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  • 8:00 PMBread and Puppet - Diagonal Life: Theory and Praxis
  • 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Vermont's Bread and Puppet Theatre returns to Philadelphia with DIAGONAL LIFE: THEORY & PRAXIS for 3 evenings and an afternoon at The Rotunda. Four performances!Thursday May 2 at 8pmFriday May 3 at 8pmSaturday May 4 at 8pmSunday May 5 at 3pmWe inhabitants of Western modernity are no strangers to verticality, from the architecture of our cities, to the "ladder(s) of success" we're expected to scale, to the incessant wakefulness required of us, postponing the horizontal pleasures of sleep. Bread and Puppet's "Diagonal Life" presents the diagonal as a promising mode for opposition to the dominating verticality of our civilization. Diagonal Life brings all the bewildering, beguiling, and downright funny possibilities and implications of diagonality to life with song, dance, magic, mechanism, and stunning cardboard and paper maché puppets painted in Peter Schumann's exuberant, slapdash expressionist style.The Bread & Puppet Theater is an internationally celebrated company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art filled with music, dance, politics and spectacularly huge puppets. Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York's Lower East Side, the theater has been based in rural Vermont since the early 70s. Schumann remains the theater’s artistic director, making puppets for and directing 10+ shows per year. Notable awards include the Erasmus Prize of Amsterdam, four Obies, the Puppeteers of America's President Award, and the Vermont Governor's Award.Show runs 60 minutes and will be followed by the serving of bread and aioli, plus cheap art from the Bread & Puppet Press. Tickets at the door are $10–20 sliding scale ($5 for kids) with no one turned away.
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  • 8:00 PMBread and Puppet - Diagonal Life: Theory and Praxis
  • 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Vermont's Bread and Puppet Theatre returns to Philadelphia with DIAGONAL LIFE: THEORY & PRAXIS for 3 evenings and an afternoon at The Rotunda. Four performances!Thursday May 2 at 8pmFriday May 3 at 8pmSaturday May 4 at 8pmSunday May 5 at 3pmWe inhabitants of Western modernity are no strangers to verticality, from the architecture of our cities, to the "ladder(s) of success" we're expected to scale, to the incessant wakefulness required of us, postponing the horizontal pleasures of sleep. Bread and Puppet's "Diagonal Life" presents the diagonal as a promising mode for opposition to the dominating verticality of our civilization. Diagonal Life brings all the bewildering, beguiling, and downright funny possibilities and implications of diagonality to life with song, dance, magic, mechanism, and stunning cardboard and paper maché puppets painted in Peter Schumann's exuberant, slapdash expressionist style.The Bread & Puppet Theater is an internationally celebrated company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art filled with music, dance, politics and spectacularly huge puppets. Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York's Lower East Side, the theater has been based in rural Vermont since the early 70s. Schumann remains the theater’s artistic director, making puppets for and directing 10+ shows per year. Notable awards include the Erasmus Prize of Amsterdam, four Obies, the Puppeteers of America's President Award, and the Vermont Governor's Award.Show runs 60 minutes and will be followed by the serving of bread and aioli, plus cheap art from the Bread & Puppet Press. Tickets at the door are $10–20 sliding scale ($5 for kids) with no one turned away.
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  • 8:00 PMBread and Puppet - Diagonal Life: Theory and Praxis
  • 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Vermont's Bread and Puppet Theatre returns to Philadelphia with DIAGONAL LIFE: THEORY & PRAXIS for 3 evenings and an afternoon at The Rotunda. Four performances!Thursday May 2 at 8pmFriday May 3 at 8pmSaturday May 4 at 8pmSunday May 5 at 3pmWe inhabitants of Western modernity are no strangers to verticality, from the architecture of our cities, to the "ladder(s) of success" we're expected to scale, to the incessant wakefulness required of us, postponing the horizontal pleasures of sleep. Bread and Puppet's "Diagonal Life" presents the diagonal as a promising mode for opposition to the dominating verticality of our civilization. Diagonal Life brings all the bewildering, beguiling, and downright funny possibilities and implications of diagonality to life with song, dance, magic, mechanism, and stunning cardboard and paper maché puppets painted in Peter Schumann's exuberant, slapdash expressionist style.The Bread & Puppet Theater is an internationally celebrated company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art filled with music, dance, politics and spectacularly huge puppets. Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York's Lower East Side, the theater has been based in rural Vermont since the early 70s. Schumann remains the theater’s artistic director, making puppets for and directing 10+ shows per year. Notable awards include the Erasmus Prize of Amsterdam, four Obies, the Puppeteers of America's President Award, and the Vermont Governor's Award.Show runs 60 minutes and will be followed by the serving of bread and aioli, plus cheap art from the Bread & Puppet Press. Tickets at the door are $10–20 sliding scale ($5 for kids) with no one turned away.
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  • 3:00 PMBread and Puppet - Diagonal Life: Theory and Praxis
  • 3:00 PM - 5:00 PM Vermont's Bread and Puppet Theatre returns to Philadelphia with DIAGONAL LIFE: THEORY & PRAXIS for 3 evenings and an afternoon at The Rotunda. Four performances!Thursday May 2 at 8pmFriday May 3 at 8pmSaturday May 4 at 8pmSunday May 5 at 3pmWe inhabitants of Western modernity are no strangers to verticality, from the architecture of our cities, to the "ladder(s) of success" we're expected to scale, to the incessant wakefulness required of us, postponing the horizontal pleasures of sleep. Bread and Puppet's "Diagonal Life" presents the diagonal as a promising mode for opposition to the dominating verticality of our civilization. Diagonal Life brings all the bewildering, beguiling, and downright funny possibilities and implications of diagonality to life with song, dance, magic, mechanism, and stunning cardboard and paper maché puppets painted in Peter Schumann's exuberant, slapdash expressionist style.The Bread & Puppet Theater is an internationally celebrated company that champions a visually rich, street-theater brand of performance art filled with music, dance, politics and spectacularly huge puppets. Founded in 1963 by Peter Schumann on New York's Lower East Side, the theater has been based in rural Vermont since the early 70s. Schumann remains the theater’s artistic director, making puppets for and directing 10+ shows per year. Notable awards include the Erasmus Prize of Amsterdam, four Obies, the Puppeteers of America's President Award, and the Vermont Governor's Award.Show runs 60 minutes and will be followed by the serving of bread and aioli, plus cheap art from the Bread & Puppet Press. Tickets at the door are $10–20 sliding scale ($5 for kids) with no one turned away.
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  • 8:00 PMThe Secret Cinema pres. Technorama, program on 16MM
  • 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Secret Cinema: TechnoramaLast year the Secret Cinema was invited by Towson University in Maryland to create a special film program about fashion and beauty, to complement a related gallery exhibition. We thought the resulting set of short films worked so well that we presented the same program back here at home, at The Rotunda.THIS year Towson asked us to tie in to another gallery exhibition, focusing on technology, computers and machines. And guess what? Yep, we were so pleased with our work that we'd feel guilty not sharing it with our regular Philly audience!On Thursday, May 9, we'll present TECHNORAMA at The Rotunda in. The program showcases films spanning eight decades, and made for different purposes, but all related to technology. There are vintage theatrical shorts, educational films, school guidance films, promotional films and even cartoons, all tracking the progress man has made since that ape first killed another ape with a bone (or whenever the first use of a tool/machine really was). All of the films to be included we've either not shown in a long time, or never showed here at all (to meet this goal, we've replaced a few recently-shown films from the Towson screening).There will be one complete program, starting at 8:00 pm. As with all screenings in The Rotunda's monthly film series, admission is free.And as always with Secret Cinema events, the films will be shown using real film (not video) projected on a giant screen.Just a few highlights of TECHNORAMA are:MELODY FOR MACHINES (1963, Dir: Kenneth Baldwin) - Originally made as an advertising film for Volkswagen, this colorful, fast-moving short was deemed good enough for theatrical release by Paramount -- re-edited, with narration replaced by an upbeat jazz score. It shows machines (computers) controlling machines (robots) to make more machines (automobiles). It's almost disappointing when a few human workers appear.THE STORY OF TELEVISION (1956) - Fascinating sponsored film (made by leading equipment manufacturer R.C.A.) detailing the already complicated history of a once amazing invention that would soon be labeled "the idiot box." It chronicles early experiments, live coverage of the 1940 presidential convention, and the then-new broadcasting of color programs.WHAT ON EARTH! (1966, Dir: Les Drew & Kaj Pindal) - An amusing animated view of man's seemingly most precious machine, the automobile -- as viewed by Martians. THE LAW AND THE LAB (1956) - This topical theatrical film demonstrated the increasing importance of science and technology in modern (1950s) police work. While essentially non-fiction and one short reel in length, it displays the film noir style so prevalent in fiction features of its era.Plus GENERAL ELECTRIC RADIO CONTROLLED GUIDANCE SYSTEM, HOUSE OF TOMORROW, IT'S AN ELECTRIC LIFE and much more!SECRET CINEMA WEBSITE: http://www.thesecretcinema.com Admission is FREE
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  • 6:00 PMFree Workshop! Outreach & Audience Building
  • 6:00 PM - 8:00 PM

    Vision Driven Artists has teamed up with The Rotunda to bring resources and capacity-building workshops to self-producing artists/musicians, arts organization staff, and event curators in all disciplines.

    Workshops: 6-8pm at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia); all workshops in the series are FREE and OPEN to the public. Refreshments provided. No sign-up necessary.

    Nonprofit, LLC, or Fiscal Sponsorship (November 12, 2018)

    - Learn about the different organizational structures you can use to support your work

    - Discuss the pros and cons of various structures

    - Take a quiz to determine the best structure for your purposes

     

    2019 Project Planning (December 10, 2018) 

    - Identify your goals for 2019 and break them into achievable tasks

    - Plot your tasks on a timeline or calendar for 2019

    - Create a plan to keep yourself accountable

    Fundraising Beyond Grants (January 14, 2019) 

    - Learn about six different categories of fundraising (including, but not primarily, grants)

    - Brainstorm more than a hundred methods for resourcing your work

    - Create a simple budget that will help guide your fundraising choices

    Taxes for Artists (January 28, 2019)

    - Learn about which expenses you can deduct on your taxes

    - Find out how and when to send out 1099s

    - Get your individual questions answered

    Special Guest: Christianne Kapps

    Introduction to Arts Grants (February 11, 2019) 

    - Demystify the language and process behind grant writing

    - Learn how to find and submit grants 

    - Read actual grant proposals to learn common mistakes and important proposal components 

    Intermediate Grant Writing & Funder Panel (March 11, 2019) 

    - Learn about local arts funding opportunities

    - Receive personalized feedback on your grant proposals (bring 1 page for funders to review)

    - Practice reading and scoring actual grant applications

    Personal Finances for Artists (April 8, 2019) 

    - Learn why and how to use budgets

    - Look at sample budgets and learn how to interpret the story behind the numbers 

    - Create a simplified budget tailored to your goals for 2019

     

    Outreach & Audience Building (May 13, 2019) 

    - Learn new techniques for building an audience

    - Troubleshoot issues with audience development that you may have had in the past

    - Identify marketing techniques to keep people showing up to your future events

     

    Social Media Marketing (June 10, 2019) 

    - Talk about the advantages of using various social media channels

    - Gain new tips and tricks for using different types of social media

    - Learn how to use public relations and press releases to promote your work

    Crowdfunding (September 9, 2019) 

    - Learn how to tell if crowdfunding is right for your project

    - Discover the pros and cons of different crowdfunding platforms

    - Hear from a panel of artists who have run successful crowdfunding campaigns

     

    Creating an Artist Statement (September 23, 2019) 

    - Read through actual artist statements

    - Verbally share your personal mission or vision for your art with a partner

    - Practice writing or editing your own statement

    Setting & Measuring Goals (October 21, 2019) 

    - Identify what you want to achieve in your projects

    - Incorporate critical feedback and self-reflection into your arts practice

    - Brainstorm and receive tools for measuring success

    Workshops: 6-8pm at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia); all workshops in the series are FREE and OPEN to the public. Refreshments provided. No sign-up necessary.

    http://www.visiondrivenartists.org/

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  • 8:00 PMBowerbird pres. The Magic Sun (Sun Ra) and other AV shorts
  • 8:00 PM - 10:00 PM Bowerbird is pleased to present an evening of screened and live audio visual shorts including the Philadelphia premiere of Phill Niblock’s newly mastered 1966 film The Magic Sun – an experimental work featuring Sun Ra and His Solar Arkestra that was produced using a unique negative process and ultra-tight close-ups on the moving hands and mouths of the musicians.  Also screened will be Philadelphia dance artist Terry Fox’s Citizens’ Footbook. These video “fillers” were created by Terry Fox in collaboration with filmmaker David Rosenberg and WHYY-TV12 and Philadelphia musicians Jeff Cain and Charles Cohen, and were aired between main programs on WHYY-TV for about a year in 1980.  Live performances on the evening will be given by members of Philly A|V, a new collective whose work is at the intersection of sound, movement, video, digital processing, and other experimental media techniques.
PROGRAMPhill Niblock: The Magic Sun (1966, video)
Terry Fox: Citizens’ Footbook (1980, video) (music by Jeff Cain and Charles Cohen)
Andy Thierauf and Sean Thomas Boyt: trio (dance, sound, and live video processing)
Nora Gibson and Dave Buschmeyer: Dark Energy (sound with live audio-reactive visuals)
John Bezark and Chris Baldys: untitled (live sound and video processing)
Shani Aviram: untitled (live sound and video processing)ABOUT THE ARTISTSShani Aviram (b. Jerusalem, Israel) is a composer, sound designer and electronic musician currently based in Philadelphia. In her music she works with fragments of memories, conversations and synthesized sounds, exploring forms of musical collage. Often, she will let the machine run wild. She has studied composition with Maggi Payne, Fred Frith and John Bischoffhas performed at The Megapolis Audio Festival, CubeFest at Virginia Tech, and Mills College amongst other institutions.  www.shaniaviram.netJohn Bezark is a West Philly based creative technologist, video artist and interactive designer. He works primarily in MAX/MSP/Jitter, node.js and webGL to build creative systems that are powered by technology. However, with a background in Theatre Directing, he also believes in making immersive and interactive experiences that are deeply rooted in storytelling and audience agency. He’s fascinated by complex systems, board games and history, and, on the whole, is looking forward to the future.Nora Gibson is a choreographer and video artist interested in the beauty of the natural world, as evidenced in mathematics and science, and in working across artistic and academic disciplines to expand ballet’s reach. Gibson trained at Baltimore School for the Arts, Chautauqua, and NCSA, and earned a BFA from Tisch, at NYU. In addition to performing in the genres of ballet and contemporary dance in MD, D.C., and NY, Gibson was selected to work from 2010-2013 with Lucinda Childs to perform various iconic 70s works as part of the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage’s Virtual Reconstruction project. Gibson’s choreography has been presented by New Dance Alliance at Joyce SOHO, at Dance Place in Washington DC, Philadelphia Dance Projects, The Williams. Center for the Arts, and the Franklin Institute. Gibson also makes digital art under the name of Chroma and performs in A/V shows
currently scheduled in the US and Canada.Andy Thierauf is a Philadelphia based percussionist who specializes in the creation and performance of contemporary music. He is particularly interested in combining percussion with theater, dance, and technology. Andy teaches at Settlement Music School and is an adjunct professor of percussion at Kutztown University. He is half of stb x at, a dance/percussion duo with dancer and choreographer Sean Thomas Boyt. He has appeared in Philadelphia, New York, Boston, Argentina, and across the Midwest at music festivals, conferences, and symposia. His research centers on seamlessly integrating technology into performance to produce collaborative, multi-media presentations with writers, dancers, actors, choreographers, and composers.Terry Fox, Director of Philadelphia Dance Projects, is a former choreographer/dancer. Concurrently she is Adjunct Faculty for the MA in Theatre Arts Administration Program, Global Learning & Partnerships, in the Theatre & Dance Department at Rowan University. As an artist she was one of the first in Philly to explore post modernism with improvisational structures in performance as well as “pioneer” the Old City loft district that later was developed into arts district. She often collaborated with choreographer/dancer Ishmael Houston-Jones, and musicians Charles Cohen and Jeff Cain. As artist Curator she founded the “Dance With The Bride” series at the Painted Bride Art Center, where she was on staff from1977-83 and again from ‘93 to 2000. In the interim she was Managing/Artistic Director of the Danspace Project at St. Mark’s Church In-The-Bowery. She has served on numerous Boards and panels and has taught as adjunct faculty at various colleges and universities. She has a BA from New York University, a MA from Temple University and participated in the Whitney Museum of American Art, Independent Study Program.www.philadanceprojects.orgPerformers For Citizen’s Footbook:
“Park Dance” The Stickmen ( Peter Baker, Chuck Mattern and Beth Lejman )
“Pounding the Pavement” Mary Baker, Elizabeth Gold, Fred Holland
“Businessman Special” Leonard Steinberg, Will Fox, Bob Rivera and an actor from Freedom TheatreMusic: Ghostwriters (Jeff Cain and Charles Cohen, electronic music duo)The Local Dance History Project is an ongoing project of Philadelphia Dance Projects with the 
mission “to affirm the presence of dance artists in the rich cultural history of Philadelphia’s recent past, present and future.” In 2010, PDP presented performances of re-imagined works by Philadelphia Post modern dance artists from 1980. The project then expanded to begin creating a digital collection about those artists and others to become part of the permanent Philadelphia Dance Collection at the Special Collection Research Center at Temple University Libraries. That archiving is still in process.www.localdancehistory.philadanceprojects.org    Admission is FREE
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  • 7:00 PMAn Annual Celebration of the Arts in Honor of Lili Bita
  • 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM An Annual Celebration of the Arts in Honor of Lili BitaJoin us for Eros, an annual celebration of the life and art of actress, author, and musician Lili Bita, one of Philadelphia’s most beloved artists and, in the words of the former director of the Greek National Theater, Tasos Athanasiadis, one of the most talented women of her generation. Lili graced the stage of The Rotunda for many years, and with this celebration of poetry and music we inaugurate a continuing relationship with her legacy and spirit.Featured artists include:Lisa AmosRuchama BilenkyJanet BresslerBill BurrisonEileen d’AngeloRay GreenblattBarbara McPhersonBill Van BuskirkGerald van WilgenHannah Tsapatoris-MacleodAdmission is FREE.
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  • 7:00 PMWomen on Whitman
  • 7:00 PM - 8:30 PM Moveable Beats Reading Series presentsWomen on Whitman part of the Whitman @200 celebration)featuring the following poets reading their work inspired by or informed by Whitman:Nathalie AndersonMegan GillespieVernita HallDarla HimelesAngel HoganAutumn KonopkaJ.C. ToddSekiafua Zankel Admission is FREE
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  • 7:00 PMThe Gold Showcase
  • 7:00 PM - 11:00 PM The Gold ShowcaseAdmission: $10Doors at 6:15pm. Show at 7pm
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  • 5:00 PMBreak Free Fest III
  • 5:00 PM - 11:00 PM FOR US BY US!POC bands/artists at the front to benefit marginalized communities!PLEASE DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUND: https://plumfund.com/community-crowdfunding/break-free-fest-iiiTickets and poster coming soon!Follow us on Instagram @BreakfreeFest
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  • 5:00 PMBreak Free Fest III
  • 5:00 PM - 11:00 PM FOR US BY US!POC bands/artists at the front to benefit marginalized communities!PLEASE DONATE TO OUR CROWDFUND: https://plumfund.com/community-crowdfunding/break-free-fest-iiiTickets and poster coming soon!Follow us on Instagram @BreakfreeFest
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  • 8:00 PMLife Outside the Streets Inc. Live taping of trauma PSAs
  • 8:00 PM - 11:30 PM Life Outside the Streets Inc. is a non profit organization in Philadelphia with a mission to treat trauma through arts, entertainment, education and information.At The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street on Wednesday, May 29th - Free and Open to the Public beginning at 8pm we will do live audience recordings of radio and television public service announcements on trauma and why it is important to treat your trauma. Studies and statistics show that untreated trauma is the root cause of the violence, drug abuse, unhealthy sexual relationships, self hate and so much more of the things that plague our communities.Jon MckayPresidentLife Outside the StreetsBelow is the Script for production.PSA ProductionMay 29th @ The Rotunda8:00Script: Trauma: Violence, Abuse, Suicide, Incarcerated loved one, police brutality, Neglect, Poverty, Slavery, Mental Health, Rape, Murder, Loss of a loved one, Loss, Accident, natural disaster, displacement, being bullied, suicide …….These can all be forms of trauma or toxic stressOutcomes:Violence, drug and alcohol abuse/addiction, incarceration, police brutality, unsafe sex, mental health challenges, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, PTSD, Bipolar, schizophrenia, OCD, PTSD, ADHD, Panic disorder, Mood disorder, personality disorder, Psychosis, Anorexia nervosa, becoming an abuser, becoming a bully, isolation, risky health behaviors, chronic health conditions, low life potential, early death, unintended pregnancy,, HIV, STD’s, Cancer, Diabetes, poor education, low income…….the risk of these outcomes increases heavily when you experience trauma or adverse childhood experiencesTreatment:Art, music, love, mentorship, therapy, self care, self love, journaling, nutritious lifestyle, healthy sleeping habits, exercise Did you treat your trauma?Start the process at Lotsinc.org
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  • 9:00 PMThe Gathering
  • 9:00 PM - 1:00 AM (nearly every last Thursday) 9pm-1am Established in 1996, The Gathering is the longest/strongest-running truly Hip Hop event in Philly. The 
Gathering IS b-boys/b-girls, pop-lockers, emcees, graffiti writers, 
DJs, men, women, and children of all ages enjoying an organic, 
community-based celebration of The struggle, the Love, and the culture 
of Hip Hop. DJs spin Hiphop, breaks, and funk all night, and there are 
open cyphas, a tag wall, and a featured performance and graffiti panel 
each month. Admission is $3 before 10pm, $5 after 10pm.
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