Bowerbird is pleased to present THUMBS at The Rotunda with an opening set by Aaron Pond on horn, voice, daxophone, duck callers, and surprises.

Performing as the duo Thumbs, multi-reedists David Leon and Yuma Uesaka have developed a peculiar improvised practice. Built around a shared interest in extended timbres and hairpin counterpoint, their music explores extremes: quiet and loud, dense and desolate, serious and silly.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS

Yuma Uesaka is a Japanese-American saxophonist, clarinetist, improviser, performer, and composer based in New York City since 2014. Over the last decade, Yuma has contributed to scenes that embrace various experimental and historic practices primarily rooted in jazz, creative improvised music, and new music. His music often explores the fringes of instrumental and compositional techniques to question traditional musical roles and deconstruct assumed binaries of improvised/composed, acoustic/electronic, and music/noise. An active sideperson, Yuma has performed in groups led by Anna Webber, Lesley Mok, and DoYeon Kim, at venues such as Roulette, National Sawdust, and The Jazz Gallery. He can be heard on Pi, American Dreams, and NotTwo Records. As a composer, he has received recognition from the ASCAP Foundation, Metropolis, and Either/Or Ensemble.

David Leon is a Cuban-American saxophonist, woodwinds player, composer, and improviser living in Brooklyn, New York. His work is guided by a persistent search for vitality through autonomy, contradiction, hyperbole, and humor. His work with the saxophone investigates alternate methods for producing a tone, refinement of these techniques, and development of a distinct vocabulary using these sounds; he melds this timbral approach with melodic and rhythmic phrasing from Cuban folkloric traditions, narrative playing, Free Jazz & avant-garde esthetics, and microtonality to reveal a personal conceit. In 2024, David was named a Music Composition Fellow by the CINTAS Foundation and was awarded a Jerome Commission by Roulette Intermedium to support the creation of A Divine Echo, a hybrid work of chamber music and wordless puppet theatre. In April 2025, he will present a new solo work for amplified saxophone and electronics as part of his Roulette 2024/2025 Jerome Artist Residency. His work has been recognized by The Jazz Gallery’s Mentoring Series, and New Music USA.

Aaron Pond is a musician and curator active in the east coast improvised music scene from Philadelphia to Miami. Emerging from a childhood steeped in the rigorous forms of Judaic and classical music, Pond now plays with and transcends musical genres. Since 2014, he has dedicated himself to improvisation and oral composition. Utilizing Horn, Wagner Tuba, Wood Flutes, Duck Calls and Daxophone, he has developed a voice defined by a kaleidoscopic approach to idiom, multiphonic singing, and rich tones.

Pond serves as President of People’s Music Supply, a presenting, educational, and social non-profit organization dedicated to Creative Music.

Admission is FREE/pay what you wish

On October 4th The Rotunda will be hosting a Big Cat known as M$. REBEL KITTY, THE ONLY BIG CAT THAT NEEDS TO BE IN THE ENTERTAINMENT INDUSTRY!

FR33 TH3 PU$$Y IS A BIG CAT BENEFIT BONANZA AND AN ARTISTIC EXTRAVAGANZA!

We will have art on display that explores the spectrum of womanhood and displaying work that channels that big cat energy.

R3B3L D@ R@PT0R WILL BE PERFORMING <3

COMEDY PRE SHOW BY JUICY JUDY HA 2:45PM

We will have VEGAN SNACKS starting at 4pm while supplies last!

Fatal Attractions Honoring Ming The King.

POP UP SHOP/ART SHOW 3PM – 6PM

We Have A Wild Cute Photo Station!

A POETIC ENDING BY ANJOLI MONROE 6PM

Meet The Team

 Animal ACTivists of Philly is a local, grassroots animal rights organization that provides outreach and education, supports and hosts local campaigns, and fundraises for animal sanctuaries. <3 For this event we will be raising funds for The Performing Animal Welfare Society! IG:AnimalActivistsOfPhilly

Juicy Ha is a hybrid writer, poet, visual artist, comedian, aura painter, tarot reader, astrologer, and rainbow dealer. She favors the bold and untold across all forms of her art. Come see the unseen and what only Juicy can tell you. She sees and channel paints people's auras onto canvas, reads with both tarot and a regular deck of playing cards, and explains what the stars looked like when you were born. They’re a rainbow dealer with 10 original designs of sun catcher stickers that cast real rainbows into your car and home. Want a rainbow in your home? All you need is direct sunlight and the magic of a Juicy sun catcher sticker to see more than 7 colors of the rainbow, including magenta! Juicy is also dropping the first holiday edition of her boo ghost sun catcher design, just in time for Halloween. Come out October 4th 2:45 and watch our Juicy comedy set live! Come prepared to laugh out loud together. Please come with an open mind and an open heart.  IG: @BoomingFruits. p.s A big online rainbow store is coming soon <3

Cosmic Scorpios is ran by two queer besties from Pennsylvania, Kaitlyn Markle (she/her) and Stet Ngo (they/them). Cosmic Scorpios offers wire-wrapped crystal jewelry & accessories, art prints, and original paintings. Drawing inspiration from the natural, the spiritual, and the mystical in-between, all creations are made by hand with great intention and love. IG:@CosmicScorpios

K.I.N.C3PT10N is a Philly born artist killing it in the game. He is our right hand man in all aspects of life. The father of Peach and a community cat care provider. Community oriented and a Lion at heart. IG @K.I.N.C3PT10N

Ariel Monroe (she/ her/ they) is a Healing Artist based in Philadelphia; She is the creative behind alternative wellness practice Delta E.M. Wellness and the recycled mixed media artist behind Space.trash.phl. Ariel has been a Licensed Massage Therapist for more than a decade. They have been working with various artistic expressions for around 30 years and is a passionate art collector. Recently, they self published a poetry book called Liminal Illumination: A Short Book of Intentional Poetry available on bookshop.org. Here at the Rotunda, Experience an Award Winning Chair Massage and help support Ariel through a big life transition: big moving and they can’t take all their cool art with them. Ariel will have various art work for sale, framed and otherwise looking for new loving homes. Website is deltaemwellness.com

Social Medias are @deltae.m.wellness and @space.trash.phl

Anjoli Santiago is an Alchemist of words who honors her inner scientist by approaching everything with curiosity. Her creative mission: reminding all that creativity is inclusive and our gift for making magic. She is a poet, storyteller, actor, and recently the Executive Director of Philadelphia Arts in Education Partnership. Find her on IG @bettyboop2185

Kittys’z Energy Is A Way Of Life <3

We Honor The Cat. IG:@KittyszEnergy

Looking forward to hopefully the first of many shows honoring big cats across the spectrum while also honoring US.

FR33 TH3 PU$$Y <3

2:45PM – 6:15PM

FR33 ADMI$$ION

Learn All About The Curator Katarina Castro Here

https://canvasrebel.com/meet-katarina-castro

www.campsite.bio/r3b3lart

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLT0HcLgWzFZSWKbToLfZfZkHLorCDVWSc&si=RQMZopFL3UTbjZcN

P.S Visit some of Katarina's work in The Rotunda Basement <3

Portions Of Proceeds Of This Event Will Be Donated To The Performing Animal Welfare Society & T&D's Cats Of The World.

The Performing Animal Welfare Society 

On Thursday evening October 15th, 6:00pm, the Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) and The Rotunda present three award-winning documentary shorts from the TEFF Archive and 45th Anniversary Tour, followed by live jazz featuring special guest Leo Gadson. In Leo: Keeping the Music Alive, Mr. Gadson, a jazz promoter in West Philadelphia reflects upon his 50-year career of keeping live jazz alive in his community.  This documentary portrait was directed by Adam Reim, a recent graduate of Rowan University’s film program.

Film festival director Jane Steuerwald will introduce the program and lead a Q&A. The program is free to the public.

The film program includes:

Grit

14 min. by Vanina Feldsztein and Johannes Kroemer, Brooklyn, NY, USA. A film about people who keep going. What does it mean to be old? Once we reach a certain age are we still being seen? “Grit” looks at old age with a fresh set of eyes on three people who defy perceptions. Featuring Dr. Walter Palmer, organizer and activist and teacher of Institutional Racism and Social Change at the University of Pennsylvania. 

Kaotic Drumline: Drumming with a Difference

12 min. by Aaron Steinberg, Chicago, IL, US

On the South Side of Chicago, the Kaotic Drumline brings people together with creativity, energy, and hope.  Established in 2001, Jamie Poindexter is the founder/director of Kaotic Drumline. They were selected to perform in Washington, D.C. as part of the 2013 Presidential Inaugural Parade celebrating President Obama’s second term. Outside their musical achievements they give back to their community, youth, and churches with guidance hands on training with the drums, and much more.

Leo: Keeping the Music Alive

28 min. by Adam Reim, Sewell, NJ, USA. An aging jazz promoter in West Philadelphia, Leo Gadson, reflects upon his 50-year career of keeping live jazz alive in the community.

The Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) is an international juried competition celebrating all genres and independent filmmakers across the globe. TEFF is an Academy Award® Qualifying Festival for animated and experimental shorts, and a Canadian Screen Award Qualifying Festival, the only film festival in New Jersey to hold these designations.

For 45 years, the Thomas Edison Film Festival (TEFF) has been advancing the unique creativity and power of the short form. The Festival is an international juried competition open to all genres and filmmakers across the globe. The Festival's touring program reaches out to diverse audiences in diverse settings with screenings of cutting-edge, cross-genre films including animation, documentary, experimental, narrative, and screen dance.

To learn more about the Thomas Edison Film Festival and the Thomas A. Edison Media Arts Consortium visit www.TEFilmFest.org, Jane Steuerwald, Executive Director, +1 551-999-8225, Jane@TEFilmFestival.org.

As a composer/performer (ASCAP writer and publisher member), arranger/producer, synthesist/programmer, multiinstrumentalistand sound designer, Clive Smith (born, London, England) is a maker of sundry noises. He received his M.A. in composition from New York University. He was awarded two platinum albums for his studio work with Hall and Oates (Big Bam Boom) and with Freddie Jackson (Just Like The First Time). His work with other artists includes Herbie Hancock, Yoko Ono, Sly Stone, George Clinton, Bootsy Collins, Ryuichi Sakamoto, and Malcolm McLaren. He co-wrote the music for the cult classic film Liquid Sky. His own musical compositions have been used by all U.S. major television networks as well as by television in more than forty countries worldwide. He also has many solo and collaborative album releases of his music.

Karl Fury is a multi instrumentalist, improviser, composer and instrument builder from central NJ. His music draws on rock, blues, jazz, folk, classical, electronic and world music. He’s played in a number of bands, duos and trios for 50+ years. He’s performed at a number of festivals and venues up and down the East coast. His current musical projects include duos Beard Farm, Larry Roche, Quantum Bingo, Smith and Fury and the trio Sonic Foundry.

Infrasubcontra is a tuba-doom duo from New Jersey. Tuba and Euphonium (and other brass instruments) improvised/semi-composed drone duets with pedals and synths. Infrasubcontra performs high powered low brass electro acoustic music with a focus on drone, depth, and disassociating textures. Their music is improvised and bass heavy, taking influence from a wide range of American underground and academic musical traditions.

Sohme is the sound-based project of Philadelphia artist, producer, and architectural designer Saumon Oboudiyat.  Informed by a decade of work as an architectural designer and a lifetime of musicianship, his work blends analog and digital synthesis, acoustic instrumentation, and environmental sound into immersive listening environments. Released via Phantom Limb’s Spirituals imprint, his debut album Palm reflects on new fatherhood, Persian-American cultural duality, and shifting life stages through layered textures and arrangements. His work has recently been performed at Passages, Johnny Brenda’s, Vox Populi, and Pageant : Soloveev alongside guest lectures at Parsons School of Design.

Admission is FREE

 Audiences are invited to experience Sephro: The Abduction, a staged reading of a science-fiction fantasy drama about courage, trauma, family, and survival in a beautiful but dangerous world. The reading will take place Sunday, October 18, at 7:00 PM at The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104. Admission is pay what you can, with a $5 minimum.

Set on the thriving planet Sephro, the story follows Craela, a young warrior determined to reclaim her future after a devastating childhood trauma caused by her Uncle Jondu, the security leader of her homeland. Sephro’s people survive by battling enormous snakes, monstrous birds, and terrifying white insects with deadly power—using extraordinary magical skill to protect their world.

As Craela trains to become the strongest warrior she can be, her father, Armino, fears that the lingering effects of her trauma could surface in battle and cost her her life. Yet Craela’s mother, Cranlaw; Head Shoki Coran; Ror Shoki Tanna; her siblings; and her friends stand beside her, determined to support her healing without holding her back.

The stakes rise when Surin, one of Craela’s closest friends, is abducted to a distant planet by Jondu himself. Surin carries a rare nurturing energy tied to his future as Ror Noki of Sephro, but Jondu wants that power for a revenge plot after being imprisoned on Sartozhia for his attack on Craela. When Craela is chosen for the rescue mission, she must face a new challenge that may prove she is far stronger than Jondu ever imagined.

Sephro: The Abduction blends high-stakes fantasy action with an intimate story of resilience, healing, and community. The staged reading offers an early look at a richly imagined world where magic is a means of survival and one young warrior’s greatest battle may be the one within herself.

“Sephro: The Abduction is inspired in part by current events in the world today. My hope is that it helps raise awareness and offers a sense of peace and strength to children who have suffered trauma within their families.” —Kate Quinn

Event Details

·       What: Staged reading of Sephro: The Abduction

·       When: Sunday, October 18, 2026, at 7:00 PM

·       Where: The Rotunda, 4014 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104

·       Admission: Pay what you can; $5 minimum

·       Recommended for: Fans of sci-fi fantasy, magical worlds, character-driven drama, and stories of resilience

About Sephro: The Abduction

Sephro: The Abduction explores trauma, protection, bravery, and the power of support systems. Through Craela’s journey, the story asks what it means to heal while still facing danger—and how love can help someone move forward without taking away their agency.

About Kate Quinn

Kate Quinn is the creator of Sephro: The Abduction, a science-fiction fantasy story that blends imaginative world-building with themes of trauma, resilience, family, and healing. Through her work, Quinn seeks to tell bold, emotionally grounded stories that offer strength, awareness, and hope to audiences, especially those who have experienced hardship within their families.

Media Contact

Kate Quinn267-742-9098hazelkate67@msn.comTikTok Handle: hazelkatequinn

Parody art show featuring absurd, nonsensical, and bogus radical wellness technologies!

Come explore the fringes of fringe New Age healing modalities in this parody art show! Featuring absurd radical wellness technologies, nonsensical healing solutions, sham workshops, and bogus mystical initiations! Experience the radical time-slowing effects of personalized inverse-entropon dosages, donate your cells to the "pantry' to engage in ethical, consensual consumption, bring about global simultaneous orgasm with acclaimed prophetess, Nastya Romanov, connect with the Intrinsic Power of Cat Meditation, and much much more.

Want to help create a project for the event? Join our workshop, Invent Your Own Miracle Wellness Product on October 8th!

Want your fellow art expo attendees to invest in your miracle product? Come design a patent for your idea at the Weirdo Fest on October 17th.