The 2026 Philadelphia Fringe Festival is on the way, stay tuned for more info!
Visit us at FringeArts.com for year-round programming.

Maniac

Todd Sullivan

Clown, Comedy, Interactive Experience, Performance Art, Solo Show, Theater

Connect

Inspired by 19th-century trial proceedings of the world’s first serial killer, critically acclaimed music video director Todd Sullivan’s MANIAC invites audiences into a lunatic tribunal charged with danger, laughter, and deep play. Rather than retelling the crime in any straightforward way, Maniac turns judgment itself into a comic spectacle—part ritual, part vaudeville. The show explores themes of truth and morality through absurdity made with pool noodles, finger lights and troublewits. The result is playful, unpredictable, ridiculous, and just dangerous enough to keep things interesting. Sullivan, who has been called a “a vital, skilled mainstay within the Denver theater scene,” is making his debut at Dumb Hub at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival. The piece is directed by Natasha Mercado, the acclaimed performer, writer, and director whose work lives where vulnerability and absurdity meet.

Philly Fringe's ONLY ALWAYS ALL clown, alt comedy, performance art, idiot, freaky sh*t hub. Curated by Sarah Knittel. Watched over by baby angels...and your MOM.

Learn More

Details
Run Time: 60 mins
Ticket Price: $20

PWYC Options $5+

Venue: Pig Iron Theatre Company

Dates: September 9, 2026 - September 10, 2026

September 9, 2026 8.00pm

1417 N. 2nd Street

General Admission: $20

PWYC Options

September 10, 2026 7.00pm

1417 N. 2nd Street

General Admission: $20

PWYC Options


About the Artist

Todd Sullivan is a Denver-based performer, filmmaker, theater-maker, and teaching artist creating original work across clown, devised theater, improv, and film. Combining physical comedy, cinematic storytelling, live audience interaction, and a strong interest in theatrical image-making, Todd devises pieces concerned with theatrical risk, visual composition, the comic, the uncanny and the tender. He has devised, directed and performed pieces with/for OK Go, The Today Show (NBC), La Mama ETC (NYC), The Hammer Museum (LA), Second City, UCB and for the SF, NY, and Denver Fringe Festivals. He holds an MFA from the American Film Institute Conservatory and an AB in Theater, Speech and Dance from Brown University.


Natasha Mercado is a performer, writer, and director whose work lives where vulnerability and absurdity meet. A first-generation mixed-Latina artist, she creates worlds that are intimate, strange, and unapologetically alive.Her work centers the intelligence of the body and the audience relationship, building comedy through presence and invitation. David Shiner, co-creator of Cirque du Soleil, once called her “fearless and completely out of her mind.” Natasha’s practice spans solo performance, immersive theater, and film. Her award-winning solo works Tree and #1 Son have toured internationally from Hollywood to the Edinburgh Fringe, earning sold-out runs, critical acclaim, and extensive recognition. Across her work as a performer and director, she has received over 50 award nominations, winning more than half. On screen, Natasha has appeared on HBO, Adult Swim, Broadway Video and TBS, and was named an Emerging Content Creator by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers. Natasha is the creator of Soft Clown, a performance philosophy that treats sensitivity as a strength and pleasure as a compositional tool. As a director and teacher, she leads workshops in the U.S. and internationally, working both in-person and virtually with artists acro

Accessibility & Content Considerations

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

This event is appropriate for ages 13+

Adult Language

Audience Interaction

Covid-19 Safety policy

This event does not require masks to be worn


×





Please Wait
Talking to the Box Office...

×