TDF Stages

Members of the lauded PigPen Theatre Co. talk about curating the second annual event

A decade ago, we called PigPen a theatre company to watch, and what a fruitful 10 years it's been! The seven-member multidisciplinary troupe of Carnegie Mellon School of Drama grads had a hit Off-Broadway show, released a haunting album and created musical adaptations of the popular novels The Tale of Despereaux and Water for Elephants, with the latter slated to have its world premiere next year. But right now, these multitalented artists are focused on curating the second annual Little Island Storytelling Festival, which runs September 7 to 18 and features an eclectic lineup of acts, including performance diva Diana Oh, musical star Kuhoo Verma and experimental theatre vets The New York Neo-Futurists. We brought three PigPen founders—Ben Ferguson, Ryan Melia and Arya Shahi—together for a chat about programming artists that inspire them, the thrill of pushing the boundaries of storytelling and how TKTS gave them their "seminal" theatre experiences. If you weren't able to tune in live you can watch a recording below. Captions are available.

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At press time, several Little Island Storytelling Festival performances were available. If you're a TDF member, log in and search for Little Island to purchase discount tickets.

Top image: PigPen Theatre Co. Photo by Marc J. Franklin.