Cannonball Returns For Third Year With Over 150 Shows at Philly Fringe

Audiences should prepare to dive into all kinds of performance and art at this year's Cannonball.  Cannonball, the largest hub of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, is getting ready for an exciting September. This year the hub  runs September 1-30 and truly features something for everyone. From experimental upstarts to masters of craft, audiences can get lost in a lineup of 150+ shows and find themselves at Cannonball, the largest hub of the Philly Fringe.

The line-up includes: Philly's boldest artists, the  future of American contemporary circus, an invasion of clowns from Brooklyn, dance ensembles that embody a political revolution, intimate pop-up performances in the corners of a magical garden, a park full of performances for kids, and more. Tickets for Fringe Festival Members are on sale August 1.  Tickets go on sale to the general public August 4. Tickets and more information can be found at the hub's website www.cannonballfestival.org. Tickets and more information about the Philadelphia Fringe Festival can be found at www.fringearts.com, by phone at 215-413-1218, or in person at the Fringe Festival Box Office at FringeArts (140 N. Columbus Blvd) August 28-September 24. 

Now in its third year, Cannonball has revitalized the Philly Fringe with an influx of festival energy. Presenting shows back to back, audiences can see multiple offerings every night at each of Cannonball's four venues (the slowest night at Cannonball this year will feature 13 different productions!), enjoying a drink at the Garden Bar in between each show, and running into friends, artists, and other fringe-goers. This hub returns to the Maas Building and the nearby Icebox Project Space, adding programming at Fidget in Kensington and free, outdoor performances at Liberty Lands Park for families. With a focus on expanding who Fringe is for and what it looks like, Cannonball offers special programs like  Blind Date tickets – which allow audience members to get paired with a stranger for pre- and post-show conversation and drinks – free “Deep Dives” which allow audiences to go deeper with artists with talk backs, panel discussions and more, and pop-up “Secret Treasures” that surprise and delight audiences who happen to be in the right place at the right time.

Cannonball disrupts traditional arts presenting models by centering artist-to-artist curation, pooling and redistributing resources to provide small-scale, high-impact production opportunities for wild, under-resourced performances, and building a sustainable arts ecosystem from the ground up - helping everyone make a splash.

“We're thrilled to see how much Cannonball has grown in just three short years – a testament to the power and brilliance of Philadelphia's independent artist community, who crave togetherness as much as audiences do! We can't wait to open each of this year's four venues,” said Founding Producer Ben Grinberg.

By pooling resources, Cannonball offers affordable production opportunities to performing artists of all disciplines. The Cannonball experience is one of community and exchange: they offer lots of support to artists, create social events and preview opportunities, and carefully curate fun and inclusive social spaces to hang out in all festival long. Alongside buy-in options, co-presenting options, and split bills, Cannonball offers four stipend tracks. The stipend tracks are competitive presentation and/or development tracks which come with additional opportunities and resources.

Each stipend track  is panel-adjudicated, and requires additional application questions. This will mark the second year of the BIPOC New Work Presentation Track, which offers a  stipend to BIPOC artists presenting new-full length works of any discipline. New this year are: the  Performance for Young Audiences Development Cohort (PYAC) which offers mentorship, development support, and a stipend;  CSAW Award for New Work by Circus Artists of Color which comes with a stipend; and Snack Track for Small Audience and Immersive Works.  Overall, Cannonball awarded over $37,000 for artists to produce in the hub, opening up the producing space during Fringe to even more artists, who may have never been able to produce in the festival before.

Cannonball returns to the Maas Building, 1325 N. Randolph St, where the festival started. Maas features an open-air Garden space (complete with bar!), Cottage with exclusive performances for 15 audience members or less, and the Studio, which seats 55. Cannonball also returns to the Icebox Project Space, 1400 N American Street. Last year the festival added Icebox to the performance venues and shows sold out. It is the largest venue for Cannonball and will house circus, large company and high flying performances. New this year will be an intimate space at Fidget, 1714 N. Mascher Street. Plus, Cannonball is debuting a space just for family-friendly programming. Every weekend of Cannonball there will be a treasure trove of free programming at Liberty Lands Park, 913 N 3rd St. This programming is designed to give audiences of all ages a Cannonball experience.

“Even as we grow in size, the goal of Cannonball remains the same - to cultivate a space of warmth, sharing, and belonging - by and for artists who have often, by their own admission, been overlooked by many of the city's other presenting organizations,” adds Core Producer Colby Calhoun.

This year's line-up features theatre, dance, circus, and more. There are local favorites and artists from all over the world. There are tons of artists who have never produced during the Fringe Festival and artists who are Fringe regulars. 

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