This second annual festival welcomes fellow artists from across the country to share their works with our communities and beyond.
Tickets are $25 per show or $60 for a festival pass (all 3 shows!). Pay-What-You-Can tickets are available for low and fixed income community members. Ticket Links Below!!
Following each performance there will be a reception with a light meal of soup or salad. BYOB to enjoy on our patio before & after the performances.
Friday, Sept 19
REMEMBER YOU WILL DIE
Written & Performed by Maureen McGuigan
Director/Dramaturgy
Alicia Lynn Grega
Music
Jason Smeltzer
Images/Projection Design
Gregarious (Alicia Grega)
Scranton, PA
What happens when existential dread meets dark comedy? Maureen McGuigan's solo show "Remember, You Will Die” transforms life's heaviest topics into an unexpectedly uplifting theatrical experience that audiences won't forget. From conversations with neighbors over magical mushroom chocolates, McGuigan weaves personal anecdotes with fascinating historical facts and scientific discoveries. The result is a performance that makes audiences laugh, cry, and ultimately feel less alone in confronting life's biggest mysteries. "Death is probably the most taboo subject in our society," says McGuigan, who also serves as Deputy Director of Arts & Culture for Lackawanna County in Scranton, PA. "But the only certain thing in life is that we will die.” This show encourages us to discuss death more openly so we can live more authentically. Remember You Will Die features projection and music by Jason Smeltzer. It premiered at the Scranton Fringe Festival and will go on to tour Ireland later this year.
Saturday, Sept 20
9 PICTURES
Written, Performed and Facilitated by ashley sparks
Los Angeles, California
A work-in-progress immersive and interactive solo show blending facilitation, family photos, and stories (from ashley and the audience) about death, grief, politics, and race. It’s not as depressing as it sounds. This multimedia experience also includes karaoke, at least one dirty joke, snacks, and a worksheet. This performance, if that’s what it is, is being developed through community sharings. The script evolves after each performance. With an M.F.A. in Directing and Public Dialogue from Virginia Tech University, ashley has made theater with ensembles such as Cornerstone Theater Company in Los Angeles, ArtSpot Productions and Mondo Bizarro in New Orleans, and PearlDamour. sparks is the co-director of Mark-n-Sparks, a time-based creative experiment creating work at the intersections of policy and housing justice.
Sunday, September 21
CETACEAN (The Whale)
Written/Performed/Produced by Deke Weaver
Director/Choreographer/Performer/Producer: Jennifer Allen
Champaign-Urbana, Illinois
With a team of award-winning collaborators, Deke Weaver’s life-long project is presenting a performance for every letter of the alphabet—each letter representing an endangered animal or habitat. CETACEAN (The Whale) is the 6th performance from The Unreliable Bestiary. Truly interdisciplinary, 2023’s CETACEAN was a dazzling collage of lo-fi effects, story, video, sound with a large helping of dance and a dash of national park ranger talk. A Fall 2025 tour brings a condensed translation of the original show to New England, the Gulf of Mexico, and the land-locked seas of the Great Lakes. CETACEAN (The Whale) is dark, thoughtful humor for the anthropocene.