Life’s a Stage: Live Performances
Wednesday, November 10thSlam Soiree: 6 – 8pm
Grand Slam: 8:30 – 10:30pm
Main Stage / Painted Bride Art Center
$30 for Grand Slam and Soiree ($24 for First Person Members)
$15 Grand Slam only ($12 for First Person members)
Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
Winners of our popular monthly StorySlams storm the Painted Bride Art Center stage with their savviest tales as they vie for the title of “Best Storyteller in Philadelphia.” Start the party early with a Slam Soiree. Sip cocktails featuring Tub Gin, ROOT and the new liqueur SNAP, and nibble on tapas by renowned Philadelphia bar-café Tria. Hosted by Festival Artist Elna Baker of The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance.
We thank our sponsors Art in the Age, L’Etage, Tria, Tub Gin and World Café Live.
East Coast Theater PremiereThursday, November 11, 8PM
Friday, November 12, 8PM
Saturday, November 13, 8PM
Main Stage / 90 minutes
$25 ($20 for First Person members)
Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
Obama Nation and Palin Country collide in the hit one-man show, The Real Americans, coming to the First Person Festival after a nine-month sold-out run in San Francisco. Anti-war gun salesman, Reagan-ite union coal miners, liberal rednecks, yuppie hipsters — these are just some of the people whom Dan Hoyle, described by the New York Times as “a first-rate reporter and actor,” met while traveling the U.S.A in his van. He brings them all to life with humor, honesty, and extraordinary versatility, opening our eyes to what makes up our “real America.”
Dan Hoyle will also lead a performance workshop on November 14.
Sponsored by University of the Arts and the Pennsylvania Humanities Council.
Thursday, November 11, 9:30pmFriday, November 12, 6:30PM
Raw Space / 60 minutes
$15 ($12 for First Person members)
Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
This American Life contributor and Moth storyteller Elna Baker brings the comedy of her popular memoir, The New York Regional Mormon Singles Halloween Dance, to life for two nights at the Festival. Finding love isn’t easy when you’re a twenty-something actress living in New York City… but it can be hilarious, at least when Elna’s talking about it. Whether she’s looking for her soul mate dressed as a fortune cookie or introducing us to the infamous doll Nubbins, Elna brings a unique perspective influenced by her experiences as – yes – a practicing Mormon in the big city.
Elna Baker will also run a storytelling workshop on November 13.
World Premiere Workshop Presentation
Fri, November 12, 8:30pm
Sat, November 13, 10pm
Raw Space / 60 minutes
$15 ($12 for First Person members)
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Why do we leave our homes to start new lives? What are we hoping to find when we arrive? How does this affect the generations after us? Based on his life as a first-generation Filipino-American and intertwining stories from his ensemble, theatre artist Justin Jain weaves a tapestry of movement, music, and dialogue that asks these questions. With Scott McPheeters (of Kun Yang Lin and Dancers and BoanDanz Action), Barrymore-nominated actor James Ijames (performer and playwright of The Threshing Floor, a biographical solo about author James Baldwin), Barrymore-nominated actress Genevieve Perrier and StorySlam winner and professional actress Leah Walton. Directed by Becky Wright.
Philadelphia Premiere
Friday, November 12 at 10PM
Saturday, November 13 at 8:30PM
Raw Space / 60 minutes
$15 ($12 for First Person members)
Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
Get behind the wheel with Robin Gelfenbien, an insecure goody-goody who finds redemption on the road in the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. Can she handle a horndog co-pilot, a media circus and her nemesis? Using music, video and photo footage from her childhood and her life on the hot dog highway, Gelfenbien tells the story of her transformation from underdog to “one of the most notorious Oscar Meyer Wienermobile drivers of all time.” (TimeOut New York)
Saturday, November 13 at 2:00pmMain Stage / 2 ½ hours
$15 ($12 for First Person members)
Click here for more information and to buy tickets.
Prison 101 is a two-part program that pairs a film and play to demonstrate the power of storytelling in two different prison communities.
Part 1: Girls on the Wall
Philadelphia Premiere
The documentary film Girls on the Wall, touted by Time Out Chicago as “amazing,” follows the young women at an Illinois juvenile correctional facility as they embark on a unique journey: creating a musical theater piece based on their lives. Their road is a rocky one, but they find humor and strength amidst the sadness of sharing their own stories with each other and an audience of family and friends.
Part 2: Prison 101
World Premiere
The men of Graterford Prison – just 45 minutes outside of Philadelphia – created this monologue-driven theater piece, Prison 101, in a prison-based B.A. program run by Villanova University. They reveal the stories of how they landed in prison and what they have done to reclaim their lives since becoming incarcerated. Philadelphia actors will bring their powerful tales to life in this world premiere.
Sponsored by Villanova University and Ursinus College.
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