FRINGE FILE #9: The Previews – Twin Cities Arts Reader

Trying to plan your Minnesota Fringe Festival experience and unsure of where to start? How about seeing a bunch of 3-minute show excerpts – live – before deciding to commit?

If that floats your boat, then mark your calendar for July 27 and August 5 at 7:30 PM. That’s when the two official Minnesota Fringe Festival previews will reveal five dozen companies’ most delectable minutes designed to woo you to their shows. Many a festival-goer’s carefully planned schedule has been upset by the thrill of the quick show hooks or raw charisma from the presenting artists.

Each of the two preview sessions at the Rarig Stoll Thrust Theater (Rarig Center, University of Minnesota West Bank Campus, 330 21st Ave S Minneapolis, MN 55455) will feature about 30 companies, each competing to win audience attention with a 3-minute teaser about their show.

The July 27 @ 7:30 PM preview will be hosted by Minneapolis Improv All Stars Lauren Anderson and Denzel Belin. Fringe fans Lauren Hance and Jeremy Motz will host the August 5 @ 7:30 PM preview.

The schedule for each event is identical:

6:30pm Box office opens
7:00pm House opens
7:30pm Previews begin
estimated run time ~90 minutes

Entry requires a current Festival Button (available for purchase on site).

The 33rd annual Minnesota Fringe Festival runs August 6-16, 2026 in Minneapolis, MN.

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July 27 Artist Slate

Moral of the Story Productions / A Real Piece of Work
New Endeavors Productions / Muskie
Small Waves / Cyrano
Maxxeapolis / Maxxeapolis Goes to Hell
Angela Fox Productions / Fighting Unicorns
Tyler West / Small Minded
The House in the Woods / Quadrilogy: A Sabathani Benefit Game Show Extravaganza!
Special When Lit / Bury The Leads
Snikt! Bamf! Thwip! / Casa Bde-Maka-Ska
David Alan Berger / A Woman’s Place is in the House
Budding Heads / Scab for Hire
milk rat orchestra / Fly Tape
Ari Hoptman / Is That Why?
One T Productions / After The End
Seán McArdle / Minnesota is the Shire, or Fair & Back Again
Patrick McGraw / Dropping My Cover Stories
Traveling Players / Sisters on Stage
DOLLY WHO? / DOOZY
The Other Productions / Bangs!
Wells Farnham / Stage Presents
Button Productions / Buckeroohaiku’s Reverse Armando
SassEpants Productions / So You Want to Date a Bisexual?
The World Crime League / M
Hey Rube! / So Bright, the Night
Mermaid Productions / The Importance of Living
Applause Community Theatre / The Precious Scars
Kind Fool Theater / Witness Loudly
Moonlight Muses LLC / In The Moonlight
Albino Squirrel Productions / It’s-a-Me, a Musical
Samuel Karie / Pistachio’s Playhouse

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Amy Donahue

Amy Donahue is a staff reviewer at the Twin Cities Arts Reader. She interned with the magazine during the summer of 2017, served as a guest contributor while studying abroad in Europe that fall, and has moved up to regular old reviewing. She served as interim Editor-in-Chief in 2023.

She admits to being at least 50% terrified of contemporary German opera.