Any solo artist based in America who has never been to or worked on a show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe before. 

This residency is open to artists of all types in the performing arts including–but is not limited to–playwrights, comedians, performers, composers, devisers, dancers, clowns, and cabaret artists. The Edinburgh Festival Fringe official Fringe programme categorises shows into sections for theatre, comedy, dance, physical theatre, circus, cabaret, children's shows, musicals, opera, music, spoken word - if you feel you can create a piece that fits within one of these categories, we encourage you to submit. 

All applicants must also have a valid US passport allowing them to travel overseas to Scotland and be available to be in Scotland from approximately Monday, August 3 - Sunday, August 30. 

Unfortunately in this inaugural year, we are unable to accommodate duos, trios, or writing teams at this time. The 2026 residency is for individual/solo artists only. 

• Economy round-trip airfare to and from Edinburgh and their US state of residence

• A private room in a shared living space in Edinburgh from August 3 - 30

• A modest daily per diem to support living expenses in Edinburgh

• Weekly meetings in Edinburgh with established Fringe Artists and Producers

• A $500 ticket budget

• A $3,000 commission

• A Work in Progress showing of their commission at an Underbelly venue on Tuesday, August 25

Resident artists will be selected by BDP’s CEO George Strus on a variety of criteria, including excitement about the artist, their artistic sample and its singularity, and their initial Edinburgh Fringe piece idea. 

The Edinburgh Fringe website has a number of helpful resources, including their “Getting Started” page. 

Additionally, Wikipedia offers up a thorough history of the Festival.

John Fleming also wrote a handy opinion piece titled “How to Write A Successful Edinburgh Fringe Show”. 

Lastly, thousands of shows for this year’s Fringe have already been announced, so check out the line-up here and see what inspires you. 

Each selected artist will receive a Work in Progress showing of their commission the final week of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe on Tuesday, August 25. 

Work in Progress showings are common at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, allowing artists the ability to try out new material and ideas in front of a crowd.

Each selected artist will receive a budget, managed by BDP, to support your one-day WIP showing.

The project you submit can change once you arrive in Edinburgh and begin to immerse yourself in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe ecosystem. For the purposes of the submission, it is just to get a sense of your understanding of what you currently believe to be a piece that might thrive at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. All final ideas will be mutually approved by Benson Drive Productions and the commissioned artist in early-August. 

Keep in mind that most shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe are 50-60 minutes and feature 1-3 performers. Remember that there are often over 3,000 shows performing daily throughout the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, so it’s important to have a strong hook or elevator pitch for your project. Why are you the best person to make this piece and why is the Edinburgh Festival Fringe the right home for it? 

No! The submitting artist must be the core creator of the work, but you are free to loop in other artists you meet throughout the month in Edinburgh if your piece requires multiple performers or additional collaborators. 

Please provide a work sample of a full-length piece you have recently created. We can accept pdfs of scripts or archival videos. If your work sample is a link, please put it onto a pdf and upload that file.

The form will close promptly at 11:59pm EDT on Sunday, June 14 - any late submissions will not be considered. 

Thank you for your submission. All selected artists will be notified no later than Friday, July 10, 2026.