PHILLY GOT TALENT  DEBUT

Heavenly Kool Productions and Tony Jones launch the premier talent showcase on Thursday February 2! This will be a showcase of Philly professionals and Philly rising stars !  Support Live music and performing arts in Philly !

Featuring CD Release Event for Wisdom Stick 

Admission is $10

Jeffrey Werbock will present a program of instrumental solo improvisations based on traditional Azerbaijani mugham, played on oud - fretless wood face short neck lute; tar - fretted skin face long neck lute; and kamancha - skin face spike fiddle.

Azerbaijani mugham is monophonic modal music, highly microtonal, meter free, densely ornamented, composed of complex melodic lines that are somewhat improvised according to the eastern tradition of theme and variation, and convey a mix of sorrow and joy, exhaltation and lament, and an overall sense of both antiquity and otherworldiness. 

Mr. Werbock has been giving presentations for well over three decades and has performed often at Lincoln Center, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the American Museum of Natural History, Asia Society, World Music Institute, and presents lecture demonstrations at colleges and universities all over the English speaking world.  He has been awarded an honorary degree by the National Music Conservatory of Azerbaijan, in Baku, and was recently sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of Azerbaijan to perform a solo concert.

Admission is FREE 

Who makes the BEST VEGAN CHILI in Philadelphia?? Join us  to find out as V MARKS THE SHOP presents SUPER PHILLY CHILI BOWL: Best VEGAN CHILI in the City!

Whether you like it classic or outrageous, who doesn't want to get down with a big ole bowl of chili in their life! At this event, the city's finest will compete to show off their best veggie stew dishes to fill our bellies. You'll see local amateurs wow like pros, delivering some of the tastiest dishes! And guess what?? YOU will get to sample them ALL...the day before the BIG GAME!

SUPER PHILLY CHILI BOWL: Best VEGAN CHILI in the City! Doors: 2:00pm Sampling begins: 2:30pm

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS: $15 until 1/8/17 or sold out; $20 afterward https://www.eventbrite.com/e/super-philly-chili-bowl-best-vegan-chili-in-the-city-tickets-30292069395 KIDS UNDER THE AGE OF 5 ENTER FOR FREE!

Ticket includes chili tastings from competitors, hot sauce samples from Tamerlaine Farm, music, entertainment, giveaways, fun & FOOD!

Partial ticket sale proceeds to go Tamerlaine Farm!

Stay tuned here on Facebook for event updates!

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WANT TO COMPETE? ENTER HERE!

Read the Official Rules - They're scintillating!

Top Prize: The SUPER CROCK trophy, an AHHHHMAZING gift basket with goodies from our sponsors and bragging rights for one whole year!

There will also be prizes for 2nd place, 3rd place, Most Original and Philly's Choice (people's choice)

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MEET THE JUDGES:

Demetrius Bagley, producer of Vegucated, Vegan Mashup andVegan Travel Club

LJ Steinig, Grand Champion of Philly MAC-Down 2016 & founder of Philly Vegan Lady Gang

Andy Tabar, owner of Compassion Co. and co-host of The Bearded Vegans podcast

YOUR EMCEE:

Dustin Harder, host/creator of The Vegan Roadie, YouTube series

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TICKETS ARE NON-REFUNDABLE and may NOT be transferred to another event.

GENERAL ADMISSION TICKETS: $15 until 1/8/17 or sold out; $20 afterward https://www.eventbrite.com/e/super-philly-chili-bowl-best-vegan-chili-in-the-city-tickets-30292069395 KIDS UNDER THE AGE OF 5 ENTER FOR FREE!

Andrew’s Video Vault at The Rotunda

FREE Screenings Continuous From 8 PMon the Second THURSDAY of Every Month!Since 2004, Andrew’s Video Vault is a free, once-a-month screening series at The Rotunda in West Philadelphia programed by film director and educator Andrew Repasky McElhinney.  Andrew’s Video Vault programs original, obscure, neglected, marginalized and commercial unavailable video media. It connects the West Philly neighborhood to the University of Pennsylvania community and fosters a multicultural examination of motion pictures in a relaxed, educational setting.

This program is made possible through the generous support of the Cinema Studies Program and The Rotunda at the University of Pennsylvania. VIEWER DISCRETION IS ADVISED. 

JANUARY 12 – ’80’S POP MUSIC EPICSSign of the Times (1987 / 85 minutes)The theatrically-released concert film from director/performer Prince. He bathes the stage with purple and pink light and delivers a high-energy run-through of his hit 1987 tour, mostly shot live in his Paisley Park studio. The New York Times’ Janet Maslin said, “It plays like science fiction: a visit to the Prince planet… (He) has never cast a stronger spell.” Featuring the inexhaustible dancer Cat and percussion great Sheila E.Breaking Glass (1980 / 104 minutes)Before he directed Tina Turner’s glossy biopic What’s Love Got To Do With It, Brian Gibson made this gritty and stylish musical drama of the rise, fall and re-birth of a Bowie-like 80s rock star, played by real-life pop star Hazel O’Connor. The film captures the social chaos in London at the birth of the Thatcher era, with our heroine battling sexism, concert promoters and neo-Nazis, as well as performing a memorable batch of British New Wave tunes.Guest Host and Curator: Dan Buskirk 

FEBRUARY 9 – NEWSPAPER DOUBLE FEATUREFive Star Final (1931 / 89 minutes)Before our age of multiple media forms, the newspaper had power to shape public opinion and social action. Hence, the influence of the press, and its potential for detriment, was an important theme in early American cinema. Director Mervyn Leroy’s little-seen Five Star Final uses the punch and perception available in the pre-code-era Warner Bros. studio. Edward G. Robinson stars as Joseph W. Randall, a tabloid editor who must question the effects of sensationalistic reportage used to drive up circulation. When Randall revives a 20-year-old murder case for a series, he learns of its personal toll on those involved.Park Row (1952 / 83 minutes)Park Row is filmmaker Samuel Fuller on the trade that shaped him as a writer. He served as a crime reporter in his teens before screenwriting in the 1930s and serving in WWII. After a string of low-budget successes as writer-director, Fuller self-funded his tribute to the eponymous late-19th-century newspaper district. The film depicts the responsibility of the press as Phineas Mitchell (Fuller-regular Gene Evans) launches The Globe after his firing from The Star, a paper critical of his methods. Mitchell’s bold content urges Star publisher Charity Hackett (Mary Welch) to combat her rival. Also starring Bela Kovacs, Herbert Heyes, Tina Pine, and George O’Hanlon.Guest Host and Curator: Matthew Sorrento

MARCH 9 – FRITZ LANG’S INDIAN EPICThe Tiger of Eschnapur [Der Tiger von Eschnapur] (1959 / 101 minutes)The Indian Tomb [Das indische Grabmal] (1959 / 102 minutes)After years directing crime thrillers and film noir titles in America, the great Fritz Lang returned to his home country to direct these two fantasy-action films – about an architect accepting a commission to build a temple for a maharaja – that also marked a return to the silent epics of his early years. Shown in its original German language version with English subtitles.Guest Host and Curator: Samm Deighan

APRIL 13 – REEL BLACK CINEMA PRESENTS TV MOVIES OF THE 1970sDummy (1979 / 75 minutes)Levar Burton plays a deaf mute wrongly accused of rape and murder. Based on the real-life case of Donald Lang, this Emmy-nominated film co-stars Paul Sorvino as hearing impaired lawyer Lowell Myers.The Greatest Thing That Almost Happened (1977 / 100 minutes)Adapted from the novel by Don Robertson, Jimmie Walker plays a high school basketball player stricken with sickle-cell anemia. Tony nominated director Gilbert Moses enlists a strong supporting cast, which includes James Earl Jones, Kevin Hooks and Debbie Allen (re-teamed with her Good Times co-star Walker in her movie debut).Guest Host and Curator: Mike Dennis 

MAY 11 – EARLY ALMODOVARPepi, Luci, Bom (1980 / 81 minutes)Pedro Almodovar’s rarely screened first feature feature about three friends features many of the traits he became well known for, including the power of women, homosexuality, drugs, pitch-black comedy, and Carmen Maura.What Have I Done to Deserve This? (1984 / 101 minutes)Carmen Maura gives another brilliant performance as an overwhelmed, working-class housewife in another of Almodovar’s dark comedies featuring a murderous nod to Roald Dahl’s ‘Lamb to the Slaughter”, a prostitute, child-selling, telekenesis, an impotent policeman, a lizard witness, and more drugs/homosexuality.Guest Host and Curator: Mike Zaleski

JUNE 8 – ART HOUSE EROTICA DOUBLE FEATURELa Marge (1976 / 88 minutes)This little seen erotic film about a Parisian prostitute (Sylvia Kristel) who meets a businessman (Joe Dallesandro) from the countryside is one of director Walerian Borowczyk’s greatest achievements. Despite her aloofness, their encounters develop into a deep emotional attachment as his home life falls apart and tragedy strikes.Der Bomberpilot (1970 / 65 minutes)One of the most experimental films of New German Cinema is this colorful, somewhat lurid tale from Werner Schroeter, which follows the lives of three women in a traveling cabaret troupe from the excesses of Nazi Germany to hardship in the postwar years.Guest Host and Curator: Samm Deighan 

JULY 13 – CLARA BOW DOUBLE FEATUREKid Boots (1926 / 60 minutes)Eddie Cantor stars in this slapstick comedy. His friend Tom wants a divorce, but must stay married long enough to receive an inheritance. Unfortunately, he’s in Palm Beach, and tempted by all the beautiful girls there. Cantor tries to help him stay faithful, but then falls for Clara Bow himself (and who wouldn’t?).Mantrap (1926 / 70 minutes)Lonely Canadian bachelor Joe (Ernest Torrence) takes a trip to Minneapolis. He meets a pretty manicurist (Clara Bow) in a barber shop, and soon takes her back to Mantrap, Canada to marry her. The only trouble is she can’t help constantly flirting with other men – including the divorce lawyer who comes to town.Guest Host and Curator: Andrew Gilmore 

AUGUST 10 – ’90s DRUG-FUELED FREAK-OUTSGift (1993 / 80 minues)Perry Farrell and Casey Niccoli’s experimental, shot-on-video feature telling a story of a couple’s heroin addiction, set in the rock and roll world of Farrell’s band Jane’s Addiction. Made while the band was at the height of success and publicly struggling with real-life substance abuse issues, Gift wavers uncomfortably between death-wish braggadocio and an eerie call for help. The stripped-down lovers’ melodrama is framed by vivid Tijuana-shot concert footage of Jane’s Addiction in their fleeting heyday.The Love God (1997 / 82 minutes)Director Frank Grow’s little-seen masterpiece is a phantasmagorical tale of love and obsession at lower Manhattan’s Love Hotel, a dumping ground for prematurely-released mental patients. Grow sees the film through the deranged eyes of his bugged-out characters while never losing sight of their humanity. Awash with garish day-glo colors and madly stomping along to a score by Australia’s Lubricated Goat, The Love God unloads some wild shocks while barely hiding a deep compassion just beneath the mayhem.Guest Host and Curator: Dan Buskirk

SEPTEMBER 14 – BOLDLY INTO THE DARKSelected ShortsThe men and women who made these animated films were free; they did not have to answer to any studio, appeal to any demographic, or argue with actors, nor were they were bound by the laws of gravity, time and logic.  Each answered only to his or her heart and imagination.  As a result, these films go places and do things no feature film would dare… Begotten (1990 / 72 minutes)In Begotten, Edmund Elias Merhige separates the darkness from the light to reveal the beginning of everything: matter, motion, myth, sex and Cinema itself are born on the screen in blood and fire.  We are witness to forbidden rituals and images that conjure the savage poetry of James Dickey and terrible beauty of Ingmar Bergman.  Though we can’t look away, we feel we shouldn’t be watching…Guest Host and Curator: Ted Knighton

OCTOBER 12 – GRINDHOUSE GOTHICThe Witch Who Came From the Sea (1976 / 88 minutes)“Molly really knows how to cut men down to size!” was the tagline for this deeply atmospheric “video nasty” with great location cinematography, dramatic heft, and a haunting turn from Millie Perkins as Molly, who seems to leave a trail of deadly sexual multialtions in her wake, but why…? Toys Are Not For Children (1972 / 85 minutes)Jamie’s (Marcia Forbes) obsession with her absent father and the toys he gave her as a child ruins her marriage and leads her into a life of prostitution in this exploitation drama filled with equal parts of the bizarre and of melancholy.Guest Host and Curator: Mike Zaleski 

NOVEMBER 9 – PRE-CODE COMEDYShow Girl in Hollywood (1930 / 77 minutes)Flapper comedienne Alice White stars in this musical comedy as an unemployed chorus girl who decides to leave Broadway and go to Hollywood to find a job in the new field of “talking pictures”, but finds it’s not as easy to get into the movies as she had hoped.Girl Crazy (1932 / 74 minutes)Zany vaudevillians Bert Wheeler and Robert Woolsey star in this George & Ira Gershwin-scored musical comedy. Gambler Woolsey hires taxi driver Wheeler to drive him to Custerville, Arizona, where the sheriffs always get bumped off. Woolsey tries to get out of paying his taxi bill by talking Wheeler into running for sheriff against the town’s nastiest bandit, and hilarity ensues.Guest Host and Curator: Andrew Gilmore

DECEMBER 14 – DIABOLICAL FRENCH DRAMAUnder The Sun of Satan [Sous le soleil de Satan] (1976 / 97 minutes)Gerard Depardieu stars in Maurice Pialat’s film about the nature of evil, where a particularly zealous priest in the French countryside becomes tempted by the devil and is obsessed with saving a young murderess (Sandrine Bonnaire) who has killed one of her lovers. The Devil, Probably [Le diable, probablement] (1977 / 95 minutes)Robert Bresson’s penultimate film follows the attempts of a suicidal young man (Antoine Monnier) to find some meaning or value in society by immersing himself in religion, politics, and even psychology, all for nought.Guest Host and Curator: Samm Deighan

Philadelphia Science Fiction Society

General Meeting, February 10, 2017, Meeting at 8:00 pm, Speaker at 9 pm

Speaker - Siobhan Carroll

Siobhan Carroll is an Associate Professor of English at the University of Delaware, where she studies the relationship between the history of exploration and SF.  A writer as well as a critic of speculative fiction, she contributes genre-blurring stories to magazines like Beneath Ceaseless Skies and Lightspeed. Her non-fiction book, An Empire of Air and Water: Uncolonizable Space in the British Imagination, was published by the University of Pennsylvania Press in 2015. This proto-history of science fiction examines the impact of inventions like the air balloon on writers like Mary Shelley, and argues that the Romantic period anticipated many of our concerns regarding technological change, climate change, and globalization.

More information about our speaker is available here.  Lightspeed Magazine has an author profile about our speaker.

Admission is FREE

FLESHFIRE is a multimedia performance piece based on the newly revised and augmented text of the widely acclaimed love poetry of Lili Bita, which has been published in book form in its third edition by Somerset Hall Press of Massachusetts.  The performance includes selected poems accompanied by music, dance, and choreographed movements. This mix of genres will express the myriad experiences of love and Eros available to adults of all ages, affinities, and gender identities. 

CAST AND CREW

Lili Bita: readings Hannah Tsapatoris MacLeod: readings and movement Barbara McPherson: hand percussion Michael Romano: dulcimer Lori Walsh: stage management Directed for the stage by Ruchama Bilenky Work from the book FLESHFIRE written by Lili Bita and translated by writer and Drexel University professor Robert Zaller. 

This performance is at 8pm and runs approximately 75 minutes. A talkback with the director and cast will take place after the performance.

WHY FLESHFIRE The ancient Greeks conceived of Eros as the most vital, creative, and liberating force in human affairs, the source of energy, fertility, enrichment, and joy.  They conceived it as a great force for good, but also as a power to be treated with attention, respect, and ceremonial worship.  We have, in our fragmented society, few opportunities to celebrate this great power and to attune ourselves to its enormous creative possibilities for personal enrichment and social community.  

Lili Bita remarks, “I have tried throughout my career as a writer and performer to bring Eros to life around me and to create the ground for it in others at any age or time of life. FLESHFIRE, more than anything else I have done, expresses this goal.” . 

ABOUT LILI BITA Greek-born Lili Bita is one of the few classically trained actresses now resident in America. A native of the island of Zante, she graduated both from the Greek Conservatory of Music and the Athens School of Drama, and holds an M.A. in Drama from the University of Miami. After a notable career in Greece performing classical and contemporary roles for leading directors, she settled in the United States. In this country she has appeared widely on stage, television and radio, and held appointments at several universities. She tours extensively with her one woman shows,"The Greek Woman Through the Ages"," Body Light" and "Freedom or Death."

Lili Bita has published ten books and chapbooks of poetry, two books of short fiction, a novella, two volumes of translation, and several plays. Her work has been translated into English, French, Spanish, German, and Bengali.

More information on Lili Bita: http://www.LiliBita.com

This show is recommended for mature audiences only. 

Tickets are $15 and can be purchased at the door or in advance (recommended) at https://therotunda.ticketleap.com/lili-bitas-fleshfire/

Philly Vegan Pop Flea - Love Yourself Valentine's Market

Stay tuned for details on this Valentine's Day market! Mark your calendars!

 The Rotunda & Vision Driven Consulting are teaming up to bring resources and capacity-building workshops to self-producing artists/musicians and event curators in all disciplines.

Workshops are held: 2nd Monday of each month

6:00 – 8:00pm at The Rotunda (4014 Walnut St, Philadelphia)

All workshops in the series are FREE and OPEN to the public! Refreshments provided. 

Special guest presenters and facilitators will be announced each month.

If you want to receive workshop reminders, join Vision Driven Artists - Philadelphia, a closed Facebook group for Philadelphia-based artist/arts organizations.

http://www.visiondrivenconsulting.com/artists.html

2016 - 2017 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

Developing Campus/Community Collaborations (September 12th)

• Hear stories of successful campus and community collaborations

• Learn how to find campus and community partners

• Avoid common problems and learn how to build mutually beneficial partnerships

Goal Identification & Measurement (October 10th)

• Identify what you want to achieve in your projects

• Incorporate critical feedback and self-reflection into your arts practice

• Brainstorm and receive tools for measuring success

Nonprofit, LLC, or Fiscal Sponsorship (November 14th)

• Discuss the pros and cons of various structures – pool experiences and get new ideas

• Craft your mission statement to determine the structure that best suits your practice

• Sole-proprietor, LLC, 501(c)3: understand the structures and how your projects fit into them

2017 Planning (December 12th)

• Plan your upcoming year of work 

• Identify your goals and break them into achievable tasks

• Plot your tasks on a timeline for 2016

Fundraising Basics (January 9th)

• Learn the language of fundraising 

• Maximize opportunities beyond grants to support your projects

• Brainstorm actual fundraising ideas for your work

Taxes for Artists (January 23rd)

• Learn the language of fundraising 

• Maximize opportunities beyond grants to support your projects

• Brainstorm actual fundraising ideas for your work

Grant Writing – Beginner (February 13th) 

• Demystify the language and process behind grant writing

• Receive tools for finding grants 

• Read actual grant proposals to learn common mistakes and important proposal components 

Grant Writing – Intermediate (March 13th)

• Review aspects of a strong grant proposal

• Practice writing an actual grant 

• Receive feedback on your draft proposal 

Real Budgeting for Real Work (April 10th)

• Look at sample budgets and learn how to interpret the story behind the numbers 

• Create a budget tailored to your goals for 2016

• Learn how to assemble a project budget for potential funders

Getting People to Show Up (May 8th) 

• Learn new techniques for building an audience and your ideal project participant

• Troubleshoot issues with audience development that you may have had in the past

• Identify marketing techniques to keep people showing up to your future events

Getting New Projects off the Ground (June 12th)

• Identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and potential threats of a new project 

• Think through the components of your project and its goals 

• Hone in on the details of your program or project and begin a draft project plan

Crowdfunding 101 (September 11th)

• Learn how to tell if crowdfunding is right for your project

• Discover the pros and cons of  crowdfunding platforms

• Hear from a panel of artists who have run successful crowdfunding campaigns

Speaking Tech (September 25th)

• Learn what event curators and sound engineers wish you knew when arriving to a performance

• Receive sample templates of contracts, tech riders, and advance sheets

• Practice using templates with real-life examples

Setting & Measuring Goals (October 9th)

• Identify what you want to achieve in your projects

• Incorporate critical feedback and self-reflection into your arts practice

• Brainstorm and receive tools for measuring success

Valentine's Day Dinner and a Show Featuring Ron Cook and some of the Best Comedians Singers and Poets. Meal Catered by. Raheem Goldwire(Bistro70) and Ricky Williams (Ricky's Rollers) Performers include:Taj Mahal Jonathan Hopkins(Jhop) Daryl Benjamin Walker (Deejay the Singer) Jesstia Phillips (Jessie Renee) Ms-Jasmine Hawkins(MizsJasz) Ciara Chantelle Yoob Da Funnyman Y.Ryda and more! Aww man this gone be a good ol time, so start telling your folks about it, make plans to be here! Good food good times with good people... you don't want to miss this!!! Cash prizes for best dressed male and female and a best kiss contest. So come on out have a good time and leave with a smile on your face and maybe even a prize! It's gone be too Lit to be Legit! So make sure you're there! Doors open at 6:30 show starts at 7pm entry is $15 for a single $20 for a couple for tickets call (267)338-5507

Grant Calvin Weston/The Out Sider/Improv Messenger

I'm very honored to announce my new solo project to you all here in Philadelphia for the first time..Grant Calvin Weston,The Out Sider/Improv Messenger Solo Project..Improv drumming with audio tracks..

Grant Calvin Weston has blazed a harmolodic, funkadelic trail through modern jazz. This record is a culmination of recordings made on the West Coast and his hometown of Philadelphia. Weston puts his Midas touch on electronics and acoustic instruments that blow the socks off any jazz-rock poser out there. Listen to the man who funked-up Ornette Coleman in the 1980s

“Weston lays down a ferocious groove with ecstatic shouts … tugging rhythmic displacements that tease like thunder and lightning throughout.” — All About Jazz

AND

Akimbo Research Project

AUDIO: https://soundcloud.com/akimboresearcher/news-from-neptune-mix-11https://soundcloud.com/akimboresearcher/helium-diamonds-remix-3

Sun Ra Arkestra guitarist D.Hotep uses his Akimbo Research Project to explore differing genres of music -- from composed to improvised to experimental. With Sun Ra Arkestra vocalist/lyricist/violinist Tara Middleton he forms the duo Jupiter Blue, developing lyrical grooves & jazz-sourced vocal soundscapes. This performance will bring the duo together with Sonic Liberation 8 founder Kevin Diehl, providing electronic rhythms & atmospheres, for an exploration of original song, spoken word, and improvisation.

Admission is FREE

Bowerbird is pleased to present the duo of Loren Connors and Chris Forsyth and a performance by Philadelphia's Taiwan Housing Project 

LOREN CONNORS has improvised and composed original guitar music for over four decades. His music - which embraces the aesthetics of blues, Irish airs, blues-based rock and other genres while letting go of rigid forms - has been recorded on Family Vineyard, Northern Spy, Drag City, Table of the Elements, Recital, RoadCone and other labels. 

Connors, who names abstract expressionist painter Mark Rothko his most important influence, has performed with Thurston Moore, Keiji Haino, Jim O'Rourke, John Fahey, Alan Licht, Jandek, and Kim Gordon. Suzanne Langille has often appeared on Connors' recordings as vocalist, lyricist and arranger. Connors also on occasion performs with an avant blues band called Haunted House, together with Langille, guitarist Andrew Burnes and percussionist Neel Murgai. 

In July 1979, Cadence Magazine noted that Connors, who had recently emerged in the scene, was "similar to others in the Advanced Guard of improvising guitarists in that he is trying to extend the boundaries of sound and pitch of acoustic guitar, but he is unique in the utilization of Blues in his work, one could almost say this is Avant Garde Blues. He's swimming in new waters and beginning to make his own environment." 

In recent years, Connors has focused mostly on live recordings of extended blues abstractions, with occasional performances in a more avant blues rock vein from time to time through the Haunted House band and collaborations with other artists. 

CHRIS FORSYTH is a lauded guitarist and composer whose work assimilates art-rock textures with vernacular American influences. Long active in underground circles, he's recently released a string of acclaimed records of widescreen guitar rock, and in 2013, he assembled The Solar Motel Band, who have quickly developed a reputation as an incredible live act, provoking ecstatic comparisons to visionary artists such as Television, The Grateful Dead, Popol Vuh, Neil Young & Crazy Horse, and Richard Thompson. 

His newest release with The Solar Motel Band is the double album The Rarity of Experience (No Quarter), released in March 2016. Raves have been universal. Pitchfork called it "a near-perfect balance between 70s rock tradition and present day experimentation," NPR Music named Forsyth "one of rock's most lyrical guitar improvisors," and the New York Times calls him "a scrappy and mystical historian..." His music humanizes the element of control in rock classicism (and) turns it into a woolly but disciplined ritual." 

In addition to Forsyth's work as a solo artist and bandleader, he has been an inveterate collaborator with a diverse range of artists, including singer/songwriter Meg Baird, trumpeter Nate Wooley, analog synthesist Koen Holtkamp, and choreographer Miguel Gutierrez. He is a recipient of a 2011 Pew Fellowship in the Arts and resides in Philadelphia. 

TAIWAN HOUSING PROJECT began as a weird lo-fi fake pop recording project between Kilynn Lunsford (Little Claw, Tyvek) and Mark Feehan (Harry Pussy, Trash Monkeys). After a while of playing exclusively as a duo in a bedroom with two cats they enlisted Pat Ganley (Casual Viking, Dan Melchior) and Adam Cooper (Tickley Feather, Hanging Tounges) and started playing in a basement with three cats. Taiwan Housing Project's hip shaking white hot noise has been met with drunken enthusiasm and dismissive shrugs from friends and foes alike.

Admission is FREE

The February meeting of the Philadelphia Intersectional Feminist Discussion Group (PIFDG) will be an open discussion - no set topics - no speakers. Just show up, feel free to just listen, talk about issues important to you or your community, ask questions, and meet and talk with group and audience members.

AGENDA 11am Welcome11:15 - 12:30 Open Discussion12:30 - 12:45 Break12:45 - 2:00 Open Discussion

The Philadelphia Intersectional Feminist Discussion Group first and foremost is open to anyone who considers themselves a feminist or is interested in learning more about feminist issues.

Admission is FREE

Philadelphia Youth Poetry Movement (PYPM) Youth Night

Youth Night: Open Mic and PYPM Slam Season:

(almost) Every third Saturday of the month, PYPM hosts a youth-led open mic and poetry slam for teens to come and share their work in a safe, uncensored environment.

Pariah is a performance series that brings together the movement-based works of 4 east-coast based artists Tsedaye Makonnen (DC) , Esther Baker-Taparga (PA) , Waqia Abdul-Kareem (MD) and Marcelline Mandeng (PA). In their performances, they will use abject gestures to collectively explore what it means to be Un-American. 

Previous Performances:

TSEDAYE MAKONNEN - BLEACH BLOODBATH, 2014: https://vimeo.com/101331019

WAQIA ABDUL-KAREEM - ASHY, 2015: https://youtu.be/2ndOyNxES5s

MARCELLINE - CREATION MYTH, 2016: https://vimeo.com/163839051

ESTHER BAKER-TAPARGA - A LOVE LETTER 2 TRUMP, 2016: https://vimeo.com/180352230

Theatre of the Oppressed Winter 2017 Workshops on Race and Undoing Racism

WHILE FRAGILITY

A 2-Part Performance Workshop 

Monday February 20 and Tuesday February 21 • 6:30-9:00 PM 

Tuition $0-$25, sliding scale

Sign up via "tophilly@gmail.com"

“White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation.”  —Robin DiAngelo

Come workshop white fragility for two evenings with Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed. In part one, popular education and theatre games build group solidarity and chip away at the iceberg of whiteness—that which we see manifests as white fragility, white beneath the surface lie dense systems of white supremacy. In part two we create quick little performances that make the invisible visible (and maybe even comical) as tools for interrupting and dismantling racism. 

Email “tophilly@gmail.com” to sign up, or call 267-282-1057. Tuition is sliding scale, $0-$25.

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UNPACKING RACE

A 4-Part Workshop Series 

Every Tuesday in March • 6:30-9:00 PM 

Tuition $45-$125, sliding scale

Worktrade available upon request

Sign up via "tophilly@gmail.com"

On Tuesday nights this March we bring back our popular series on race and racism.  Over the course of four weeks we'll explore this topic through a variety of exercises, discussions, and techniques from the Theatre of the Oppressed, supplemented by things to read and do between sessions. Our aim is to unlearn the systemic racism we’ve been taught throughout our lives, to heal from racial privilege and oppression, and to offer starting points for structural and personal change in ourselves, our communities, and our world. 

The March 2017 Unpacking Race Series is open to anyone who can attend all four sessions. Tuition is sliding scale: $45-$125, payable at the first session. To sign up, email "tophilly@gmail.com" or leave a message at 267-282-1057. If you are interested in worktrade or childcare, contact us by February 22.

Theatre of the Oppressed Winter 2017 Workshops on Race and Undoing Racism

WHILE FRAGILITY

A 2-Part Performance Workshop 

Monday February 20 and Tuesday February 21 • 6:30-9:00 PM 

Tuition $0-$25, sliding scale

Sign up via "tophilly@gmail.com"

“White Fragility is a state in which even a minimum amount of racial stress becomes intolerable, triggering a range of defensive moves. These moves include the outward display of emotions such as anger, fear, and guilt, and behaviors such as argumentation, silence, and leaving the stress-inducing situation.”  —Robin DiAngelo

Come workshop white fragility for two evenings with Philadelphia Theatre of the Oppressed. In part one, popular education and theatre games build group solidarity and chip away at the iceberg of whiteness—that which we see manifests as white fragility, white beneath the surface lie dense systems of white supremacy. In part two we create quick little performances that make the invisible visible (and maybe even comical) as tools for interrupting and dismantling racism. 

Email “tophilly@gmail.com” to sign up, or call 267-282-1057. Tuition is sliding scale, $0-$25.

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UNPACKING RACE

A 4-Part Workshop Series 

Every Tuesday in March • 6:30-9:00 PM 

Tuition $45-$125, sliding scale

Worktrade available upon request

Sign up via "tophilly@gmail.com"

On Tuesday nights this March we bring back our popular series on race and racism.  Over the course of four weeks we'll explore this topic through a variety of exercises, discussions, and techniques from the Theatre of the Oppressed, supplemented by things to read and do between sessions. Our aim is to unlearn the systemic racism we’ve been taught throughout our lives, to heal from racial privilege and oppression, and to offer starting points for structural and personal change in ourselves, our communities, and our world. 

The March 2017 Unpacking Race Series is open to anyone who can attend all four sessions. Tuition is sliding scale: $45-$125, payable at the first session. To sign up, email "tophilly@gmail.com" or leave a message at 267-282-1057. If you are interested in worktrade or childcare, contact us by February 22.

Black Womanist Herstory Day Community-Led Teach-in

11am-6pm

"But like, what is Womanism exactly?"

by Womanist Working Collective

“Without community, there is no liberation.”  ― Audre Lorde

We center Womanism, Black Feminism & Intersectional Black Liberation We are here for the collective progression & empowerment for folx of the African-diaspora through community organizing, strategic philanthropy and intentional self-care practice.

more info coming soon!

Admission is FREE. Register HERE

Zoe Cohen is pleased to announce a multi-media performance in collaboration with musicians Dexter Moore (keyboard/organ) and Dan Blacksberg (trombone):

Sanctuary Studies

$5-25 sliding scale donation at the door; no one turned away for lack of funds Performance will be approximately 45 minutes, followed by a reception with discussion and Q&A with the artists.

Dan Blacksberg (trombone), Dexter Moore (keyboard) and Zoe Cohen (projections) will be creating an improvisational multi-media performance as part of Zoe's ongoing Shul/Church Project. Zoe will be creating projections using a live video feed of paper-cut fragments, in response to Dan and Dexter's pairing of sounds rooted in Black Christian and Jewish / Klezmer music.

The Shul/Church Project is an ongoing visual and audio exploration of buildings that were built as Synagogues in US cities in the early 20th century, that were either demolished, or are now in use by African-American Churches. Previous works include watercolor paintings, cut-paper works, small paper sculptures, audio installations, and short video works. This is the first performance piece included in this project.

Zoe Cohen on the Shul/Church Project:

"My intention for this project is to depict both the past and present use of these spaces, in order to encourage curiosity and insight into the history, current reality, and potential for connection between Jewish and Black communities. Embedded in these works are the echoes of the White Flight of the 1950’s-80’s, during which urban Jews moved to the suburbs as black populations were increasing in city neighborhoods. These works acknowledge both the anti-Semitism and racism that Jewish and Black communities have struggled with, and the beauty and strength of the congregations that share the history of these buildings and neighborhoods."

Zoe Cohen and the Shul/Church Project: www.zoecohen.com

Dexter Moore: http://rightsidemusic.net/about.html

Dan Blacksberg: http://danblacksberg.com/

$5-25 sliding scale donation at the door; no one turned away for lack of funds