Community Conversation: The Philadelphia Thing
hosted by Rebecca Wright, Nia Benjamin, Andrew Simonet, and Daniel Park
Philadelphia + Los Angeles
JUNE 8, 9pm
A frank and wide-ranging, collaboratively-made conversation around the state of independent performance in Philadelphia in 2019. Amid a changing landscape for independent/DIY Philadelphia performing artists, The Philadelphia Thing seeks new strategies for resource-sharing, marketplace advocacy, and presentation/dissemination of performance made here. What are the unique conditions of making work here that define the work aesthetically, ethically, and in the way it meets the world? How can we as a community of independent artists embrace interdependence, encourage transparency, and advocate for the resources we need?
This endeavor is named with admiration, gratitude, and apologies to Mark Lord, who coined the title “The Philadelphia Thing” for a Headlong Performance eXchange conversation in the summer of 2015.