The trickles of talk about the first annual Chicago Fringe Festival exploded this week, and Sarah Mikayla Brown is a little blown away by it.

Brown, the executive producer who conceived of the Chicago version of a fringe fest last year after performing at the Minnesota Fringe Fest, thinks that the combination of 45 performance groups sending out press releases and e-mails to their constituents has coalesced into a “fervor and energy” that has created a groundswell of curiousity.

But she thinks her fest will live up to the hype. And, she adds, while it’s modeled on other U.S. and Canadian festivals, there is something about this one that is uniquely Chicago.

“It really reminds me of a neighborhood festival, translated through the lens of a performance festival,” says Brown.

The Chicago Fringe Festival will run September 1-5 at eight different venues in Pilsen. Brown says they’re all walkable, though it might take up to 20 minutes to go between the two most distant spots. And it’s not just about theatre. It’s about the atmosphere. It’s about community. She stressed that theatre people are welcome to party at “Fringe Central” at 1714 S. Racine anytime after 10 p.m., whether or not they’ve seen a show.

But if you do want to see a show, there are 45 to choose from, roughly half of which are by out of towners. Brown stresses that many of these people are coming to Chicago to test the waters for possible longer production; producers interested in particular out of town fringe groups are invited to come to any performance free of charge. Just contact the fest in advance. The rest of the performance community is invited to come to the 4 and 5:30 p.m. shows on Wednesday and Thursday. Just bring a headshot and resume and you will be seated after the paying customers.

And there is a lot to choose from. Dance groups, avant garde theatre, one person shows and even three new musicals will be performing over the fest’s five days. The only rule was that it had to be 85 percent scripted. So improv is out. All shows were picked by lottery—out of 156 entrants. And while different press outlets have listed their “shows to see,” Brown says the pre-sales haven’t really reflected the writers’ picks.

“The ticket sales don’t seem to correlate with the press,” she says. Right now, ticket sales are correlating with local groups who have strong followings. But as the fest gets going, people will buy tickets based on word of mouth—one of the values of heading to a Fringe Central, late-night party.

“There are going to be trends that emerge,” said Brown. This is helped also by the fact that the fest is encouraging people to write reviews on their blogs, and that TimeOut Chicago is reviewing every show (as their sister publication does for the New York Fringe Festival).

You can buy multiple tickets online with a credit card, or at 2003 S. Halsted, at an empty storefront the fest has commandeered to serve as a theatre and main box office (which they’re calling the Edinburgh, after that famous fringe fest). All of the other venues are cash only, one show at a time. So either plan ahead or bring plenty of the green stuff.

Brown hopes the artists involved will at least make their money back, which doesn’t seem to be daunting. Performers paid $250 for three shows or $400 for five shows. And all the groups have to do is market their shows. The fest picks up the rest—from box office to tech. They even provide a stage manager.

“I can ‘t think of any place where you can do five shows for $400,” Brown says.

Suggested ticket prices are $10 per show, or 5 for $45, 10 for $80 or an unlimited pass for $175. Proceeds will go to the performers, after the online and credit card transaction fees are subtracted. So, a group doing five performances needs only to sell 40ish tickets to break even—something Brown says some of the local groups have already achieved.

Oh, and festival goers will also need to purchase a $5 festival button, proceeds of which will go to the fest.

While the pre-sales please Brown, she stresses that just because you know one theatre doesn’t mean the other ones are going to be bad.

“I really hope that the out of town performers get some love from the local audiences and the theatre community,” she says, because out of town—and eventually international—groups are a big part of the Chicago Fringe Fest experience—which Brown points out makes them different from the Rhino or Abbie Hoffman fests. Chicago Fringe slotted 50 percent of the groups to come from out of town, but last minute cancellations have tilted the balance a bit toward Chicago groups. Still, even in Chicago there are a lot of theatres people haven’t seen. You have five days to sample as many as possible.

The Chicago Fringe Festival box office is at 2003 S. Halsted. Other venues are: the Chicago Arts District Gallery (dubbed the Adelaide Stage, after another fringe fest) at 1832 S. Halsted; Casa Aztlan at 1831 S. Racine; The Chicago Art Department at 1837 S. Halsted; Dream Theatre, 556 W. 18^th Street; EP Theater , 1820 S. Halsted; Simone’s Bar, 960 W. 18^th Street; and Temple Gallery, 1749 W. Halsted. You can also go to www.chicagofringe.org for all this information.