Melbourne Fringe

Get Festival-ready with a full day of workshops all about the business of independent art.

Presented with Arts Centre Melbourne, the Melbourne Fringe Artist Learning Lab is tailored for artists, delivered by experts. Whether you're an emerging or experienced artist, there are tons of areas to explore.

Happening Saturday, 25 July from 10am.
Find out more on the Arts Centre Melbourne website or reach out to our Artist Services team.

Independent artists are doing extraordinary things, often under impossible conditions. They need more than applause. They need systems that back them. Every October, our Festival takes over the city. The other eleven months, we're still here. Your donation becomes artist fees, rehearsal space, commissions, advocacy, workshops, learning labs, and one-on-one support. Year-round, not just in October.

You give a damn. We've got a plan. Last chance to give a buck before June 30.

Melbourne Fringe is a registered not-for-profit. Donations of $2 or more are tax deductible.

"I've got lots of ideas. I just needed some guidance to do justice to them."

Hayley Edwards took out the 2024 Melbourne Fringe Festival Artform Shaker Award, supported by Theatre Network Australia, for their debut show 'Sh*tbag'. Now they're one of three emerging playwrights commissioned to develop new work through the Emerging Playwrights' Lab. Through one-on-one mentorship, they're putting their big ideas to paper alongside two fellow writers bringing their own brilliant ideas and experiences to the table.

See developments from all three artists at the Industry Showcase during the 2026 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

The Emerging Playwrights' Lab is supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation.

"Being accepted tells me that maybe people might be interested in the type of stories I want to tell."

For Joel Te Teira, the Emerging Playwrights' Lab means putting the puzzle pieces together: making industry connections, learning from peers, and exploring craft on a deeper level. Things that enable Joel to keep telling the stories he wants to tell.

Through focused guidance and creative development, the Lab aims to support emerging voices in finding pathways to present their work to the world. See developments from all three playwrights at the Industry Showcase during the 2026 Melbourne Fringe Festival.

The Emerging Playwrights' Lab is supported by the Malcolm Robertson Foundation.