In collaboration with Philadelphia theatremakers Charlotte Ford and Mason Rosenthal, Groundswell unravels American masculinity. Donate now!

The Groundswell Players are fundraising $3500.00 to create, produce and perform an original show for the 2013 Philly Fringe Festival. Debuting on September 6th and running through September 21st, Go Long Big Softie will appear at the Torrent Collective in South Philadelphia. Formerly a South Philly boxing gym and 7UP bottling plant, the space will soon be home to Groundswell’s latest invention.

Come see our sometimes playful, sometimes scathing, sometimes terrifying critique on “cool” pedagogy. Our topic: The Underground Railroad! Let’s free those slaves everybody!!!!!! Check out the work on May 13-14 at 7pm at the Painted Bride. http://www.livearts-fringe.org/jumpstart/

Join Scott and his Pig Iron School classmates for their end-of-trimester showings this week! This eclectic evening of short pieces will venture into the worlds of bouffon, grotesque, and tragedy. What happens when the pariahs, the deformed, the loathsome, and the damned are given their moment on stage? Will you laugh uproariously or sob uncontrollably? Come find out; their pustules are brimming, their broken-tooth smiles are widening, and they are giddy for a chance to plop a few truths in your lap. Dates are March 13 and 14 at 7:30 pm at the Latvian Society (7th and Spring Garden) and tickets are free. Email enid@pigiron.org to reserve a spot.

Hackles Artist Bios 

Scott Sheppard (Creator/Performer/Artistic Director of Groundswell Players) – Scott Sheppard is a current student at the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training. He was a collaborator and performer in past Groundswell Productions: How to Solve a Bear; Little Plates, Big Tapas; and The Speed of Surprise!

Nick Gillette (Creator/Performer) – Nick Gillette is a student in the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training. He was been working in Philadelphia for the past 6 years performing with BCKSEET productions, Action Arts, Brat Productions, Cabaret Red Light, and the Philly Improv Theater.

Martha Stuckey (Creator/Producer) – Martha is a singer, actor, writer, and director who hails from New Ulm, Minnesota but has performed in Minneapolis to Spain and on stages inbetween. Martha studied physical theatre with Nathan Keepers of the Moving Company in Minneapolis, MN (formerly the Jeune Lune) and Ghanaian music and dance at the University of Accra with Koo Nimo. She has a B.A. in Sociology and Anthropology from St. Olaf College. “Hackles” marks Martha’s debut in Philadelphia after her first year studying at Pig Iron Theatre’s Advanced Performance Training.

Alice Yorke (Creator/Producer) – Alice Yorke is a recent Philly transplant and student with Pig Iron Theatre’s Advanced Performance Training. Formerly of New York City, she has performed with Hudson Shakespeare Company, the LaMama Moves! Dance Festival, the Bushwick Open Studios Festival, and the Midtown International Theatre Festival. She has studied and performed with Double Edge Theatre in the Berkshires and internationally with Friches Theatre Urbain in Paris. ”Hackles” marks her Philadelphia debut.

Mason Rosenthal (Creator/Director) – Mason Rosenthal is an actor, director, and teacher from Skokie, Illinois. He holds a B.F.A. in drama from New York University where he studied with The Atlantic Theater Company Acting School. Mason joined the Atlantic’s faculty in 2007. In 2011 he moved from NYC to Philadelphia to be the Headlong Performance Institute’s first ever teaching fellow. In October Mason begins a nine-month residency as a 2013 LAB Fellow. In addition to directing “Hackles”, this Fringe season he will be performing in an original piece of dance theater co-created with Megan Mazarick entitled “Mining the Mine of the Mind for Minderals”. masonrosenthal.weebly.com

TC Lind (Stage Manager) – T.C. is thrilled to start his first stage managing position in The Groundswell Player’s incredible production ofHackles. He is currently attending UArts to earn a BFA in Acting.  Recent credits include ensemble roles in Time Paradox and We Remember You: The Johnny Mercer Cabaret. Thanks to the cast and crew for a memorable and worthwhile experience.

Nate Schlegel (Lighting Designer) – Nathan Schlegel is the co-owner of Dynamic Video Lighting and Sound LLC. Recent projects include Chicago (Merriam Theater), Rally for Recreation (NFL Charity), Polaroid Stories (Philadelphia Fringe) Anton in Show Business, Dangerous Liaisons (Uarts), and Follies (Philadelphia Premier).

Jill Keys (Costume/Set Designer) – Jillian Keys is a costume designer/scenic artist/mask maker/crafty person/mac and cheese fanatic/etc, and is stoked to be working on her first devised show with Groundswell. http://jilliankeys.carbonmade.com/ 

Alex Bechtel (Sound Designer) – Alex Bechtel (Composer/Sound Designer) is a Barrymore-Award Winning Philadelphia theatre artist.  As an actor, singer, composer, music director, and writer, Alex has worked with 1812 Productions, The Walnut Street Theatre, New Paradise Laboratories, Applied Mechanics, Act II Playhouse, Theatre Horizon, and The Philadelphia Orchestra.  He is a graduate of The University of the Arts and a member of the Inaugural Class of The Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training.  

Credit: Pete English

Buy tickets HERE

Groundswell is thrilled to be announcing its upcoming show for the 2012 Philly Fringe Festival! Hackles will be a completely devised piece authored by and featuring Alice Yorke, Martha Stuckey, Nick Gillette, and Scott Sheppard, all current students at Pig Iron’s School for Advanced Performance Training. The show will explore obsessions with the afterlife, the controversies surrounding evidence for ghosts, and the tandem repulsion and seduction associated with death. Designers include the indomitable Dom Chacon on lights, the euphonic Alex Bechtel (also current Pig Iron student) on sound, and the lovely Jillian Keys on costumes. The show will run from Friday, September 7-Sunday, September 16 at 8pm at the Crane Old School White Box Theatre (between Master and Jefferson on 2nd Street, Philadelphia PA). Tickets will be available later in the summer on the Live Arts/Fringe Festival webpage. We hope to see you there, laughing in the face of the sublime unknown.

An Invitation to The Groundswell Players Chili Bonanza: A Fundraiser Cabaret

Masterful Chili Concoctions ~ Uproarious Cabaret ~ Cash Bar ~ Auction ~ Dancing ~ And Much, Much More
Saturday April 21st ~ 8pm

Quig’s Pub ~ Plays And Players Theatre ~ Philadelphia
Cabaret Begins Promptly ~ 8:30pm ~ Featuring Students Of The Pig Iron School
To Buy $15 Tickets ~ Click Here ~ Or At Door

Proceeds Support The Groundswell Players Operation And Production

To Make A Tax Deductible Donation ~ Click Here

Truly Yours And With Affection,

The Groundswell Players

Dear Friends,

It’s been five months since our last production The Speed of Surprise took you on a trip across the universe of your imaginations. In that short time, much has changed. The company now has a fiscal sponsor called Fractured Atlas, which provides educational and organizational resources for artists and independent arts projects. One of the most enticing features of fiscal sponsorship is allowing our supporters to donate tax-deductible contributions for future chin-dropping Groundswell absurdity. Our relationship with Fractured Atlas marks an exciting step in creating exceptional original theatre work in Philadelphia.

In October of 2011, Scott began studying at the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training. In addition to learning from leaders in the community of devised theatre, he has met a host of performers who share the twinge of madness integral to Groundswell’s style. While Jesse, Jack and Ali step out of the limelight for our 2012 Philadelphia Fringe production, we’re thrilled to introduce Alice Yorke, Martha Stuckey and Justin Rose as our newest collaborators. As these three talents join Scott in creating the next show, Ali focuses her efforts on building a solid foundation for Groundswell’s growth as a burgeoning company in Philadelphia.

Your enthusiasm for and support of our mission is deeply appreciated. We trust you are as tickled and roused about Groundswell’s future as we are, and we hope to see you at the next Groundswell event on Saturday, April 21^st at 8pm. You and yours are cordially invited to A Chili Bonanza at Quig’s Pub, the upstairs venue at Plays & Players Theater in Philadelphia for an evening of cabaret, food and drink in support of our upcoming show. Admission is $15 and can be prepaid here: https://www.fracturedatlas.org/site/fiscal/profile?id=6002. If the spirit so moves you to make a tax deductible donation, you can also make it at the url above.

With Affection,

Ali King
Managing Director

Scott Sheppard
Artistic Director

For those of you curious when you might see a performance:

Friday 9/2/11 – 8pm
Saturday 9/3/11 – 9:30pm
Sunday 9/4/11 – 7pm
Thursday 9/8/11 – 8pm
Friday 9/9/11 – 8pm
Saturday 9/10/11 – 9:30pm

Tickets here!! http://ticketing.theatreal​liance.org/sites/livearts/​details.aspx?id=19636