For Immediate Release: August 1, 2005
Media Contact: Stephanie Grant, Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts, 215.573.8537

In keeping with its mission to provide opportunities for cultural and intellectual engagement in the Philadelphia region, the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts will host the prestigious and important International Showcase of Performing Arts for Young People, January 11-14, 2006. This will be the fourth time the Annenberg Center has hosted the conference. The only marketplace in North America for children's programming, Showcase provides a clearinghouse for some of the most gifted and talented children's performers in the world. "This conference is invaluable for those who present children’s programming, create, promote or observe it, or design educational programs for young people. More than 300 people from around the world will attend Showcase 2006 where they will see 36 performances, including 18 juried showcases, featuring artists from 8 countries; network with artists, agents and presenters at 100 booths in the exhibit hall; attend discussions on touring and outreach programs; socialize with colleagues at receptions and parties; and join experts in the field at the International Performing Arts for Youth (IPAY) Education Day as they present interactive workshops, sharing critical response methodology that conference attendees will be able to incorporate into arts education goals." stated Roy A. Wilbur, Director of Showcase 2006. Showcase information, including conference and exhibit booth registration forms, is available at www.PennPresents.org. Discounts are available for those who register by November 1, 2005. For more information, call 215-898-6706 or visit www.PennPresents.org.

A competitive process where participants are chosen by a panel, Showcase provides terrific exposure for performing artists to market their craft. This year, a record 136 works for children were submitted from around the world for the Selection Committee, consisting of ten experts in the field from around the United States. In mid-June, eighteen works, representing six countries, were selected to perform showcases (performances lasting 40 to 60 minutes in length). In addition, members of the committee assisted Wilbur in making recommendations for eight olios, which are short, 10 to 15 minute performances prior to showcases. New this year, the Annenberg Center will include a More-Than-Storytelling Room, providing the opportunity for ten more artists to be seen by presenters, looking for work to book at their venues. In all, thirty-six performances will be performed in four of the Annenberg Center’s venues: Zellerbach, Harold Prince and Studio Theatres, and Space 221, as well as at World Cafe Live!

Selected showcase performances will be open for the public to attend. The schedule along with ticket prices will be announced at a later date. Showcases include Cas Public: Blue Beard; Det lille Turnéteater: Hamlet; Drew the Dramatic Fool: Help! Help! I Know This Title Is Long, But Somebody’s Trying to Kill Me!; Guy Davis; Illstyle & Peace Productions: Same Spirit Different Movement; Justin Roberts: Way Out; Le Théâtre de Quartier: Glouglou; Lelavision's Physical Music; Metro Theater Company: Beowulf; Tall Stories: The Snow Dragon; Taylor 2: Auerole, 3 Epitaphs, Company B; Teater Refleksion/De Rade Heste: Goodbye Mr. Muffin; The American Place Theatre: Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close; The Princely Players: On the Road to Glory; Theater Terra: Little Donkey; Theatergroep Kwatta: Three Old Men Who Wanted to Live Forever; Théâtre Sans Fil: The Crown of Destiny; and Ultima Thule: 1900.

Olio performances, also open to the public – schedule to be announced – will include BAM - The Blue Barrels Show; David Gonzalez: Aesop Bops!; Kulu Mele African American Dance Ensemble; Maria Del Rey: The Bridge: El Puente; Moscow Nights: From Russia With Love; Paul Taylor: Matilda and the Dreamtime; Samputu and Ingeli: Dance, Drum and Song of Rwanda; and Tom Murphy: Murphy's Law.

The More-Than-Storytelling Room is open only to conference attendees. Performances will include Brother Wolf Storytelling: Tall Tales for a Tall City; Cathy Fink & Marcy Marxer: Bon Appétit!; Diane Ferlatte: Wickety Whack - Brer Rabbit is Back; Eth-Noh-Tec: Asian Treasure Bag of Stories; Jon Spelman: I Still Believe: The Lives of Children in the Holocaust and Other Extremities; Kala Jojo: There is a River; Lyle Cogen: The Brilliance of Broadway; Marc Spiegel: Einstein Alive; Robbi K & Friends: Keep the Beat; and Theatreworks/USA: Queen Nur’s Sweet Potato Pie and Such.

All performing artists are subject to change.

As a center for cultural and intellectual events, the Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts offers a comprehensive creative, artistic experience to audiences from across the Delaware Valley. Over the years the Annenberg Center has been host to many different types of events, from the important to the sublime. Among events that have happened at the Annenberg are The Shadow Convention (2000); tapings of the nationally syndicated “Chris Mathews Show”, “The Daily Show” and the “MacNeil Lehr News Hour”; a summer arts camp sponsored by the City of Philadelphia’s Recreation Department; major movie premieres; and countless teleconferences, lectures, seminars and national meetings. The Annenberg Center, located in the heart if West Philadelphia and snuggled in the main campus of the University of Pennsylvania, is truly a center of cultural, artistic and intellectual enlightenment.

Go to News Releases»