Tribe of Fools' ANTIHERO Set for Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Begin. 9/6

After two previous sold out Fringe performances, Tribe of Fools returns with a world premiere work that takes a satirical look our cultural obsession with vigilantes, violence, and heroes who do the wrong thing for the "right" reasons. The company presents the World Premiere of Antihero in the self-produced Neighborhood Fringe of the 2013 Fringe Festival. This new piece runs September 6-9 and September 11-14 at 7 p.m. There will also be 9:30 p.m. performances on September 7 and 13. Tickets cost $20 and are available online at www.fringearts.com or at the Fringe Box Office. All shows are performed at Church of the Crucifixion which is at 620 S 8th St (between South and Bainbridge). More information on Tribe of Fools is available at www.tribeoffools.org.

Antihero, Tribe of Fools' latest creation, takes audiences on a journey with a character known only as antihero. Filled with fighting, parkour, and acrobatics, Antiherois about one man's quest to topple the Parking Authority with his fists. The play begins when three police officers are on trial for a Rodney King-style beating. In the aftermath of this event, antihero, a graduate student namEd Simone, and a Parking Authority employee begin to circle each other in a story that takes a mirror to our society's obsession with heroes and vigilantes and begins to consider the actual reality of the justice audiences see in comic books and in the movies.

The company has been training in parkour, combat, acrobatics and other disciplines in order to create the virtuosic fight scenes audiences will witness in this work. Tribe of Fools Artistic Director Terry Brennan is directing the show. Mike Cosenza is handling the fight choreography. The cast includes Peter Smith, Kyle Yackoski, Colleen Hughes, Tim Popp, Carolina Millard, Zachary Chiero, and Leah Holleran.

Brennan conceived this piece after encountering two violent attacks in the city -- one near his home and one on Broad Street. Those experiences led him to question how society views violence and the concept for a new work was born.

"There's an ever-growing implication in most mainstream entertainment that violence is easy. People believe that anyone can fight well and even if it is scary, it is still a little exciting, and that once it's over, it's over. There is no fallout or unintended consequences," said Brennan. "That implication really makes me mad. It is a world view of a 12 year old and I know countless adults, who would be otherwise considered reasonable people, that buy into it. So, we set out to make fun of that point of view."

FringeArts (formerly Philadelphia Live Arts Festival & Philly Fringe) exists to commission, develop and present a range of high-quality contemporary performing and visual arts. Every September the Fringe Festival features boundary-breaking work created by some of the most renowned contemporary artists from our region and around the world, and serves as a collective home for artists to bring their artistic visions to audiences without any curatorial barriers. The community is enriched as art takes over neighborhoods, animating the spaces of Philadelphia from traditional theaters to corner bars and vacant storefronts.

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