THE BRIGHT BULB SCREENING SERIES (Free Screenings on the Second Thursday of Every Month at The Rotunda) 

Double Feature!  INGRID GOES WEST (2017) and SIESTA (1987)

Two tales about identity,  hosted by Dan Buskirk (Fun 2 Know Podcast, WPRB-Princeton) 

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INGRID GOES WEST (2017, directed by Matt Spicer, 97 minutes, U.S.)

Wilmington, Delaware's Aubrey Plaza came up through the sketch comedy and stand-up world

before breaking through in 2009 with her supporting role on the NBC sitcom PARKS & REC.  Her feature film career started out strongly in 2012 with SAFETY NOT GUARANTEED but it proved difficult to conjure a vehicle that made the most out of Plaza's smart, deadpan persona.

The 2017 dark comedy INGRID GOES WEST is Plaza's most audacious showcase to date, Co-written and confidently directed by Matt Spicer, Ingrid is a sullen, slightly violent outcast, trying to get through post-high school life.  A sudden inheritance  gives Ingrid the freedom to move to Southern California  where she stalks and be-friends Taylor (Elizabeth Olsen), her Instagram idol.  Also mixed up in Ingrid's new life is her skeptical landlord Dan (played by O'Shea Jackson Jr,. Ice Cube's youngest son).

Like a modern take on Scorsese's KING OF COMEDY, Ingrid is a anti-hero in pursuit of a very modern fame, a fame unlikely to fill the obvious large hole within.  Plaza's ability to wring the maximum humanity out of this troubled and complicated character makes you hope she'll soon find more opportunities to explore her unique comic gifts.  More an edgy character study than raucous youth comedy, INGRID was dumped into theaters in late August of 2017 and never quite found the audience the dark satire deserved.

“The experience is akin to being kneaded by a cat - now soft paws, now sharp claws, alternately sweet and deeply uncomfortable.”

- Matthew Lickona, San Diego Reader 

...and also on the bill...

SIESTA (1987, directed by Mary Lambert, 97 minutes, U.S.)

Mary Lambert (PET SEMETARY I & II) was uniquely positioned to make her feature film debut, SIESTA.  The videos she directed for Janet Jackson (“Control”) The Eurythmics (“Would I Lie to You?”) and especially Madonna (including “Material Girl” and “Like a Prayer”) made her a talent with which everyone wanted to work.  Lambert played the audacious auteur role to the hilt.  

Based on a novel by Patrice Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin's daughter-in-law) Lambert's SIESTA is a dreamy tale of fractured identity with a touch of Fellini and Lynch.  The always-absorbing Ellen Barkin wakes up in the desert outside of Madrid, bruised and bloodied with someone else's blood. Is she really a daredevil skydiver who missed her target?  Helping her piece things together are flashbacks featuring a dream cast of mid '80's glamor, including Gabriel Byrne, Isabella Rossellini, Jodie Foster, Julian Sands, Martin Sheen and Grace Jones, with comic relief by Alexei Sayle from THE YOUNG ONES.  The film's erotic content help make it a steady rental from the “Cult” section of video stores nationwide.  Featuring a soundtrack that was a late-career highlight for Miles Davis, recorded in collaboration with bassist Marcus Miller.

“Miss Lambert's first feature has a game, mischievous spirit and a ripe bohemianism that are appealing...in its glossy, solemn and numbingly pretentious way, it's got high style.”

 - Janet Maslin, The New York Times 

Admission is FREE

Cheer-Accident, George Korein and the Spleen, Stressica

Chicago's legendary CHEER-ACCIDENT are returning to Philly to celebrate their 20th album, CHICAGO XX! Like a certain famous band with numerical album titles, they are bringing a horn section. Their brilliant and masterfully realized prog and pop visions are often spiked with a wildcard of unpredictable mischievous absurdity.

http://www.cheer-accident.com/

https://cheer-accident.bandcamp.com/

https://www.youtube.com/CHEERACCIDENT

George Korein and the Spleen (Eliot Klein, Eli Litwin, and on this outing, Alex Kulick) will be performing the new album AUTOMATING SEASON, a collection of songs about smartphones, birds, bees, mummies, mommies (octopus ones in particular), the UN of boogiemen, and smartphones again. These songs may never be performed again in the foreseeable future so now is your chanson chance.

https://georgekorein.bandcamp.com/

STRESSICA (formerly Diva 93) counters the stifling summer heat with the icy chill of eerie solo synthwave from Minneapolis. Self-described as “bitchy, lusty, rusty”. Tune in to the stark emanations.

ALL AGES

FREE, Suggested Donation 8-10 dollars

Flyer by Hattie Korein 

Sold Out! 2019 Philly Fringe Festival Preview Night #2

Similar to Scratch Night at FringeArts, but all works showcased each night will be a part of the 2019 Fringe Festival! Here is your chance to preview works taking place this September in 5 minute sections and get a glimpse of the exciting work being made all over Philadelphia. Unsure of what to see during the Festival? Hoping to learn more about a particular show? Then join us for a free Festival Preview Night, taking place Mondays, Aug 5, 19 & 26 at 7pm. The Preview Night on Monday, August 19 will take place at The Rotunda, and August 5 and 26 will take place at FringeArts.

Free RSVP

About the Artists

Know Thyself by IKantKoan / Jessica Creane

“You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.” – Plato

We’re bringing a little Philly to Philosophy in this immersive, interactive Philosophy salon, where the rules we live by- and their consequences- are always in play. If you’ve ever wondered what Aristotle’s teachings or the Trolley Problem would be like as games, this is the place to find out.

Beyond the Light by Leila and Pantea Productions

A captivating creation story of the origin of love. One soul split into two struggles to reunite through a world of shadows and light. This all-ages story combines puppetry, dance, and stunning visual effects. Beyond the Light is sure to captivate the senses. Called “stunning!” by Jane Henson, cofounder of The Muppets.

Candle, Sword, and Fan by Irene Reinke

Candle, Sword, and Fan is a theatrical show that intertwines dance (with balancing props)and art (artists and models) with archetypal themes of youth, adult, elder-with a Jungian slant. The venue is The Plastic Club, one of the oldest art clubs in America.

I Know It Was the Blood: The Totally True Adventures of a Newfangled Black Woman by Lawnmower Media/Tara Lake

In this award-winning sojourn embracing Southern roots, Gospel rhythms, and Queer identity, one family’s love conquers all. A scrappy Jersey girl navigates a changing world and finds the courage to live authentically in this soul-rich performance of storytelling, theater, song, and poetry. Philly Premiere!

bilialien by Annie Wilson

“Keening” is an experimental performance in embodied vocalizing, loosely inspired by the Celtic tradition of keening: wailing at the funeral of a loved one. This performance is disconnected from a particular body and connected to many bodies.

The Edge by Almanac Dance Circus Theatre

Through video, acrobatic dance, and live music, brave characters unearth how sanity is found when stability tempts desertion. This original piece reveals relationships between sufferers of debilitating diseases and their caretakers. It’s a kinetic navigation of grief, the point between vitality and decay, and the slaphappy effect of unusual routines.

Proceed with Caution by Lyons and Tigers

Proceed with Caution (featured photo) grapples with personal, social, and global security and trust in the present day- a time of global violence, the Trump presidency, mass shootings, and the #MeToo movement. A group of performers explore security through dance, video projection, and spoken and recorded words. The work has been expanded and updated over the past year since its premiere in the 2018 Fringe Festival, which includes a new twenty minute section about security after 9/11. The central theme of the work comes from security expert Bruce Schneier. He writes: “Security is both a reality and a feeling and they’re not the same thing… The foundation of security is trust, both personal trust and global trust”.

SOLD OUT! More info at https://fringearts.com/event/2019-festival-preview-night-2/