About the Project

The Quiet Circus is an ongoing performance residency by Headlong at the Washington Ave Pier that includes three interlocking programs, unfolding over 15 months. Contemplative practice informs artistic practice, and the agency of audiences, participants and creators is engaged in creating an ongoing work that lives in the experiences of those who touch it.

To that end, all are invited to engage in a single, ongoing arc of events along Philadelphia’s Schuylkill and Delaware Rivers:

Weekly performances occur every Saturday at the Washington Avenue Pier from 11am to 1pm in Fall 2016, Spring 2017, and Fall 2017. Come once, twice, or many times.

Reflection Events reinforce the discoveries made by audiences and participants through the ritual performance practice, as well as suggest new directions for the performance scores.

River Charrettes, created in partnership with Philadelphia Contemporary, feature performances and participatory dialogues that reflect upon topics raised at four different sites along Philadelphia’s waterfronts, and bring accomplished performance artists into conversations with city planners and urban thinkers for a larger, participatory conversation of bodies in civic motion.

Participation Anyone who is interested in engaging on a more participatory level is invited to join us on Friday afternoons at the pier. You are just right for this work.