we come to collect: a flirtation, with capitalism
Jenn Kidwell and the blackening
January 22-24, 2026
The Flea’s Production of
we have come to collect: a flirtation, with capitalism
Performed by Jennifer Kidwell and Brandon Kazen-Maddox
OBIE Award-winning artist Jenn Kidwell and ASL artist Brandon Kazen-Maddox invite you to roll in the pigsty of American consumerism. Dark, funny, incisive, and just a little bit misbehaved, Kidwell’s interrogation of capitalism and her place within it is an unforgettable, all-inclusive trip into the heart of darkness. Brandon Kazen-Maddox acts as Kidwell’s accomplice; their expressive performance in ASL weaves Sign Language seamlessly into the narrative and choreography of the piece.
Part performance art, part theater, and part stand-up comedy, this carnivalesque experience holds a mirror up to the present moment and the audience (literally). Beneath the laugh-out-loud humor is a proposition: fuck work, chase your dreams—believe that you are a miracle. Come ready to laugh, and leave seeing your worth in a new light.
“Kidwell, a comic genius…,ping-pongs hilariously among topics (time, America, Flavor Flav)….Her own extraordinary quality as part chaos Muppet, part deep thinker intensifies as you get closer to the stage” — The New Yorker
“we come to collect is not a play, per se—it is an encounter. A reckoning. A party with teeth. A love letter in disguise. It is also, quite simply, a damn good time. And in these uncertain days, that may be the most revolutionary gesture of all.” — TheaterScene.net
PERFORMANCES
JANUARY 22-24, 2026
Jan. 22 + 23 at 7pm
Jan. 24 at 2pm and 7pm
PRICING
$50 Supporter
$35 GA Standard
$15 Industry, Students, & 25-and-Under
$2 FringeACCESS
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VENUE
FringeArts
140 N Columbus Blvd
Philadelphia PA 19106
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Writer, Director, Performer: Jennifer Kidwell
Co-Director: Adam Lazarus
Dramaturg & Interdisciplinary Performance Doula:jaamil olawale kosoko
Scenic Concept: Jian Jung
Lighting Designer: Evan Spigelman
Sound Designer: Jordan McCree
Video Designer: Matthew Deinhart
Props & Objects Designer: Petra Floyd
Original Music: Juliette Jones and Jarvis Benson
Stage Manager: Pat Adams
Production Stage Manager: Lisa McGinn
Creative Producer: Jecca Barry
Production Manager: Brian Freeland
Director of Artistic Sign Language: Patrice Creamer
Scenic Builders: Parrish Productions
Tour Produced by: Jecca Barry / Fin Productions
Read More
ARTIST BIOS
Jennifer Kidwell (Instigator, Writer, Performer) is a performing artist with a penchant for getting people to do things they never thought they’d do. Recent original projects – Those With 2 Clocks (The Wilma Theater), Underground Railroad Game (2017 Obie Award for Best New American Theatre Work; 2018 Edinburgh Fringe First Award; Lucille Lortel, Helen Hayes nominations). Currently collaborating with Chef Laquanda Dobson on Givingthanks and with Ars Nova Workshop/Immanuel Wilkins on Recess. Recent performances – The Welkin (Atlantic Theater Co.), Ocean Filibuster (PearlDamour), Eternal Life Part 1, Fat Ham (2021 film) and Antigone (The Wilma Theater), Syllabus for Black Love (jaamil olawole kosoko), Home (Geoff Sobelle; 2018 Bessie Award), Adrienne Truscott’s Still Asking for It (Joe’s Pub), Superterranean, Fire Burns Hot: Little Reno!, I Promised Myself to Live Faster, and 99 Break-Ups (Pig Iron Theatre Company). Published in “Black Body Amnesia” and Movement Research Performance Journal #45 and at hyperallergic.com. 2020 Visiting Artist Duke University, 2021 Visiting Artist UPenn. 2013 TCG/Fox Resident Actor Fellowship, 2015, 2021 Leeway Foundation Art & Change Grant, 2016 Pew Fellow, 2017 Independence Fellowship, 2020 Ruthie Award & Hodder Fund Grant, 2023 Foundation for Contemporary Arts Grantee.
Brandon Kazen-Maddox (they/them)(ASL Artist), choreographer, dancer, actor, filmmaker, and third-generation heritage signer raised in a culturally Deaf household. Their work centers Deaf, Disabled, BIPOC, and LGBTQAI+ communities through inclusive, interdisciplinary performance in American Sign Language, spoken English and Simultaneous Communication, or SimCom. They have shared their story nationally, including TEDx, The Getty Museum’s Day of Unreasonable Conversation, NASPA, and PBS’s Stories from the Stage. Their work has been recognized with a Creative Capital Award, NEFA NDP Grant, Mertz-Gilmore Foundation Grant, Gucci’s Chime for Change, and the Times Square Midnight Moment (“Georgia”).
Television credits include The Good Fight, High Maintenance, and PBS’s Brief But Spectacular, As a 2024 WNET/ALL ARTS Artist in Residence, their 30-minute special SOUL(SIGNS): Making Music Visible premiered in April 2025. Theater and dance credits include Bill T. Jones’ Deep Blue Sea (Park Avenue Armory), (FREEDOM) (ArtYARD), and Fresh Tracks (New York Live Arts). Brandon holds an MFA from NYU Tisch and is a co-founder of Up Until Now Collective. Learn more at www.upuntilnowcollective.com and www.brandonkazen-maddox.com
Supporters
we come to collect was commissioned by Woolly Mammoth’s Weissberg Commission program and developed with support from MCA Chicago, the Ucross Foundation Residency, Under the Radar’s UFO series, Venturous Theatre Fund, Subcircle Residency Program, The Flea, Northwestern University, and the Hiatt Family. The World Premiere took place at The Flea on August 30, 2025.
Producers
Shelley Green and Michael Golden
Deborah Solo
David and Linda Glickstein
Accessibility
Please note that this performance includes moments with flashing lights. For more info on our accessibility services visit Fringearts.com/Accessibility.
Questions? Email PatronServices@FringeArts.com or call 215.413.1318.
Health & Safety
Masks are optional, vaccines are not required. More information about FringeArts COVID policies can be found here.