Pig Iron School

Film Intensive - Class of 2021 Powered by Restream https://restream.io/

Please join us here on Facebook Live or on Twitch Wednesday 5/12 at 8pm for three short (5-10 minute) original films created under the guidance of Josephine Decker. This has been an exploration of devising and filmmaking where these 2nd year students have collaborated on the writing, filming and editing of these new film works. They started as an exploration of hidden communities but as is often true in a devising process, the starting point is just a way of helping to ...discover what it is really alive within the minds and hearts of the creative team. Through improvisations and short bursts of filmmaking, these original films are waiting for an audience.

FIRST GLIMPSE Thursday May 13, 2021- 8pm- on Zoom. Link for tix in bio. Six bold students joined us in January 2021, eager to confront this moment as artists and unwilling to sit on the sidelines and wait for a return to normal. Rather, they saw the possibilities of creating in the virtual world and developing an embodied practice that adapts to our current conditions. Join us for an evening of original works created by these performers, inventors and restless artists.... Introducing: Brian Bowyer, Heather Hosford, Connor McAndrews, Chelsea Thaler, Rosemary Weiss, and Mary Kate Korbisch

DOUBLE DOG DARES Saturday & Sunday, May 15 & 16, 2021 - 8pm - on Twitch or Facebook Live * Woof! The Pig Iron class of 2021 has been working like dogs all year searching for liveness in the virtual world. Now they’ve been double dog dared to venture deep into their own imaginations and return with HOT NEW MATERIAL to share! It’s sure to be a treat! Come. Sit. Stay.

Take your pick: June, July, or August; Virtual or In-Person. Three workshops to re-boot, jumpstart, and launch your artistic impulses including 'Something From Nothing' with Emmanuelle Delpech, Mieke D., and Nathan Alford-Tate; 'The Acrobatic Ensemble' with Nicole Burgio, Ben Grinberg of Almanac Dance Circus Theatre; and Neutral Mask and Red-Nose Clown also with Emmanuelle Delpech and Nathan Alford-Tate. Learn more at https://pigironschool.org/workshops

The UArts/Pig Iron Class of 2021 have been adapting their creative practices to fit in new spaces like their kitchens, backyards, and in-laws’ basements on Zoom. Join us next week (on Zoom) as they present the results of their latest creative experiments.

Join us on Monday, November 9, for a virtual screening of dance films created by the UArts/Pig Iron MFA Class of 2020, followed by a discussion with students. The films and discussion will be broadcast live here on Facebook and on Twitch (twitch.tv/pigirontheatre).

We're so excited that Pig Iron School alum Alexandra Tatarsky (Class of 2016) has been selected as a Pew Fellow. Congrats!

Building on decades of experience in the alt-cabaret scenes of New York, Philadelphia, and Mexico City, Tareke Ortiz and Dito van Reigersberg will lead UNLEASH YOURSELF, a cabaret workshop offered as part of our Unmute Yourself virtual workshop series. You may wonder, "Can I take this workshop if I'm not a professional singer?" Yes, you can! Alternatively, you may also wonder, "Can I take this workshop if I am a professional singer but I've never acted?" The answer to that is... once again, yes, you can! Learn more and apply at pigironschool.org/unleash-yourself-cabaret-tareke-dito.

Start the new year with us! We are recruiting a class of restless, daring artists to begin their journey in the Devised Performance Program in January 2021. It is bound to be a new era, a new beginning, a raucous time with no shortage of tumultbut an even greater need for fresh artistic voices. Audition for us via Zoom on 10/21 or 12/5 (or contact us to set up a time that works for you). More info is available at the link below. Your ensemble awaits you.

What is the muscle that allows contact with the audience? How does the performer mold the attention of the audience? How does an ensemble create a stylea complete performance world? Working with improvisation and writing-on-your-feet, Pig Iron Theatre Company's co-founder Dan Rothenberg will dig into performer presence, breath and play in this virtual workshop. Learn more and apply at the link below.

Seeking inspiration and creative community this fall? Our Unmute Yourself series of Zoom workshops kicks off in October with classes led by Brett Robinson and Jonathan VanDyke. Check out the complete slate of workshops at the link below.

Quinn and Dan demonstrate what is arguably the essential movement of our current moment...#pivot

The 2020 Philadelphia Fringe and Free Fringe festivals are in full swing, and Pig Iron School students, alums, faculty, and friends are creating and sharing work that responds to and meets the challenges of the current moment. Here's a round-up of some of the art they're making.

Looking for inspiration while stuck inside under lockdown? Seeking to quench your performative thirst? Create deeply alive, sharply drawn characters that brim with life and imaginative force in Brett Robinson's Introduction to Physical Character workshop, part of our Unmute Yourself series. #pivot

How can we take agency over the way our identities and our bodies are captured on camera? How do we manage ownership of our stories and ourselves as we negotiate social distancing and social media? How do the dominant forms of media, including film and television, reinforce ideas around who should be seen and heard? Interested in answering these questions? Check out Jonathan VanDyke's workshop on Performance for Video, part of our Unmute Yourself series. #pivot

Like many of you, we’ve been on lockdown for most of the past 175 days. On the one hand, this has been hell. On the other hand, we thrive within limitations. Just like everyone, we're 'pivoting to digital.' The magic of Zoom allows us to teleport across the world, simulcasting workshop encounters for the first time. So we are thrilled to offer you this slate of workshops for the Fall/Winter of 2020. #pivot

Over the past month, we've been sharing work that our students created in response to COVID-19 lockdown restrictions. We've gathered all those pieces together in this blog post, in case you missed any. Check it out!

Anna Basile took her clown exploring in EMPTY SPACES. She writes, When we were sent home for a semester of remote learning, we had just started our exploration of clown. It was a wistful and joyful experience to discover my clown so far from the now-empty studio and my classmates. And so I chose to unleash this curious, mischievous creature on my final project. Wittle Stick, (that's her name), was very concerned for the spaces left empty during quarantine, and so she set out to visit one and poke around