Koal - Philadelphia Fringe Festival

Koal

Jacinta Yelland

Theater, Comedy & Improv, Immersive/Interactive Experience

Part climate-catastrophe, part clown show—Koal is a one-woman show for the end of the world. As wildfires tear through Australia, a baby koala, a coal miner and an Indigenous girl desperately strive to hold onto their homes before all burns and turns to ash.

Koal is an interactive solo-show, performed by Jacinta Yelland and directed by Trey Lyford, that immerses the audience in the middle of the 2019 Australian bushfires. The show follows two eyewitnesses to this climate catastrophe; Koal, a baby koala recovering at a wildlife sanctuary after being severely burned, and Stevo, a career coal-miner trapped in a collapsed mine hundreds of meters underground. Woven throughout is the story of Minah, an Indigenous girl who was removed from her home and interned by her government during WWII.

Using documentary theatre, clown, and audience interaction, Koal takes the audience from laughter to tears as it explores what is lost when your home is erased.

Koal has been developed with the assistance of The Work and The Puffin Foundation.

Cannonball, produced by Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, is the first and largest independent festival hub of the Philadelphia Fringe that presents risk-taking independent artists in back-to-back performances next to delicious lounge spaces, fostering creative collisions and community conversation.

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Details

Run Time: 60 mins

Ticket Price: $25

Venue: The Icebox Project Space

Dates: September 13, 2023 - September 21, 2023

Buy Tickets

September 13, 2023 8.00pm

1400 N American St

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 16, 2023 3.00pm

1400 N American St

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 17, 2023 12.30pm

1400 N American St

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 19, 2023 9.30pm

1400 N American St

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 21, 2023 5.00pm

1400 N American St

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

About the Artist

Jacinta Yelland (Performer/Creator) is an Australian theatre creator and performer of Chinese and Torres Strait Islander descent based in Philadelphia. She has collaborated with David Gordon, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Quintessence Theatre Group, PAC, Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists, and Tribe of Fools. She holds an MFA in Devised Performance from UArts and studied at École Philippe Gaulier, Paris. Jacinta is the co-artistic director of inFLUX Theatre Collective. Their debut show, The Choice, won the Philly Fringies Award for Best Theatre at the 2021 Philadelphia Fringe Festival.

Trey Lyford (Director/Creator) has been creating original works for the stage for nearly two decades and most recently with his theatre company - gimmick. He is the founding Co-Artistic Director of rainpan 43 and Associate Artist with The Civilians. Support for his work includes Creative Capital, NEFA, NYSCA, and PEW Center for Arts & Heritage.

Tuçe Yasak (Lighting) has created over 100 site-specific light installations for performance in the US and abroad. Yasak received the 2018 and 2019 BESSIE for Outstanding Visual Design.

Ethan Mentzer (Original Music) is a musician, composer, producer, and engineer based in Philadelphia. Mentzer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Music Production and Engineering from Berklee College of Music. He is the recipient of a Boston Music Award and the MTV VMA Knockout Award.

Payton Smith (Set)

Grace Lillian Lee (Costume Consultant) is the founder of First Nations Fashion and Design. Her works have been collected by the National Gallery of Victoria and Art Gallery of NSW.

You-Shin Chen (Set Consultant) is a Taiwanese scenic designer for live performance and film. You-Shin is the recipient of the 2019 Daryl Roth Creative Spirit Award, Lucille Lortel Award, and Connecticut Criti

Jacinta YellandPerformer / Creator
Trey LyfordDirector / Creator
You-Shin ChenSet Designer
Tuçe YasakLighting Design
Ethan MentzerOriginal Music Composition
Grace Lillian LeeCostume Design
Maisie O'BrienShadow Puppeteer Consultant

Accessibility & Content Considerations

Contact the Fringe Festival Box Office for up to date accessibility information.

This event is appropriate for ages 13+

Adult Language

Strobe/Flashing Lights

Audience Interaction

Fog/Smoke Effects

Systems of Oppression, Imagery of Injured Animals

Covid-19 Safety policy

Masks are required during this event