IndyFringe Theatre rebrand captures the wonder of “IF”
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IF Theatre CEO Paul Daily and director of audience engagement Max McCreary. Photo: Justin L. Mack/Axios
The Indianapolis theater home to the Circle City's most unpredictable performances is taking on a new identity that dares Indy residents to wonder, "what if?"
Catch up quick: IndyFringe Theatre is being reborn as IF Theatre.
Why it matters: The rebrand represents a new chapter for the organization, which has spent the past two decades contributing to the quirky vibes that have made the Mass Ave Cultural Arts District a can't-miss part of downtown.
The big picture: CEO Paul Daily told Axios the goal of the rebrand is to clarify that the theater has an entire season of shows outside of the annual festival that went by the same name.
Driving the news: Daily, who joined the organization in June, promised to spend his first 100 days on the job listening to the community.
- His takeaways from those conversations were that people loved IndyFringe, but they didn't know how to talk about IndyFringe.
- "It was always a question of do you mean the festival, or do you mean the theater? And a lot of people even didn't realize we were a year-round entity," he said.
Between the lines: Daily says he landed on "IF" as the new name fairly quickly.
- It was already on the website, merchandise and so many other places he looked around the complex.
- But he says what was even more powerful than the built-in synergy between the theater and its flagship event was what those two letters represent — hope, anticipation and possibility.
- "What if? That was just calling to me the whole time," Daily said.
What they're saying: Director of audience engagement Max McCreary describes the change as "simply coming out as what we've always been," noting that longtime fans shouldn't fear a deviation from the vision they know and love.
- "We established in the community that we are a theater, but we weren't talking about ourselves that way," he said. "But this is what we are, so we're going to start talking like it."
What's next: Daily and McCreary want to reintroduce the theater to residents through events and programming that will embrace the new branding.
- Among them are the Spotlight Season, an initiative where local theater organizations can produce plays in the IF Theatre space while receiving marketing and administrative resources.
- A new program brings the book-club model to the world of theater, giving participants a chance to share the experience of a show with others in a new way.
- There is also the Reprise Series, which brings back popular shows that initially had limited performances during the 2024 IndyFringe Festival.
- And just in time for spooky season, the theater is hosting a Halloween night event featuring three short silent films accompanied by live music, campfires, s'mores and hot chocolate.
The intrigue: Next year will be the 20th anniversary of the IndyFringe Festival, and Daily teased some big surprises that he wasn't willing to pull the curtain back on just yet.
The bottom line: Expect IF Theatre's impact to span even wider and weirder in the new year.