Directions to Circle of Hope!

JOIN US TOMORROW NIGHT AT 8PM!

Here are some directions to the Circle of Hope Church, 1125 S Broad St, Philadelphia, PA. It's located on the east side of Broad St, just south of Washington. We will have sandwich boards that say "Cartogoraphasia" and "Philly Fringe" on them! Also, look for a large marquee that says something about check cashing. Our entrance happens to be right underneath it.

From Swarthmore on Public Transit: Take the R3 from Swarthmore to Suburban Station. In Suburban Station, look for a sign for the Broad St. Subway Line (this will take you to the 15th St subway stop; it's accessible from any Suburban Station entrance). Take the Broad Street Line Southbound, and get off at the Ellsworth-Federal stop. Walk north up Broad St, away from Elsworth and towards Washington. It should be on the right.

(If you live in Philly, you might want to take the subway too!)

Driving From Swarthmore: Head south on PA 320/ Chester Road towards Chester (away from the Baltimore Pike). Take a left onto Fairview Road (just before Swarthmore Pizza), and then a right onto MacDade Blvd. Merge onto I-95 N towards Philadelphia. Take Exit 17 to Merge onto Broad St. Continue up Broad for a long time--you'll pass Oregon Ave, Snyder Ave, and Tasker St. Circle of Hope will be on the right, just north of Federal St. All the street parking in the neighborhood is free!

Driving From North; New Jersey/ New York: Either Via I-78, or the New Jersey Turnpike, Make your way to I-95 S Toward Central Philadelphia. Take Exit 20 for Columbus Blvd towards Washington St. At the end of the ramp go right onto Columbus; then take a right on Washington Ave. Take Washington to Broad St (about 14 blocks) and go left on Broad. Circle of Hope will be on your left, almost immediately!

T-Shirts! T-Shirts! Get 'Em While They're Hawtt!

You know, Telephone Bronco's been around for a while now. More than six whole months since our first tentative conversations about what we might want to make a play about, about who we all dreamt of working with, about how we were ever, ever going to just sit down and make a play. We did it: we got together, we threw around ideas, we got our Fringe forms in on time. We picked a name. We picked a SHOW name. We made a Facebook page. We got a blog. We ordered posters and postcards for our show-- we even started putting them out around Philadelphia. Now, our tickets are even on sale! But still, something was missing. Something to make us official. Something to make us feel... whole.

But that something is COMING RIGHT UP. Because on AUGUST 20th, Telephone Bronco will have T-SHIRTS. That's right. T-SHIRTS.... with our LOGO on them.

THIS logo:

(... on a dark gray background).

I kid you not. That day is approaching.

And one of these T-shirts... could be yours.

We don't have a ton of them. So order soon, by emailing TelephoneBronco@gmail.com! Cuz they're first come, first serve. We'll keep a log of who orders when, and what size, and when they arrive at the doorstep, we'll turn 'em right around and send 'em back out. Going price is $12, or best offer. Send us cash, or make a check out to Jessie Bear and slap it in the mail. Who's first?

death of a character

Hey remember when we posted our list of characters? And we said that one of them is a nun?

Well, the creative process can be brutal. Alas, Hildegard the Nun is no more.

She met her demise at the hands of a furry adversary,


video courtesy of maisonfaux.

more from Eric soon on Hildegard and other beloved departed characters.

-Sam

big decisions from telephone bronco

Now that you can officially buy tickets to our show (check it: http://www.livearts-fringe.org/details.cfm?id=13260), I thought it might be good to update all of you faithful readers about how rehearsals are going and what the next steps in our process are. We are all a little giddy with excitement because we’re at a major turning point in the development of Cartogoraphasia.

Many long rehearsals, brainstorming sessions, interrogations of possible characters, and baked goods later, we have determined that Cartogoraphasia will be a celebration of explorers. The beloved characters we are featuring in our piece, however, are not typical explorers. Some of them explore the world, some of them explore their bodies, some of them explore their brains. Some use maps and some can’t read them. Some cross rivers and mountains and others exist solely in their living rooms. Some characters are exploring their sexuality, others are exploring their faith. Some characters are exploring the past, and others creating new realities for themselves every minute. They all have something they are trying to gain through exploring, and having to explore to find it is not always a voluntary act. We are looking forward to developing, discovering, and, eventually, sharing these explorers with you at their most intrepid moments.

I can’t wait for our next rehearsal.

Thanks for reading.

Nell

Q&A

Hello World.

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 speak in 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!

Love,

Isa

First Post

So here we are.

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.

Love,

Nell, Isa, Eric, Sam, Louis, Jessie, and Emma

Telephone Bronco Theater Company