewing for a long time,” says Julie Leir. The artist searches for a ritual that can hold the unruly shape of grief, peeling back layers of loss and letting go of the idea that there’s a “right” way to mourn.
“In a lot of ways, I am reaching back through time, telling a younger me that I am not broken or wrong,” Leir explains. “I am grappling with the complexities that can come with grief, hoping to make others feel less alone.”
“Occupational Hazard” unpacks the chaos of work, discovering that the real hazard is always the people.
“’Occupational Hazard’ is not just a show about crazy work stories, it also has a focus on the ways I’ve been othered in the past and how my job in theatre has become a safe haven workplace for me,” explains artist Alby Queer.
“Tampa Fringe Festival is one of the rare places I’ve felt seen in entirety,” they continue. “It gets me excited for more opportunities for people to listen to queer experiences like mine.”
“Patriot Games” is a satirical plunge into a world where Trump-era politics collide with the “Hunger Games.” “Private Parts: The Secrets We Keep,” meanwhile, is a tender, award-winning exploration of love, loss and the stories we never say aloud. With humor and honesty, Joanna invites audiences to consider the secrets they carry and the hope that remains underneath them.
In “The Grindr Show,” a gender-fluid app springs to life as cabaret for real queer stories, digital dating confessions and characters who break their own rules.
“Our show explores the complex digital landscape of modern queer connection, highlighting both the vulnerability and the vital necessity of finding community in spaces built for us,” advises Dreki Theatre. “Fringe provides a crucial platform where queer artists don’t have to dilute our stories; it’s a space where we are fully seen, celebrated and allowed to take comfort and pride in our lived realities through art.”
In “T.M.I.,” audiences will follow Mark, a single gay man in his 40s who turns to speed dating after too many disappointments. Between awkward encounters and honest confessions, he shares true stories about sex, aging and the stubborn hope of finding connection.
“The Saint of Scandal: The True(ish) Story of La Maupin” will feature a solo performance about the 17th‑century queer icon Julie d’Aubigny, the duelist and performer who refused to live quietly.
Explains actor and playwright Samantha Parisi, “La Maupin’s story feels startlingly modern because it is fundamentally about refusing to let society define who you are allowed to love, how you are allowed to live or how visible you are permitted to become.”
Rounding out this year’s LGBTQ+ shows are “Wait, How Much is the Whiskey?” — a dark comedy examining the medical system — and “The Trouble with My Hair: Coloring, Cutting, and Coming into Who I Am.” The latter details an evolving relationship with hair as a lens for gender, sexuality, race and belonging.
“Hair is never just hair. It holds our histories, our rebellions, our identities, our desires to belong and our declarations of independence,” says playwright Ada Cheng.
“Tampa Fringe exists because we believe independent performing arts matter,” says Founder Trish Parry. “We believe artists deserve spaces where they can afford to take risks, tell unconventional stories, and build community through live performance. In a time where so much entertainment is curated by algorithms, Fringe remains gloriously human.”
Tampa Fringe will celebrate 10 years June 10-21 in Ybor. For a full schedule and more information, visit TampaFringe.org.
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