The 10-day Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival that ended Sunday saw attendance rise by 16 percent from 2008, according to Executive Director Pauline Moffat.

Admissions totaling 11,470 were counted for 280 Fringe performances at six sites, mostly in the Massachusetts Avenue Cultural District.

All proceeds from $10 tickets went to the performers, with the festival taking in money only from the sale of Fringe Backer Buttons at $3 each. (All festival-goers were required to make that one-time purchase.) Purchases during the festival totaled $15,000; the total from advance Backer Button sales is not yet known. Donations to Fringe during the 10 days totaled $927.

Of the 1,200 audience surveys counted to date, 10 percent said they’d attended all five Indianapolis Theatre Fringe festivals, while 46.5 percent were newcomers.

There was a 3 percent increase in festival-goers in the 18-to-25 age range, which Moffat attributes to the FringeNext offerings (high school and college-age productions) having their own performance space in the IndyFringe Building, 719 E. St. Clair St.

What else seemed different about the 2009 IndyFringe?

“Wherever you went, there were performers connecting with audiences, even having a chat before they would go up onstage,” Moffat said. “People were comfortable with the Fringe and were prepared to chat with anyone.”