Philly Fringe Vital Stats: C.W. Kennedy
PuppeTyranny (remember Water Bears in Space?) returns to this year’s Philly Fringe. Their new show is Imanami, and Wikipedia — the crowning source for legitimate information — tells me that this Japanese word translates to megatsumani (as if a run-of-the-mill tsunami weren’t terrifying enough). Certainly the premise is mega-titillating: expect puppets, aerialists, a live score, all set against a post-apocalyptic landscape. The show’s writer, director, and producer C.W. Kennedy answers our (space) probing questions.
Name: C.W. Kennedy
Age: 28
Where were you born? Paducah, Kentucky.
Where do you live now? Philadelphia.
Show Title: Iminami.
Explain your performance in 2 sentences. To an 8-year-old: There’s a girl named Interplanet Janet who lives on Saturn’s moon, and a girl on Earth named Rene Junot and they become friends and try to solve mysteries together. There will be music, and puppets, and someone on aerial silks doing crazy circus tricks.
What was your favorite toy as a kid? I had a bunch of toy horses and I pretended they were wizards.
What do you love (or hate) most about Philadelphia audiences? During my last show, an elderly gentleman handed me three large pictures of water bears after the show was over that he had printed for me. So love, love, love.
What’s your favorite nickname for Philadelphia? Philly? But I always thought the Roots’ lyrics, “I’m from illadel, the land where the killahs dwell” was pretty well, funny isn’t the right word . . .
What’s the most disgusting thing you’ve ever seen on SEPTA? The way people treat their children.
Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” or Cookie Monster’s “Share It Maybe”?: Cookies trump hookups with randos.
Iminami runs September 9, 10, 12, 17, 19, 20 and 21 at 8:00 pm at Greensaw Design, 820 North 4th Street. $10.
–Audrey McGlinchy