The Philadelphia Live Arts Festival features performances by acclaimed contemporary dance and theater artists who are selected and invited to the Festival by Producing Director, Nick Stuccio. While some Live Arts artists are based in Philadelphia, many come from other parts of the U.S. and from around the world.

The Philly Fringe is the "unfiltered" portion of the festival, where new and established artists of all kinds may choose to present their own work, free of a selection process. Together, the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and Philly Fringe bring audiences sixteen days of the most stimulating, provocative new art being created in Philadelphia, across the U.S., and around the world.