Friday, September 22, 2017 | 8:00 pm
Saturday, September 23, 2017 | 2:00 pm AND 8:00 pm
Sunday, September 24, 2017 | 2:00 pm and 7:00 pm
Presented by Pig Iron Theater Company and FringeArts
Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts at the University of Pennsylvania | Zellerbach Theatre
3680 Walnut Street | Philadelphia, PA
General admission $39 | Tickets and Information

An epic synthesis of theatre, music and design, this world premiere work contemplates a future of ominous environmental predictions and rapid technological change. Developed by Pig Iron Theater Company, Philadelphia's legendary ensemble-devised theater maker, these performances close the 2017 Fringe Festival.

Echoing the character and pacing of a 19th-century symphony, A Period of Animate Existence (the dictionary definition of "life") weaves together perspectives of children, elders, and machines in five staged movements or “hallucinatory visions.” Like a symphony, the movements are unrelated narratively, yet they complement each other sequentially in mood, tempo, and texture to produce a cumulative effect.

A Period of Animate Existence is co-created by composer Troy Herion, designer and MacArthur Fellow Mimi Lien, and Pig Iron co-founder Dan Rothenberg in collaboration with 17 musicians from Contemporaneous, Philadelphia's chamber choir The Crossing, two generations of amateur choirs, and even sumo wrestlers.

Show run time: 90 minutes