ABOUT ABANDON

Luella is alone – haunted by the ghost of her son. Joshua is alone – kicked out of his house by his brother. One winter night these two people collide. Luella is looking for redemption; Joshua is looking for family. By the next morning, these two lonely souls are meshed together into an American Family in its truest sense. A world premiere by Pulitzer Prize winning playwright James Ijames, Abandon is sometimes violent, sometimes healing; with a gossamer veil that separates the worlds of the living and the dead, and shame and acceptance.

Melanye Finister (Luella, she/her) is an artist and resident company member at People’s Light, a member of Wilma Hothouse, and an artistic advisory board member at PlayPenn. People’s Light: The Diary of Anne Frank, The Matchmaker, All My Sons, Fences, The Winter’s Tale, Seven Guitars, The Return of Don Quixote, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Something You Did, Fabulation, and The Member of the Wedding. Theatre Includes: Wilma Theater, Arden Theatre Company, Flashpoint Theatre Company, InterAct Theatre Company, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Venture Theatre, Temple Theaters and Walnut Street Theatre. Training: BFA, Carnegie Mellon University.

Brenson Thomas (Gabriel, he/him) is a Black and queer writer, actor, and theatre-maker. A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College’s MFA Theatre program, his plays include how i got over, or…red Kool-Aid stains on bubblegum lips; What We Lost & Never Knew; and How We Return, an upcoming commission for Constellation Stage & Screen in Bloomington, IN. Brenson also writes for TV/Film, most recently on Emmy Award winner Lena Waithe’s Twenties on BET. As a performer, Brenson has collaborated with Tony Award Winner Stew, Raja Feather Kelly, Lightning Rod Special in The Appointment (FringeArts/Next Door at NYTW; Barrymore Nominee for Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical), Arden Theatre Company in the world premiere of R. Eric Thomas’ Backing Track, and Into the Woods, and with 1812 Productions for This is the Week That Is: 2020, and the Wilma Theater. When he’s not hunched over his laptop crying about blank Google docs, Brenson enjoys long walks around his beloved Philly, doing bad accents, smashing patriarchal white supremacist structures, and Beyoncé.

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://theatreexile.org/shows/abandon/

Miniball is a micro-version of Cannonball Festival featuring encores of previous Cannonball shows, as well as other works not featured in the festival before, to keep the spirit of Cannonball sailing strong throughout the year. Make sure to follow @cannonballfest on Instagram and turn on notifications to be the first to hear about upcoming festivals, show announcements, pop-up programming, and more!

THE OTHER GARDENERS by Very Good Dance Theatre

What happens to (y)our gardens when we can no longer tend to them? When do the things and thoughts we leave behind become burdens, and when are they gifts? Can we both be refreshing fountains of reprieve for others, while we remember to pour into ourselves? What to do when our cup runneth over, and what to do when she's dryyyyyy ... we don't know, will you help us find out?

"The Other Gardeners" is a new project created collaboratively by Very Good Dance Theatre by and for Black artists and/or those from African lineage. "Gardeners" playfully (re)imagines what remains of Eden after its more popular residents (Adam & Eve) have moved on, and reminds us that paradise cannot be destroyed, only lost.

This project explores questions around lineage, diaspora(s), liberation, and asks all those in its midst to grapple with which burdens have been placed on them, by who, and how we can shoulder them (together). This is a Black queering of our origin stories, both a prequel and a sequel, and a conjuring of all the auto-biographies that never came to be ... or at least not yet?

Expect sobbing and laughing, remembering and visioning, dreaming and forgetting, and loving and loving and loving.

Come to learn, come to share, come to mourn, come alone (or not), leave together - connected - nurtured, just as gardens should be.

ABOUT THE EVENT:

Cannonball Festival is an independently produced performing arts festival, concurrent with the Philadelphia Fringe, that presents risk-taking independent artists in back-to-back performances next to delicious lounge spaces, fostering creative collisions and community conversation. Learn more at cannonballfestival.org

Miniball Spring keeps the spirit of Fringe rolling April 6-8, 2023, with back to back performances of new works from some of Philly’s best independent artists. Learn more at cannonballfestival.org/miniball

LINKS:

Philly Theatre Week - Theatre Philadelphia

https://theatrephiladelphia.org/whats-on-stage/2023-philly-theatre-week

Support Theatre Philadelphia

https://theatrephiladelphia.org/make-a-donation

Support Cannonball Festival | Miniball

https://www.cannonballfestival.org/donate

RECOMMENDED

Paige Phillips - The Tale of The Slaughtered Hog

https://theatrephiladelphia.org/whats-on-stage/the-tale-of-the-slaughtered-hog

Your Sunday Best

https://theatrephiladelphia.org/whats-on-stage/your-sunday-best

The World

https://theatrephiladelphia.org/whats-on-stage/the-world

Annie Wilson - Always The Hour

http://www.theanniewilson.com/always-the-hour-copy

The Light

Written by Loy A. Webb
Directed by J. Paul Nicholas

Featuring: Ang(ela) Bey and Abdul Sesay

February 2, 2023 — February 26, 2023

“Explosive and Exquisite” – Stage Left

Not every marriage proposal goes as planned. What started as the happiest day of a loving couple’s lives quickly unravels when ground-shifting accusations from the past surface. What The New York Times calls “compelling” and “visceral”, The Light by Loy A. Webb is a real-time rollercoaster ride of laughter, romance, and despair that uncovers how the power of love can be a healing beacon of light.

ABOUT

Dr. Kimmika L. H. Williams-Witherspoon (Dramaturg) PhD (Cultural Anthropology), M.A. (Anthropology), MFA (Theater), Graduate Certificate) Women’s Studies, B.A. (Journalism); is an Associate Professor of Urban Theater and Community Engagement and President of the Faculty Senate at Temple University. Author of Through Smiles and Tears: The History of African American Theater (From Kemet to the Americas) (Lambert Academic Publishing, 2011); The Secret Messages in African American Theater: Hidden Meaning Embedded in Public Discourse” (Edwin Mellen Publishing, 2006), she has had over 34 productions of her plays, her stage credits include over 20 productions, 8 one-woman shows and she has performed poetry in over 120 national and international venues. A contributing poet to 44 anthologies, 11 books of poetry, 9 book chapters, 10 journal articles and 2 books on African American Theater.

FOR TICKETS AND INFORMATION: https://theatreexile.org

Today on a podcast, I turn over the virtual studio to the team that keeps Broad Street Review running. In a sort of Year in Review, our lead editors and Executive Director share some of their media recommendations as the year draws to a close. Here is a chat with Editor-In-Chief, Alaina Johns, Associate Editor, Kyle V. Hiller and Executive Director, Neil Bardhan of Broad Street Review.

Some of BSR’s Media Recommendations:

BOOKS

Merlin Sheldrake - Entangled Life

https://www.merlinsheldrake.com/entangled-life

Adrienne Maree Brown - Pleasure Activism

https://www.akpress.org/pleasure-activism.html

You Have A Match - Emma Lord

https://us.macmillan.com/books/9781250237309/youhaveamatch

TELEVISION

Severance - AppleTV

https://tv.apple.com/us/show/severance/umc.cmc.1srk2goyh2q2zdxcx605w8vtx

Derry Girls - Netflix

https://www.netflix.com/title/80238565

Power Rangers

https://powerrangers.hasbro.com/en-us

Midnight Diner - Netflix

https://www.netflix.com/title/80113541

Support Broad Street Review: https://www.broadstreetreview.com/donate-to-bsr