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Fall Arts Guide
Phantasmagoria Circus
Dear culture vultures: For months we scoured the city to bring you the best of what Philly has to offer this season, and we think we’ve done a damn good job of bringing something for everyone. Into art? You should know that curators and artists everywhere are doing their best to take art out of their galleries and into your community. Want theater? We found a scrappy, independent circus troupe whose stunts you should never try at home. There’s also a roundup of what’s on tap for our favorite stages. If comedy is your thing, we've got a list of the season's best events (like a tribute to the late Mitch Hedberg, he of the famous one-line zingers). Music? Check. Dance? The Russian ballet awaits you on. We even examine the state of storytelling, which, of course, is the world's oldest favorite pastime yet somehow a "novelty" in today's world. Enjoy all this and more! Love, PW.
In This Issue:
Art
University Gallery Curators Thinking Outside the Box: Alex Klein (Institute of Contemporary Art at Penn) and Rob Blackson (Temple Gallery at Temple) have each thrown a wrench into the traditional, top-down model of exhibition-making, in which curators place art in a room and everyone else scrambles to make sense of it.
The Best of Fall Art: This season, Philly’s galleries, museums and other venues all across town want you to do more than just look. They want you to hang out, eat, discuss, make, share and generally become an active participant in whatever they’re doing.
Young Arists Shift Focus to Our Diverse Neighborhoods: It’s often difficult to see the intersection of art and public engagement in the country’s major art centers because in these places, art has an undeniable commercial link that disconnects it from the common man. But this fall, Philadelphia’s galleries and museums are looking in their own backyards to find artists who are working against this notion, producing work about their diverse communities and engage the people within them.
Stage
Phantasmagoria Circus Gets Its Freak On:The troupe, which performs in Northern Liberties every First Friday, never fails to delight. Yet they would certainly succeed in horrifying anyone remotely delicate.
The Best of Fall Theater: A roundup of some of the more interesting productions happening on Philly’s many stages.
Dance
The Best of Fall Dance: The best of Russian dance choreography is on its way to Philadelphia this fall. On Oct. 20, the Pennsylvania Ballet will present Russian Suite—a production featuring the North American premiere of Jeu de Cartes—by eminent choreographer and former artistic director of the Bolshoi Ballet, Alexei Ratmanksy. The program will also feature two works by George Balanchine.
Comedy
The Best of Fall Comedy: For three straight glorious weeks, some of the funniest local and national acts will be right here in our city, hamming it up nightly. It all kicks off with the Philly Improv Festival starting Oct. 5.
Film
Can't-Miss Flicks: In addition to far more tolerable weather and post-season baseball, the movies tend to get better. Freed from the tyranny of mega-budget summer blockbusters while gearing up for the end-of-the year awards bait, sometimes a critic can go two or even three weeks without seeing a single remake or sequel.
Small-Budget Films Need Love, Too: Art-house films that are worth watching. Don't miss the one with the Olsen twins' little sis.
Music
Sonic Arts Union Retrospective Looks Back on Electronic Music: In the 1960s, a group of electronic music pioneers began playfully, but rigorously, twisting knobs on homemade gadgets and realized they could create unknown, and often bizarre, sounds. The work that was created is now being shown as part of a live music and multimedia retrospective that runs from October to May at International House.
Events: Dick Dale, Battles & more.
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Sonic Arts Union Retrospective Takes a Look Back at Electronic Music
By Elliot SharpIn the 1960s, a group of electronic music pioneers began playfully, but rigorously, twisting knobs on homemade gadgets and realized they could create unknown, and often bizarre, sounds. The work that was created is now being shown as part of a live music and multimedia retrospective that runs from October to May at International House.
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Storytelling—the World's Oldest Pastime—Gains Popularity in Philly
By Nicole FinkbinerThe crowd that gathered in the upstairs bar at The Dive last Tuesday night was there for more than cheap beer, cold pizza and pleasant conversation—they were there to hear a story.
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The Little Films That Could
By Matt PriggeWho knew there was genuine talent in the Olsen family? While Mary-Kate and Ashley may have never broken cinematic ground, their younger sis Elizabeth is a serious thespian whose work as a former cult member reunited with her family has already been showered with accolades.
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A Look at the Season's Can't-Miss Flicks
By Sean BurnsWhat I look forward to most about the fall season is that by and large the movies tend to get better. Freed from the tyranny of mega-budget summer blockbusters while gearing up for the end-of-the year awards bait, sometimes a critic can go two or even three weeks without seeing a single remake or sequel.
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Young Artists Shift Focus to Philly's Diverse Neighborhoods
By Darren WhiteIt’s often difficult to see the intersection of art and public engagement in the country’s major art centers because in these places, art has an undeniable commercial link that disconnects it from the common man. But this fall, Philadelphia’s galleries and museums are looking in their own backyards to find artists who are working against this notion, producing work about their diverse communities and engage the people within them.
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University Gallery Curators Thinking Outside the Box
By Katherine RochesterAlex Klein (Institute of Contemporary Art at Penn) and Rob Blackson (Temple Gallery at Temple) have each thrown a wrench into the traditional, top-down model of exhibition-making, in which curators place art in a room and everyone else scrambles to make sense of it. Shifting their focus from the gallery to the community, Klein and Blackson are on the crest of a new kind of exhibition-making that values frank discussion over quiet contemplation.
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Phantasmagoria Revives Classic Circus Sideshow in Northern Liberties
By Jessica HerringScraps of fabric billow in the air as strings of sparkling white lights cast shadows over the audience, creating a blithe, mystical ambience. The ringleader abruptly ends this whimsical facade as he bellows into the microphone: “Don’t perform these stunts, you’ll fuck yourself up,” Alejandro DuBois says. “And please make a mother fucking donation to our mother fucking crew.”
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Funny Business: The Best of Comedy This Fall
By Nicole FinkbinerFor three straight glorious weeks, some of the funniest local and national acts will be right here in our city, hamming it up nightly. It all kicks off with the Philly Improv Festival.
Related Content
The Best of Fall Art
By Roberta FallonThis season, Philly’s galleries, museums and other venues all across town want you to do more than just look. They want you to hang out, eat, discuss, make, share and generally become an active participant in whatever they’re doing.
Related Content
The Best of Fall Theater
By J. Cooper RobbThe upcoming theater season is bigger and more diverse than ever. What follows is our attempt to compile some of the most interesting productions happening on Philly’s many stages.
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Author Sarah Rose Etter Keeps It Surreal
By Tara MurthaSarah Rose Etter doesn’t make readers kneel down and squint through a keyhole into characters’ private lives. Instead, the 28-year-old crafts sharply drawn prose that amputates the every day ache out of the human heart and then transplants that ache into characters dropped into surreal situations that, like deep-sleep dreams, make sense despite all the weird.
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