FRINGE LAB

Group of people on sitting on fold out chairs with stylised collage above them

ABOUT

Dublin Fringe Festival’s FRINGE LAB is both physical rehearsal space and a platform of activities for training and learning, providing vital and in-demand workspace, skill-sharing, mentorship and supports for established and early career artists year-round. 

FRINGE LAB’s reach is broad, creating a hub in-person and online for independent artists across the island of Ireland. The mentorship, workshop and talks programme engages leading Irish and international artists to guide, diversify and stimulate the work of early career Irish artists, while the practical use of workspace in Dublin provides a vital space to create, play and envision future projects.

FRINGE LAB: Workspace

FRINGE LAB provides essential space for artists and companies to work.  We provide access to two large studios, an office space for our Resident Artists, access to closed door office space the Workstation and our drop-in foyer work space. Studio 2 is available for commercial hire at affordable rates for remounts, shoots, etc. Access to Studio 1 and Workstation are free for the development of new work. Dublin Fringe Festival is the home of bold, interdisciplinary new work, a lot of which is generated from within the FRINGE LAB studios. We’re here to support its development through use of free space, whether that’s a room to write in, a space to run a work-in-progress of your most recent draft or a rehearsal room.

You can find more info on each space below and see studio specifications here and contact us on studios@fringefest.com to book.

Studio 1

FRINGE LAB Studio 1 (5m x 14m) This bright studio is available free of charge for the creation and development of new work. Booking is subject to availability and on an application basis. Check out our online calendar here for availability. Please note priority is given to those making work for the festival from June to September annually.

Studio 2

FRINGE LAB Studio 2 (6.2m x 10m) is available to hire for rehearsals, auditions, film work, workshops, meetings and presentations at a very competitive rate. This studio can be blacked out for filming or projection work.

Workstation

The Workstation is a quiet closed door office space dedicated to writers, makers and producers who need silence to work. You can book this space from Monday-Friday for a full day (10am-6pm) or half day (10am-2pm, 2pm-6pm). You can book your slot by filling out our short reservation form here.

Drop-in Foyer

The FRINGE LAB foyer is a drop-in facility with free Wi-Fi and access to printing facilities in the main office. Bring your own laptop and use our communal workspace. It’s also possible to use this space for small meetings. No need to book, the space is available on a first-come, first-served basis and these drop-in facilities are available during office hours: Monday-Friday, 10am-6pm.

FRINGE LAB: Events & Opportunities

FRINGE LAB provides year-round practical and artistic support, responding to the needs of the artistic community, from developing to established artists, across locations and disciplines. Artists also have access to Dublin Fringe Festival’s own in-house expertise across a wide range of disciplines, such as producing, marketing and publicity, with an ongoing schedule of workshops, masterclasses with Irish and international experts, networking events, scratch nights and a host of other activities devoted to cultivating connections and expertise. We have casual and more embedded opportunities to connect across a host of events and networking opportunities.

Dublin Fringe Festival also provides a suite of support to all artists programmed in the festival each year including producing, artistic and marketing support.

You can read more about ways to connect below:

FRINGE LAB Programme 

An annual programme of workshops, events and work-in-progress opportunities that respond to the expressed needs of artists in our community. You can take a look at our current and past programming here.

Elevenses

On the last Friday of every month we run our monthly coffee morning Elevenses in Fringe HQ on Sycamore Street. Elevenses was set up as an opportunity for artists who are freelance, work on their own or are just in the area and fancy popping by to connect with other artists, theatre makers, producers or freelancers over a cup of tea or coffee. It’s also a chance to connect with the Fringe team on an informal basis and to have a look around the facilities available at FRINGE LAB, if you haven’t yet been into Fringe HQ. And there’s always something nice to eat!

There’s no need to RSVP, just drop by at 11am. New faces and repeat attenders welcome! 

Artistic Meetings

Dublin Fringe Festival’s Programming Team are always delighted to meet with you to talk through your big ideas: both for projects and your own career trajectories! Get in touch to set up a meeting with our Programming Team, Festival Director Bee, Programme Manager Katherine and Programme Assistant Clíona. These meetings tend to be 30 – 45 minutes and you set the agenda! It’s useful if you come prepared, so let us know what you want to discuss and any particular questions you might have ahead of time (if you can!) Don’t worry if you’re not Dublin based or able to travel to our offices, we are also happy to facilitate phone/ digital meetings.

National Reach

Don’t worry if you’re not Dublin based! While our building may be in Dublin city centre we’re working hard to extend FRINGE LAB’s reach. You can look out for ways to connect with us through:

  • Application Q&A on tour: Festival Director Bee Sparks and Programme Manager Katherine Murphy visit numerous cities in Fringe application season (Jan to March) to give application workshops and meet with artists across Ireland to talk through their projects. Join our mailing list to stay up to date when we announce the next year's stops!
  • Invite us! We are always happy to travel to see work when we can – if you have a great new show you want us to see, get in touch! You can reach Katherine here.

Resident Artists

Our FRINGE LAB Resident Artists are a huge part of the life of Dublin Fringe HQ and we’ve been very lucky over the years to have incredible talent take up residence in the Artist's Office. Our Resident Artists connect with us on an annual basis, from Jan – Dec and we provide space to work in our city centre office, support and advice from the Fringe team and a great opportunity to network with other talented peers. 

Our 2025 Resident Artists are Osaro Azams, John Spillane and Martha Knight. Resident Artists have a free, shared office space with a full-time desk here at Dublin Fringe HQ to make their own, 7 days a week. You can see more on our current Resident Artists here and our wonderful alumni here.

Reach out to Programme Manager Katherine Murphy if you’d like to discuss the Resident Artists scheme and check the News section of our website in from October – November when applications open for 2026. 

How to Connect

We want to hear from you! Are you:  

Accessibility

Dublin Fringe Festival are committed to accessibility. 

  • Accessible versions of our Festival Application Materials are available annually, you can see last year’s here. update with link to 2024 docs – hosted on website 
  • We would love to talk to you about adding access elements to your Dublin Fringe event – speak to us about this at point of application 

Let us know your needs: if you are interested in working with us or coming to an event and you have access needs please reach out and we will endeavour to do what we can to meet them.  

Unfortunately our building is inaccessible and accessed by stairs. 

Equipment

FRINGE LAB has a host of great equipment available to artists using the space, from podcasting equipment, to self-tape set-up, to projectors! We’re always excited to collaborate with artists on using these things: do have a podcast you can’t wait to get off the ground, a track you need to mix, or a film you want to screen?

View our full equipment list here. Get in touch with Studios Coordinator Sarah to set up a time to use it!