CTX4536. FronteraFest Applications Open for January-February 2027 Performances, Scriptworks & Hyde Park Theatre.
Got a theater piece—a scene, a monologue, some songs, a skit—percolating in the back of your mind? Listen: fortune favors the bold!
What I’m saying: applications are now up on our website for FronteraFest 2027, which opens in January.
The Short Fringe is the heart of the festival. Pieces are 25 minutes or less, and over the previous thirty-one (!!!) festivals we've seen it all: new plays, monologues, cabaret shows, performance art, excerpts from works-in-progress, improv and sketch comedy, avant-garde dance, short films--and that's far from a full list. I think there was a dog act once.
It's time to get your idea in front of an audience. maybe more than one audience, if you're selected for Best of the Week or Best of the Fest. The process is unjuried and is first-come, first-served, and you get $10 off the $60 Short Fringe fee if you apply by October 1. So don’t delay!
We’re also taking applications for Bring Your Own Venue (BYOV) shows—more details on our site!
So fill out an application and get to work. The time is now, friend. It will be the most exhilarating thing you do all year.
Official details
FronteraFest (the “Fest”), Austin’s longest-running, and well-known performance festival is currently accepting applications for performers of all styles and genres through
November 1, 2026.
A unique collaboration between Hyde Park Theatre and ScriptWorks, FronteraFest attracts actors, artists, poets, improv troupes, and performers of all types throughout Texas and beyond. It has long been an open opportunity for newly emerging artists to get their work on stage and for established artists to try new things.
The Fest includes three different performance components:
- The Short Fringe (pieces 25 minutes or less) will run the entirety of the festival (January 12 – February 13, 2027), taking place at Hyde Park Theatre, 511 West 43rd Street.
- Bring Your Own Venue (B.Y.O.V.), (dates between January 18 - 31, to be announced) will be held at various locations throughout Austin.
- Mi Casa es Su Teatro takes place one day only (Saturday, February 6, 2027), primarily in private Austin homes.
For the duration of the Short Fringe, every night will feature a new, unjuried bill of four or five performances no more than 25 minutes each.
Slots are limited and will be awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. To apply for Short Fringe, or B.Y.O.V., participants may complete and submit an application online (www.hydeparktheatre.org). The Short Fringe application fee is $60, and the B.Y.O.V. fee is $250 with an automatic $10 early-bird discount for submissions received by October 1. The final deadline to submit all applications is November 1, 2026.
Those interested in performing in Mi Casa or sharing their home for a performance may contact FronteraFest Producer, Christina J. Moore, directly at
fronterafest@hydeparktheatre.org.
About Hyde Park Theatre:
Hyde Park Theatre develops writers, designers, directors, and actors from within the Austin community, while at the same time producing works by exciting new and established voices of the alternative theatre scene. We will work with a broad and diverse base of local artists to produce theater that confronts, challenges, and entertains. We have a strong commitment to paying local writers, actors, and designers a decent wage for their work, and to expanding the base of working artists in Austin. We hope to diversify and expand the audience for theater in Austin, making theater accessible and essential across lines of income, class, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression.
www.hydeparktheatre.org
About ScriptWorks:
ScriptWorks is a playwright driven organization that seeks to promote the craft of dramatic writing and to protect the playwright's integrity by encouraging playwright initiative and harnessing collective potential.
www.scriptworks.org.