Circus Campus Presents Vibrant, Circus and Community: 12 Circus Arts Shows and Events During Philadelphia Fringe Festival

Circus Campus Presents returns to the 2024 Philadelphia Fringe Festival with extraordinary performances highlighting the vast and varied circus community in the region. This unique circus hub will include 12 events and performances this year, kicking off with a preview night on Friday, September 6th and running through Sunday, September 29, 2024.  In between those dates, audiences will find a dozen original shows created by circus artists from all over the country running for a series of one-night-onlys at Circus Campus (6452 Greene St. Philadelphia) throughout their historical building. These shows exemplify the soul of circus and the broad spectrum of talent that their community fosters.

“Philadelphia Fringe Festival gives our city’s circus community a designated time every year when local artists have the chance - and the encouragement - to produce original work,” said Circus Campus Founder and Owner Shana Kennedy. “Circus Campus Presents formed last year and was a great success and we are proud to be back at the Fringe Festival. We had hosted Fringe shows on and off for many years, but creating a hub lets us do something larger and much more collaborative. It was a win-win not only for our campus, our artists and for circus lovers throughout the region.”

She added, "Circus Campus, established in 2017, fosters a tight-knit community of teachers, students, performers, and creators. Our hub strives to showcase the skills and variety of these incredible people. Performances are designed to exemplify the broad spectrum of talent on Campus while pushing the creative boundaries formed through this unique collaboration. We invite everyone in Philadelphia to visit our beautifully restored church facility in leafy-green West Mt. Airy."

For 2024, the circus hub returns for the third year to showcase artistic styles that include circus, magic, juggling, theatre, music and poetry - with everything in between (and often blended together). Each activity is designed to exemplify the different aspects of the region’s circus community, while celebrating artistic expression in many different ways.

Circus Campus Presents opens with a preview night featuring all participating artists and is followed by Terry Brennan’s debt of of “ADHD Mixtape” a jovial commentary of social norms and existence within a neurotypical society. The showcase continues throughout the month with Francis Menotti (Magic), Chris Gory and a Motley Crew (aerials et al.), Soul Penny Circus (Physical Theater), Thomas Miller (Juggling), Jasper Murphy (Juggler), Aerial Mind (Aerial), Circus Bliss (Circus & Acrobatics), Jan Damm (Clowning & Acrobatics), Air Temple Arts (Juggling & Acrobatics), and closes with Shir Wonder’s “MOM*” (Tightwire & Corde Lisse). Each event exemplifies different aspects of the Circus Campus community and explores artistic expression in their own way.

"Circus Campus Presents includes graduates from Circadium (our three-year academic program licensed with the state of PA), coaches from Philadelphia School of Circus Arts (our all-ages recreational circus program), artists-in-residence, local & national artists who have continually supported and created as a part of Test-Flights (our curated showcase of works-in-progress), members of our weekly juggling club, and many others who have been integral to our forged environment," said Kennedy."

Tickets are on sale now by visiting www.phillyfringe.org (under Circus Campus Presents). General admission varies $20-25 per show, with student pricing available for select shows. The special preview event is no charge! For more about Circus Campus, visit www.circuscampusphiladelphia.com.
 
Circus Campus Presents
12 Shows, Events and Performances

Philadelphia's Circus Campus in Collaboration with Philadelphia Fringe Fest
September 6 to September 29, 2024

All shows below to be held at:
Circus Campus (6452 Greene St. Philadelphia)

Prices vary per show.

1) Circus Campus Presents
2024 Circus Campus Presents Preview Night for Philadelphia Fringe Festival
Friday, September 6, 2024, 6:30pm
Circus Campus (6452 Greene St. Philadelphia)

Sneak a look at everything taking place at Circus Campus this year with a special early bird no-charge community preview event.

2) ADHD Mixtape
Terry Brennan
Philadelphia's Circus Campus in Collaboration with Philadelphia Fringe Fest
Circus Campus (6452 Greene St. Philadelphia)
Saturday, September 7, 2024, 7:00pm
General admission $25, student $20

ADHD Mixtape is a ballad to all the hopelessly hyperactive kids who just can't quite "get it together." The story follows Terry from kindergarten to 12th grade as he navigates school, field trips, gym class, term papers and much more. Using pop music, handstands, sledge hammers, tire juggling and physical comedy Terry creates a live TikTok style comedy about the ups and downs of ADHD.

3) Sisyphus and Siri
Francis Menotti Magic
Philadelphia's Circus Campus in Collaboration with Philadelphia Fringe Fest
Circus Campus (6452 Greene St. Philadelphia)
Sunday, September 8, 2024, 5:00pm AND 7:00pm
General admission $20, student $15

Darkly funny and mind-boggling, a play swallowed by a magic show - Sisyphus and Siri follows the whimsical journey of magician and creator Francis Menotti as he comically and mysteriously comes to terms with his inevitable demise while presenting his (supposedly) final performance.  The even-tempered digital voice of Siri hosts the evening, interacting with the audience and even performing a magical interlude, mid-show. Featuring pieces he created for Penn & Teller Fool Us and Masters of Illusion, the show builds from light-hearted amusement to thrilling chaos up until the final curtain which looks an awful lot like the beginning. Has he done this exact show three times? Hundreds? Thousands? Absurd, visually stunning, and a tad disturbing, Sisyphus and Siri is a textured and captivating exploration of the balance of futility, optimism, and magic.

4) Tarot: A Fool's Journey
Chris Gory and Motley Crew
Friday, September 13, 2024, 6:00pm and 7:30pm
General Admission $20

Journeys can be hard, but also rewarding. Come on an adventure to see where your journey will lead and, don't worry, we'll have several Tarot-inspired circus acts to help you along the way.

5) Dreams of a Clown
Soul Penny Circus
Saturday, September 14, 2024, 6:00pm
$15 and PWYC options available

Soul Penny Circus’ international, four-star, Brighton Excellence Award-finalist production is now making its debut across the East Coast. Come enjoy a multi-sensory audience experience that whisks participants through a heartfelt story. Follow the Sandman Clown, Dingus, as he traverses the dream world, across colorful landscapes and haunted corridors, on a mission to rescue the Moon Child from Nightmare herself. This family-friendly, immersive show whisks you away on a fast-paced adventure, exploring both contemporary and traditional circus mediums, including clowning, aerial, acrobatics, juggling, and more!

6) Babble
Thomas Miller
Sunday, September 15, 2024, 7:00pm
General Admission $20, PWYC Options

Babble is a one-person juggling show that explores historical fiction, precarious positions, and the reality-warping powers of authors across time. How do records shape our world, and what truths are lost between the pages of history?

7) Jasper the Juggler
Jasper the Juggler
Friday, September 20, 2024, 7:00pm
General admission $20, student $15

Get ready to be amazed by Jasper Murphy's incredible variety juggling show! Between both stunning visual performances and dangerous edge-of-your-seat stunts, Jasper is sure to keep you on the edge of your seat.

8) AQUA Connection
Aerial Mind
Saturday, September 21, 2024, 6:00pm and 8:00pm
General admission $20, student $15

Aqua Connection is a 60 minute mixed media production that uses silk, rope, net, trapeze, and modern dance to explore a symbolic connection between humans and water. Once the artists finish, an open dialogue with the audience will explore exactly how we interact with the most important resource on our planet. The intention is to bring attention, inquiry and awe to the community, as we share emotions & thoughts linked to the duality of our experience and wellbeing with nature as a whole.

In Aqua Connection, the audience is invited after the stage time, to stay and share their experience and feelings in a contained & respectful space of inclusivity. The moments are facilitated by the artists. All ages and comments are welcomed (stage time 45 min & 15 min R & D, of reflection/dialogue session at the end).

Aerial MIND and CIRCUS CAMPUS Presents are supporting this event at Fringe Festival 2024. Special contribution of a manipulative prototype by Greg Kennedy (Innovative Juggler dot com)

9) Birthday Party
Circus Bliss
Sunday, September 22, 2024, 6:00pm and 8:00pm
General admission $20, student $15

Birthday Party is a fast-pace, contemporary, circus, comedy that showcases the complex relationships humans have to being born, being alive and celebrating those milestones. During this 45 minute production, the artists and the audience will be exploring the history, science, and social culture of birthdays, gift giving, and getting older. With partner-acrobatics, aerial arts and all-original music, it’s a show full of surprises and a few sweet treats. Birthday Party is the event of the year, that all ages won’t want to miss. Consider yourself invited!

10) I'm Happy to Be Here! with Hans Leibedich
Jan Damm
Friday, September 27, 2024, 6:00pm and 8:00pm
General Admission $20

International variety artist and existential romantic Hans Liebedich explores the limits of acrobatic performance, mind-manifesting manipulation, and teutonic comedy. After two decades ascending the heights of circus and variety, Hans asks the tough questions while balancing atop increasingly precarious objects and extended metaphors. Expect thrills, laughs, pathos, as Hans attempts to answer: What is the meaning of circus in a metaphysical age? Do Germans feel Joy? And what would it mean if you truly felt 'Happy to Be Here'?

11) Layovers - a Comedy about Suitcases, Gravity and Time
Air Temple Arts
Saturday, September 28, 2024, 7:00pm and 9:15pm
General admission $20, student $15

Stuck in an airport of absurdist proportions with only their baggage—literal and metaphorical—three strangers are left with no choice but to better get to know their companions and themselves. A comedy that fuses juggling and circus with dance and music, LAYOVERS explores collisions and near misses, as well as the age-old problem of how to go to the bathroom without leaving your luggage unattended. LAYOVERS “descends inexorably and entertainingly, into chaos”, and is a visual delight for any audience that includes confetti and play-pit balls LAYOVERS is the opposite of having to sleep in an airport overnight.

12) MOM
Shir Livne
Sunday, September 29, 2024, 7:00pm
General admission $25, student $20

*a one-woman absurdist circus show about motherhood

Is anyone satisfied with their mother? What does it mean to be a (step)mother? Should I (or you?) have a baby?! MOM* shines a light on the secret inner thoughts that we have as potential mothers, stepmothers, bio-moms, and as children of mothers. What did we expect things to feel like, and how do they actually feel? Join Shir in this absurdist take on motherhood, as only she can tell it – spilling her truth as stepmom, potential bio-mom, and daughter. She’ll dig into her teenage journals, fantastical realms of aerial rope and tightwire, and confront her own assumptions of what it means to be a ‘good mother’. (All with a comedic twist, of course!) In Philly for one night only – an evening you won’t want to miss!

ABOUT CIRCUS CAMPUS

Circus Campus is three beautiful green acres including a 30,000 sq/ft converted church and a 10,000 sq/ft mansion. Circus Campus prides itself on being an inclusive movement community and a hub for Circus in Philadelphia. This campus is home to the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts: an all ages recreational school; Circadium: a 3-year, full-time circus program licensed with the state of Pennsylvania; and several artists in residence: Greg Kennedy Studios (Innovative Juggler), Trey Lyford (physical theatre instructor), Rachel Tavani (music instructor), and Ralph Lemon (visual artist). The performance spaces include a large open sanctuary space with 40-ft ceilings with aerial rigging points throughout, trampoline & tramp-wall; a gymnasium with fully-functional theatrical stage; a dozen office and artist studios; and a variety of improvisational outdoor areas. For more about Circus Campus, visit www.circuscampusphiladelphia.com