Hannah Parke's Disability-Centered Musical to Premiere at Cannonball Fest

This fall from September 2 to September 18, Hannah Parke will debut her newest work of original song, stand up and healing, Birth. Sparkle. Death. as part of the Cannonball Festival. Parke, whose seismic voice has filled cabaret and theater stages throughout Philadelphia the last several years, is unveiling her most personal work yet, centering her life-altering diagnosis, treatment and disability. Full of entirely original music, created, performed and recorded by Parke, this intimate, darkly comic and occasionally gruesome new work shines a light on disability, rare brain conditions and what it means for a young artist to go from Broadway auditions to bed-bound hospitalization.

Hannah is a rising star. Hannah has a rare brain disorder. Hannah is disabled. A stand up/cabaret/video installation mash-up diving down the kaleidoscopic, surrealist rabbit hole of the stages of grief that come with the life altering diagnosis. Filled with trippy, defective medications, bloody brain surgeries, and know-nothing doctors. Hannah is left unlatched and alone inside of the one thing that is broken: her own mind. With each original song, new feelings will be born and will die, just like her. Speaking about the process, Hannah says, "After being diagnosed with Epilepsy, my entire life changed. Moving through life and growing as an artist became unbelievably challenging. I used theatre/art/film to help myself step into these new shoes as a disabled artist. A title I am still getting used to. But there are others like me, and our stories deserve to be told, by us."

The project reunites Parke with Director, Shamus. The pair received major press and kudos for their original musical, Close Your Legs, Honey, which debuted locally in 2018 before touring. Since then Parke has amassed an impressive list of local credits including Media Theatre, Act II Playhouse, weekly performances with GayBill and dozens of major brand deals as a voice over artist. Shamus, who recently returned to Philadelphia to serve as Guest Artistic Director for Shakespeare in Clark Park, has spent the time working as an emerging new musical maverick having developed and directed work for the Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival, PlayPenn, Playwrights Center, Boston Playwrights Theatre, PrideFest at the Tank and others. Shamus says "Hannah has always had an incredible voice, both as a singer and writer. This work is next level and promises to challenge the audience's notions and assumptions around disability."

Opening performance is Saturday, September 2 at 2:00 p.m. at The Fidget Space, 1714 N. Mascher Street, Philadelphia, PA 19122. Tickets are $25, with PWYD options available. Tickets can be purchased at https://phillyfringe.org/events/birth-sparkle-death/.

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