Performer Bios (in alphabetical order)

Afrobeat Arkestra, 50 Words for Snow, Et Green, Blew Kind, Rich Robinson, Jaz, Koof Ibi, Janeé Henderson, Matt Jernigan

Drawing inspiration from visionaries like Kate, Fela Kuti, and Sun Ra, this ensemble pays tribute to these artists through community collaboration, blending Kates music and movement with African dance and rhythm and Philly swag. The Afrobeat Arkestra encourages movement and movements. They challenge their audience to learn at least one new dance move during each performance, and come up with 50 ways to say Fuck Ice with “50 Words for Snow”

Ash-squared, Oh to be in Lovem Ash Kole & Ash Phan

ash kole has performed previously at kates with 2HOT2GREEDY. they are a collective member of queerobics west philly, a disability-centered dance class. their first introduction to kate was a cover by placebo they heard in 2004 as a high school goth.

ash phan is a movement maker and all-around renaissance artist of many mediums. they have the gay audacity to say "I could make that" and then they do. they welcome chaos in all its forms and are excited to be making art with their community.

this piece questions the safety found ritual + compulsion. is it comfort or a trap? is it love or just repetition? oh, to be in love ... and never get out of it?

(thank you to al san valentin for prop support.)

Cecilia Corrigan & the C Brothers, Suspended in Gaffa, Cecilia Corrigan, Cliff Mak

Cecilia Corrigan and the C Bros is Cecilia Corrigan (lead performer) and Cliff Mak (producer and co-creator).  Cecilia (@ceciliakcecilia) is originally from Philly and has been blossoming in New York like a weird bimbo clown flower, creating a universe of chaotic femme-ghoul characters that populate her performances and videos (including Bufana, an immortal witch, whose origin story is depicted in this video!) Her collaboration with Cliff includes the one-woman show The Gay Divorce, which is heading to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival this summer.... Are we doing it? Can we have it all now?

EXORCISE! Leigh Hilford, Magda Andrews-Hoke, Brook Chambers, Mariel Murray, and John Bosworth

Want to feel better, have more energy, and even add years to your life? Just EXORCISE! A group of friends sat down to watch “The Exorcist” and EXORCISE! was born. Leigh, Brook, Magda, Mariel, and John are a group of writers and friends based in West Philadelphia, bonded by a love of Kate Bush, only going deeper into her world. One might say… we are possessed by Kate.

Girlfriend Experience, Sat in Your Lap  Shannon Brooks, Liv Chiaravalli, Rose Luardo, Alicia McDade, Val Roberta, Ingrid Koppisch, and Lea Devon Sorrentino

Girlfriend Experience is a seven member performance coven devoted to sacred glitch. They embody digital longing, ritualized thirst, and the holy tension between reverence and WiFi instability.

For Night of 1000 Kates, they offer a devotional remix of “Sat in Your Lap” as a fever dream hymn to knowledge, urgency, and immaculate vibes. Part confession, part streaming, part competitive enlightenment seminar that maybe learned harmony from a comment section, they move through choreographed piety with suspicious eye contact and extremely committed lip gloss.

Girlfriend Experience believes in kneeling for the user member. They believe in ecstasy as a loading screen. They believe in whispering, forgive me for I am buffering.

Giulio and Kate, Morning Fog

To celebrate Kate Bush’s song, Morning Fog, here is a smorgasbord of collage with stop motion. Just like Bush’s character comes back to life and wants to express her love for others, we’re here to also share that with you. Thanks for humoring us. Thank you dear Giulio for playing guitar and Sami for rolling down that hill and painting a beautiful whale

Kate Bush Cooking Hour, Medley + Eat the Music Sam Bonosevich, Cecilia Filauro, Gladys Nobriga

Radio is dead! Long live radio! The Kate Bush Cooking Hour (formely The Kate Bush Radio Hour) debuts a short cooking show/musical medley, performed by Sam Bonosevich, Cecilia Filauro, & Gladys Nobriga. Sam is a performance artist, musician, poet, video artist, & probably a secret fifth thing. They came up with the idea and put together the audio and video. They also perform the role of Kate aka Cake Bush. Cecilia is a multi-disciplinary artist engaged in perpetual struggle against the demon State. She plays bass in Void of Infinite Consequence, performs experimental noise guitar as Slow No Wake, and her poetry, photography, and visual art can be found online: https://eelchamber.neocities.org/. She also performs as a Helper and assisted with the filming. Gladys Nobriga under existential threat. Free Palestine! Death to all slumlords. They are the prop maestro and also perform as a Helper.

Special thanks to Claire Pitts & Laur Bonosevich for filming assistance and moral support.

Rexxi, Running Up That Hill

Rexxi (they/them) is a multi-talented artist, songwriter, and musician based in Philadelphia. They studied Vocal Performance at Rowan University and have performed with the Philadelphia Orchestra and Philadelphia Symphonic Choir at Marian Anderson Hall and at Carnegie Hall. You can find them stage kittening variety/drag shows at Tattooed Moms hosted by the Haus of Them and at local music shows/jams. 

This is Rexxi’s first time performing at ‘Kates’, but they’re not new to the show! The last two years they’ve worked behind the scenes helping with props and makeup for various acts! Follow them on Instagram for updates on their original music releases! @rexxirexxi

Roof of the World, Breathing Alex Melman, Scott Morrison Melman, Andrew Ames, Vasiliki Argyris, Rivka Maizlish, Sonia Talwar, Aylse James, Pallavi, Cassandra, Maarit Ostrow, Nimesh Lad, Leila Einhorn, Liza, Leewana Thomas, Violet, and Nazareth

Roof of the World presented ice in 2022 with Wild Man, fire in 2023 with Joanni, and air in 2024 with Night of the Swallow. This year we bring you: EARTH with Breathing! Life on Earth has undergone 5 massive extinctions since its inception some 4 billion years ago. We are currently in the middle of a 6th massive extinction, decimating biodiversity and claiming human life. Extinction is an inevitable part of evolution, but capitalist war and greed hasten and intensify our 6th extinction. Tonight, Roof of the World uses Kate Bush’s song about a developing fetus during nuclear catastrophe to reflect on the evolution and destruction of life on Earth. 

Strange Phenomena, Burning Bridge Caitrina Brady, Patrick Brady, Susie Anderson, Troy Brokenshire, Tess Bel

This performance calls us into a moment of collective magic. As bridges burn behind us, what remains is what we choose to build together. Through movement and invitation, the performers conjure a space rooted in inclusion and fierce mutual support. Here, joy becomes an act of resistance. Here, we lift one another up. Here, we remember that art, song, and community can carry us across the fire.

Created especially for this performance of Burning Bridge, the ensemble approaches the stage as both theatre and ritual space. A collective of performers - thespians, shamans, poets, witches, musicians, dancers…but all with a shared vision - with Kate as our priestess, and each of us beside the other, we step into a new day, a new vision, a new circle where we can worship, celebrate, and highlight our similarities and bridge our differences. As Kate sings, “Just being alive, it can really hurt.” But joy can be a radical act. Tonight, we invite you to invoke joy with us!

The Ecstasy of Jeanne and Cecilia, Lily (Before the Dawn Version) performed by Kate Fischer and directed by Lize Meisenzahl

Kate Fischer is a playwright and dramaturg based in Philadelphia. She is passionate about queering historiography to invoke a deeper understanding of the grotesque and glorious experience of femininity. Her number is an excerpt from her solo show DEMONIAC, a raucous and heretical testimony of a nun who survived the terror of demonic possessions. Much love to my collaborators Lize and Hannah, my family, mentors, and friends.

The Kate Bush Experience, Under the Ivy Lu, Jesse, Lauryn, Elijah, Bay, Theo, MC, Ruby, Julia, Robbie 

The Kate Bush Experience is a soccer team-turned-dance-troupe.

The Kemp Trio, Moving Daniel de Jesus, Breandan Walslaben, Maura Dwyer

I’m a Philadelphia native and a past participant in Night of 1000 Kates, and I’d love to return and perform again. Kate Bush is a major influence on my own music, and the energy of this event has always felt electric and inspiring. I’m thrilled it continues to thrive, and I look forward to being back in a room full of Kate Bush fans, Queer Folx, artists, and all the beautiful creative spirits that make this night so special. www.celloeye.com

The Whorrors, Room for the Life Beth McTear, Matty Monroe, Adam Louie, Jeremy Low, Kayte Terry, Chelsea Murphy 

Jen Hope, Arielle Brousse, Peter Sherman 

We're a group of friends who love weird movies.

Upholstery, The Sensual World Jeremy Prouty, Dorie Byrne, Brian Decker, Mika Romano, Kate Black-Regan, Jess Bautista 

Kennedy Candra, Bernadette Trendler, Susan Krisch, Katie Pflaumer, Sheila McNally, Sean MacPhee, Matt Jastremski

Upholstery creates dark music for curious minds. The art rock troupe draws on a wide range of musical influences - Portishead to Talking Heads, cabaret to post-punk - theatre doom if you will. Their extended puppet fam rests on foundations of cardboard and chicken-wire, wholeheartedly embracing a humorous and quirky aesthetic. Their sixth studio album Ghouls is available now on Exotic Fever Records. 

VOMDOTCOM, Jig of Life Kathy Seufert, featuring Beast Seufert

It’s she, your Kathy, also known as VOMDOTCOM. A multimedia dabbler and scamp-about-town, she returns this year to tell you a love story. VOMDOTCOM can sometimes be found online (@VOMDOTCOM) and always offline, where When lingers <3.  

Wayne Junction, Army Dreamers  David Hilbert

Despite being separated by a generation and thousands of miles from the original setting of Kate Bush's music, I find her music to be deeply applicable to anyone and everyone who dares to perform, as many Philadelphians do in our city's countless festivals. There are works of hers that are joyous and exploratory, and there are works of hers that are critical and mournful. Having performed one of the former, I now have the chance to perform the latter as the world repeats its errors. David would like to thank MJ  for helping him to get the ball rolling.

We Think You Are Really Cool, Deeper Understanding Connor Hogan, Sarah "Bash" Bastian

Connor Hogan and Sarah "Bash" Bastian are two non-binary performer weirdos living in Philadelphia via the UArts tradition. They met working on a kids show about making S’Mores at the Please Touch Museum. At one rehearsal, they both noticed they were wearing Kate Bush T-shirts, and have been sending Instagram videos of her work to each other ever since. Connor is a devised performer who creates messy yet intimate plays like What is the Butt Game? and First Date with Lobster. Bash is an actor/singer who loves doing everything from straight plays to musical theater to devised pieces. 

For more information about Connor’s work, check out www.connordinary.com or on Instagram @connordinary. To see a snippet of Bash's work, check out the link here: https://youtu.be/JgZ121HtlcE