workshop | Justice Theater Workshop with Nommo Theatre (3/13)

Saturday, March 13, 1 – 4 p.m.

WHAT IS JUSTICE TO YOU and how does it relate to theater and performance art? Are you satisfied with the status quo? If not, what is your analysis and how could it affect your creation of art? These are some of the questions and themes explored by Nommo Theatre. Improvisation, free writing, excerpts of original Nommo plays, and insightful group discussion will culminate into fresh original group performances that could be used as blueprints for justice and/or guerrilla theater.

NOMMO THEATRE creates work that entertains, provokes thought, and ignites healthy debate. Co-founders Mitchell Ferguson and Bashi Rose use theatre to present the Black experience with all its ritual, spirituality, and resistance intact. Since 1994, Nommo Theatre has produced original work in Maryland, D.C. and Virginia. Now we are proud to host Bashi and Mitchell for a 3-hour workshop on March 13 in Philadelphia.

Suggested tuition: $5-$15, sliding scale—no one turned away for lack of funds.

For further info and to pre-register, email tophilly@gmail.com or check out tophiladelphia.blogspot.com.

See more from Nommo Theatre at www.nommotheatre.com.


art | Fun-A-Day 6 (2/12 & 2/13)

Friday February 12, 7 to 11 p.m. and Saturday, February 13, 4 to 6 p.m. and 7 to 11 p.m.

People around the world have embarked on an astounding artistic endeavor: to create a piece of art every day during the month of January. Come enjoy the fruits of their labor at the Sixth Annual Fun-A-Day Art Show!

This year’s show will be TWO big days: Friday and Saturday! Saturday will also feature a Reading Event for literary projects: 4-6pm!

For more info visit www.artclash.com.


cabaret | A Dozen Things I Want To Do On Stage (1/15)

A one-woman cabaret by Rebecca Nagle

Friday, January 15, 8 p.m.

Baltimore-based performing artist Rebecca Nagle mixes burlesque routines, contortionist yoga poses, rhyming verse, ritualized confession, science experiments and audience participation in “A Dozen Things I Want To Do On Stage,” a one-woman show that recalls the political European cabarets of the 1920s. Nagle’s Dozen plays with the familiar themes and tropes of the human condition—sex, violence, love, tragedy, fantasy, history and death—to deliver the hard truths, half-truths and straight up lies about the artist and almost everyone else in the room. Before your very eyes, Rebecca Nagle will undress to the song “Wenn Ich Mir Was Wünschen Dürfte,” squeeze herself into a small box, reveal your innermost secrets, discuss why something is racist, fall instantaneously in love, read her own fantasies aloud, act your fantasies out for you, induce a terrible tragedy, fall down, subject herself to interrogation under the influence of truth serum, tell a tall tale, and eventually disembowel herself to the beat of your unbridled applause.

NOTE: “A Dozen Things I Want To Do On Stage” contains material that may be of a sensitive nature to some people, including nudity, strong language, political discourse and graphic violence.

Suggested Donation: $5-$10
More info at http://puppetuprising.org/upcoming.html


workshop | Theater Games Workshop (1/30)

Saturday, January 30

GROUP GAMES FOR BODY AND BRAIN: Come play games! This 4-hour workshop will teach participants of all ages to play more than 30 interactive, non-competitive games that loosen the boundaries of our senses and work to get us thinking and moving outside of our usual routines. The games are a useful tool for teachers, students, performers, organizers, activists and anyone who works with groups. You’ll also get a chance to lead some games and brainstorm how games can be utilized in the work that we do.

More details soon to come—see http://tophiladelphia.blogspot.com/ for further info!


eclectic | StudioSeries Halloween (10/30 & 10/31)

Friday, October 30 and Saturday, October 31, 8 p.m.

Please join us for the spooky Halloween edition of the StudioSeries. They are separate lineups so come both evenings for double trouble. Contemporary dance, music, poetry and theater is super scary so bring a friend to hold your hand! This month features a raffle with big prizes like private pilates, yoga and myofascial bodywork.

Oct 30th
Aaron Birk – performance, visual art
David Fishkin – saxophone
Jenny Sawyer – dance
Tina Heuges – dance
Rob Wright – poetry
Daniele Paloumpis – dance

Oct 31st
Erin Foreman-Murray – dance
Fatima Adamu – voice
Ben Camp – theater
Rebecca Patek – dance
Karina Kacala – voice
Sharon Mansur – dance

The StudioSeries is a monthly, informal series featuring performance in all media by some of the Philly’s most exciting artists (with some fabulous out of town guests). The StudioSeries is cozy, informal and fun! Come check out their work while it’s raw, and in the works. It’s a rare and thrilling opportunity to get a window into the artist’s creative process. Feel free to hang afterwards, meet the artists and chat with them about their performances.


workshop | Theatre of the Oppressed (10/24, 11/14, 12/12)

Saturdays, October 24, November 14, & December 12, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed is hosting monthly workshops at Studio 34. Here’s the lineup for this autumn:

October 24: Games for Actors and Non-Actors. Come learn and play over 30 games that loosen the boundaries of our senses and work to get us thinking and moving outside of our usual routines. A useful tool for performers, as well as teachers, organizers, activists and anyone who works with groups. This workshop will end at 2 p.m., at which point everyone is invited to Clark Park where Spiral Q Puppet Theater’s Peoplehood Parade commences. Sliding scale: $5-15.

November 14: Image Theatre on Gentrification. By sharpening our ability to “speak” with the body, we can communicate things that are often lost in the language of words. This workshop will build movement, sound and dialogue on the issue of gentrification, leading to action steps on what we can do as a community to move forward without trampling others underfoot.

December 12: The Rainbow of Desire. A technique aimed at disarming our most intimate oppressors—those inside our own heads. The Rainbow of Desire takes some of these oppressors out of our heads and puts them onstage where the group can tackle them together.

Get details at http://tophiladelphia.blogspot.com . To register for one, two, or all three workshops, please email tophilly@gmail.com or call 215-730-0982.


silent auction and performance | ArcheDream for HUMANKIND fundraiser (9/25)

Friday, September 5, 7 to 11 p.m.SilentAuctionFlyer

Note: This event is not held at Studio 34.

Location: 1735 Market St.,  42nd Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Friends of ArcheDream for HUMANKIND is hosting its sixth annual performance and silent auction. Held in honor of Studio 34’s very own Stephen Fisher, the event will raise money for ADHK’s community programs, including working with homeless men and presenting workshops for children who need alternative ways to express their issues. Unique and innovative, these programs educate through entertainment while using music, dance, theater, and visual arts to inspire and improve. For more information, contact Melissa at 609.238.9420.


Fringe Festival | Play: “Creditors” (9/4-9/12)

Presented by Danger Goddess Productions CREDITORS_guide_photo

Friday, September 4 through Thursday, September 12

Written by August Strindberg, translated by Elizabeth Sprigge

Directed by Rowen Haigh

Starring:  Natanya Apfelbaum, Lesley Berkowitz and Ruth Feinblum

Psychological maneuvering is paired with heightened physicality in this story of a slighted husband who systematically dismantles his rival’s sanity, independence and sense of self.  Featuring an all-female cast, CREDITORS presents a chilling world in which love has become nothing more than a commodity and a debt to be collected.

Performances are:

FRIDAY September 4 at 7:30pm
SATURDAY September 5 at 7:30pm
SUNDAY September 6 at 8:00pm

THURSDAY September 10 at 10:00pm
SATURDAY September 12 at 10:00pm

All shows are pay what you can.

Look for us in the Interdisciplinary section of the Fringe guide or at http://www.livearts-fringe.org/.


improv | Comedy Night (7/23)

Thursday, July 23, 10 to 11 p.m.

Longform improv comedy returns in July with a powerhouse lineup. West Philly locals Illegal Refill play host to opening troupe The Moops. The Moops are an all-star team of Philadelphia-are improvisers assembled, wound up, and released by the Philly Improv Theater. It would be challenging to find a better night of comedy in the city. Pay what you can.


monthly party | Feet Active

feetactive_front1Dance Party, Vegan Cupcakes, and Midnight Yoga

Friday, July 10, and Saturday, July 11, doors at 7:30 p.m.

Puppet Uprising and Feet Active partner up to present Missoula Oblongata’s new play “The 50 Greatest Ladies and Gentleman” along with the standard dance party/midnight yoga/vegan cupcake extravaganza for two special nights in July.

8:00pm: “The 50 Greatest Ladies and Gentleman” takes place just after the Treaty of Versailles. A veteran who is genetically predisposed to cowardice searches for his brother from whom he’s received a mysterious letter. When the veteran comes upon the town from whence the letter came, he finds that his brother (and the rest of the town) have been caught in a dance mania—a hysterical mass tarantism. With no one else around, the veteran befriends a spider—suspected as the one responsible for the tarantism—and together they go up against the town doctor who believes that breakfast (and everything ordinary, for that matter) is beneath love.

9:30pm: dance party – yay! resident DJs Ginkgo and Ross of Love blend their unique styles to create a diverse upbeat soundscape.

midnight: yoga. this class will be for all levels so everyone is welcome. candlelight and ambient background music complete the atmosphere. Studio 34 has mats and props that are free to use.

plus ~200 vegan cupcakes (each night)! including (refined) sugar free, gluten free, and soy free (if you have a food allergy feel free to send us an email – we’d like to accommodate everyone).

$5 or pay what you can.


performances | Studio Series

Curated by Nicole Bindler

Saturday, June 27, 8 p.m.

Featuring performances by: [more]


performances | Studio Series @ Studio 34

Curated by Nicole Bindler

Saturday, May 30, 8 p.m.

Featuring performances by: [more]


spontaneous theater | Tongue & Groove

Friday, May 8, and Friday, May 22, 8 p.m.

Inspired by true anonymous secrets provided by each audience, Tongue & Groove creates serio-comic, reality-based one-of-a-kind performances on the spot! Come check us out — your secret’s safe with us! [more]