SEE SLIDESHOW AT PHILLY FRINGE ENCORES MINI-FEST

The Yellow Bicycle Theater Nov 14–16 in Center City Philadelphia presents the 2025 Philly Fringe Encores mini-festival, the inaugural presentation of what’s to be a yearly festival.

Friday November 14 at 7pm

Saturday November 15 at 7pm

From the 1950s through the 1980s, the slideshow was a staple of the American household. SLIDESHOW drops audiences back into the time of Kodachrome colors, weaving a fictional family history around strangers’ real slides of long ago vacations. A funny, disturbing, and deeply felt work about the disconnection between the lives of children and those of their parents, SLIDESHOW recreates a lost ritual and delves into the aspirations of 20th-century American life.

Created and Performed by Josh Mcilvain

Desk Set

Words and Art by Luisa Colón, Original Score by Caleb Cliff, film editing, technical concept, and direction by Josh McIlvain. This film is meant to be shown to a live audience, so that the audience “reads” the story together, creating the sensation of a live, albeit silent reading, and a shared experience. Desk Set premiered at Nice and Fresh 2023, an evening of short works, November 2-4, 2023 at the Germantown Mennonite Church, Philadelphia.

The Return of Nice and Fresh

Nov 2-4, 2023

Germantown Mennonite Church, 21 W Washington Lane, Philadelphia

New work, new performances. Cheap. Automatic Arts presents the return of Nice and Fresh! New works of theater, dance, and other arts.

Friday Nov 3 at 7pm TICKETS

Thursday Nov 2 at 7pm TICKETS

Saturday Nov 4 at 6pm TICKETS

Saturday Nov 4 at 8pm TICKETS

Le Château de la Belle au Bois Dormant with Deborah Crocker and Effie Kammer. Written by John Rosenberg. Directed by Josh McIlvain. Two forty-something Disney fans plot a trip to Disneyland Paris.

Desk Set, words and art by Luisa Colón, original score by Caleb Cliff. A conversation, written on wood, is interrupted. (film)

old swan performed by Megan Mazarick. Choreography and text by Megan Mazarick. Music by Shit Robot. A dance that satirizes and breaks apart the TED Talk format .

Dog Walker with Laura Sukonick and Homer Robinson. Written and Directed by Josh McIlvain. A dog walker is beloved by the local community, but she can’t stop lying about what she’s done with the dog owner’s keys.

Hosted by David Burgess.

And other surprises!

Tickets $10 / funsavers-automatic-arts.ticketleap.com/niceandfresh/

old swan photo by Melissa Blackall. Art: Jasper Hawk

This performance is made possible in part with support by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

April 2023

Automatic Arts in partnership with The Kammerspiel present

THE MAIDS by Jean Genet

The Maids by Jean Genet.

Translated by Bernard Freshman

Directed by Josh McIlvain. Performed by Effie Kammer, Deborah Crocker, and David Burgess

Performed at the Historic WYCK House and Garden in Germantown, April 20-24. 2023

The Wyck House, 6026 Germantown Ave, Philadelphia

This performance was made possible in part with support by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund.

“The Maids” is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc.www.concordtheatricals.com

PHILLY THEATRE WEEK

PRESENTS

HURT and other possibilities

The ride from hell. The Jesus boss. The uncle of darkness.

3 plays about bad relations and bad decisions written + directed by Josh McIlvain. Performed by Megan Thibodeaux, John Rosenberg, Peter Kochanek, Effie Kammer.

Plus BUZZ, a new film poem, makes its debut screening!

Thursday February 6 at 7Pm

Friday February 7 at 7pm

Saturday February 8 at 6pm and 8pm

BUY YOUR TICKETS NOW!

The McPherson Manor
on the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts Campus
6454 Greene Street (Mt Airy)
Philadelphia, PA 19119
Performers: Megan Thibodeaux, John Rosenberg, Peter Kochanek, Effie Kammer
Plus BUZZ a new film poem with poetry by John M McIlvain.
Lighting design by JJ Jury
VENUE MAP:

PLAY READING

A new full-length play by Josh McIlvain, Affection follows the adventures of Brie, who is both exploring the opportunities and discovering the limitations that divorce has brought her.

FREE! Monday July 1, 7:30pm
Maas Building, 1325 North Randolph St, Philadelphia, PA 19122

Actors: Karen DiLossi, Macy Davis, Nikitas Menotiades, Homer Robinson.

We’d love an audience for this reading, as your presence is super helpful in the development of this play.

Wild. Funny. Tragic.

BUY TICKETS!

It’s 2019, a theater company rehearses Medea, the ancient tragedy of marital discord, palace intrigue, gender politics, and murder. Set during one of the company’s final run-throughs, PURE MEDEA intertwines Medea’s revenge upon her husband with the smaller tragedies—and petty rivalries—of the modern-day actors’ personal and professional lives.

Saturday May 4 at 8pm
Sunday May 5 at 7pm
Monday May 6 at 7pm*

Thursday May 16 at 7:30pm*
Friday May 17 at 8pm
Saturday May 18th at 8pm
Sunday May 19 at 2pm

TICKETS ($12–$15): puremedea.brownpapertickets.com

Christ Church Neighborhood House
20 N. American Street, Philadelphia, PA, 19106
(By 2nd and Market Streets)

Run time: 110 minutes plus intermission.

*Postshow discussion with Dr. Sheila Murnaghan, translator of Medea, Norton Critical Editions (2018), and the Alfred Reginald Allen Memorial Professor of Greek at the University of Pennsylvania. Moderated by Christopher Munden, founder and editor, Phindie.com.

Medea by Euripides Translation by Sheila Murnaghan (W. W. Norton & Co, 2018). Performers Sophia Barrett, Josh McLucas, Hallie Martenson, Lauren Suchenski, Homer Robinson. Costume design Adrena Williams. Lighting design JJ  Jury. Concept, additional text, and direction by Josh McIlvain.

CHRIST CHURCH PARKING

PUBLIC:

Metered street parking is available on 2nd and 3rd streets (most are free after 630pm). Parking is prohibited on American St.

LOTS:

Park America lot on Filbert Street just behind Neighborhood House.  Receive $2 off parking fee with validation from Welcome Desk.  Valid any time.

Additional lots on 2nd St on either side of Market.

Photo by Ceilidh Madigan

Poster design by Guido Caroti

We made it, thanks to you!

We’re creating something new, out of something classic! Help us bring our most ambitious production yet to life by contributing to our Kickstarter Fundraiser!

WE RAISED $3830, PASSING OUR $3500 GOAL—THANK YOU!

For our 10th anniversary season, Automatic Arts is thrilled to announce a major new production, PURE MEDEA, an adaptation of Euripides’ Medea, to debut May 2019 at Christ Church Neighborhood House, a 100-seat theater in the heart of Old City in Philadelphia. Having created and presented purely original work for ten years, tackling a classic play is very new to us—so of course we have added an Automatic Arts-style twist on it. This is an adaptation of the Ancient Greek play Medea and sets the play with in a rehearsal by a modern day theater company who are mounting the Euripides play. PURE MEDEA follows both the original text and the drama of the rehearsal room as the roles of Medea begin to infiltrate the inner lives of the actors.

This is an ambitious project and we need your help to bring it to life. Our goal is to raise $3,500 and we have 30 days to do so! Kickstarter is a make it or break it giving platform. To receive your gift, we must reach our goal of $3,500.  Please make a gift today to ensure that we reach and even exceed our goal and fund PURE MEDEA!

We even have fun items for the various giving levels! We even have this entertaining Video Pitch:

https://vimeo.com/321267773

Conceived of and directed by Josh McIlvain, PURE MEDEA features the 2018 Medea translation by Sheila Murnaghan, plus additional rehearsal room text and rearrangements of the original by Josh McIlvain. Features the actors Sophia Barrett, Lauren Suchenski, Homer Robinson, Josh McLucas, and Hallie Martenson.

Producing theater is a pricey endeavor, in which ticket sales do not cover costs, even on the most prestigious stages. I hope you will help make PURE MEDEA a reality with a contribution to this Kickstarter campaign.

Thank you

Josh McIlvain
Artistic Director of Automatic Arts