2026 Philly Fringe lineup just announced! Tickets are on sale now.
Rock Opera Award-winning multidisciplinary troublemaker, supporting actor in Connor Storrie’s upcoming film, and leader of art-rock band STUNTDRIVER, Kym Priess presents Loser Lion Party Bus: an interactive, looper-pedal-driven clown-rock joyride that slayed Edinburgh Fringe last year and toured the US and UK following a breakout run.
Fresh off the Vegas wrestling circuit, Loser Lion is a washed-up performer trapped inside his lion-suited alter ego, desperately reinventing himself in the party bus business. Audiences become passengers in a face-to-face cathartic ride where the “gas pedal” is a live vocal looper, beers flow, and the lion’s inflatable lover rides shotgun through surreal dream sequences, air-drumming breakdowns, beer-chugging contests, and audience-ignited chaos and introspection.
1/3 buffoon show, 1/3 rock concert,1/3 emotional transformation, Loser Lion Party Bus spirals through failure, ego, grief, ambition, and the absurd pressure to "make it" in a world obsessed with hustle. Born from pandemic isolation, loser jokes with mom, a dead father, and the existential grind of chasing artistic dreams, the show builds toward an explosive communal release.
A real-life stunt driver, Peaches tour alum, and Texas-born, LA-based clown/rock musician, Priess delivers a feral, genre-smashing hour in the lineage of Natalie Palamides, Danny McBride, and Dynasty Handbag. The work also threads in the artist’s recent experience navigating a health scare involving gremlins in her right breast, deepening its exploration of body, absurdity, resilience, and survival.
Described as a "hallucinogen-fueled joyride" by Majestic Repertory Theatre's Artistic Director and praised by Broadway Baby for earning "its place among purveyors of the absurd—like Garry Starr and Elf Lyons," the show lands somewhere between The Rocky Horror Picture Show and Pee-wee's Playhouse by way of a roadside Vegas breakdown. Feel seen. Maybe heal a little. All aboard.
Cannonball is the largest hub of the Philadelphia Fringe Festival, championing a revolutionary artist-led model that prioritizes equity, experimentation, and community connection. Now in its sixth year, Cannonball presents more than 100 artists across five stages, representing nearly 30 percent of the overall Philadelphia Fringe Festival. From rebellious circus and delicious dance to fearless theater and activist art, Cannonball pushes the boundaries of live performance while creating a vibrant, artist-centered ecosystem for independent performance makers and adventurous audiences alike.
PWYC Options $5+
Venue: Asian Arts Initiative Black Box Theater
1219 Vine Street
General Admission: $25
PWYC Options
1219 Vine Street
General Admission: $25
PWYC Options
1219 Vine Street
General Admission: $25
PWYC Options
Kym Priess ("Hawk") is a multidisciplinary troublemaker, spectacle maker, rock musician, award-winning surreal comedian, adventurer, and actor—part clown, part rock frontwoman. A sixth-generation Texan and LA-based world traveler, she creates boundary-pushing work fusing absurdist clown, character, performance art, rock 'n' roll, physical theater, and immersive spectacle into wild, often cathartic experiences. Delighting in the grotesque and the buffoon, Kym rarely appears "normal, " preferring disguise, transformation, and chaos. She holds a BFA from NYU Tisch's Experimental Theatre Wing and has spent over 30 years training, devising, and performing with mentors and institutions including Mary Overlie, Chris Bayes, Experimental Performance Institute, Avner the Eccentric, and Second City. As leader, singer, and bassist of the adventure-rock spectacle band STUNTDRIVER, Kym has toured with Peaches and recently released a string of singles, including AI, a love/hate anthem for the robot age that earned over 10k Apple Music plays in its first week. The band recently completed a Las Vegas residency featuring new material and has a string of U.S. dates ahead. Kym's immersive punk-clown solo show, Loser Lion Party Bus, has toured extensively including acclaimed runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, London, Austin, and Las Vegas, earning four stars from Broadway Baby and Snack Mag. Her work has appeared on HBO, Amazon and in theaters, galleries, nontraditional venues, and even federal prisons. She has sung on William Shatner's cover of "Spirit in the Sky, " is fluent in Spanish, and hitchhiked from Mexico City to Panama, inspiring an award-winning rock opera. Broadway Baby called her "a purveyor of the absurd, " while Chortle praised her as "a commanding performer generating positivity and energy." Kym also appears in an upcoming feature by Connor Storrie. Born in Austin, Kym drives cars in movies but still prefers floating down a river above all else.
Contact the Fringe Festival Box Office for up to date accessibility information.
Nudity
Adult Language
Strobe/Flashing Lights
Audience Interaction
Fog/Smoke Effects
TRIGGER WARNING - Enjoy this presentation in its original, highly sensorial and interactive format. The following is for both mature + immature audiences and may include strong language, mature themes, partial nudity, strobe lights, fog and loud music. Viewer discretion is not advised and audience participation is encouraged; however, if you wish to be ignored please make an "X" with your arms if the lion comes near you.
This event does not require masks to be worn