INSIGHTS
Performance Enhancement Events
Enhance your experience with provocative enhancement events featuring Penn faculty members, area experts and artists. Designed to illuminate the work on stage, INSIGHTS events, including pre- and post-show chats, are free for all ticket holders.
11/12 INSIGHTS Events
Pre-show Artists & Audiences Changing Lives Chat
March 16 @ 6:30 PM
Join us for a pre-show Artists & Audiences Changing Lives chat featuring:
Alexis Hefley, Founder and President, Empower African Children
Rukia Nalwoga, Spirit of Uganda company’s Ugandan teacher
Kevin Burns, Executive Director, ActionAIDS Philadelphia
Raphiatou Noumbissi, ActionAIDS Philadelphia
Moderated by Dr. Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D., Associate Director, Penn’s African Studies Center, this chat will focus on AIDS relief as both a global and local issue. This event will take place in Room 511 on the Upper Mezzanine.
Pre-show talk with Simone
March 17 @ 7 PM
Come early for a pre-show talk with Simone hosted by Salamishah Tillet, Ph.D., Associate Professor, English and Africana Studies at Penn.
Pre-show Taste of Brazil event
March 23 @ 7:15 PM
Join us for a Taste of Brazil featuring complimentary Brazilian appetizers from Picanha Brazilian Grill. This event will be held in the Main Lobby and is first come, first served.
Post-show talk back with the company
March 23
Stay after the performance for a talk back with the company.
Pre-show talk with Martin Hayes and the musicians
April 15 @ 6 PM
Come early for a pre-show chat with the musicians and Martin Hayes, Artistic Director of Masters of Tradition. This event will take place in the Bruce Montgomery Theatre lobby and will be hosted by Scott Spencer, Ph.D., Adjunct Professor, Villanova University and Coordinator of the CUNY Center for Traditional Irish-American Music.
Pre-show performance by Champion Dancers
April 15 @ 6:30 PM
Enjoy a pre-show performance by the Champion Dancers from the DeNogla School of Irish Dance. This event will take place in the Main Lobby.
Post-show bilingual talk back with the company
April 20
Stay after the performance for a bilingual talk back with the company.
Stay tuned for updates on more INSIGHTS events being offered in the 11/12 season!
Past 11/12 INSIGHTS events
Pre-show chat with David O'Connor and Dennis Moritz
September 16 @ 6:45 PM
Join The Life and Times of Deborah Franklin Director, David O’Connor, and Co-author, Dennis Moritz, for a pre-show chat facilitated by Rosemary Malague, Ph.D., Director of the Theatre Arts Program at Penn. O’Connor is a local Director and Adjunct Professor in Temple University’s Theatre Department and Moritz is a Philadelphia-area playwright. This event will be held at 6:45 PM in the Prince Theatre and is free for all ticket holders.
Pre-show chat with Renee McBride-Williams, Sara Lomax Reese and J. Michael Harrison
September 17 @ 7 PM
Hosted by Molly Weingart of the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, join Renee McBride-Williams, Executive Producer of the Public Eye News Journal/The Shed Kitchen on WPEB 88.1 FM, Sara Lomax Reese, the President and General Manager of WURD-AM Radio and J. Michael Harrison, Jazz Host of The Bridge on WRTI Radio and Staff Host for a discussion about changes in the field of urban radio and the role of radio (and radio DJs) in the community. This event will be held in Room 516 on the Upper Mezanine of the Annenberg Center and is free for all ticket holders.
Pre-show performance and talk
October 14 @ 6:45 PM
Join the Penn Faculty Jazz Quartet for a musical exploration and commentary on jazz influences and styles. Quartet members include:
Wade Fulton Dean, Saxophone – Director of Jazz, Penn Department of Music
Josh Lawrence, Trumpet – Jazz Trumpet Instructor, Penn; Senior Lecturer, University of the Arts
Drew Shoals, Drums – Drum Instructor, Penn; Penn Law student
Justin Sekewleski, Bass – Bass Instructor, Penn
Post-show chat with Kun Yang Lin and the Hope Partnership for Education
October 14
Stay after the performance for a discussion with Kun Yang Lin and Dawn Ang, Director of Development for the Hope Partnership for Education. This Artists & Audiences Changing Lives chat will focus on Kun Yang Lin/Dancers’ work to support the educational development of students in North Philadelphia. Click here to learn more about donating a portion of your ticket purchase to the Hope Partnership for Education through the Artists & Audiences Changing Lives program.
Pre-show performance by PennYo
October 15 @ 7:15 PM
Come early and enjoy a pre-show performance by Penn's premiere Chinese a cappella group, PennYo.
Post-show chat with Hua Hua Zhang
October 15
Stay after the performance for a discussion with Hua Hua Zhang moderated by Sebastienne Mundheim.
Pre-show chat with Jerry Gonzalez and Dafnis Prieto
October 28 @ 6:45 PM
Join us for a pre-show chat with Jerry Gonzalez and special guest artist and 2011 MacArthur Fellow Dafnis Prieto. This chat will be moderated by Rachel Ellis Neyra, Ph.D., Lecturer of English and Romance Languages at Penn.
Pre-show Taste of India event
November 5 @ 7:15 PM
Join us for a Taste of India featuring complimentary Indian appetizers and tea from Aman’s Indian Bistro. This event will be held in the Main Lobby and is first come, first served.
“What keeps us going? The dialog.”
November 8 @ 6:30 PM
Join us for a pre-show talk by Jim Schlatter, Ph.D., Chair, Penn Theatre Arts Program focusing on Beckett’s use of the pair in his theatre.
Post-show talk back with the cast
November 8
Stay after the performance for a post-show talk back with the cast and Enid Reid Whyte, M.Phil., Irish Theatre and Film (Trinity College, Dublin) and Manager of Pig Iron’s School for Advanced Performance Training.
Pre-show talk by Jean-Michel Rabaté
November 9 @ 7 PM
Come early for a pre-show talk by Jean-Michel Rabaté, Ph.D., Professor of English & Comparative Literature and Vartan Gregorian Professor in the Humanities at Penn and President of the American Samuel Beckett Studies Association.
Post-show talk with Tom Creed
November 9
Stay after the performance for a post-show talk with the director, Tom Creed, and Jean-Michel Rabaté, Ph.D., Professor of English & Comparative Literature and Vartan Gregorian Professor in the Humanities at Penn and President of the American Samuel Beckett Studies Association.
Pre-show talk by Cary Mazer, Ph.D.
November 10 @ 7 PM
Come early for a pre-show talk by Cary Mazer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at Penn.
Post-show Q & A with the cast
November 10
Stay after the show for a post-show Q & A with the cast and Cary Mazer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at Penn.
Post-show Q & A with Barry McGovern
November 11
Stay after the performance for a post-show discussion of Beckett’s themes and a Q & A with actor Barry McGovern. This chat will be moderated by Amelia Williams, BA, English Literature (Modernism, Drama and Irish Literature) at Penn and Becky Lu, BA, English Literature (Drama, and adaptation across genres and forms) at Penn.
Pre-show chat with Hiromi
November 12 @ 7 PM
Join us for a pre-show discussion with Hiromi and Stanford Makishi, Director of Programs for the Asian Arts Council/Arts in Action. Moderated by Lolita Jackson, Annenberg Center Board Member and Penn Alumna, this Artists & Audiences Changing Lives chat will focus on Hiromi’s efforts to support the disaster relief in Japan as well as how Arts in Action has been working to help Japan’s arts communities rebuild after the earthquake. This event will take place at 7 PM in Room 516 on the Upper Mezzanine. Click here to learn how you can donate a portion of your ticket purchase to the Japan Cultural Society to help further recovery efforts in Japan.
Post-show chat with Gideon Obarzanek
November 17 - 19
Stay after the performance for a conversation with the Chunky Move's Artistic Director and Choreographer Gideon Obarzanek about the process of making Connected.
Pre-show chat with the artists
November 20 @ 6 PM
Come early for a discussion with Pee Wee Ellis and Vusi Mahlasela hosted by Tsitsi Jaji, Assistant Professor of English at Penn.
Pre-show performance by African Rhythms
November 20 @ 6:30 PM
Enjoy a pre-show performance in the main lobby by the Penn student group African Rhythms.
Pre-show salsa dance lessons
Join us in the lobby before the show for free salsa dance lessons with local World Latin Dance Cup finalist Darlin Garcia, founder and artistic director of Art In Motion Latin Dancers. Garcia has most recently been featured in the How Philly Moves mural project currently displayed at the Philadelphia Airport.
Post-show chat with Compagnie Marie Chouinard
December 10
Stay after the matinee performance of Compagnie Marie Chouinard for a post-show chat with the artists.
Pre-show chat with Ravi Coltrane
January 14 @ 7 PM
Join us for a pre-show chat with Ravi Coltrane hosted by WRTI's Maureen Malloy.
Megaprojects: Can we balance individual and social good?
January 17 @ 7 PM (University of Pennsylvania’s Meyerson Hall, Lower Gallery)
Panel discussion on the history and long-controversial politics of major urban projects. Moderated by John Landis, Crossways Professor of City and Regional Planning, and featuring Marilyn Taylor, Dean, School of Design; Eugenie Birch, Prof., Urban Research & Education; Laura Wolf-Powers, Asst. Prof., City & Regional Planning; Susan Wachter, Prof., Real Estate & Finance; Paulette Adams, People’s Emergency Center CDC; and Jim Burnett, Executive Director of the West Philadelphia Financial Services Institution.
Presented in collaboration with Penn Design.
Post-show talk with Michael Friedman
January 18
Stay after the performance for a post-show talk with Michael Friedman who wrote the music and lyrics for In the Footprint: The Battle Over Atlantic Yards. This talk with be hosted by Thomas Lloyd, D.M.A., Associate Professor of Music and Director of Choral and Vocal Studies at Haverford College.
Post-show talk with Artistic Director, Victor Quijada
January 20
Stay after the performance for a talk with RUBBERBANDance Group's Artistic Director, Victor Quijada.
Post-show talk with Marion Friedman Young
January 20
Stay after the performance for a post-show talk with Marion Friedman Young, Managing Director of The Civilians. This talk will be hosted by Elaine Simon, Ph.D., Co-Director of the Penn Urban Studies Program.
Post-show talk with Letitia James and Jannie Blackwell
January 22
Stay after the performance for a post-show talk with New York City Council Member Letitia James (portrayed in the play) and Philadelphia Council Member Jannie Blackwell. This talk will be hosted by Pennsylvania Representative James Roebuck.
Post-show talk back with the company
January 24
Stay after the performance for a post-show talk with members of the company and Susan Yeh of Penn Law.
Megaprojects: Can we balance individual and social good?
January 31 @ 7 PM (Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, Room 511)
Public forum and discussion featuring community members, stakeholders and developers with ties right here in Philadelphia, moderated by journalist Heshimu Jaramoji and organized by Harris Steinberg, Executive Director, Penn Praxis and Harris Sokoloff, Director, Penn Project for Civic Engagement, both central figures in the Delaware Riverfront Planning Process. Notable panelists include former Mayor John Street, Bart Blatstein, the developer behind the Northern Liberties boom, Alan Greenberger, Deputy Mayor for Planning and Economic Development, City of Philadelphia and Chris Satullo, WHYY.
Presented in collaboration with Penn Design.
Pre-show talk with Eddie Palmieri
February 4 @ 7 PM
Come early for a pre-show talk with Eddie Palmieri hosted by Guthrie P. Ramsey, Jr., Ph.D., Edmund J. and Louise W. Kahn Term Professor of Music at Penn.
Post-show talk back with the company
February 10
Stay after the performance for a talk back with the company.
