[1] The festival encourages nontraditional operatic compositions and performance, or "black-box opera", combining classical techniques with experimental theater.
[2] Prototype has a reputation for showing "brash, socially engaged, and substantially post-classical" work[3]—shows with highly charged,[4] "dark, edgy" themes.
[3] The first Prototype Festival was organized by alternative opera producer Beth Morrison and the HERE Arts Center's Kristin Marting and Kim Whitener in 2013.
Prototype rose to prominence quickly, Midgette wrote, from a confluence of the opera world's "desperation" to find new, good work and the reduced costs of staging an experimental show outside of major mainstages.
[2] In 2024 Blogcritics noted that the festival is "known for adventurous and outstanding programming from around the world"[8] and The New York Times wrote that its offerings "tend to be politically charged, scrappy and stirring.