Philly Theatre Week returns: seven South Philly highlights
As part of the 10-day event, South Philly’s Theatre Exile will host live shows by Crossroads Comedy Theater, and an online reading of a play-in-development.
Theatre Philadelphia announces the return of Philly Theatre Week featuring hundreds of theatrical performances across the region between April 1-10, 2022. The ten day festival will showcase the talents of 64 organizations with 85 shows and events. This fifth annual celebration showcases the vibrant and diverse theatre scene in the tri-state region, while shedding a light on the theatre community’s resilience through the pandemic.
Events include a variety of live and virtual performances and workshops, theatre-by-mail and chatroom, and exclusive ticket pre-sales, showcasing theatre across the Greater Philadelphia region. The event aims to make theatre accessible to all by offering tickets for free, $15 or $30. Tickets are limited.
View the full schedule and purchase tickets at www.phillytheatreweek.com.
Theatre Week at Theatre Exile
Here’s a look at the events hosted by, or at, South Philly’s Theatre Exile, 1340 South 13th Street:
Study Hall: Comedy Inspired By Lectures – Saturday, April 2, 7 pm – 8 pm
This long running comedy show mixes real lectures with improv comedy to create a show that is both entertaining and educational! Guests from all walks of life will lecture on a topic they are familiar with after which our cast of amazing improvisers will use what they learned (or didn’t learn) to create hilarious scenes right before your eyes. Whether you were the class president or the class clown—you will love Study Hall.
Tickets: $15. Read the COVID requirements and purchase tickets.
Not Yet Rated: An Improvised Movie – Saturday, April 2, 8:30 pm – 9:30 pm
In a world filled with movies… this one has not been made. Using movie tropes and your suggestions, the cast creates a completely new movie with no scripts, no props, and no ideas of what’s gonna happen. Action, horror, rom-com, sci-fi, fantasy, western… it’s all on the table in Not Yet Rated.
Tickets: $15. Read the COVID requirements and purchase tickets.
Borrowed Time – Saturday, April 2, 10 pm – 11 pm
Borrowed Time is a comedy showcase featuring improv teams Hoffman and NYTEShift with stand-up from Jake Mattera.
Read the COVID requirements and register for this FREE event.
Free Improv Jam – Sunday, April 3, 6 pm – 6:50 pm.
Looking to try improv for the first time or are you a performer itching for some stage time after over a year indoors? Join the Free Improv Jam at the Crossroads—at Theatre Exile. All experience levels are welcome to sign up and hop on stage…or simply enjoy the show. No improv experience? No worries. You’ll be paired with a more experienced improviser so you two can shine together. Do a scene or two, have some fun, and maybe make some new friends.
Crossroads Comedy Theater is an online and on stage home for comedy shows, podcasts, and classes featuring hilarious performers from the Philadelphia area and beyond. This event is hosted by Rachel Semigran and Jabari Dortch.
Read the COVID requirements and register for this FREE event.
Extree Extree: Comedy Inspired By the News – Sunday, April 3, 7 pm – 7:50 pm.
Extree! Extree! Read all about it! This local comedy show uses the news of the week to inspire hilarious improvised scenes right before your eyes. Features a core of regular performers and guests from other Crossroads shows and the world of improv at large.
Read the COVID requirements and register for this FREE event.
No Diggity: Improv Inspired By Old School Hip Hop and R&B – Sunday, April 3, 8 pm – 9 pm.
No Diggity host Tia Kemp curates a playlist of old-school hip hop and R&B music videos that inspire the hilarious scenes. Audience members will be quizzed on their old-school knowledge. Guess correctly and you might get to pick which video inspires the cast!
Read the COVID requirements and register for this FREE event.
Saturday Mourning Cartoons – Monday, April 4, 8pm.
“While dealing with the death of their younger brother, Jessica and Benny have a falling out over whether to put their abuela, Yolanda, in a nursing home. Ultimately, Benny wins the argument, and Yolanda is sent to “el home.” When a pandemic hits and they are no longer able to go inside during visiting hours, the family is forced to confront one another while visiting her at the window. Yolanda will never find herself alone, as she is constantly in the care and presence of a special visitor. Saturday Mourning Cartoons is a play about dealing with change when everything changes at once, and mourning alone in a time of collective mourning.”
