OFFSTAGE ONSTAGE to Premiere at Cannonball Festival in Philadelphia
Brooke Shilling, Elena Nahrmann and Connor Hogan star in the Greek tragedy-inspired comedy.
Offstage Onstage will be presented at Cannonball Festival at Asian Arts Initiative Black Box Theater (1219 Vine St) for five performances only. Performances will run September 8-25.
If PEN15 and The Complete Works of Shakespeare (Abridged) had a baby about Greek tragedy. For the first time ever at Haverford Middle School, three students interrogate all of the action that traditionally took place offstage in Ancient Greek tragedy: Oedipus stabbing his eyes out after hearing the truth that he murdered his father and married his mother, Medea killing her children to get revenge on her husband Jason, and the women of Thebes tearing Pentheus apart after being driven mad by Dionysus.
The young theatre historians hop in and out of the different characters and stories of the Greeks to win the praise of their English teacher–Mr. Moscow. As they delve deeper and deeper into exploring these unthinkable acts, however, they confront the challenges of their own lives in and outside of school - fashion malfunctions, bullying, and, at its worst, the fear of gun violence. True to the little ghost party form, much of the play is performed on a tiny stage.
Founded by Brooke Shilling, Connor Hogan and Elena Nahrmann, little ghost party began with three little clowns who sought to make pieces that are very big and very small. Their first foray together was Pirate Queens, which premiered at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival 2024 and has performed in Philadelphia Theater Week 2025 and as a part of PhysFest NYC 2026. Inspired by Jacques LeCoq's traiteau or the platform, these little ghosts now explore what's possible in body-focused performance through pieces like First Date with Lobster and Offstage Onstage. They make dynamic, playful theatre that shapeshifts a common space into a new world.
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