Almanac/Ben Grinberg
Almanac, Leaps of Faith (And Other Mistakes) (2017) Photo Credit: Daniel Kontz
Called "The little Dance Theatre troupe that could" by Philadelphia's City Paper, Almanac was founded in 2013 by Nick Gillette and Ben Grinberg, graduates of the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training, with Adam Kerbel, a graduate of the Headlong Performance Institute. The company pursues present performance at the edge of what is possible, inventing through playful honesty. Current company members also include Robin Stamey, Nicole Burgio, Joseph Ahmed, Lauren Johns, and Evelyn Langley. They were selected as 2013-2014 Fresh Tracks artists at New York Live Arts, were the first resident company at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, and are artists-in-residence at Mascher Space Co-Op. Their work has been presented by, among others, FringeArts, Trinity Rep, Colgate University, the Tyler Arboretum and the Pew Center for Arts and Heritage, Evening of Duets, Bearnstow, Pig Iron Theatre Company, the Arts and Business Council of Greater Philadelphia, Lois Welk, Circus Now!, the University City District, SmokeyScout Productions, and New York Live Arts, including as special guests of Bill T. Jones with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company at the NYLA Gala (2014). The company is a roster artist with Young Audiences and develops educational programming for students k-12 as well as college students. Full-length productions include Fronteras: An Homage to Whatshername (2017), Fronteras:A Door in the Desert (2017), Exile 2588 (2016), Leaps of Faith and Other Mistakes (2015), The Fleecing (2015), Nightfall (2014), and Communitas (2014). https://www.thealmanac.us
Ben Grinberg is a Philadelphia-based physical theatre artist, acrobatic choreographer, video editor and administrator. Grinberg graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in three years with a degree in Classical Studies, and completed MFAequivalent physical theatre training as a member of the inaugural class of the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training. Around Philadelphia, Grinberg has performed, directed, devised and choreographed with a wide variety theatre and dance companies including the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, Alex Bechtel, Lighting Rod Special (formerly Groundswell Theatre Company), Shakespeare in Clark Park, and HellaFresh Theatre Company. His original choreographic work has been presented by Pig Iron Theatre Company, Colby Damon, FringeArts, Mascher Dance, New York Live Arts, and Bearnstow, among others. He has directed or written and directed over a dozen full-length circus and theatre productions including Inventions!, a showcase for new ideas in contemporary circus in collaboration with Cirque du Soliel's Rachel Walker, Reefer Madness, Mr. Marmalade, Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters, Euripides' The Cyclops, and a commedia dell'arte version of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.
Ben Grinberg is a Philadelphia-based physical theatre artist, acrobatic choreographer, video editor and administrator. Grinberg graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pennsylvania in three years with a degree in Classical Studies, and completed MFAequivalent physical theatre training as a member of the inaugural class of the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training. Around Philadelphia, Grinberg has performed, directed, devised and choreographed with a wide variety theatre and dance companies including the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, Pig Iron Theatre Company, Team Sunshine Performance Corporation, Alex Bechtel, Lighting Rod Special (formerly Groundswell Theatre Company), Shakespeare in Clark Park, and HellaFresh Theatre Company. His original choreographic work has been presented by Pig Iron Theatre Company, Colby Damon, FringeArts, Mascher Dance, New York Live Arts, and Bearnstow, among others. He has directed or written and directed over a dozen full-length circus and theatre productions including Inventions!, a showcase for new ideas in contemporary circus in collaboration with Cirque du Soliel's Rachel Walker, Reefer Madness, Mr. Marmalade, Goldoni's The Servant of Two Masters, Euripides' The Cyclops, and a commedia dell'arte version of Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap.
