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
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.
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:
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
Miss the show? Read the review!
People Are Strange and other revelations has closed, but you can read all about it here:
Broad Street Review
SoLow Fest 2018: Automatic Arts’ ‘People Are Strange and Other Revelations’
Quirky quartet
Mark Cofta
Automatic Arts, producers of the Nice and Fresh series of new short works, capture the SoLow Festival do-it-yourself aesthetic in People Are Strange and Other Revelations. This eclectic quartet of one-person pieces plays in the Da Vinci Art Alliance.
Writer-director-performer Josh McIlvain starts the evening with a darkly funny recorded pre-show announcement. This travels into intriguing territory when he explains that “robots have rights” and that the space is haunted by vampires.
A gallery of characters
The creepy vibe continues in “Away,” which McIlvain performs with a microphone in the small space, switching lights on and off as he goes. “Away” is actually a dialogue, I realized.
It’s a discussion about escaping everyday life to start over elsewhere, veering into a hilarious consideration of blindness’ possible benefits and brilliant throwaway moments such as, “I’ve been trying out saying that Jesus said stuff.” (As our president has proven, say something often enough and people believe it.)
Nik Menotiades’s “That’s My Time” likewise includes multiple characters. A nervous stand-up comedian wearing a tracksuit tells corny jokes (“Where were potatoes first fried? In Greece!”).
Menotiades also plays a heckler who takes over the show, then transforms into another comic (new costume hidden beneath the tracksuit), performing funny animal impressions. His excruciating comedy of discomfort left me thinking fondly of Andy Kaufman.
In “Key West or Bust,” written and directed by McIlvain, Tara Demmy plays Billy, a guy driving with friends from Troy, New York to southern Florida. Demmy wades into the audience, talking to us like we’re old friends sharing stories. Billy’s adventure is equally funny and sad, as the drive’s rigors nearly ruin Margaritaville, but Demmy’s lovable lout finds a silver lining.
McIlvain also penned “A Friend,” performed by Marissa Kennedy. As “M” sits painting, she recalls a variety of friends in a soft-spoken and sincere stream-of-consciousness chat that is deceptively detailed and deep. Can men and women really be friends? There’s no easy answer.
Nothing automatic
Like Automatic Arts’ “Nice and Fresh” series, People Are Strange slyly proves larger than the sum of its parts. Their DIY approach brews connections between disparate (and desperate) characters unadorned by theater’s more formal trappings. The humor often emanates from a feeling of common experience: at one time or another, we’ve been all these characters.
We’re just folks in a room, perhaps sipping a beer (Thoughtfully provided!), sharing something special. People Are Strange is us.
SOLOWFEST 2018
People are Strange, and other revelations . . . you’ll take away from this awesome night of short solo performances
Thursday June 14 at 8pm
Friday June 15 at 7pm
June 16 at 7pm and 9pm
Blindness, Key West, giraffes, a hunky neighbor who may be the real father of your child—encounter multiple circumstances and people in this evening of four solo performance works. People are Strange blends humor, insight, and just plain oddness with some music to boot. Performed in multiple rooms at an art gallery.
Performances by Tara Demmy, Marissa Kennedy, Josh McIlvain, Nikitas Menotiades*
*Appears courtesy Actors Equity
Da Vinci Art Alliance
704 Catharine St, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Automatic Arts 