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Step 1
Be familiar with the shows before you go. On their website, the fringe posts all the shows for the year well in advance of the beginning of the festival.
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Step 2
Browse through the shows and make a note of what looks interesting to you. It can be helpful to make a preliminary list of shows you want to see.
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Step 3
With only a few lines of description, it can be hard to tell if a show is going to be good. A lot of the time the writers, directors, and theater companies will have websites. Check out these sites and watch/listen to clips of their work if available. This is the best way to see quickly if a show is right for you.
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Step 4
Revise your list. Now that you have looked at the artists, you can narrow down your list. It can be helpful also to sort your lists by putting the shows you want to see the most at the top.
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Step 5
Check your budget. Let's say you've narrowed the 200 shows down to twenty you like. That's $300 ($15 a show) per person. If this is not in your budget, it can be helpful to start with the amount you can spend. Then you can start filling it with shows you want to see the most until you've reached your budget.
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Step 6
Buying your tickets. The festival box office is the only place to buy tickets without service charges. It's called fringe central on the website. Whether you buy online or in person, you have the option of buying a pass for five or ten shows which will save you some money. If you truly are crazy, you can see every show (or as many as humanly possible) for $500. I would discourage this though because there simply aren't that many good shows at the festival. The truth is that a large percentage of the shows are beyond terrible. The fun of it is finding the the few shows that are truly great. Good Luck!
