The Church of Loneliness. A vintage cyberpunk cafe. Government-mandated sex talks with your dad. Each week, award-winning Philly playwrights present short, fresh plays that explore faraway places and radical themes about humanity’s future.

VISIONS is a three-week work-in-progress series showcasing 10 playwrights. Each week a different group of writers present brand new performance pieces inspired by outer space, technology, religion, the future, and more. Come back the next night or the next week to see a new Vision!

Sept 12 – 15 | Nikki Brake-Silla, Nick Jonczak, Carl(os) Roa

Sept 19 – 22 | Eppchez !, L M Feldman, Jarrett McCreary

Sept 26 – 29 | Emma Gibson, Johnny G. Lloyd, Kate Kearns

Please note: Each week features a different group of playwrights, so the plays presented are different from week to week. Within a given week there are four one-hour performances and each one-hour performance contains three or four short pieces of 15 to 20 minutes each. Some weeks, a playwright may choose to present the same piece for all four performances. Other weeks, a playwright may choose to present a different short piece each night. Please visit our page on the Cannonball website for more information.

Showtimes

Health & Safety

Proof of vaccination is required to attend this and all Cannonball Festival events. For the safety of audiences, artists, staff, and our greater community, you must be fully vaccinated to attend this event. Fully vaccinated means two weeks after your second dose. You will be asked to show proof of vaccination before entering the venue. Accepted forms for proof of vaccination include: a physical vaccine card with your name on it or a digital photo of your vaccine card on a cell phone. Please plan accordingly.

Masks must also be worn for the duration of the performance.

Credits

This show is presented as part of Cannonball Festival, an independent satellite festival produced by Almanac Dance Circus Theatre and the Maas Building featuring over 150 events including performances of 27 original shows, nightly cabarets, and more. Learn more at cannonballfestival.org.

Content Considerations

At the time of submission, most pieces have not been written yet. Please visit our page on the Cannonball website for more information.

About the Artists

Eppchez ! is a Quaker, gender-expansive, Cuban & Jewish theater maker, musician, and designer. Ey has self-produced 7 original shows & worked w/Pig Iron, Simpatico, Bearded Ladies, Applied Mechanics.

Nikki Brake-Sillá’s full-length plays include TROUBLE OF THE WORLD, DEAR ANN, GTFOH, and IN DEFENSE OF OURSELVES. She founded DrAW (Dramatists at War) and is an inaugural member of Jouska PlayWorks.

Mark Cofta is a playwright and educator in the Philadelphia area. A theater critic for 30+ years, he was awarded a National Endowment for the Arts Journalism Fellowship in Theater Criticism (2010).

L M Feldman is a queer feminist playwright, deviser, professor, & contemporary circus artist. She loves formally adventurous, physically kinetic, ensemble-driven plays that are both intimate & epic.

Emma Gibson is a British theatre-maker, now living in Philadelphia. Placements incl: Pittsburgh Public Theater’s inaugural new play competition (winner), The O’Neill New Play Conference (finalist).

Nick Jonczak (lead) is a playwright, director, and producer of more than 20 original, full-length, live productions, including outdoor events, immersive adventures, and experimental plays.

Kate Kearns is a playwright and actor from New York. Her prior work won the Judy Lee Award for Dramatic Writing (University of Pennsylvania) and the Alice Merrill Mitchell Prize (Bowdoin College).

Johnny G. Lloyd is a New York-based writer and producer. Recent: OR, AN ASTRONAUT PLAY (Co-Production, InVersion Theatre & The Tank) and ROUND (Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Short Play Festival).

Jarrett McCreary seeks intimacy with playwriting. His stories are black, queer, magical, and vulnerable, and the hope is to use them as a tool to dive deep into conversations about human connection.

Carl(os) Roa is a creator, writer, performer, organizer, juicy Colombian bear, and effusive Miami transplant. (os)’ work explores the marginalized within the marginalized and communities living alternative lives.