ALBERTO MANTOVANO, STAFF REPORTER

Butler alumni Georgeanna Smith and Michael Burke—together with the rest of the theatre company NoExit Performance—produced a show for this fall’s IndyFringe Theatre Festival, a celebration of theatre in all its various forms that takes downtown Indianapolis by storm each year.
The IndyFringe Theatre Festival, this year held August 15-25, contained eight different venues, 64 performing groups and 384 performers.
Students can see a brand new play that lasts less than an hour for as little as $8, and all revenue accrued during the 11-day run goes directly to the performers.
In 2012, the IndyFringe Festival collected a record $105,926.
Pauline Moffat, executive director of the IndyFringe Festival, said it is meant to be a “cultural catalyst for the arts community of Indianapolis.”
Moffat said a series of community meetings discussing the need to “attract and entertain the young and creative class” were held in 2002.
Thus, the idea for a “Fringe” theatre here in Indianapolis surfaced, which created a new means of entertainment for audiences and a means of performing for actors.
“And as far as audiences go, you get people from all walks of life,” Moffat said. “You get people who have never seen a live play to come out and experience it first-hand.
“Then, of course, you get those avid fans.  It’s a real treat to see people from all over coming to support and celebrate theatre.”
“Since I began working for the Fest in 2007, we’ve seen a shift in the cultural community of Indianapolis,” Pat McCarney, IndyFringe Festival technical director, said.
“We’ve seen more vibrancy and diversity, and the IndyFringe Theatre Festival has helped push that momentum for the people of Indianapolis who crave that cosmopolitan and urban experience.”
Logan Moore, a senior theatre major who participated in the festival, said the coolest part is friends.
“You’ll end up going to lunch with some professional actors and you get to talk to them person to person,” Moore said. “It truly is an experience unlike any other.”