Pig Iron Theatre Company & Josephine Decker to Premiere THE PATH OF PINS OR THE PATH OF NEEDLES in September

Pig Iron Theatre Company is joining forces with visionary writer and filmmaker Josephine Decker (Shirley, Madeline's Madeline) for the premiere of The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles, a dark fairy tale about the terrors, joys, and deep uncertainties of pregnancy. Inspired by Maria Tatar's research on the history of fairy tales, this immersive performance explores the complex decisions that mothers, fictional and real, must make about their children's lives. This new work, running September 16-October 2, brings Decker's singular vision into conversation with Pig Iron's 25-year investigation with site-specific and immersive theater. Performances take place inside and, on the grounds, surrounding Rigby Mansion in Philadelphia PA as part of the 2022 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Tickets are now on sale online.

In The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles, each audience member becomes "The Pregnant Dreamer," seeking to evade a curse on the child they are carrying by choosing their own path through Rigby Mansion and its grounds. Interactive scenes - weaving contemporary dance, physical theater, and performance art - unlock secret knowledge and whispers of terror. All bodies are welcome; audiences should come prepared to wander.

"While I love getting to work in film, I miss the visceral, almost erotic, feeling of sharing physical space with performers and audience," says writer Josephine Decker. "I think our piece is probably drawing a lot from this desire to connect physically with others. There are a lot of invitations to movement, to quiet, to connection, to silence. And invitations to dance, to sing, to whisper, to bury, to be in a space together connecting about the dangerous, intimate complexities of pregnancy and parenthood."

"At the core of all of Josephine's work is honesty and ferocity," said co-director Dan Rothenberg. "This feels like such a risky and personal work to bring to an audience in these first terrible months after the overturning of Roe v. Wade. Working with Josephine on this piece, I hear the word 'choice' in a new way, against a backdrop of the titanic forces at work in pregnancy, forces that demand our respect and humility. I feel like Josephine's story, and the stories she has excavated for this work - these stories refocus our attention on the fear and grief and sometimes absurdity of the journey of pregnancy. The choices parents and people who are pregnant make or are made for us. Without making room for this grief and complexity, how can we as a society ever hope to make policies rooted in compassion?"

The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles features performances by Jessica Almasy, Sanchel Brown, Miranda Calderon, Ching-I Chang, Anisa George, John Maria Gutierrez, Courtney Henry, Meagan Kimberly Smith, Alex Tatarsky, and Jacinta Yelland.

The creative team for The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles includes Josephine Decker (concept, direction, & text in collaboration with the ensemble), Dan Rothenberg (Co-Director), Maiko Matsushima (scenic design), Tuçe Yasak (lighting design) Tina Hanae-Miller (sound design), Alicia J. Austin (costume design), Nicola Bullock (movement consultant), Vanessa Ogbuehi (associate director), and Sally Ollove (dramaturgy).

Performances of The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles take place September 16-October 2, 2022, at Rigby Mansion, located at 523 Church Lane in Philadelphia PA, as part of the 2022 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. Critics are welcome as of Sunday, September 18, for a press opening on Wednesday, September 21. The performance schedule is September 16-18, 20-24 at 6:45pm; September 25-30 at 6:30pm; and October 1, 2 at 6:30pm. The running time is 70 minutes. Tickets, which are $37 ($15 for students and 25-and-under), can be purchased online.

The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles contains references to family violence and to the termination of pregnancy. This performance is not suitable for children. Much of the performance installation is outdoors on uneven ground. Some audience members will be invited to sit on grass or dirt. Audiences are encouraged to wear comfortable shoes and clothes that can get dirty. Patrons with limited mobility can be accommodated; please call 215.413.1318 or email patronservices@fringearts.com for more information. If there is light rain, performances will still occur; please bring an umbrella in the event of inclement weather.

Pig Iron Theater Company cares about the safety of its audiences, staff, and performers. Proof of vaccination is required to attend The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles, and masks must be worn for the duration of the performance. Audience members will be asked to show proof of vaccination before the event. Both digital and physical proof of vaccination is accepted. Please plan accordingly.

Please visit www.pigiron.org for more information.

About the Artists

Josephine Decker (Concept/Writer/Co-Director) is an award-winning writer, director, and filmmaker whose work tends to bend the space between imagination and reality. Her feature Shirley won Sundance 2020's U.S. Dramatic Special Jury Award for Auteur Filmmaking. Her feature Madeline's Madeline, scripted through a devised process with ten actors, played Sundance, Berlinale, and scores of festivals worldwide, was nominated for Best Picture at the IFP Gotham Awards and for two Independent Spirit Awards. She explores collaborative storytelling via directing TV, documentary-making, performance art, VR and teaching. Her latest film The Sky is Everywhere (A24, Apple, released spring 2022) was a New York Times Critic's Pick.

Dan Rothenberg (Co-Director) is one of the founding artistic directors at Pig Iron Theatre Company, where he seeds artistic collisions and new approaches to performance. He works closely with ensembles of actor-creators who co-create ("devise") Pig Iron's work. An OBIE- and Barrymore-winning director and writer, his work ranges from large scale visual theater to hybrid clown pieces and concerts. Outside of Pig Iron, he has directed at Bowerbird, Play Company (NYC), and The Acting Company (national tour), and received commissions from the Kimmel Center and Tiwary Entertainment Group. Recent collaborations include work with acclaimed Japanese playwright Toshiki Okada, Emmy-winning composer Troy Herion, and MacArthur "Genius" Mimi Lien. USA Artists Fellow (2010); Penn Program in Environmental Humanities Artist in Residence (2017).

About Pig Iron Theater Company

Pig Iron Theater Company has been creating interdisciplinary performances in Philadelphia since 1995. Now a national leader in the movement of alternative theater makers, the company has created over 33 original works and has toured to festivals and theaters in 15 countries on four continents, with stops at the Humana Festival, Under the Radar Festival, TR Warzawa, La Jolla Playhouse, and the Tokyo Performing Arts Market. The OBIE Award-winning company has been nominated for more than 35 Barrymore Awards, winning 10. During the pandemic, the company pivoted to digital work with an acclaimed Zoom adaptation of their collaboration with Japanese playwright Toshiki Okada, Zero Cost House, and an interactive two-player iPhone app called Franklin's Secret City. The company recently launched a Digital / Film / Interactive initiative, with support from the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, to explore how their devising methodology can be applied in the digital arena. Since 2015, Pig Iron has partnered with University of the Arts to offer both a Graduate Certificate and an MFA in Devised Performance, training the next generation of adventurous makers of hybrid performance. www.pigiron.org

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