Performing-arts series closes inaugural season with Germantown show

The Nice and Fresh performing-arts series closed out its inaugural season with three weekend performances at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts in Germantown.

Josh McIlvain of Smokey Scout Productions said he “began the series as a way to bring various disciplines into one show, as well as to establish a regular outlet for artists to test out new work and to bring high-quality presentations of original, contemporary performing arts to Northwest Philadelphia.”

Justifiably billed as show for adults, the opening script featured a little profanity, and touched on delicate subjects, including race and God.

What it was like

“Think about how many dead chickens must be floating around heaven. That’s a lot of chickens,” was heard as patrons took their seats before a performance piece that started with an original song by Sweet Soubrette.

With a supporting ukulele, the all-girl trio crooned about love.

The Biblical “Cana of Galilee” also got updated and refreshed, before traditional circus performances began.

Talking to the artists

Kendra Greaves and Cole Della Zucca performed acrobatics with the help of silk sheets tied to the ceiling.

“I went to grad school and realized that wasn’t for me,” said Zucca, a former gymnast, of how she became involved in the Nice and Fresh production.

Greaves was a swimmer before realizing she wanted to become involved in performing arts.

“Exhausted,” said Greaves, who has performed on five continents, about the toll that the difficult lifestyle takes. “Brazil was my favorite. They had the best crowd.”

Following that performance, Megan Mazarick and Les Rivera performed a humorous dance piece questioning the media’s views on race, highlighting issues of interracial issues.

To close the show, Langston Darby delivered a speech calling on the audience to find God.

McIlvain said the second season of Nice and Fresh performances will start in October.

Sinéad Cummings is a student at Temple University. Philadelphia Neighborhoods, a NewsWorks content partner, is an initiative of the Temple Multimedia Urban Reporting Lab.