Into the Absurd with Tina Brock

Liz Goldberg has taught Fashion Illustration at The Pratt Institute and Drexel University for the past 11 years. Her work is an exploration of the theme of the “diva” – the flamboyantly uninhibited female and the personal and political empowerment she represents. As a painter, graphic artist, and animator, Liz has been inspired by puppets and absurdist theatre, influenced by puppet–like characters reminiscent of Alfred Jarry's forerunner of absurdist theater, Ubu-Roi, the buffoons of modernist playwright Michel de Ghelderode, the existentialist mime plays of Samuel Beckett, and the symbolist and political figures of European puppet theater. Liz has developed these “diva” and puppet-inspired works into experimental animated films in collaboration with filmmaker Warren Bass, broadcast on American Public Television and cable, receiving awards and juried recognition in over 20 countries. The works use animation as an analog to painting, dance and poetry, and are intended to re-define the paradigm of what an animation can be. The process of animation has, in turn, influenced her full-scale paintings and works-on-paper producing diptychs, triptychs, and serial prints with progressive deviations. In 2018, Liz and Warren produced “Vogueing and Other Pleasures” shown at the Film Festival at the Barnes in conjunction with the Musee de Paris. In 2018, the film was also shown as part of “Contexualizing Fashion” at Pratt. A full room installation was created at Joan Shepp where Liz was a resident artist for 3 years 2017- 2020, installing the entire space with 1,750 hand-drawn cells from the animation, as well as paintings and prints.Liz's work was recently part of MINIFEST at Theaterlab - a fun and vibrant event that brought together a variety of artists to share short works throughout Theaterlab's full loft on September 18 and 19 in New York City. MINIFEST is an afternoon of tiny delights, short sparks of new work, and other small surprises. Last produced on March 8, 2020, days before theater closed. This year's MINIFEST focused on Fashion and the Body. Participating artists included Marco Casazza, Liza Cassidy, Blane Charles, Orietta Crispino, Jed Distler, Liz Goldberg, Naoki Iwakawa, Michaela Lind, Stefanie Nelson, Lisa Silvestri, Alex Sollitto, Lesley Ware, Louisa Willis, Ulisespal, Glenna Yu and Lanie Zipoy. ~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/Idiopathi...ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Michael P. Toner has been acting, directing, dialect coaching and specializing in Irish theatre for over 49 years. His recent roles include doing Phil Hogan in O'Neill's Moon For The Misbegotten for Walnut Street Theatre (with national tour). Other WST credits include She Stoops to Conquer, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, Conversations With My Father, 1776, Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, and The Caretaker. Other Brian Friel plays include Volunteers, Dancing At Lughnasa, Aristocrats, Translations and his one-man play based on Friel's works, The Humours Of Ballybeg. Recent roles include Knacker Woods in Marie Jones's Rock Doves, Vladimir in Beckett's Waiting for Godot and the one-man play Crossing The Threshold into the House of Bach by David Simpson for Amaryllis Theatre.Other Irish roles include Vladimir in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Krapp in Beckett's Krapp's Last Tape, Mr. Rice in Brian Friel's Molly Sweeney, Owen in the East Coast premiere of Friel's Translations, Michael / Narrator in Friel's Dancing At Lughnasa, Maurice in Conor Mc Pherson's The Night Alive, An Irish Man in Tom Murphy's The Gigli Concert, Trooper O'Hara in Sebastian Barry's White Woman Street, Eugene O'Neill in Pat Nolan's Midnight Rainbows, Doctor McSharry in Martin Mc Donagh's The Cripple Of Inishmaan, among many others.His one-person plays include Beginning to End and Nohow On, based upon Beckett's writings, An Evening with Mister Dooley, drawn from Finley Peter Dunne's writings, his own Ever Yours, F. Scott Fitzgerald. Mr. Toner has performed for the Villanova Shakespeare Festival, the Carnegie-Mellon University Beckett Festival, the New York W.B. Yeats Society, the International James Joyce Symposium, the NYC A Dublin Evening, the NYC Gotham Book Mart Bloomsday, the Meadowlands Irish Festival, the American Shaw Festival, and he is a founding reader for the Rosenbach Museum & Library Bloomsday Festival. ~~~~~~~We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again.If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week's guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information.To keep up with who's on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/.... To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight, we talked with Mark Fitzgerald Wilson, Executive Director of the Zoellner Arts Center at Lehigh University about his journey from professional opera singer to arts administrator, his early and important years working in loss prevention (which included learning how to spot shoplifters), knowing your superpower, lessons learned from wise professors along the road, and what's in store this season at Zoellner.~~~~~~~Mark Fitzgerald Wilson was named Executive Director of Zoellner Arts Center in July 2020. Mark joined Zoellner from the Jay and Linda Grunin Center for the Arts at Ocean County College where he served as Executive Director of Cultural Programs and Partnerships. Over the last 20 years, Mark has been a leader in arts administration, a music professor, a professional opera singer and a corporate director. During his tenure at the Grunin Center, he planned and managed all aspects of the campus-based performing arts center including long-range artistic and strategic planning, programming, operations, finances, marketing, fundraising, educational and community engagement. In recognition of his contributions, he received the Ocean County College Presidential Leadership Award for Campus Wide Impact. Mark has a Bachelor of Music from Simpson College and a Master of Music degree from the University of Houston.In his role as Executive Director of Zoellner, Mark is responsible for the overall leadership of the center, a crucial function of championing goals and values, setting direction and inspiration. The position also directs and implements the artistic vision in alignment with the center's mission.~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight, we talked with Lane Savadove, the Founding Artistic Director of EgoPo Classic Theater about performing during pandemic, EgoPo's upcoming season Awakenings and Transformations, and much more, featuring several special appearances by his daughter on location attending a very special birthday party (https://www.egopo.org).~~~~~~~Lane Savadove is the Founding Artistic Director of EgoPo Classic Theater, now in its 27th season.Lane has directed over 40 shows for EgoPo, Off-Broadway, regionally in San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Provincetown, Philadelphia and on National Public Radio. He was the resident director of the National Cultural Center of Indonesia (1996-7), Artistic Director of Jean Cocteau Repertory (2004-5), and Associate Artistic Director of the Living Theater (1989-90).An Independence Foundation Fellow, Drama League Directing Fellow, Shubert Fellow, Henry Luce Fellow, TCG Leadership recipient. His works include: Beckett's Company (NPR and 6 cities); world premiere of Tennessee Williams' House Not Meant to Stand (Southern Repertory); Wedekind's Spring Awakening (Phila, New Orleans), Maeterlinck's Bluebird (Phila.), the world premiere of John Guare's 10-hour Lydie Breeze Trilogy. Savadove's staging of Chekhov's Seagull won the company the 2017 Barrymore award for Best Production. He holds an MFA in Directing from Columbia University and BA from Haverford College. Lane was a Professor of Acting and Directing at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, The National University of Indonesia, and Head of Directing at Loyola-New Orleans. He is currently Head of Acting and Directing and Full Professor of Theater at Rowan University in New Jersey.Creating in Philadelphia: "It can be easy to accept the estimation that we're not a place that's bursting with deep thinkers because so many outsiders see us strictly as inhabitants of a blue collar city...and, of course, that's complete nonsense. It's been my experience that there's plenty of brain power generated on a daily basis, and I think that's particularly evident when you look at theater companies and what they're collectively trying to convey to us, namely, that it's perfectly acceptable to seek answers and apply your findings for the good of so many.” - Lane SavadoveEgo Po Classic Theater Season 2021-2022Awakenings and TransformationsAlice: not your child's wonderlandBased on Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in WonderlandAdapted by Dane Eissler & Jenna KuerziDirected by Dane EisslerAt Glen Foerd, public park and museum, 5001 Grant AveSeason Launch Event: Tuesday, September 28thFringe Performances: Wednesday and Thursday, September 29th and 30thTickets and more info at www.egopo.org/aliceWine in the Wildernessby Alice ChildressDirected by Damien J. WallacePerforms Jan 19-30 at the Louis Bluver at the DrakeLife is a DreamBased on the play by Pedro Calderon de la BarcaCreated by Brenna Geffers & Felipe VergaraDirected by Brenna GeffersPerforms March 16-27 at Theatre ExileCurse of the Starving Classby Sam ShepardDirected by Lane SavadovePerforms June 15-26 at Drexel's URBN Center Annex Black Box~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Sharon Geller is a comedic actress who has appeared on SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE 4 times and on The TODAY Show as “Lucy”.After spending 10 years in the corporate world, Sharon followed her heart and decided to pursue her first love – acting. Her radio and TV commercials have won awards and she can currently be seen in a national TV commercial for Colonial Penn Life Insurance.Since 2012, Sharon has performed in the national touring company of the off-Broadway hit “OLD JEWS TELLING JOKES,” which is a tribute to the Borscht Belt and the birth of Jewish humor.After winning the Manhattan Monologue Slam in 2007 for presenting the best monologue in New York City, Sharon's musical improv troupe, MC Hammerstein, became the first musical improv house team at the PIT (People's Improv Theatre) in NY.In addition to being a spokeswoman on QVC, Sharon teaches comedy improv at the Walnut Street Theatre and IMPROV FOR LAWYERS, a course she created, at the Thomas R. Kline School of Law at Drexel University. She presents her CLE, ‘A FUNNY THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO ARBITRATION – Great Communication Techniques for Lawyers' to the ABA, PBI and law firms around the country. She also leads corporate workshops on communication where she teaches people to think more quickly on their feet, be a team player and think outside of the box. Clients include Johnson & Johnson, Janssen Pharmaceuticals and Berkshire Hathaway Realtors.Her 1-woman show, ‘KNOCK, KNOCK…JEWS THERE? A Talmudic Take on Comedy' about the importance of laughter and comedy in Judaism has received rave reviews from Jewish organizations around the country.Globally, Sharon has taught improv workshops for Tel Aviv Improv and at the St. John School of the Arts in the Caribbean. ~~~~~~~We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again.If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week's guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information.To keep up with who's on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/....To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight on Into the Absurd, we talked with singer and actress Trudy Graboyes about her love of musical theater, her many roles in stages throughout the Philadelphia area, her background in theater producing and her upcoming one woman show based on her grandmother's immigrant experience titled Her Strength, Our Story. ~~~~~~~ Trudy Graboyes is a Philadelphia based singer and actor. She is currently in rehearsal for her one woman show, Her Strength, Our Story. Recent stage appearances include the Chaperone in THE DROWSY CHAPERONE and Mrs Brice in FUNNY GIRL at the Broadway Theater in Pitman, New Jersey, Mrs. STRAKOSH and Vera at The Candlelight Dinner Theater and Rose in GYPSY at Shannondell Performing Arts Center. She was nominated for both a 2014 Perry award and 2014 Broadway World best actress award as Fraulein Schneider in CABARET, the musical. Trudy was nominated for and won The Subscribers Choice Award from The Ritz Theater for her portrayal of Yente in the musical, FIDDLER ON THE ROOF. She appeared in, IF THE SLIPPER FITS with the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, in RAGTIME at Centre Theater, in NUNSENSE JAMBOREE and ANNIE at the Media Theater. In ANNIE Trudy was cast in the ensemble and was understudy to Ms. Hannigan who was played by comedienne, Wanda Sykes. Trudy has performed at Walnut Street, Arden, Ritz, Hedgerow, Plays and Players, and New York Dinner Theaters. She was in the cast of TONY AND TINAS' WEDDING Show for 6 years (as Mrs. Vitale; mother of the bride). Trudy is also a cabaret singer. Her cabaret, DUSTPAN DIVA, a history of American musicals told through the eyes of a cleaning woman, was produced at NYC's cabaret, Don't Tell Mama to rave reviews. Trudy wrote, produced, and is the singer on the children's tape entitled, DOODLE DEE DOO. Trudy's day job is as a Standardized Patient for medical schools and clinical skills programs in the region. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist... And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Ari is a Professor at The Community College of Philadelphia where he teaches classes designed to enhance empathy levels; he also provides all sorts of information his students would prefer not to know, but should know, such as the fact that almost all coffee originates from beans collected from children forced to labor on plantations (way to go Starbucks!) He is also a highly talented dog-walker for rescues looking for homes, a passionate volunteer at food distribution centers, and a person with a megaphone who likes to shout random compliments to people walking in Center City. In addition, Ari is an activist for human rights and for animal welfare ... he has led many marches in Philadelphia and has also collected hundreds of pounds of cat food for the kitties in local animal shelters. He is a published poet, short story writer, and essayist ... but he quit writing altogether because Ari felt it was becoming a bad habit. Ari is also a recent film maker who has starred in a short movie about himself (so selfish!) and he once worked with the IRC as a volunteer house manager who forgot to collect money from ticket sales; working for IRC again seems doubtful due to loss in revenue. Recently, Ari was an independent presidential candidate in 2020, and he is now eyeing another run for public office, but is unlikely to ever win since he accidentally started a rumor that Steve Martin had passed away this summer via a tweet reply that went viral (but Steve Martin did tweet Ari back which is awesome!) Ari lives in the city with his drop-dead gorgeous wife Kirsten Quinn, two cats that like to sleep on his belly, and himself of course.

Lisa Grunberger is the author of three books: Yiddish Yoga: Ruthie's Adventures in Love, Loss and the Lotus Position (Harper Collins); Born Knowing (Finishing Line Press) and I am dirty (Moonstone Press, First Prize Winner). A Pushcart nominee and Temple University Professor, her work has appeared in a wide variety of publications including The New York Times, Hanging Loose Press, Crab Orchard Review, Mudfish, Krytyka Literacka, Bridges: A Jewish Feminist Journal, The Drunken Boat, Paroles du Jour, and The Mom Egg Review. Her play about motherhood, infertility, and assisted reproductive technologies, Almost Pregnant, is currently under artistic development at the Squeaky Bicycle Theatre company in NYC and is published by Smith Scripts. Her work has been translated into Russian, Yiddish, French, Slovenian and Hebrew. Her play Evidence or Moon Immigrants premiered in NYC's Manhattan Theatre Company in 2018. Her one-act play “Alexa Talks to Rebecca, or “I'm sorry there are some things I cannot do yet, and explaining why is one of them” won the Audience Choice Award when it was produced in The Squeaky Bicycle's Guts and Glory Playwriting Contest in 2021. Lisa teaches Narrative Medicine and Yoga and Writing at the Lewis Katz School of Medicine. When she's not being a mom, a professor and a poet, she teaches Yoga and Writing Workshops at The Healing Arts Center in Philadelphia. She is currently working on her memoir, Spit: A Jewish Adopted Woman's Reckoning with her Refugee Origins. Lisa earned her doctorate in Comparative Religion and American Cultural History from the University of Chicago Divinity School where she studied the fascist health politics of early twentieth century fitness guru Bernarr Macfadden and how the gym serves as our modern cathedral. She double majored in English and Religious Studies at the University of Rochester where she was a DJ who conducted one of the first national interviews on AIDS in 1985.~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRvAnd while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Dirk Durossette has been designing scenery and teaching design, and drawing and rendering for the theater for the past 20 years in and around the Philadelphia region. Off-Broadway scene designs include: The Outgoing Tide and Any Given Monday. He has designed for Amaryllis Theater Company, Azuka Theater (Barrymore Nomination-Skin and Bone), Act II Playhouse (Any Given Monday-World Premier), Enchantment Theater Company (National Tour-Harold and the Purple Crayon), Theater Exile, 1812 Productions (First Day of School-Philadelphia Premier), Delaware Theatre Company, EgoPo Classic Theatre, Freedom Theater, Flashpoint Theater, Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, InterAct Theater Company, Lantern Theater (Barrymore Nomination- Skylight), Luna Theater, Painted Bird Productions (A Few Small Repairs-World Premier), Theater Horizon, Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater ,MumPuppetTheatre, Portland Opera (Maine), The Wilma Theater (Leaving- Associate Designer-American Premier), Temple Theaters, Temple Opera Theater, University of the Arts, Drexel University, Lawrence University (Wisconsin), Peabody Institute (Baltimore), West Chester University, Villanova University, The University of Memphis. He continues to design private commissions for weddings, special events, and lobby displays in and around greater Philadelphia.For three seasons he served as Resident Scene designer for PlayPenn's New Play Development Conference in Philadelphia where he consulted on the design aspects of new plays and collaborated with playwrights in a workshop setting. Additionally, his work has been featured in the Philadelphia Inquirer, American Theatre Magazine and the Da Vinci Art Alliance's publication “Envisioning Shakespeare at 450.” He has taught theatrical design at The University of the Arts, Temple University, Ocean County College and Villanova University. He currently serves as a full-time faculty member in the Design/Tech program at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. MFA Scene Design from Temple University.~~~~~~~We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again.If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week's guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who's on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/677648/join-our-mailing-list/.To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRvAnd while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Mark Williams (he/him) is a Projections and Media Graduate Student attending the University of Maryland. An associate for VidCo: Virtual Design Collective, he designed set dressings and camera solutions for Geffen Playhouse's hit live Zoom production, Someone Else's House, described as “A frightening digital coup-de-theatre.” by The New York Times. -The New York TimesAs a Props and Puppetry Freelancer from the Philadelphia region, he has worked in theatres such as Delaware Theatre Company, The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Hangar Theatre, The Walnut, Opera Delaware, and Theatre Horizon. Learn more athttps://www.Markwdesign.com On Geffen Playhouse's Someone Else's House: Obie Award-winning multimedia artist Jared Mezzocchi has a harrowing story to tell: his family's frightening, true-life haunting inside a 200-year-old New England house. Flip the switch, light your candles, and prepare yourself (as best you can) for this first-hand story of terror with the latest interactive production from the Geffen Stayhouse.On Mark: “My own work begins with the primary goal of theatre, which Charles Mee described as “a practice for life." In its most basic sense this means what we witness in the performance space should develop us as persons, and better prepare us for the contradictions abound in life. Bitter sweetness and emotional ambivalence are representative of the human condition and should be represented by the characters we seek on stage. I seek contradiction, irony, hypocrisy, and to unravel how people make decisions. I'm interested in developing performance ideas that heighten the reactivity between performer, audience, and design. To reduce the static nature of projection and media brings it more in line with the liveness of theatre and dance.”

Tonight, we talked with Darnelle Edwin Radford about what's wonderfully unique about the Philadelphia Theater community, how being a Barrymore nominator opened his eyes about seeing theater, how he's always hopeful for excellence when attending a show, “The Business of Broadway” and his advice for those wanting start their own theater company.~~~~~~~Darnelle Edwin Radford is a theater producer living in Philadelphia, PA. He founded two production companies, Represented Theatre Company and Em3ry. He is the Producer and Host of Rep Radio, now in its 12th season and Broad Street Review Podcast, now in its 5th season. Other hats he wears, IT Guy, Photographer, Baker, Writer, Analyst and Consultant.He has studied Video Production and Multimedia and Web Design at the Art Institute of Philadelphia and Arts Administration at New York University.~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Our guests tonight were Joanna Rotté and John Zak. We talked about the unique challenges of directing and playing in Tennessee Williams, including Joanna's experience with his works studying with Stella Adler, how Brando's interpretation of Stanley in A Streetcar Named Desire impacted the play's female characters, the quintessential Williams actor, and the differences between his two plays Summer and Smoke and The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. ~~~~~~~Joanna Rotté is a theatre director of non-mainstream work and a member of Actors Equity Association. She holds the position of Professor Emeritus at Villanova University, where she served on the faculty for 30 years, including 7 years as Chair of the Department of Theatre and 5 years as Director of East Asia Studies. Her books include Scene Change (A Theatre Diary: Prague, Moscow, Leningrad) and Acting with Adler. Her essays on theatre, art, and culture – written for The Soul of the American Actor Newspaper and Broad Street Review – can be found at http://joannarotte.com.A longtime meditation practitioner, she's narrated five books written by Pema Chodron. Joanna periodically posts a blog called DharmaTheatre. You are cordially invited to visit http://joannarotte.com/blog/ and you may subscribe: http://joannarotte.com/contact/John Zak is an actor and voice over artist currently based in Philadelphia, PA. John made his debut with IRC in The Bald Soprano and is glad to be back for more. John was previously seen in Come Back Little Sheba and The Eccentricities of a Nightingale. Other theatre credits of note: Mr. Kraler The Diary of Anne Frank (People's Light & Theatre); Michael The Pillowman (Luna Theatre)*; My Wonderful Day (Wilma Theater)*; Amadeus (Walnut Street Theatre); Jihad Jones & the Kalashnikov Babes (InterAct Theatre), The Life of Galileo (Wilma Theater), Red, White & Tuna (Walnut Street Theatre), The European Lesson, Jo Stromgren Kompani (Philadelphia Live Arts/Norway tour), and Caliban The Tempest, (Philadelphia Shakespeare Theatre)--Barrymore Award; and numerous other Shakespeare plays. *- denotes Barrymore nomination. ~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

In celebration of the first birthday of Into the Absurd, we dined virtually with artistic partners in life and theatrics, Sonja and David Robson. We talked about their first meeting in 1990 at an audition, their favorite theatrical project, Sonja's photography passion turned business, and David's memorable play critique from a star-studded playwriting panel in Alaska. David Robson is an award-winning playwright whose work for the stage has been hailed as "compelling", "forceful", and "gut-wrenching" by the New York Times, and "an important contribution to contemporary theater" by the Philadelphia Inquirer. His plays include BY THE EYE; WITHOUT CONSENT; BIRTHRIGHT (PlayPenn semi-finalist); CLAY WARRIOR; MULEHEADED; AFTER BIRTH OF A NATION (Best Delaware Playwright Award); PRICELESS; PLAYING THE ASSASSIN (Philadelphia Critics' Best Play Nomination); PLAYING LENI (co-written with John Stanton); A FEW SMALL REPAIRS; MAN MEASURES MAN (Barrymore Award nomination); and AFTER DENMARK. Work has been produced by TheaterWorks Hartford, Delaware Theatre Company, Penguin Rep, InterAct Theatre Company, Passage Theatre, and Act II Playhouse, among others. Robson was recently named Delaware's Best Playwright by Broadway World, and is recipient of the Hotel Obligado Audience Choice Award for New Work. Other honors include the Susan McIntyre Playwriting Award, the Panowski Playwriting Award (runner-up), and two playwriting fellowships and two grants from the Delaware Division of the Arts. Play development: Blank Theatre (Los Angeles), Bated Breath Theatre (Hartford, CT), Lark (NYC), White Pines Productions (Philadelphia, PA), City Theater Company (Wilmington, DE), Great Plains Theatre Conference (Omaha, NE), Last Frontier Theatre Conference (Valdez, AK), Rebel Theatre (NYC), and New Theatre (Coral Gables, FL). His plays and monologues are published by Smith and Kraus and Original Works Publishing. David is a member of the Dramatists' Guild, the Playwrights' Center, and is a former playwright in residence at the Lark Play Development Center in New York City. He is also the author of more than 20 books for young adults, including Shakespeare's Globe Theater, The Murder of Emmett Till, and The Black Arts Movement. He earned an MFA in creative writing from Goddard College, an MS in English Education from St. Joseph's University, and a BA in Communications from Temple University. He is a professor of English at Delaware County Community College, where he was awarded the Gould Award for Teaching Excellent in 2010.(https://www.davidrobsonplay.org/)Sonja Robson fell in love with photography as a teen when her big brother Millard guided her in purchasing the Minolta seen in this photo. She lived in Sweden most of her young life and moved to the States after graduating high school. She drifted a bit and later on received her BFA in Theatre at U of The Arts, however, she's always been more of a visual artist than a lover of fancy words. After many art classes (digital and otherwise) as well as photography classes, she inherited a collection of cameras and lenses from her photographer brother, Bill, and realized that she found her passion once again. She has an eye for detail and love to try to capture that intangible something that makes a person unique. Sonja was born in New York and raised in Stockholm, Sweden. She has been performing both on stage and film since 1990. She received her BFA in Acting from The University of The Arts. She has worked at many local theatres, including The Wilma, New City Stage, The Walnut and The Lantern. In 1998 she received a Supporting Actress Barrymore nomination for her role in The Lover/A Kind of Alaska at The Walnut, and she has also been seen in numerous local and national commercials. Sonja was last seen in The Bald Soprano at The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium in February 2020. Other productions include Why Torture is Wrong and The People. who Love Them at New City Stage and Marriage, The Empire Builders, The Madwoman of Chaillot and The Castle with The IRC.(https://www.sonjaseye.com/)~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRvAnd while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Jeanette Jimenez is a retired high school inner city teacher of 36 years who has turned to photography in retirement as a way to connect with her father, the late Alexander Artway (Artemiev). Throughout her teaching career, Jeanette always looked to the arts to find inspiration on how to teach her students and inspire them. Whether it was taking them to the Painted Bride Art Center to look at visual art or to plays at the Society Hill Playhouse, she always found a way to inspire her students to look beyond any limitations. So when Jeanette found her father's photographs and negatives; his life's work in a suitcase all about to get thrown away after his passing, she knew she had to take them and save his work and her only family connection. 50 years pass, and Jeanette starts an inspiring journey sharing her father's photography archive; from taking photography courses at Temple, attending photography fairs in NYC, and working with curators and gallerists; all to leave a legacy for her father through his artwork.https://www.alexanderartway.com/https://www.apag.us/http://russiannobility.org/Katie Tackman is an artist, photographer, and fine art printer living and working in Philadelphia. Katie graduated from Drexel University with a Bachelor of Science degree in Photography. After graduating, she worked at Silicon Fine Art Printing in Old City for over 5 years where she joined a strong community of artists in Philadelphia. As a founding member of Gravy Studio + Gallery, she is the studio manager and co-curator of the photography exhibits and also has her own printing company KT Butterfield Photo + Print where she continues working with artists and photographers to create beautiful prints. Katie has been working with the Artway Archive for 3 years as the archive manager; archiving photos, organizing Artway exhibits locally and abroad, and collaborating with Jeanette to keep her father's photography alive.https://www.gravy-studio.com/https://www.ktbutterfield.com/https://www.2020photofestival.org/~~~~~~~Ivia Yavelow, Iryna Mozoa, and Alice Cutler have also significantly contributed to the Artway Archive by assisting with writing, translation, design, and all around support for the archive. We would also like to mention Stephen Perloff of the Photo Review, Stephen Bulger Gallery, Alan Klotz Gallery, Peter Barbarie of the PMA, and APAG for their help and guidance throughout our journey.~~~~~~~Alexander Artway (Artemiev)Alexander Artemiev was born March 25, 1903 in Gomel, Belarus, Russia. He was the youngest of nine children. As a teenager he fought in the White Army and was wounded in his left leg. He fled and went into exile in Europe (Belgrade, Prague, Paris) for years until he was able to enter America. He entered on Ellis Island in June of 1922 under the name Alexander Artway.He remained in New York City for the next 18 years. He joined the Merchant Marines and later became a captain of ships and sailed around the world taking pictures.He saw much more of the world than the average person of these times and led a rather unconventional life.Artway was fascinated by the skyscrapers going up. He photographed New York's iconic structures from every angle and rooftop, and perhaps even from airplanes. He attended NYU and earned a degree in architecture in 1934.Away from all family but his brother John, who lived in Brooklyn, Artway had to seek out new connections. He found Lena, a woman whose family was still in Ukraine. The two explored the city together and carried on an affair that lasted many years.Artway photographed nearly compulsively for about 15 years and only slowed down after the birth of his first child. In Philadelphia he became a true family man, and the photographs after 1942 are reflective of Artway's newfound identity.The Alexander Artway Archive contains approximately 3,000 vintage prints and 4,000 negatives. Housed in Philadelphia, the Archive strives to research and promote the photography of Alexander Artway.Alexander Artway's work is in the collection of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.~~~~~~~We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again.If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week's guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who's on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/....To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight we talked with author Thom Nickels about his recently published book From Mother Divine to the Corner Swami: Religious Cults in Philadelphia: his interview with Mother Divine, experiences with Scientology, Bishop John the society tarot card reader, what keeps Philadelphians in Philadelphia, and his early fixation with eyebrows.~~~~~~~Thom Nickels is the author of fifteen books, including: Out in History (2005), Philadelphia Architecture (2005) and Spore (2010). Nickels was nominated for a Lambda Literary Award for, Two Novellas: Walking Water & After All This (1990) and awarded the Philadelphia AIA Lewis Mumford Award for Architectural Journalism in 2005. His poetry has appeared in Van Gogh's Ear anthology (Paris). His column, Different Strokes in the Philadelphia Welcomat in the 1980s, was the first out gay column in a mainstream newspaper in the nation.He has written for a variety of national and regional publications, including the Huffington Post, Passport Magazine (New York), Philadelphia Tribune, Philadelphia City Paper, The Philadelphia Bulletin (2003-2005), The Philadelphia Inquirer, Travel Weekly, The Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Magazine. His essay on his years as a conscientious objector during the Vietnam War was published by The New Oxford Review and reprinted in the Oklahoma Humanities Magazine, Vietnam issue, Fall/Winter 2017. He was the theater critic for ICON Magazine, the architecture critic for Metro Philadelphia and has been a columnist for PJ Media (Los Angeles), The Philadelphia Inquirer, The Philadelphia Daily News and Philadelphia Magazine.Thom currently writes a weekly column for the Philadelphia Free Press and The Philadelphia Irish Edition. He is a regular contributor to City Journal, New York, the Delaware Valley Journal and Philadelphia's Broad + Liberty.Literary Philadelphia: A History of Prose & Poetry in the City of Brotherly Love was published by The History Press in 2015 and was featured as the main book review in the Sunday edition of The Philadelphia Inquirer. His scholarly essay on Philadelphia essayist Agnes Repplier was the cover feature essay in the Winter issue of The American Catholic Studies Journal (Villanova University), 2015.His book, Philadelphia Mansions: Stories and Characters Behind the Walls was published by The History Press in March 2018.His book, From Mother Divine to the Corner Swami: Religious Cults in Philadelphia (Fonthill Media, UK) was published in October 2020.Nickels was the featured speaker at the Walt Whitman Annual Birthday Party, Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at the Walt Whitman House in Camden.Nickels co-founded the Arts Defense League (later renamed the Coalition for Philadelphia Art), a grassroots organization instrumental in keeping Maxfield Parrish's ‘The Dream Garden' in Philadelphia's Curtis Building after an attempted buy-out in the mid-1990's by Las Vegas casino mogul, Steve Wynn. This grassroots campaign brought media attention to the issue and served to galvanize state and city support to keep “Dream Garden' in Philadelphia after a photograph of Nickels with a colleague picketing the Curtis Center was published on page one of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Nickels was interviewed and photographed extensively by People Magazine for his efforts. Numerous interviews in the local press followed in the weeks following the founding of the Arts Defense League.Nickels, a native of Malvern, Pennsylvania, attended Eastern College, Baltimore, Maryland (now part of the University of Maryland), Immaculata University, and the Charles Morris Price School in Philadelphia where he was editor of the school magazine and where he was awarded The Carrie May Price Award for Best Student Work in Journalism.List of Published Works (Books):The Cliffs of Aries (Aegina Press) 1988Two Novellas: Walking Water & After All This, (Banned Books), 1989The Boy on the Bicycle (Starbooks Press), 1992, 1993Manayunk (Arcadia Publishing), 1996Gay and Lesbian Philadelphia (Arcadia Publishing), 1999Tropic of Libra (Starbooks Press), 2002Philadelphia Architecture (Arcadia Publishing), 2005Out in History (Starbooks Press), 2005Spore (Starbooks Press), 2009Walking on Water & After All This (Revised edition; Starbooks Press) 2011Legendary Locals of Center City Philadelphia (Arcadia Publishing), 2014Literary Philadelphia: A History of Poetry & Prose in the City of Brotherly Love (The History Press), 2015Learn to Do a Bad Thing Well: Looking for Johnny Bobbitt, Amazon Books, 2019.Philadelphia Mansions: Stories and Characters behind the Walls(The History Press), 2018The Perils of Homelessness, (Amazon, 2019).From Mother Divine to the Corner Swami: Religious Cults in Philadelphia (Fonthill Media, UK), 2020Anthologies:Smash the Church, Smash the State: The Early Years of Gay Liberation (City Lights Books, San Francisco, CA)~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRvAnd while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight we talked with writer Carla Sarett about how meditation informs her writing practice, her study of children's fantasy play, her novella The Looking Glass, and why she prefers a notebook over writing on a computer.~~~~~~~Carla Sarett is a poet, essayist and fiction writer. Her recent poems have appeared in Blue Unicorn, San Pedro River Review, Prole, ONE ART, The Virginia Normal, The Remington Review and elsewhere; her essays have been nominated for Best American Essays. She awaits publication of a novella, The Looking Glass, and in 2022, a novel, A Closet Feminist. Carla has a Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania, and currently lives in San Francisco (but misses Philadelphia.). Learn more at https://carlasarett.blogspot.com/Samples of Carla's work:Poem: “Ruth's Lily”https://www.dustpoetry.co.uk/post/ruth-s-lily-by-carla-sarettFlash fiction: "At least five things" https://www.thesunlightpress.com/2021/03/22/at-least-five-things/Short fiction: "Prepared" https://www.hobartpulp.com/web_features/preparedShort fiction: "The Bad Luck" https://acrossthemargin.com/the-bad-luck/Poem: "dead my mother moves in" https://www.wordsandwhispers.org/dead-my-mother-moves-inPoem: "who jumped in the water" https://www.bowerygothic.com/poetry-2020-4Poem". "we used to watch The Searchers" https://isacoustic.com/2020/09/28/person-carla-sarett-two-poems/Essay: "No Margarets"https://carlasarett.blogspot.com/2020/03/jewish-marys-or-more-about-names.htmlEssay: "Mr. Helen"https://carlasarett.blogspot.com/2019/05/mr-helen-by-carla-sarett.htmlEssay: "Dmitri's Cat"https://carlasarett.blogspot.com/2019/04/dmitris-cat.html~~~~~~~We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again.If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week's guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who's on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/677648/join-our-mailing-list/.To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLj9sR3Pi7_igB845rllrtsLhtqYnuwDRvAnd while you're there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Kirsten Quinn is a founding member of the Irish Heritage Theatre and has performed in Philadelphia Here I Come, Juno and The Paycock, Molly Sweeney, By the Bog of Cats, Lay Me Down Softly and Woman and Scarecrow. She has also performed in many productions with The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium including Rhinoceros, The Castle, Betty's Summer Vacation, The Madwoman of Chaillot, The Arsonists, The Empire Builders and others. Kirsten holds an M.F.A. from the University of Pittsburgh (Acting) and is an Associate Professor of Theatre at Community College of Philadelphia. In addition to her work with IHT and IRC Kirsten has acted in over sixty productions including shows at the Wilma, the Lantern, The PAC, Isis Productions, EgoPo Classic Theatre, Seagull Productions, InterAct, The Eagle Theatre, The Eternal Spiral Project (founder), New City Stage, Montgomery Theatre, The Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Luna Theatre, Dan Hodge's Independent Shakespeare Company, and many others. Kirsten recently won the 2016-17 Phindie Critics' Award for Best Actress for Molly Sweeney and was nominated along with the rest of the Ensemble for a Barrymore Award for Ego Po's The Seagull. She is also the recipient of a Bronze Telly Award and the Irish Echo Community Champion Award. ~~~~~~~ To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's You Tube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCc7NYk0ZSkujKEwq1jvz78w/videosand we hope you'll subscribe while you're there, to keep up with weekly episodes Also check out the podcast on your favorite platforms: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-absurd-with-tina-brock/id1545400092

MICHAEL P. TONER has been acting, directing, dialect coaching and specializing in Irish theatre for over 49 years. His recent roles include doing Phil Hogan in O’Neill’s MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN for Walnut Street Theatre (with national tour). Other WST credits include SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME!, CONVERSATIONS WITH MY FATHER, 1776, SOMEONE WHO’LL WATCH OVER ME, and THE CARETAKER. Other Brian Friel plays include VOLUNTEERS, DANCING AT LUGHNASA, ARISTOCRATS, TRANSLATIONS and his one-man play based on Friel’s works, THE HUMOURS OF BALLYBEG. Recent roles include Knacker Woods in Marie Jones’s ROCK DOVES, Vladimir in Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT and the one-man play CROSSING THE THRESHOLD INTO THE HOUSE OF BACH by David Simpson for Amaryllis Theatre. Other Irish roles include Vladimir in Samuel Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT, Krapp in Beckett’s KRAPP’S LAST TAPE, Mr. Rice in Brian Friel’s MOLLY SWEENEY, Owen in the East Coast premiere of Friel’s TRANSLATIONS, Michael / Narrator in Friel’s DANCING AT LUGHNASA, Maurice in Conor Mc Pherson’s THE NIGHT ALIVE, Irish man in Tom Murphy’s THE GIGLI CONCERT, Trooper O’Hara in Sebastian Barry’s WHITE WOMAN STREET, Eugene O’Neill in Pat Nolan’s MIDNIGHT RAINBOWS, Doctor Mc sharry in Martin Mc Donagh’s THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN, among many others. His one-person plays include BEGINNING TO END and NOHOW ON, based upon Beckett’s writings, AN EVENING WITH MISTER DOOLEY, drawn from Finley Peter Dunne’s writings, his own EVER YOURS, .SCOTT FITZGERALD. Mr. Toner has performed for the Villanova Shakespeare Festival, the Carnegie-Mellon University Beckett Festival, the New York W.B. Yeats Society, the International James Joyce Symposium, the NYC “A Dublin Evening, the NYC Gotham Book Mart Bloomsday, the Meadowlands Irish Festival, the American Shaw Festival, and he is a founding reader for the Rosenbach Museum & Library Bloomsday Festival.

Anna Kiraly is a visual artist, set and video designer. Her collaborations include set design for CHEKHOV LIZARDBRAIN, ISABELLA, and PAY UP with the Pig Iron Theatre Company, set design for TIME'S JOURNEY THROUGH A ROOM with Dan Rothenberg/The Play Co., set and video for CITY OF NO ILLUSIONS, BURNISHED BY GRIEF, THE GOLDEN TOAD, MARCELLUS SHALE and FLIP SIDE with the Talking Band, set design for WALK ACROSS AMERICA (with Taylor Mac/The Talking Band) and MISALLIANCE, PARADISE PARK and THE CASTLE with Tina Brock/IRC. Other recent and past productions include set for THE SEAGULL at Colgate University, set/video for TRANSLATIONS and UBU (with S. Fogarty for Barnard College) and DOG AND WOLF (J. Randich at 59E59), installation design for 36 PEAKS (with S. Sunde at the Baryshnikov Arts Center), THE GARDEN (N. Canuso Dance Company), costumes for KAFKA FRAGMENTS (P. Sellars at Zankel Hall).She was awarded a NYSCA 2021 grant for set design for a Beckett collaboration with Sharon Fogarty (in progress). She is a recipient of the Arts Link Grant, the NEA/TCG Program for Designers and the TCG New Generations (with the Talking Band). Her "noir" multimedia pieces THE QUAKE (at Ideal Glass), SLOW ASCENT and UFO (St. Ann’s Warehouse) won the Jim Henson Foundation’s support. Anna has collaborated with universities and colleges such as Barnard/Columbia, Fordham, The New School, Smith, Montclair, Lehigh and Colgate and designed for opera productions (AOP, Hungarian Opera, Zankell Hall) and concerts (YPC/ New York Philharmonic). She is an adjunct lecturer teaching Scenic Design and Media at Barnard College/Columbia University.~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/Idiopathi...​ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...​And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

James Jackson is a freelance fashion photographer; artist of theatre direction, design, and production; and a cinematographer, who learned most of what he knows from a long career of taking jobs in a multitude of art fields. He started learning at the feet of my artistic family and as I grew I kept pursuing the arts as both a passion and an endeavor. “Along the way I've learned to travel light; eat well: call on reserves of energy I didn't know I had when I needed them; and to always be exploring the world with my eyes, ears, heart, and mind.Light Thief Productions:Light Thief LLC is a production company serving the technical, creative, and equipment needs of business clients in the theatrical, live event, photography, film, advertising, video, and commercial production spaces.Light Thief Productions is centered around creating art that elevates the stories of black, indigenous, and minority communities. Our efforts are largely through the creation of science fiction and noir content in our directly produced work, and serving the cause of justice and social good in productions of activist and social justice work.James Jackson’s Coffee Talk: Every Wednesday at 10am, James Jackson - Executive Producer of Light Thief Productions - hosts a conversation about the arts, social issues, and current events from the perspective of the minority communities of the city of Philadelphia. Pulling guests from across the spectrum of economic, social, and political views James talks about what’s going on and what we can do to make the world a better place.

Gregory DeCandia has engaged the industry as an educator, performer, director, podcaster, and cultivator of new works in five different states and abroad. He is the Founder and current Executive Director of Ignition Arts. For the last four years he was the Head of the BA Theatre and Performance devising program at Oklahoma City University. Most recently Gregory was on stage as James Reston Jr in Frost/Nixon at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma. Last May marked his digital directorial debut with elevated, a devised film adaptation of the poetry graphic novel elevated thoughts: 100 shadormas from 9,000 ft. from Literati Press. His new play Animals received a reading at the National Winter Playwrights Retreat 2019 and a 2020 workshop with Ignition Arts. Gregory also tours his solo docudrama Silhouettes Of Service and has created four podcasts:Thank You 10, Fair Play, Devising, and The Brennan Book Blog Podcast. He is a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill (MFA) and Emerson College (BFA) and a member of Actors’ Equity Association and the National Alliance of Acting Teachers.Kate Brennan is an artist, creator and educator. Her teaching roster has included University of Virginia, Temple University, St. Joseph's University, Rosemont College, Montgomery County Community College, and Merion Mercy among others. Kate has also taught with Theatre Direct International's Broadway Classroom program, McCarter Theatre, HB Studio and out of her private studio. Kate performed and taught for nearly a decade in Philadelphia before relocating to NYC a few years ago where Brennan Check-In was conceived. In Philadelphia she worked with companies including New Paradise Laboratories, Walnut Street Theatre, Luna Theatre Co., EgoPo Classic Theatre Co., Mauckingbird, Simpatico Theatre Project and Passage Theatre Co. A member of AEA, some of Kate's credits include: Angels in America, Parts I & II (Harper, BCKSEET Productions), Fatebook (Zo Ex, New Paradise Laboratories), [title of show] (Susan, Mauckingbird Theatre Co., Philly Premiere), Bachelorette (Katie, Luna Theatre Co.), Tooth & Claw (Ana u/s, Arden Theatre Co., World Premiere), Roundelay (Sonya/Pilar, Passage Theatre Co.), Live Stream (Marcy, Bristol Riverside Theatre), Dead Man's Cell Phone (Jean, Simpatico Theatre Project), Hedda Gabler (Hedda, UVA MFA), & The Assassination of Jesse James (Charles Ford, EgoPo Classic Theatre).Kate is the creator of Brennan Check-In. Drawing from a unique combination of Vinyasa yoga, Linklater Voicework, Thai Massage and Artistic Exercises, Check-In develops a creative habit that not only caters to the artist's performance skills, but serves the artist outside of the rehearsal hall. Check-In reinforces the resilience, stamina, resourcefulness, connection, initiative, positivity and health required to maintain a life in the arts. Gregory DeCandia gregorygdecandia@gmail.comIgnition Arts Founder/ Executive Director Artist: gregorydecandia.com Company: ignitionarts.org Project: silhouettesofservice.com Podcasts: ignitionarts.org/podcastsKate BrennanThe Person: www.katebrennan.orgThe Method: www.brennancheckin.comThe Company: www.ignitionarts.orgThe Podcast: brennan book blog podcastThe Blog: www.brennanbookblog.tumblr.com

Dan Scully is a writer, humorist, filmmaker, and script doctor who hails from South Philadelphia. After over a decade in the world of stand-up comedy, he moved into the worlds of writing and film — but typically with a comedic flair. He works as a film critic for MovieJawn.com, Phindie.com, and Cinema76.com. He also hosts the film podcast, I Like to Movie Movie, and the free-form silliness podcast Hot Property. Currently, he is developing a horror anthology film to be produced and shot in Philadelphia in late 2021 — his segment in the anthology will be his directorial debut. Podcast Links: https://ilike2movie.libsyn.com/ - I Like to Movie Moviehttps://open.spotify.com/show/6h429XCbEFthOdcoCBmgKI?si=lmehAOLJQw-aYYco2hSwiQ - Hot Property

Tonight on Into the Absurd we talked with Julia Levitina about her creative process as a sculptor and how learning to fly, competitive figure skating, making music, and Zen In the Art of Archery figure into her daily practice.(http://www.julialevitina.com).Julia Levitina was born and raised in Odessa, Ukraine. She currently lives and works in Philadelphia, splitting her time between the United States and France. Levitina creates powerful and elegant figurative sculpture in bronze that aims to capture the extraordinary in the ordinary. Her work strives to entice the feeling of awe as its creator searches for wisdom by way of wonder.Julia makes her own clay, molds, waxes, and does all subsequent casting and finishing of her bronzes, including melting and pouring metal, in her Philadelphia studio.Julia has held solo exhibitions of sculpture and drawings in Philadelphia and the Philadelphia area, and has participated in numerous group shows in the tri-state region. Nationally, Levitina’s work has been exhibited at the Frederick Meijer Sculpture Gardens, the Noyes Museum, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, among others. Internationally, she has shown at the City Hall in Odessa, Ukraine, St Jean des Arts in Normandy, France, La Maison Verte in Champagne-Ardenne, and at the Foundation Taylor in Paris. Levitina's bronzes can be found in various public and private collections in the US and in Europe, including Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, MI, Jewish Museum in Budapest, Hungary, Van Mieghem Museum in Antwerp, Belgium, and the Flanders House in New York City. Her work is currently on view at the Stanek Gallery in Philadelphia and at Somerville-Manning Gallery in Wilmington, DE. Levitina has recently exhibited at the Hugo Galerie in Soho, Galerie de Buci in Paris and has held a solo show of her sculpture and drawings at I-Gallery in Paris.She is a recipient of the prestigious Alex J. Ettl Grant from the National Sculpture Society. She has been awarded multiple prizes by the Foundation Taylor in Paris, including the Foundry Award in 2017. She has installed a ¾ life-size commissioned sculpture of St Joan of Arc clad in full armour at the Thomas More Law Center in Ann Arbor, MI, and completed a ¾ life-size nude commissioned for a private garden in Haverford, PA. In autumn 2017 Levitina completed and installed an over-life-size figurative commission in a prominent spot on Georgetown University’s Main Campus in Washington, D.C., dedicated in Autumn 2018.~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

Dr. Marcia Ferguson, actor, director and educator, has worked as a theatre artist in Philadelphia regional theatre and with various arts organizations, including the Wilma Theatre, the Painted Bride, Act II Playhouse, Irish Heritage, Paper Doll Ensemble, the Mediums, Juniper productions, the Daedalus String Quartet, the Arthur Ross Gallery, the Penn Museum of Archeology and Anthropology, and many others. She has trained with Meredith Monk, Pig Iron, and the London International School of Performing Arts, and has co-created, performed in and/or directed seven original productions for Edinburgh and Philadelphia Fringe festivals. She has acted and directed in theatre and film in Los Angeles, New York, Rome, and Tokyo. In addition to her interest in directing site-specific and traditional productions of canonical and experimental plays (Beckett, Ionesco, Aeschylus, Ruhl, Synge, Churchill, Mee, and others), she is dedicated to an interdisciplinary approach to theatre-making, co-creating original performances, and facilitating multi-disciplinary work. She teaches theatre at the University of Pennsylvania, where she directs undergraduate productions, and serves on the boards of several Philadelphia arts organizations. She has published two books and several articles on theatre and other subjects.~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium/videos/ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.#MarciaFerguson #Acting #Directing #UniversityofPennsylvania#PhiladelphiaTheater #TheUnscriptedProject #PaperDollEnsemble#IntotheAbsurd #IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium

Our guest at the table tonight on Into the Absurd was visual artist, poet and founding director of the Institute for Advanced Study in Black Aesthetics, Theodore A. Harris (https://theodoreharris.weebly.com/). Theodore A. Harris – born in 1966 in New York City and raised in Philadelphia, where his art practice is based. Harris is a collagist, poet, curator, and essayist on the intersection of art and politics. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in galleries and museums such as The Woodmere Art Museum, Philadelphia Pennsylvania; NeMe in Limassol, Cyprus; The University of Chicago Center in Paris, France; University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Hammonds House Museum and Resource Center of African American Art, Atlanta, Georgia; Harmony House Stanford University, Stanford, California.His work is in private and public collections including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, La Salle University Art Museum, Center for Africana Studies University of Pennsylvania, Saint Louis University Museum of Art, Du Bois College House University of Pennsylvania, and Lincoln University. He has held residences at the Ashe Cultural Arts Center (New Orleans); 40th Street A-I-R (Philadelphia); Hammonds House Museum and Resource Center of African American Art (Atlanta, GA); International Festival of Arts and Ideas (New Haven, CT).He has co-authored books with Amiri Baraka, Our Flesh of Flames (Anvil Arts Press); Malcolm X as Ideology, and with Fred Moten: i ran from it and was still in it (Cusp Books). His current book is from the series by the same name Thesentür: Conscientious Objector to Formalism. He is the founding director of The Institute for Advanced Study in Black Aesthetics.

Our guest at the table tonight was screenwriter, playwright, performance artist, director and Fulbright Scholar Jeffrey Stanley. We talked about his recent research in India on early 20th century Bengali film and theatre and their impact on India’s nascent independence movement.~~~~~~~Jeffrey Stanley is a 2018-19 Fulbright Scholar conducting research in India on early 20th century Bengali film and theatre and their impact on India’s nascent independence movement. He is currently writing a book based on his research.Jeff has won numerous screenwriting awards and has optioned or been hired to write scripts for Peter Farrelly & Charles B. Wessler, GreeneStreet Films, Barbara Kopple's Cabin Creek Films, Andrew Lauren Productions, and others. He is presently developing a TV series with producer Matthew Myers. His award-winning short film "Lady in a Box" starring Sarita Choudhury has been licensed numerous times for international broadcast and distribution, and he has worked as a script consultant for UK-based Initialize Films and an analyst and judge for the Script Savvy Screenplay Contest.Stanley's stage play Tesla's Letters (Samuel French, 2000) premiered to rave reviews Off Broadway in 1999 and went on to national and international productions including the Edinburgh Fringe. He is a past president of the board of directors of the New York Neo-Futurists experimental theatre ensemble, he has been a fellow at Yaddo, a Copeland Fellow at Amherst College, and a guest screenwriting lecturer at the Imaginary Academy summer film and theatre workshop in Croatia sponsored by the Soros Foundation.Jeff was one of 24 writers chosen from over 16,000 entrants for the first Amtrak Writers Residency in 2014-15, and served as a residency judge for the 2015-16 competition. Stanley has appeared as a guest writer in the Washington Post, New York Times, Time Out New York, New York Press and Brooklyn Rail, and he was a senior editorial advisor to Boston University's Center for Millennial Studies' book on apocalypse movements The End That Does (Equinox Books, 2006). He is a member playwright of the invitation-only International Theatre Initiative (ITI), a UNESCO-sponsored world theatre education program.Jeff holds an MFA in Dramatic Writing from New York University Tisch School of the Arts where he studied under playwrights David Ives and Tony Kushner, and a BFA from Tisch in Film & Television Production. He also teaches screenwriting at Drexel University and has taught a course he created, Theatre History for Actors, at the Lee Strasberg Institute.

Michael P. Toner has been acting, directing, dialect coaching and specializing in Irish theatre for over 49 years. His recent roles include doing Phil Hogan in O’Neill’s MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN for Walnut Street Theatre (with national tour). Other WST credits include SHE STOOPS TO CONQUER, PHILADELPHIA, HERE I COME!, CONVERSATIONS WITH MY FATHER, 1776, SOMEONE WHO’LL WATCH OVER ME, and THE CARETAKER. Other Brian Friel plays include VOLUNTEERS, DANCING AT LUGHNASA, ARISTOCRATS, TRANSLATIONS and his one-man play based on Friel’s works, THE HUMOURS OF BALLYBEG. Recent roles include Knacker Woods in Marie Jones’s ROCK DOVES, Vladimir in Beckett’s WAITING FOR GODOT and the one-man play CROSSING THE THRESHOLD INTO THE HOUSE OF BACH by David Simpson for Amaryllis Theatre. His one-person plays include BEGINNING TO END and NOHOW ON, based upon Beckett’s writings, AN EVENING WITH MISTER DOOLEY, drawn from Finley Peter Dunne’s writings, his own EVER YOURS, SCOTT FITZGERALD. Mr. Toner has performed for the Villanova Shakespeare Festival, the Carnegie-Mellon University Beckett Festival, the New York W.B. Yeats Society, the International James Joyce Symposium, the NYC “A Dublin Evening, the NYC Gotham Book Mart Bloomsday, the Meadowlands Irish Festival, the American Shaw Festival, and he is a founding reader for the Rosenbach Museum & Library Bloomsday Festival. Michael and Patrick worked together most recently on a virtual project titled Eternal Warrior: a Theatre-Based Workshop Virtual Performance Over Zoom, Veterans' Day 2020.This virtual production was created for both Veterans and a general audience. It was created under the aegis of Kimberly "Max" Brown and staff from the Philadelphia VA Hospital, the University of Pennsylvania Classics Dept. and the University of Pennsylvania Archeology Dept., who formed the Eternal Soldier group. Eternal Soldier is archaeologists, classicists, historians, clinicians and veterans working together to present ancient material on war, warriors, and combat re-purposed for modern Veterans. We are a volunteer collaborative based at the Penn Museum working with Veterans from conflicts in Vietnam, Eastern Europe (Bosnia), Africa (Somalia, OND) and Southwest Asia (Desert Storm, OEF/OIF). We point out the uniqueness of contemporary Veteran experience, but simultaneously, we place that experience on a continuum. Our goal is to empower Veterans, and help them see that their experiences may differ in detail and technological features, but their emotional, spiritual and psychological experiences have a timelessness that unites all warriors.Patrick Devine is a Disabled Veteran. He was born in Dublin, (Rep of Ireland) Eire, and immigrated to the United States in 1986, settling in the greater Philadelphia area until enlisting in the US Army in 1990 as a 12B Combat Engineer, and serving with the 10Th Mountain Division out of Fort Drum NY. Patrick also had a tour as an Army Recruiter and following, returned to the regular army where he changed his MOS Military Occupational Specialty to 38B Civil Affairs Specialist with USACAPOC United States Army Civil Affairs and Psychological Operations Command. Patrick served in the Irish defense forces for a short time prior to coming to America. As soldiering was his calling, he joined the US Army, serving for 17 plus years, being deployed several times to combat zones and peace keeping missions throughout the world. Patrick medically retired in 2007. He now lives in Philadelphia with his wife and children.

Our guest at the table tonight is Emily Brewton Schilling, artist, writer, and daughter of Philadelphia avant-garde artist and Pataphysician James E. Brewton (https://www.artandhonor.com/emily-bre...​).Emily is an artist, writer, and daughter of Philadelphia avant-garde artist and Pataphysician James E. Brewton (1930-1967). Brewton shot himself on May 11, 1967, three days before the opening of a show he organized with Jim McWilliams, The Society for the Commemoration of Festivals and Fetishes at Socrates Perakis Gallery in Philadelphia. “Artist’s Suicide Gives Tragic Overtone to Exhibit,” was the headline of Dorothy Grafly’s review in the Philadelphia Evening Bulletin. By the time he died, Brewton had “had several one-man shows, and museum curators were beginning to exhibit interest,” as Nessa Forman wrote in The Philadelphia Inquirer. “There was an artist,” Forman continued, “who was ahead of his time, who was brilliant, sensitive and nonviolent, who loved his art and just wanted to paint.” Two posthumous exhibitions were held, at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fina Arts (PAFA) in 1968 and Kenmore Galleries in 1971, after which most of Brewton’s work was scattered and sunk out of sight. Although devastated by the loss of her father, Emily was raised in ignorance of his life and work. In 2008, while living in Florida, Emily came across Thomas Chimes: Adventures in ’Pataphysics (Yale University Press, 2007) by Michael R. Taylor. Amazed that other Philadelphia artists were interested in ’Pataphysics in the 1960s, she contacted Taylor, then curator of modern art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Taylor encouraged Emily to begin looking for her father’s artwork. Beginning with knowledge of only 16 works’ whereabouts, Emily dedicated herself to the quest and has since found hundreds of artworks. In 2014, Emily and Patricia Weingrad—who co-curated the Brewton memorial in 1971—curated Brewton’s first solo exhibition in 43 years, Graffiti Pataphysic, For All Mankind, at Slought, Philadelphia. The show was part of “Philadelphia à la Pataphysique,” a celebration organized at the University of Pennsylvania. The 2014 celebration led to the creation of the Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium (PASC), as well as a forthcoming book, Pataphysics Unrolled, edited by Katie L. Price and Michael R. Taylor (Penn State Press, Spring 2022), which includes a chapter by Taylor about Brewton.Emily grew up in the Philadelphia area, and began her career working at WMMR radio station in the early 1980s and writing weekly art reviews for The South Street Star. She served as public relations and program director at The Philadelphia Art Alliance in the late 1980s, and later worked as a corporate employee communications writer for many years. Now living in New York, Emily has edited several books, fiction and nonfiction, and compiled a catalogue raisonne of Jim Brewton’s artworks. She is a founding director of the James E. Brewton Foundation, a Pennsylvania-based nonprofit, and is finishing a memoir about the hunt for her father’s work. Emily is delighted to join Tina Brock at the virtual table on “Into the Absurd: An Existential Dinner Conversation.”~~~~~~~We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again.If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyco...​. To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit our Facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/pg/Idiopathi...​ORThe IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list...​And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

We dined virtually tonight with artist Liz Goldberg and filmmaker Warren Bass, who talked about their artistic collaborations, including Cuban Queens (https://vimeo.com/279495510​).Cuban Queens is an experimental animated collaboration by Warren Bass (direction, animation, music), Liz Goldberg (original graphics), and Lowell Boston (animation). The film deconstructs and explores ninety-nine evolving images of Havana’s street divas. Cuban Queens is a rhythmic study of subliminal hand-drawn portraits that evolve through shifting, transient relationships of image-to-image and image-to-sound.~~~~~~~Warren Bass is an independent filmmaker and former Chair of Film & Media Arts at Temple University where he teaches directing, cinematography, and advanced workshops in documentary, fiction and animation as a full professor. He was trained at the Yale School of Drama in directing (with Honors) and at Columbia University in film as their School of the Arts Scholar. He has taught at Yale, NYU, the State University of California, and the American Film Institute, has chaired university departments in Film, Television, and Theater in New England, served as trustee of the University Film Study Center housed at Harvard/MIT, Vice President of the University Film and Video Association, guest editor of The Journal of Film and Video, and for extended periods as Director of Temple University’s graduate program in Film. His essays on visual style have been published in English, Polish, Chinese and Turkish. His textbook on camcorders is published in seven countries. His art work has been exhibited at the Smithsonian, the National Academy of Design and the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He has directed theater at Lincoln Center, off-Broadway and in regional professional theater in six cities. His film and video productions have been aired on PBS, syndicated television and cable in the U.S. and on European, Asian and Australian Television. His work has received over 100 regional, national and international awards. Professor Bass is a recipient of both the Great Teacher Award and the Creative Achievement Award from Temple University.Liz Goldberg has taught Fashion Illustration at Pratt and Drexel University for the past 11 years. Her work is an exploration of the theme of the “diva” – the flamboyantly uninhibited female and the personal and political empowerment she represents.As a painter, graphic artist, and animator, Liz has been inspired by puppets and absurdist theatre, influenced by puppet–like characters reminiscent of Alfred Jarry’s forerunner of absurdist theater, Ubu-Roi, the buffoons of modernist playwright Michel de Ghelderode, the existentialist mime plays of Samuel Beckett, and the symbolist and political figures of European puppet theater.Liz has developed these “diva” and puppet-inspired works into experimental animated films in collaboration with filmmaker Warren Bass, broadcast on American Public Television and cable, receiving awards and juried recognition in over 20 countries. The works use animation as an analog to painting, dance and poetry, and are intended to re-define the paradigm of what an animation can be. The process of animation has, in turn, influenced her full-scale paintings and works-on-paper producing diptychs, triptychs, and serial prints with progressive deviations.In 2018, Liz and Warren produced “Vogueing and Other Pleasures” shown at the Film Festival at the Barnes in conjunction with the Musee de Paris. In 2018, the film was also shown as part of “Contextualizing Fashion” at Pratt. A full room installation was created at Joan Shepp where Liz was a resident artist for 3 years 2017- 2020, installing the entire space with 1,750 hand-drawn cells from the animation, as well as paintings and prints.

Our guest at the table tonight was Dr. Rosemary Malague, director of the Theatre Arts Program at the University of Pennsylvania, and the author of An Actress Prepares: Women and “the Method” (https://www.routledge.com/.../Malague/p/book/9780415681575), the first book to conduct a feminist examination of American, Stanislavsky-based, actor training traditions. We talked about women in theater, Stanislavsky, American acting training programs, auditioning, and #metoo​ in the theater. ~~~~~~~In addition to her scholarship, Rose is also an actor and director, and regularly stages student productions at Penn. She holds a doctorate in theatre from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York, and a master’s degree from Villanova University, where she was an acting scholar. She received actor training at Circle-in-the Square Theatre School, HB Studio, and is a member of Actors’ Equity Association. Courses regularly taught by Dr. Malague include: Provocative Performance; The Play: Structure, Style, Meaning; Theatre in Philadelphia; and all levels of acting. ~~~~~~~To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit the IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist​...And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

On this week’s Into the Absurd, we chatted with photographer Zave Smith. Exuberant and poignant, philosophical and passionate, Zave’s photographs capture the tangible pleasures and tactile experiences of life in close-up. Raised and trained in the Midwest, now working out of Philadelphia and New York, Zave has a special feeling for personality that suffuses his work (http://www.zavesmith.com).Join us on Zoom:https://lehigh.zoom.us/.../regi.../WN_ElYWAio3Qq-kv4nTWeXtOwOR Watch on Facebook Live:https://www.facebook.com/IdiopathicRidiculopathyConsortium~~~~~~~We'll explore in 50-minutes what it means to create and to think about art during this time. Join us for this weekly virtually existential gathering until we can share stories on the stage again.If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/....To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit the IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE so you don't miss any future episodes.

Tonight, on Into the Absurd, we delved into storytelling as we celebrate the act of transforming the drama of our life into memoir and documentary art. We'll learn more about Philadelphia's First Person Arts through the eyes of performer and creative force Tanesha Ford.Tanesha M. Ford is the Director of Marketing and Communications at First Person Arts, a nonprofit storytelling organization whose mission is to transform the drama of real-life into memoir and documentary art to foster an appreciation for our unique and shared experiences.Tanesha’s journey to First Person Arts began as an actress in Philadelphia at such places as Flashpoint Theater, Freedom Theater, and the Triangle Theater as well as in New York where she performed at the Cherry Lane, The Duplex, and during the NYC Fringe Festival. She is a member of Tongue & Groove Spontaneous Theater company and recently performed in “...don’t wanna dance with ghosts...” by T.S Hawkins.Tanesha made her transition to arts administration in 2014 when she returned to the Delaware Valley to earn her Masters in Arts Administration at Drexel University and after working at the Philadelphia Art Alliance and Opera Philadelphia, landed at First Person Arts in 2017.About First Person ArtsFirst Person Arts includes storytellers practicing across multiple disciplines such as theatre, memoir, visual arts, spoken word, and dance. First Person Arts’ mission is to transform the drama of real-life into memoir and documentary art to foster an appreciation for our unique and shared experiences. We believe that everyone has a story to tell and that sharing our stories connects us with each other and the world.2021 First Person Arts Anthology: Volume One – Witness: Stories and music that reveal hidden truths and untold stories.First Person Arts was innovative 20 years ago when we created the only annual festival of its kind to feature true person stories across multiple genres.Migrating our programming to the digital stage enables FirstPerson Arts to reach more audiences across the country, deepen your experience with each event, and permits us to create embracing environments more frequently throughout the year. Our annual festival is now segmented into four volumes! Each volume will focus on a theme that exemplifies what makes a story truly compelling. It is a WITNESS to history; something about the story PUSHes us out of our ordinary world; it empowers us to RELEASE old views, and EMBRACE a new way of thinking or being. This is the powerful movement of the human spirit through life.“A festival is a finite amount of time. An Anthology is a celebration of the stories that fill our lives all year round.

Tonight, on Into the Absurd, we sat down with IRC stalwart performers Tomas Dura, Jane Moore, Sonja Robson and John Zak, to discuss their performances of their most iconic characters in works by existentialist masters (and their closely-aligned fantastical playwriting counterparts) Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean Giraudoux, Tennessee Williams, Boris Vian and Franz Kafka.~~~~~~~Since the IRC’s founding in 2006, IRC stalwart performers Tomas Dura, Jane Moore, Sonja Robson and John Zak have mastered the art of theatrical absurdism through their performances of the most iconic characters in works by existentialist masters (and their closely-aligned fantastical playwriting counterparts) Eugene Ionesco, Samuel Beckett, Jean Giraudoux, Tennessee Williams, Boris Vian and Franz Kafka.It’s been nearly a year since the performing arts vacated the stage, leaving the ghost light burning as we all await a safe return. While we take our places and watch for that green light, we wax nostalgic on this week’s Into the Absurd as we head backstage for a conversation with the IRC’s foremost interpreters of the form, digging into all manner and form of absurd conversation: preparing to play Ionesco; how to refashion a second interpretation of Mr. Smith of The Bald Soprano; wearing a tutu while catching fish by mouth on a dock in Tennessee Williams’ The Gnadiges Fraulein; embodying the existential threat that was the Schmerz in Boris Vian’s The Empire Builders.This week’s Into the Absurd is a chance to relive and reconnect with our audience and our favorite IRC memories over the last 16 years, creating the energy to propel the next decade when we return to the stage. We’ll share some memories, stories and videos as we remember the path created prior to this long intermission. We hope to see you at the table.~~~~~~~If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/....To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit the IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you’re there, be sure to SUBSCRIBE, so you don't miss any future episodes.

On this week’s Into the Absurd, we celebrate Artistic Director of AngelPirate Productions (https://www.angelpirate.org/) and Co-Founding Director of The Bridge PHL (https://www.thebridgephl.org/) Gabrielle Corsaro. We talked with her about creating original theatrical works to amplify voices historically silenced at Angel Pirate, and using theater as a means of fostering healing connections between diverse communities for The Bridge PHL.~~~~~~~A native of Philadelphia and an actor since childhood, Gabrielle graduated from Temple University and spent a decade studying and working as an actor in New York, appearing in indie films, commercials, and at many black box theatres. It was both wonderful and frustrating on a daily basis. Parenthood brought her back home, and gradually Gabrielle began writing and directing, frequently with the woman-centric Green Light Productions. She founded AngelPirate Productions in 2005 which evolved from a desire to serve the Philadelphia community by developing and producing original performance pieces by local artists that amplify voices historically silenced. In 2015, Gabrielle co-founded The Bridge PHL with Hannah MacLeod, Meryl Lynn Brown, and Kathy Harmer with the mission to foster healing connections between our diverse communities through powerful acts of theatre. Her plays “White Woman Meditates on White Privilege: An All Too True Story”, “Diversity Day”, “What You Stand For”, “White Script”, and “Love & Light (& Other Lies)” have premiered at The Bridge PHL Theatre Festival.The current Bridge PHL leadership team:Co-DirectorsMeryl Lynn Brown, Gabrielle Corsaro, Hannah Tsapatoris MacLeod, Renee Lucus WayneArtistic AdvisorsTS Hawkins, Jody Austin, Tiffani Dean, Lois Moses, Gina RenziOperations DirectorLori WalshThe Bridge PHL's artistic home is The Rotunda. Virtual events are planned for Black History Month and Women's History Month in 2021. Folks can follow The Bridge PHL on Facebook and Instagram, plus check the website + sign up for The Bridge PHL newsletter to stay up to date with current events. ~~~~~~~If you're on the IRC's mailing list, look for an email each Wednesday detailing the upcoming week’s guest on Into the Absurd, with links to websites and information. To keep up with who’s on deck, join the IRC mailing list: https://www.idiopathicridiculopathyconsortium.org/....To explore past episodes of Into the Absurd, visit the IRC's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/playlist...And while you’re there, please subscribe, and help us spread the word. Thank you!

On this week’s Into the Absurd, we celebrate artistic engagement with Founder & Executive Director of Director's Gathering (DG) Jill Harrison. Jill Harrison (she/her) is a theatre director, connector, and educator. She began her career in NYC, working for esteemed Off-Broadway companies Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, and Peculiar Works Project. Jill has served as the Associate Artistic Director at Simpatico Theatre, the Festival Director for Philadelphia Theatre Company’s PTC@PLAY, and presently, the Founder & Executive Director of Directors Gathering (DG), a membership organization that continuously supports and elevates regional theatre directors.Jill's directing credits include: the world premiere of Alessandra Most’s Private Policy, a circus in two acts (Columbia Stages), the Philadelphia premieres of Samuel D. Hunter’s A Bright New Boise and Sarah Ruhl’s Dead Man’s Cell Phone (Simpatico), Craig Lucas’ Reckless (Theatre Outlet), Anne Washburn’s Mr. Burns: A Post-Electric Play (Villanova Theatre), and upcoming, Jacqueline Goldfinger's Babel (Passage Theatre).A Rad Girl Award "Connector of the Year" nominee, Jill serves as a national voice in elevating regional theatre directors as visionaries. Since 2016, Jill has collaborated with fellow director-centric programmers and leaders at the Stage Directors + Choreographers Society, the theatrical union for directors, The Drama League, and many other director-centric programs to connect and mutually grow our interest in serving theatre directors and their significant impact on arts and culture. Jill has also recently worked as the Creative Producer for Theatre Philadelphia's 2019 Barrymore Awards, a Steering Committee member of PAAL, a national initiative for parent-theatre artist advocacy, and a Creative Consultant for Juniper Productions, the only independent creative producing agency in Philadelphia. Jill holds a MFA in Directing from Temple University and a BA in Theatre from Lehigh University. As a professor, Jill has taught directing and new work at Swarthmore College, Arcadia University, Temple University, Villanova University, and in 2020 launched, "Directors Workshop", a virtual directors studio. Jill is a member of Lincoln Center Theatre Director’s Lab and an associate member of SDC.

On tonight’s into the absurd, we talk with Christopher Munden, editor of the arts and theater website Phindie, and the Philly Fiction series of short story collections. Phindie provides independent coverage of Philadelphia theater and arts, with a focus on independent theater. Articles provide critical reaction to new works and publicize events of interest to fans of theater and arts in Philly.Chris has also written and edited for Visit Philly, FringeArts, the National Constitution Center, the Historical Society of Philadelphia, Science History Institute, the Philadelphia History Museum, and other local institutions.He is a cofounder of the sports non-profit Kensington Soccer Club and a cohost of the theater podcast Chosen by Committee. Find him @cpmunden.

Our guest tonight is Sonya Aronowitz, Executive Producer and Founder of Juniper Productions, an independent female-forward theatre producer based in Philadelphia (https://juniper.agency/).~~~~~~~Sonya Aronowitz is an independent creative producer of theatrical events, an arts entrepreneur, and a writer. She grew up in Manchester, UK and loves her adopted home of Philadelphia. As the Executive Producer of Juniper Productions, she is involved in everything from developing show concepts to the nuts and bolts of producing. The question that guides her work is how an independent producer can contribute to a vital and vibrant arts and culture scene in Philadelphia – and by connecting talented theatre artists with audiences.Through Juniper, Sonya is building a new platform, The Distillery, which is incubating and mentoring new female creative producers in Philadelphia. As a writer, she is inspired by Norse mythology, Russian literature and history, and James Joyce. She is currently working on MOVIES I HAVE NOT SEEN, a pop-culture-infused memoir of growing up in Manchester in the 70s and 80s, and in eighteen episodes.

On this week's show, we travel virtually to India to explore 60 years of the Bangalore Little Theatre with Vijay Padaki. Join us here on Zoom and Facebook Live. Vijay is a Theatre Educator based in Bangalore who has been active in the theatre for sixty years. Vijay joined Bangalore Little Theatre in 1960, the year of its inception, and later served in many capacities – as actor, director, trainer, writer, designer and administrator, including stints each as Secretary and President. Vijay is a psychologist and behavioural scientist by training. On Bangalore Little Theatre:BLT was formed in 1960 as a membership-driven organization. It functioned with an amateur, non-commercial status; there was no income for any member from any of the group’s activities. These features gave BLT a good part of the character it maintained over many years. It was theatre for the love of the theatre, and the love of the theatre held it together as a large, happy family.A small group of committed persons in Bangalore sought a theatre experience that could be a genuine alternative to the prevailing order. The group comprised a mix of active theatre enthusiasts: three British couples (one being the talented Scott and Margaret Tod); a Dutch couple; an American couple; an Indian engineer with a European wife, and, of course, many Indians. Scott Tod was a trained director and Margaret a trained actress, both from the Little Theatre movement in the UK. They were the founders of what was to grow into Bangalore Little Theatre. Collectively, the group had a united vision of a Community Theatre best described by a slogan invented 25 years later:Bangalore Little Theatre came into existence with a play reading in the first week of September 1960. The first production on stage in December 1960 was Moliere’s The Prodigious Snob, more commonly known as ‘The Would-be Gentleman’. BLT started as a performing group, and continues to be known widely as a group that performs plays. Many plays. Good plays. Plays that the Bangalore public looks forward to watching. With over 200 plays performed, the group has certainly been productive…and creative. BLT is admired for the quality of its productions, setting benchmarks for many other theatres in Bangalore.

On this week's Into the Absurd, we celebrate the power of storytelling in narrative medicine with Dr. Tony Errichetti and Ginny Drda, who explore the art in their workshops listening2everyword.com geared to the Simulationist Narrative Medicine Community, professionals in patient simulation who meet regularly to examine, discuss, and write about stories and art in all their forms - narratives, poems, photos, speeches, songs, paintings.Narrative medicine is a fresh discipline of health care that helps patients and health professionals to tell and listen to the complex and unique stories of illness. Arising at Columbia University in 2000 from roots in the humanities and patient-centered care, narrative medicine draws patients, doctors, nurses, therapists, and health activists together to reimagine a healthcare based on trust and trustworthiness, humility, and mutual recognition. “The goal of narrative medicine from its start has been to improve health care,” says Rita Charon, an internist and literary scholar who directs the Program in Narrative Medicine at Columbia University and started the Program at the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2000 to teach future doctors and medical clinicians how to elicit, interpret, and act upon the stories of their patients. “This accounts for the title we have chosen for our book, The Principles and Practice of Narrative Medicine, echoing William Osler’s 1892 The Principles and Practice of Medicine that set the standards for the practice of internal medicine.”

On this week's Into the Absurd we celebrate the influence of women in medicine with Dr. Steven J. Peitzman, professor of medicine at Drexel University School of Medicine, medical historian and author of A New and Untried Course: Woman's Medical College and Medical College of Pennsylvania 1850-1998. In 1850, a group of reformist male Quaker physicians and allies founded the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania to offer formal medical training to women. By the 1890s, the renamed Woman's Medical College of Pennsylvania (WMC) had matured into a solid and progressive institution that would outlast other, younger women's medical schools that had arisen in the United States. A New and Untried Course: Woman's Medical College and Medical College of Pennsylvania 1850-1998 describes how WMC survived periods of instability and crises as it became a remarkable experiment in single-sex professional education, and a rare early example of female-male collaboration in science and medicine. Its unique survival provided scarce opportunities for women physicians and scientists to teach and perform research, while maintaining the assurance of medical education free from gender discrimination. Yielding to complex forces, it became the coeducational Medical College of Pennsylvania in 1970 and found another new course to pursue.

Lynn Blackwell Denton is an award winning screenwriter, filmmaker and visual artist. In 2015 her screenplay The Milliner was named Second Finalist in the Bentonville Film Festival Screenwriting Competition juried by actor Bruce Dern. In 2016, Lynn published a novelized version of The Milliner now available on Amazon.com. Lynn began her career as a visual artist and her films evolved from art installations that referred increasingly to women’s stories. TIME FRAME ZIGGURAT, at Nexus Gallery, included a soundtrack and photos of women in her family and their houses; POLLY’S DREAM featured a mixed media, two part installation at Philadelphia’s Institute of Contemporary Art; and for SOPHIA’S HOUSE, at the PAFA’s Morris Gallery, Lynn built a room-sized installation that celebrated woman as the original creator, inviting female sculptors to refer to early myths in making works emblematic of the first creations. Christina Brandon-Gómez is a bilingual screenwriter and aspiring novelist. She graduated with honors from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia (UARTS), where she received her B.F.A in Writing for Film and Television. She has studied creative writing at the University College of London, the College of Santa Fe, and Arcadia University, where she received her M.F.A .Shortly after graduating from UArts, Christina was a contributing writer for Keith Chamberlain's web series, Herrings. Following the death of her father, Christina tackled mental health in Black culture in her script, Small and Mighty, 2019 5Shorts Project finalist, 2020 Black Screenplays Matter semi-finalist, and 2020 Hip Hop Film Festival Official Selection.In 2019, after connecting at a Philadelphia Women in Film and Television (PWIFT) event, Christina began collaborating with artist, writer, and director Lynn B. Denton on the adaptation of Lynn's screenplay and novel, The Milliner. A period drama set in Jim Crow Georgia at the turn of the twentieth century, The Milliners traces the journey of two artisans: Dayo, a black seamstress, and Keziah, a white milliner, as their paths converge while searching for work and being swept up in the mobilization of the women's vote.Christina's teen post-apocalyptic drama, Hoodz, is currently making the rounds on the festival circuit, both at the local and national level. She intends to adapt her short film Small and Mighty into a feature length project.

On this week's Into the Absurd, all the world's a stage when we speak with the Rev. Josh Blakesley, Founder and Executive Director of The Welcome Project PA, a community-based non-profit serving marginalized communities, including LGBT+ people, recent immigrants and vulnerable faith communities. Josh is passionate about interfaith immersion projects and movements that bring people together across lines of difference. Join us as we celebrate coming together, understanding and accepting differences in turbulent times, and how theater can provide a bridge over troubled waters. Rev. Josh Blakesely grew up in the Midwest before completing a B.A. in Theatre at Northwestern College [IA] and a Masters of Divinity [M.Div.] at Princeton Theological Seminary [NJ]. An ordained minister in the United Church of Christ [UCC], Josh has lived and worked in Iowa, Philadelphia, Hawaii, Mexico, and Michigan.In 2019, Josh founded The Welcome Project PA [WPPA], a community-based non-profit that serves marginalized communities, such as LGBT+ people, recent immigrants, and vulnerable faith communities.Currently, Josh is Pastor of Love In Action UCC, featured in a Vox Media episode of Divided States of Women with Liz Plank and in the Philadelphia Inquirer.Josh has 20+ years of experience working with children, youth, and adults in various intra and interfaith settings. Josh is a fellow of Interfaith Philadelphia, designing and coordinating HS and University student groups for immersion service-learning weeks called “Alternative Break Interfaith Encounters.” He also co-facilitates “How to be an Interfaith Ally” trainings for Philly Peace Day and recently, in Toronto, at the Parliament of the World’s Religions.Josh is committed to promoting religious pluralism and partnering with people of all faiths and those who identify as atheist or agnostic to build bridges of shared values and cooperation.

On this week's Into the Absurd, we talk about collaboration and connectedness through the study of Avant-Garde art and practice in Philadelphia, with John Heon andDavid McKnight, who shepherd the conversation and programming at PASC, The Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium. The avant-garde is flexibility of mind. And it follows like day, the night from not falling prey to government and education. Without the avant-garde nothing would get invented.” — John CageIt’s been a banner year for absurdity, and the contemplation of the absurd has been one of the most salient features of avant-garde art and thought from the nineteenth century to the present. From Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and Heidegger, to Camus, Sartre, and Baudrillard; from Jarry, Stein, and Kafka to Ionesco, Beckett, Artaud, and Kathy Acker; from Duchamp, Kurt Schwitters, Baroness Elsa, and Dali to Bruce Nauman, Carolee Schneemann, and Jenny Holzer; from Schoenberg, Cage, and Glass, to Frank Zappa, The Talking Heads, and Père Ubu (the band), the modern mind has grappled with life in an increasingly entropic and violent world that seems to crush meaning, justice, and individual agency.John Heon, a founding co-director of the Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium, is an independent scholar specializing in the psychology, politics, and aesthetics of humor in modern/postmodern literature and visual art. His essay, “Twisted Witz: Experiments in Psychopathology and Humor by Dr. Faustroll and His Pataphysical Progeny,” will appear in the forthcoming book, Pataphysics Unrolled, published by the Refiguring Modernism series of Penn State University Press.His book in progress, Articulate Art: Language, Literature, and Humor in the Works of Bruce Nauman, examines Nauman’s oeuvre in the context of avant-garde black humor and the comic theories of Nietzsche, Freud, Bergson, and Wittgenstein.John holds a doctorate in English with a concentration in psychology and the history of science from the University of Pennsylvania, where he received the Arts and Sciences Distinguished Teaching Award. He has also taught at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Marquette University, and in the Education Department of the Phillips Collection, America’s first museum of modern art. David McKnight is Director of the Annenberg Rare Book and Manuscript Library at the University of Pennsylvania Libraries. Prior to accepting the position at the University of Pennsylvania in 2006, he was Director of the Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Head of the Digital Collections Program at McGill University Libraries where he worked in various roles for fifteen years. A past president of the Bibliographical Society of Canada, McKnight is currently founding Co-Director of the Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium and a member of both the Grolier Club (New York) and the Philobiblon Club (Philadelphia).In 2014, David in collaboration with John Heon, Katie Price and several others founded the Philadelphia Avant-Garde Studies Consortium, a non-profit arts and advocacy group devoted to exploring the past, present and future of the avant-garde’s place in Philadelphia cultural history.In 2018, David curated an exhibition focused on Modernist Literary Publishing at the University of Alberta and in 2019 he curated an exhibition on the legendary Gotham Book Mart entitled “Wise Men Fished Here.” At the present time, he is working on an exhibition related to Andy Warhol. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5ohS4uPLJQ

Lane Savadove is the Founding Artistic Director of EgoPo Classic Theater, now in its 27th season.Lane has directed over 40 shows for EgoPo, Off-Broadway, regionally in San Francisco, Chicago, New Orleans, Provincetown, Philadelphia and on National Public Radio. He was the resident director of the National Cultural Center of Indonesia (1996-7), Artistic Director of Jean Cocteau Repertory (2004-5), and Associate Artistic Director of the Living Theater (1989-90).An Independence Foundation Fellow, Drama League Directing Fellow, Shubert Fellow, Henry Luce Fellow, TCG Leadership recipient. His works include: Beckett’s Company (NPR and 6 cities); world premiere of Tennessee Williams’ House Not Meant to Stand (Southern Repertory); Wedekind’s Spring Awakening (Phila, New Orleans), Maeterlinck’s Bluebird (Phila.), the world premiere of John Guare’s 10-hour Lydie Breeze Trilogy. Savadove's staging of Chekhov’s Seagull won the company the 2017 Barrymore award for Best Production. Lane holds an MFA in Directing from Columbia University and BA from Haverford College. Lane was a Professor of Acting and Directing at NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, The National University of Indonesia, and Head of Directing at Loyola-New Orleans. He is currently Head of Acting and Directing and Full Professor of Theater at Rowan University in New Jersey.

Dr. William Crow, Director of the Lehigh University Art Galleries"Academic​ ​museums​ ​and​ ​galleries​ ​cannot​ ​be​ ​static,​ ​silent​ ​storage​ ​houses​ ​of​ ​the​ ​past.​ ​​​ They​ ​hold​ ​the​ ​potential​ ​to​ ​be​ ​catalysts for​ ​conversation,​ ​contributors​ ​to​ ​healthy​ ​and​ ​engaged​ ​communities,​ ​and​ ​platforms​ ​for​ ​the​ ​productive​ ​exploration​ ​of​ ​ideas.​ ​​​ In addition​ ​to​ ​producing​ ​dynamic​ ​exhibitions,​ ​they​ ​can,​ ​and​ ​must,​ ​stimulate​ ​community​ ​involvement,​ ​spark​ ​cross-disciplinary collaboration,​ ​and​ ​inspire​ ​new​ ​understandings​ ​of​ ​ourselves,​ ​one​ ​another,​ ​and​ ​our​ ​world." - Dr. William CrowHow are academic museums and galleries catalysts for conversation in communities and beyond? Maximizing the public value of art is the discussion at the virtual dinner table this week with William B. Crow, PhD, Director of the Lehigh University Art Galleries and Professor of Practice in the Department of Art, Architecture, and Design. Prior to his appointment at Lehigh, William Crow was the inaugural Educator in Charge of Teaching and Learning at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, New York, where he oversaw programs serving over 500,000 visitors annually, including programs and resources for schools, educators, families, teens, college and universities, as well as pedagogy and training for all teaching that occurred in the Museum’s three sites. Dr. Crow has held academic appointments at New York University, Johns Hopkins University, and The New School for Social Research. He received the 2015 University Excellence in Teaching Award at Johns Hopkins, and in 2017 he was awarded a Fulbright Global Specialist Award to conduct professional development for museum staff in South America. Dr. Crow holds a B.A. in Romance Languages and Art from Wake Forest University, an M.F.A. in Painting from Hunter College of The City University of New York, an M.S.Ed. in Museum Education Leadership from Bank Street, and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science from Columbia University. He is also an alumnus of the Getty Leadership Institute, Museum Leaders: The Next Generation Program (2006), the Columbia University School of Business Executive Leadership Program (2016) and the National Guild for Community Art Education Leadership Institute (2016). Dr. Crow’s current research interests include decision-making and evaluative judgments in the arts, epistemological development, and the cognitive benefits of sketching.

Idiopathic Trick or Treat Storytelling Mayhem ensues when John Zak, Sonja Robson, Jane Moore, Jenna Kuerzi, Tomas Dura, John Rosenberg and Sharon Geller stop by for a visit and a chat. Tina Brock hosts, with questions and inquiries into their tall tales. True or false?

Our guest at the table tonight was author Nicole Taylor, author of A Joyful Pause: 52 Ways to Love Your Life.Nicole facilitates transformative offerings on self care and well being. She is a certified yoga and meditation teacher and a Conscious Living Coach.A Joyful Pause is about coming home to yourself. In this unusual time when it seems like everything is changing -- work has shifting demands, the home life landscape has been altered, the world around us is spinning at an unparalleled speed. Now is the time to find the place in each of us that is steady in the midst of change."Learning how to pause is a helpful practice. We can build the habit of taking a few moments out of each day to turn our awareness inward. The practices that restore body, mind, and connection to spirit take time, and they ask us to create a bit of quiet and some internalization." -- Nicole TaylorA Joyful Pause is structured to make this easy for you to do. The connection we seek is in the pause, and through that connection, we come to know that we are home.https://www.ajoyfulpause.com/

Dr. Beverly Shin received her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College and is currently a resident physician in the Department of Psychiatry at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medicine in New York City. She is currently an American Psychiatric Association Fellow in Public Psychiatry and will be an addiction psychiatry fellowship at the University of Washington next year. She is alos in her first year of psychoanalytic training at the Columbia University Center For Psychoanalytic Training and Research.Prior to her medical training, Dr. Shin enjoyed a 12-year career as a classical violinist and performed as a solo, chamber music, and orchestral musician throughout the U.S., as well as in Canada, Asia, Europe, and South America. She holds a doctorate in violin performance from New England Conservatory and has held teaching positions at several universities.Combining both her love of music and psychiatry, she has developed a series of workshops using musical improvisation to explore making mistakes, imposter syndrome, and group collaboration. She has presented this workshop to medical students at Jefferson Medical College, as well as to psychiatric patients at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

Priyanka Shetty is an actor, director, and playwright on a mission. She graduated with a Master of Fine Arts in Acting from the University of Virginia and currently serves as a Faculty member at the University of Virginia, Department of Drama. Priyanka is the author of two original plays – her one-woman show The Elephant in the Room, and #Charlottesville constructed verbatim from interviews with residents of Charlottesville, VA who speak about the city in light of the white supremacist rallies and events of August 11-12, 2017. Priyanka is currently working on her third play, The Wall which deals with immigration issues in America. The Elephant in the Room premiered at CATCO/Evolution Theatre in Columbus OH in March 2019 and Priyanka kicked off The Elephant on the Road Tour at Yale University in April 2019. Since then she has performed at venues across the country and her most recent performance was on the Millennium Stage at The John F. Kennedy Center for Performing Arts in Washington DC.Priyanka is inspired by the description of The Fool card in the Tarot: “It is an excellent example of following your bliss; trust and take a chance, live on the edge, be bold and confident, take things one day at a time and enjoy the ride."Join us as we talk to Priyanka about the challenges in following your bliss, writing and performing your own story, and how turns in the road provide the strength to discover purpose and passion.

In 2014, Peter founded Theatrical Trainer, a non-profit research collective dedicated to social service, mental health, and wellness for artists across the country. They have taught body science, movement and theater arts at Drexel University, Moore College of Art and University of the Arts.Peter’s research and opinion papers have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, Philadelphia Gay News, The Mighty, and others. Their practice includes teaching as a motivational speaker, panelist, and conference workshop coach, where their passion in industrial psychology and organizational dynamics helps organizations engage in dialogues around diversity, inclusion, and emotional well-being. Peter has also researched the effects of rejection and trauma on artists, ego functioning and their sense of confidence. They are presently teaching trauma informed practices at arts universities in Philadelphia as well as creating a theoretical model of practice for artists.

Liz Goldberg is a painter, film graphic designer and animator inspired by puppets and absurdist theatre.Her work explores the theme of the “diva” – the flamboyantly uninhibited female and the personal and political empowerment she represents.Liz's images are often drawn from life, influenced by puppet–like characters reminiscent of Alfred Jarry’s forerunner of absurdist theater, Ubu-Roi, the buffoons of modernist playwright Michel de Ghelderode, the existentialist mime plays of Samuel Beckett, and the symbolist and political figures of European puppet theater. "These influences give me considerable license to explore colorist and gestural solutions to the depiction of the contradictions these images embody: awkward yet fluid, wooden yet alive, constrained yet brashly extroverted personalities, often mischievous, egotistical, erotic, even magical exaggerations of human behavior."Rev. Georgiette Morgan-Thomas founded and owns American Hats LLC along with her son, Robert James Morgan III. American Hats LLC. is one of the only US hat factories dedicated to producing couture, dress, and casual women's and men's headwear for wholesale and retail purchase. "Our goal," says Rev. Morgan-Thomas "is to manufacture the highest quality handcrafted, affordable products right here in the USA and to preserve the art of hat making.” Reverend Morgan-Thomas has been featured on The Today Show, in The Entrepreneur, Grow with Google, AARP Magazine, and has been featured on many local media programs.