David Gordon's THE PHILADELPHIA MATTER to Premiere Online as Part of the PHILADELPHIA FRINGE FESTIVAL

Celebrated choreographer/director/writer David Gordon's first new screen work in over two decades, The Philadelphia Matter - 1972/2020, premieres Thursday, September 10, the opening day of the 2020 Philadelphia Fringe Festival. To create the new work, Gordon assembled a "virtual company" of 30+ Philadelphia performers, who recorded video material on everything from iPhones to professional cameras. Gordon and video artist Jorge Cousineau then dissected, assembled, and collaged this movement with visual scores and archival works. The cast also includes Wally Cardona and Pick Up Performance Co(s) members Karen Graham and Valda Setterfield.

The Philadelphia Matter - 1972/2020 will stream September 10 at 7pm EST at this link, where it will remain available for viewing through the end of the festival on October 4. For the premiere, tickets are pay-what-you-can, $5-50, at this link; thereafter, the film will be available to view free of charge.

The Philadelphia Matter - 1972/2020 features Philadelphia performers Mehgan Abdel-Moneim, Megan Bridge, Marie Brown, Sanchel Brown, Eun Jung Choi, Amalia Colón-Nava, Sydney Donovan, Bethany Formica, Beau Hancock, Nile Harris, Justin Jain, Shayla-Vie Jenkins, Jungeun Kim, Megan Mazarick, Lucas Mikan, Rhonda Moore, Guillermo Ortega, Rebecca Patek, Dawn Pratson, Lauren Putty White, Gabrielle Revlock, Nick Schwasman, Margot Electra Steinberg, Katie Vickers, November Ward, and Jacinta Lee Yelland.

The Philadelphia Matter - 1972/2020 further evolves the legacy of Gordon's The Matter works, first presented in 1972 and most recently reconceived for MoMA in 2018. Since he began conceiving a performance work to premiere at the Christ Church Neighborhood House over a year ago, the process has drastically shifted. While the project was originally intended to connect performers dancing in both Philadelphia and Manhattan-accompanied by a live-stream of their fellow dancers in the other city-Gordon determined to start anew in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.