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One month after Greenbelt resident Betsy Delaney, 46, was laid off from her job in March 2009, she channeled her frustration and newly found free time into writing a script. The play that emerged, "Busted," sounds familiar: it chronicles one woman's struggle to write a script after she loses her job.

"Busted" is among the more than 100 performances scheduled for this year's Capital Fringe Festival, which begins today and continues through July 25. Delaney is one of nine performers or performance groups participating in this year's festival that have ties to Prince George's County.

"I looked at my layoff and said, ‘This is an opportunity,'" said Delaney, who is also directing the production. She also serves as a part-time general manager at the Greenbelt Arts Center, and is still looking for work.

The Capital Fringe Festival, a Washington, D.C.-based event celebrating its fifth anniversary, attracts performers from around the country, but most are based in the metropolitan region. It serves especially as an outlet for non-traditional work and self-produced performers.

Attendance has grown steadily since the festival began five years ago. Last year, more than 25,000 tickets were sold, compared to about 19,000 tickets sold in 2006. Festival spokeswoman Laura Gross also stressed that all the profits are returned to the artists after the cost of putting on the festival is covered; last year, the festival paid out almost $261,000 to the performers, representing about 70 percent of the total profits.

Hyattsville resident John Feffer, 46, will perform a one-man show he wrote, titled "Edible Rex," which is about his relationship with his father and his passion for food. By day, Feffer is an expert on North Korea at the Institute for Policy Studies in the District. His sideline as a playwright paid off when he was featured in last year's Fringe Festival, "Krapp's Last Power Point."

"I like the unmediated experience of writing something and performing it and having that kind of direct relationship with an audience," he said. "It's something I'd wanted to do since my 20s, but I never got around to doing it."

Although most of Feffer's food adventures described in the show take place outside Prince George's County, he said he was also inspired by the growing availability of international foods in Hyattsville and around the county.

Fort Washington resident Khadijah Ali-Coleman, 36, who is also participating in the festival for her second time, said she enjoys being a part of the Fringe Festival because of the diverse group of performers and audience it brings together.

Ali-Coleman wrote a play titled "Running: AMOK" about the challenges of motherhood in the 21st century. It revolves around a group of women sitting in a doctor's office waiting room and was inspired by Ali-Coleman's own experiences as a mother.

"I wanted to connect with an audience that I believe probably wouldn't be available or even be aware of this production," she said. Plus, she added, "I had such a fun time participating last year."

This is Berwyn Heights resident Evan Crump's first year participating in the Fringe Festival. The show he wrote, "Genesis," is about an inmate in a psychiatric institute who believes he is a fallen angel.

"The subject matter of this show is something more suitable for an environment like [the Fringe Festival], it's a little more out there," he said.

Crump, 30, said this is the first full-length play he has produced and a benefit of participating in the Fringe Festival is that it provides a support network for newcomers. The festival, he said, "is a really inexpensive way to get your work out there."

Delaney said that in addition to performing, she is looking forward to seeing what other local performers are offering. The metropolitan region can be lacking in terms of affordable performance space for small groups or non-traditional artists, she said, making the Fringe Festival a unique opportunity.

"You just see an awful lot of fresh talent when you to go the Fringe [Festival]," she said. "There are so many people who want to perform; it gives everybody an opportunity to be seen."

E-mail Zoe Tillman at ztillman@gazette.net.

IF YOU GO

Capital Fringe Festival

When: Today through July 25

Where: Locations throughout the Washington, D.C., region

Cost: $15 per performance, but special rates available for multi-performance passes

For more information: Dates, times and locations of individual performances are available on the Capital Fringe Festival website at http://shows.capfringe.org.

Contact: Call 866-811-4111 or visit the festival headquarters at 607 New York Avenue, NW in Washington, D.C.