We are working to excavate the Potential Brontosaurus of our piece (Eric’s favorite dinosaur is the Pluto of dinosaurs. Once thought to be the tallest of dinosaurs it was later discovered to be an Apatosaurus with too many neck bones). As we work, we build our collection of dinosaur bones. Each bone has the potential of becoming a part of our imaginary dinosaur. Eventually we will assemble the bones into whatever creature suits our fancy (Theater artists, unlike paleontologists, are not burdened by scientific integrity).
A large portion of Telephone Bronco will be headed up to Newtown, PA tomorrow for the Groundswell Players' Barn Stompin' fundraiser (information on Facebook and LiveArts). It's a fundraiser for their Fringe show, How to Solve a Bear, and it looks like it'll be an afternoon of partying and chilling and lawn games. All things that Telephone Bronco is good at. Plus, they'll be auctioning off items, INCLUDING two (2) tickets to Cartogoraphasia, our own Fringe show! So if you are in the area, dear blog readers, you should totally come and meet Groundswell and Telephone Bronco and have an awesome afternoon.
And last but not least, presenting everyone's favorite redhead:
Name: Isa St. Clair
Hometown: Williamstown, MA
Current Town: Swarthmore, PA Role in Company: Actor
Some Recent Productions She's Been Involved In: An Oresteia, Phaedra's Love, The Measure for Measure Experiment, Romeo and Juliet, Vinegar Tom
People in the Philly Theater Scene She Loves: Pig Iron, Riot Group, Green Chair Dance Group, Headlong Dance Theater, InterAct Theatre Company Favorite Dinosaur: Pachycephalosaurus. Duh. Favorite Internet Procrastination Tool: Updating this blog and revisiting past Radiolab podcasts
Favorite Libation: A little vino, a little of Eric's bucking brew, a lot of class.
Name: Jessie Bear Hometown: Larchmont, NY Current Town: Philadelphia, PA Role in Company: Actor Some Recent/Favorite Theatrical Productions You've Been Involved In: Preparations for Departure (Matchbox Theater Company), @ Swarthmore: Macbeth, The Tempest, Vinegar Tom, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Oleanna. People in the Philly Theater Scene You Love!: Always a fan of: Pig Iron, Nice People Theater Co. Favorite Dinosaur: T Rex. Obvi. Favorite Internet Procrastination Tool:goodreads.com, watching old episodes of the office on netflix, and the always fabulous tastespotting.com
Whoah Nelly, another Buccaneer! Let's meet the girl whose name gave rise to that unpardonable pun...Nell Bang-Jensen.
Name: Nell Bang-Jensen Hometown: Burlington, VT Current Town: Swarthmore, PA Role in Company: Actor Some Recent Theatrical Productions She's Been Involved In:Blood Wedding, Eats Shoots and Ladders, Melancholy Play, Rindecella and Friends People in the Philly Theater Scene She Loves: Pig Iron Theater Company, InterAct Theatre Company, Applied Mechanics, Leo Callahan Improv, This Thing of Ours Sketch Comedy Favorite Dinosaur: Triceratops (Current) Favorite Internet Procrastination Tool: Reading about the movie BABIES Favorite Libations: Representing my home state with Magic Hat #9
Hometown: Hudson, MA Current Town: Swarthmore, PA Role in Company: Actor
Some Recent/Favorite Theatrical Productions: An Oresteia, Bodas de sangre
People in the Philly Theater Scene You Love!: Pig Iron, Riot Group Favorite Dinosaur: Brontosaurus. Poor guy isn't even a dinosaur anymore. Just an Apatosaurus that someone messed up on back in the day. Favorite Internet Procrastination Tool: Stumbleupon
Favorite Libation: Homebrew ginger beer
Sign off with something witty? denique nullumst iam dictum quod non dictum sit prius. (Terence Eunuchus 41-42)
Another day, another bronco! Today is the fabulous and bewhiskered Louis Jargow.
Name: Louis Jargow
Hometown: Woodstock, NYCurrent Town: Philadelphia Role in Company: Director Recent Productions He's Been Involved In: An Oresteia People in the Philly Theater Scene You Love!: NPL/ Riot Group Favorite Dinosaur: Deinonychus, a little, feathered raptor Favorite Internet Procrastination Tool: TUMBLR- hit me up @ daycaf.tumblr.com
Favorite Libation: Weyerbacher's Simcoe IPA Sign off: Foreman said that Sausser said that there are three kinds of people in life. People who focus on the structure in life, people who focus on the content of life, and the artists who focus on all possibilities in play.
Over the next week, we will be featuring each of our members on the site so you can get to know us. Seven days for seven members, we'll give you a little background information on ourselves and let you know our roles in the company.
Today, we present the lovely Emma Ferguson, our designer:
Name: Emma M Ferguson
Hometown: Boston, MA
Current Town: Philadelphia!!
Role: Set Designer
Recent Productions She’s Been Involved in: Preparations for Departure, The Wild Party, La Dispute
People in the Philly Theater Scene That She loves: Matchbox Theater Co Headlong Dance Theater, Azuka Theater, Lucidity Suitcase Intercontinental. I'm sure I'll find new faves this year, though!
Favorite Dinosaur: SPINOSAURUS. One time I made one out of balsa wood! Then it ate my toy brontosaurus...
Internet Procrastination: NYTimes Ken Ken Puzzles. The worst.
Favorite Drink: Eric's Buckin' Bronco Ginger Beer, made into a Dark n Stormy
Some recent deadlines for the Fringe have forced us to finally figure out some logistics and we are happy to announce that we now have an official venue as well as performance dates!
We are excited to be performing at Circle of Hope which is located on the second floor of 1125 South Broad Street in Philadelphia.
Performances will be:
Friday, September 3rd at 8pm Saturday, September 4th at 3pm and 8pm Friday, September 10th at 6pm and 9pm Saturday, September 11th at 3pm and 8pm
So this is us! Well, this is Isa at any rate. If you’re reading this now – thank you for supporting Telephone Bronco from its earliest stages! It’s wonderful to know that we already have a little team of fans ready to follow our blog and see our show.
Because we’re in the nascent stages of company-ness, it seems like a good idea to sketch out who we are and what this is. Because the seven of us have all either graduated Swarthmore or are working on graduating from there with majors in Theater, we tend to speakin jargon that leaves most blog followers in a state of “huh?” Bearing that in mind, let me answer some questions before you even think them!
1.How is this blog going to work? Who’s posting and when?
Great question, hypothetical interlocutor! The idea behind this blog is that it will mirror our collective mode of working together (more on that later…) in that no single person is going to post everything. All the members of the company will be posting here throughout the rehearsal and performance process – and we’ll sign our names so you know who’s writing! That way you dear followers can get a sense of Cartogoraphasia from all perspectives.
2.Also, what is collective creation exactly?
Collective creation as a term refers more to the production of a piece than what it actually becomes. The idea is that no one person is in charge. In this way, collective creation productions seek to find an alternative to the traditionally hierarchical way of creating theater, in which the playwright or director is the all-powerful head of everything, and the actors, designers, dramaturg, and even audience play a secondary role. Most collective creation groups create devised pieces, meaning that the final product is produced during rehearsal, often without an initial script. Telephone Bronco is operating on a modified collective system, in which we all are creators and contributors, but each of us still has a defined role within the company.
3.Where does the name Telephone Bronco come from?
Our company name is the product of the decline of penmanship. Our dear Eric couldn’t read his own handwriting, and misread “telephone booth” as “telephone bronco.” The rest is history.
4.But seriously – Cartogoraphasia? What does that mean?
Cartogoraphasia is our admittedly difficult to pronounce (cart-uh-gore-uh-PHAY-zhuh) melding of the words “cartography” and “aphasia.” The title reflects our interest in the intersection between mapping – both personal and geopolitical – and the way the mind works…or doesn’t. We can’t wait to create it!
Keep following our blog for more cool updates and insider peeks into our rehearsal process and we – and you – figure out our crazy and amazing piece together! Also, check us out on facebook!
We are the Telephone Bronco Theater Company, composed of Swarthmore College alumni and current students. We are working on our first piece together, Cartogoraphasia, which will be performed on September 4, 5, 6, 8, 9, 10 for the 2010 Philadelphia Fringe Festival.
We are committed to working as a collective, devising new work, and blending our combined knowledge to incorporate a variety of performance styles and contemporary commentaries. We are devoted to our goals both in the narratives we create and in the ways we create them. Cartogoraphasia is a devised piece and the premiere of our first original work. Cartogoraphasia questions the boundaries and borders we draw on our landscapes and on ourselves.
This summer we feel lucky to be rehearsing in the Frear Ensemble Theater at Swarthmore College. Our project is made possible by the Swarthmore Summer Project in Theater Grant.
We will be updating you this summer as we battle the humidity of Swarthmore, PA, write, act, direct, collaborate, agree, disagree, explore and rehearse, rehearse, rehearse.
