Atlanta Fringe Festival offers 5 days of surprise and delight

Atlanta Fringe Free Preview Party. It's hard to beat free, and this no-cost event will give you a sneak peek at all of the ticketed shows in the festival. This event kick-offs the Fringe Festival on Wednesday night by allowing each of the 24 productions the opportunity to give a three-minute preview of their show. The typically raucous opening also features sponsor giveaways and a meet-and-greets with the artists. If you can't make it to the preview, it will be stream it via Facebook Live on the Atlanta Fringe Festival's Facebook page. 8 p.m. June 8. Free. Universal. 7 Stages Mainstage, 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta.

Mysterium: A Magic Show. Called "a magic act of exquisite polish" by San Diego Story and winner of the San Diego International Fringe Festival's 2015 Audience Favorite Award, Keith Boudreau and Erica Valen of Oakland, Calif., perform feats of magic, sleight of hand and mind-reading. 9:30 p.m. June 9, 8 p.m. June 10, 5 and 11 p.m. June 11. $10. Universal. 7 Stages Mainstage, 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta.

Alone Together: Stories on Stage. When it comes to performance, sometimes simpler is better, and the Kennesaw State University Tellers keep things down to the bare bones. Solo storytellers from KSU take turns recounting intimate, revealing, often touching and amusing stories from their personal histories on stage. A hit from previous years' festivals and a sure bet for this year's, as well. 9:30 p.m. June 9, 8 p.m. June 10, 6:30 p.m. June 11, 3:30 p.m. June 12. $10. Universal. 7 Stages Blackbox, 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta.

'Pals.' The festival veterans of S'Park Theatre, a student theater group out of Spain Park High School in Birmingham, Ala., present their latest show, "Pals," a student-created drama examining the human cost of war, based on the letters of the Leeds Pals, an English volunteer regiment virtually wiped out at the Battle of the Somme during World War I. 11 p.m. June 9, 9:30 p.m. June 10, 6:30 p.m. June 11, 3:30 p.m. June 12. $10. Universal. Horizon School Gym, 1900 DeKalb Ave. NE, Atlanta.

'Barry Manilow is in my Closet: A Debbie & Tracy Show.' Atlanta-based performers Debbie From and Tracy Walker present a sassy, cabaret-style show that incorporates stories, music, skits and trivia, all based on the life and work of Barry Manilow. 8 p.m. June 9, 5 and 11 p.m. June 11, 3:30 p.m. June 12. $10. Mature. Horizon School Gym, 1900 DeKalb Ave NE, Atlanta.

'The Eulogy.' Writer, director, producer and performer Michael Burgos plays all the characters in this one-man comedy about the inept and inapt eulogies delivered at a funeral. The show took home the Best Comedy award at the Adelaide Fringe Festival, the second largest fringe festival in the world. 11 p.m. June 10, 5 and 9:30 p.m. June 11, 2 p.m. June 12. $10. Universal. 7 Stages Blackbox, 1105 Euclid Ave. NE, Atlanta.

'Disaster Aboard the Orlando.' The members of the Atlanta-based Twinhead Theatre are best-known for their "Saturday Night Live"-style sketch comedy, but the troupe takes a new turn with this full-length, comedic sci-fi thriller in which a mysterious virus starts affecting the crew of the spaceship Orlando. 11 p.m. June 9, 9:30 p.m. June 10, 6:30 p.m. June 11, 2 p.m. June 12. $10. Universal. 7 Stages Mainstage, 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta.

'7 Deadly Sins.' Atlanta-based Roots Dance brings together a group of independent choreographers and dancers from across the country to present a contemporary ballet show based around the idea of the seven deadly sins. 11 p.m. June 10, 3:30 and 8 p.m. June 11, 5 p.m. June 12. $10. Universal. 7 Stages Mainstage, 1105 Euclid Ave NE, Atlanta.

'(Becoming) Hue Man.' Using puppets, mime, shadow-play and clowning, award-winning performer T. Anthony Marotta examines gender roles in a light-hearted story about Hue, a Pinocchio-like puppet searching to find his human potential. 9:30 p.m. June 9, 5 and 11 p.m. June 11, 3:30 p.m. June 12. $10. Universal. International Montessori School, 1240 Euclid Ave., Atlanta.

With 24 shows in six venues plus free outdoor events throughout the weekend, this year's Atlanta Fringe Festival, slated for June 8-12 in and around Little Five Points, will be the biggest, busiest and most ambitious festival in the event's five-year history. From puppet shows and acrobats to magicians and ballet, from heartfelt one-person monologues to wacky comedic improv, the Fringe Festival promises a little something for everyone.

Fringe festivals first started in 1947 with the great-grandmother of them all, the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, which initially began as a less buttoned-up off-shoot of the more formal Edinburgh International Festival. The Fringe — with its fun, accessible shows, casual style and inexpensive ticket prices — grew from year to year until it eventually became the largest arts festival in the world, inspiring similar events in cities everywhere. The Atlanta Fringe Festival in its current iteration began in 2012.

This year, the action conveniently centers around Little Five Points. For the first time, the Fringe will have free, on-going, family-friendly activities and performances in Little Five Points’ Findley Plaza during the festival weekend. Visitors can take in short previews from Fringe performers, as well as mini-performances from local theater groups such as Atlanta Shakespeare Tavern and the Village Theatre.

Ticketed shows, the heart of the festival, will be housed in six venues, most of them within easy walking distance of the plaza: the two theatrical spaces at 7 Stages (the large theater and the smaller blackbox in the back), the event space at the Wrecking Bar Brewpub and the International Montessori Academy on Euclid Avenue. A shuttle bus will take festival-goers to the two slightly more remote venues one mile away, both at the Horizon School on DeKalb Avenue. Even the bus will have theater on board, with short musical and comedy performances to keep riders entertained during the five-minute ride.

Organizers aim to keep ticket prices low, with individual tickets priced at just $10 a piece after a one-time purchase of a $3 festival button. Theater buffs who plan to take in a lot of shows may want to consider a festival pass: 6 shows for $40, 10 shows for $60 and an All-Access Festival Pass for $90.

The 24 shows in this year’s festival represent a huge range of styles and genres. In keeping with the spirit of the original Edinburgh Fringe, shows are not selected by jury for inclusion but are instead chosen at random, literally, picked from a hat. The website and the festival guide, which will be available at the venues and in Findley Plaza, have complete descriptions of all the shows, but we’ve selected our own list of highlights and best bets below.

All the shows are rated to indicate which audiences a particular performance is best suited for. “Family-friendly” indicates a show that was designed specifically with kids in mind, which includes all of the shows at the International Montessori Academy. “Universal” means a show is suitable for all audiences, along the lines of what you might see on a typical, non-cable American television show or PG movie (some mild language and occasional adult subjects, but no overt violence, sexual content or nudity). “Mature audience” means just that: leave the kids at home for these adults-only shows.