Z FRINGE FESTIVAL SHINES A SPOTLIGHT ON A VARIETY OF WORK
By Butch Maier
You can dance if you want to.
You can bring your friends along.
You can act.
You can joke.
You can perform.
You can create.
Whatever you do, to make it in the Z Fringe Festival… You gotta have art. More than 200 artists will showcase more than 25 new works during the festival April 10-12 at Zeiders American Dream Theater in Virginia Beach. The festival received a record number of submissions this year, with some producers submitting from as far away as New York City and Oregon. Inspired by the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland, the Z Fringe Festival was created in 2023 to celebrate new works that “push the envelope.” Akin Ritchie, one of the Z Fringe producers, shared more details for those who are unfamiliar with the festival.
Coastal Virginia Magazine: Why is the Fringe Festival important to the artistic community?
Akin Ritchie: “One of the most important things about the Z Fringe Festival is that it is an unjuried fringe that uses a lottery to select participants. As long as a show is theatrical in some manner, with a theme or storyline, it’s eligible for Z Fringe. This helps even the playing field and allow for folks of all levels, experience, and background to have a chance at sharing their art with the community. We’ll get experienced actors putting together their first ever solo piece, writers creating their first plays, alongside community favorites experimenting with new ideas, cabarets showcasing talented performers, and even out-of-town touring fringe shows. Creating art is a messy process, and something about Fringe lets artists and audiences embrace that with an open and celebratory heart.”
CVM: What are all the different types of works that are in the 2026 festival?
Ritchie: “We have stand-up comedy shows, musical cabarets, dramatic adaptations of novels, improv and sketch comedy on unexpected themes, and solo and ensemble shows both comedic and dramatic. What is fun about the variety of shows that appear at Z Fringe is it’s often only after the festival where I’ll reflect back at all the shows l was able to watch, and I’ll find surprising connections between them. As producer, I’ve read all the synopses of the submitted productions pulled by lottery, but every year, I’m pleasantly surprised by almost every show when I finally get to watch them in the festival.”
CVM: What has resulted from the first three festivals?
Ritchie: “Two productions from the 2025 Z Fringe—EAT, by Elizabeth Brydge & Moriah Leeward, and Dorian, by Andre Magalhaes—took their productions to the Virginia Theatre Association conference last fall. We’ve got one or two shows in this year’s Z Fringe that are direct sequels to previous fringe performances. We also have had a few artists use Z Fringe as an excuse to write that play that has been floating around in the back of their mind for years—because sometimes all you need as an artist is a deadline to get something done. A lot of the wins from Z Fringe may look small from the outside (first play, first solo show), but are often huge for the artists.”
CVM: Do you offer awards?
Ritchie: “We’ve taken a page out of other fringe festivals’ book and now award laurels, such as Audience Pick or Producer’s Pick.”
CVM: How do the artists interact with attendees?
Ritchie: “One of my favorite things about the Z Fringe Festival is the atmosphere in the lobbies throughout the entire festival. Most of the artists performing in the festival are also attending other artists’ shows. A lot of folks make connections with each other throughout the festival and can end up collaborating on future art together or finding new venues or opportunities for their work.”
CVM: Anything else you want to mention?
Ritchie: “One of the best ways to enjoy Z Fringe Festival is to take a chance on an unfamiliar or unknown show. Once the schedule is out, I encourage folks to look over the list of shows and find one show you think you’ll love, one show you think will challenge you, and one show outside your comfort zone.”
Z Fringe Festival
Zeiders American Dream Theater
Virginia Beach
April 10-12
zfringe.org
Butch Maier
