Our Team – Circadium

Allison Watman, School Administrator; Ben Grinberg, Performance & Artistic Craft Department Head; Nicole Burgio, Acrobatics & Aerials Instructor; Adam Woolley, Aerial Program Department Head; Shana Kennedy, Executive Director; Greg Kennedy, Juggling & Prop-Building Instructor; Susan Deutsch, Movement Instructor; Aidan O’Shea, Acrobatics Instructor; Kyle Driggs, Juggling, Lighting & Costume Instructor

It starts at the top.

Shana Kennedy

Executive
Director

Read Bio

Shana Kennedy

Shana is the Founding Director of the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts, and the Executive Director of Circadium. She trained as an aerialist and a juggler at Circomedia, in England, and performed for many years in both capacities. She began teaching aerial skills in her home and backyard in 2001. In 2006 Air Play was founded as a performance and teaching company; and it evolved in 2008 to the full-fledged PSCA facility. From 2010-2014, Shana accompanied her husband, Greg, on tour with Cirque du Soleil’s Totem, and brought back a wealth of information and ideas from circus schools around the world. She is actively involved with Circus Now and the American Circus Educators Association, and has founded a Directors’ Roundtable of circus school leaders across North America. She is deeply committed to the growing influence of circus artistry and education in the U.S., and to furthering the sector as a whole.

Greg Kennedy

Juggling / Manipulation
Instructor

Read Bio

Greg Kennedy

Originally trained as an engineer, Greg uses the principles of geometry and physics to create groundbreaking work with original apparatus. As a young juggler he quickly made a name for himself in the juggling community not only by his mastery of traditional juggling technique, but also for creating entirely new forms of manipulation. He is now renowned for his many original contributions to juggling as an art form. Jugglers know him for his award-winning creativity; audiences know him for his entertaining performance, making visual spectacles out of everyday objects.

After performing around the world, winning numerous juggling awards, and being featured on magazine covers and in viral Youtube videos, Greg spent 5 years as a solo artist with Cirque du Soleil’s Totem. In 2014 he returned to Philadelphia to re-start the creation of new work, and launched the show Theorem.

Adam Woolley

Aerial Program
Department Head

Read Bio

Adam Woolley

Adam has been coaching circus for the past ten years, and is proud to be a part of the Circus Campus family since 2015. He has served as the Safety Committee Chair for the American Circus Educators Association, has coached professionals around the country, and has produced five international circus showcases during his time living in NYC. He has worked tirelessly as an advocate for circus arts, presenting at and organizing events for the Smithsonian Institute, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals (APAP).

Ben Grinberg

Artistic
Advisor

Read Bio

Ben Grinberg

Ben is a multidisciplinary performing artist based in Philadelphia. He is a co-founder and artistic director of Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, an internationally touring performance company, and a graduate of the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training. In addition to teaching at Circadium and creating, performing, and producing with Almanac, he co-teaches acrobatics at the Pig Iron School, an experiential learning module at the Wharton Aresty Institute, and has taught theatre to 4-84 year olds. He also works as a freelance videographer and video editor for performing artists and non-profits companies. He is a board member and former finance coordinator for Mascher Space Co-op, a collectively run home for new dance in Philadelphia, and has been an artist in residence at New York Live Arts, Bearnstow, Colgate University, and the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts. Around Circus Campus, he coordinates Test Flights and directs the annual Circadium Gala, and is always up for scheming about new performance possibilities.

Aidan O'Shea

Acrobatics
Department Head

Read Bio

Aidan O'Shea

Aidan O’Shea was born on Long Island, June 16th, 1975. In 1987 he first auditioned for the Pickle Family Circus, with a self taught artistic trampoline choreography. He trained initially with Wendy Parkman, who introduced him to his core teacher, Master Lu-Yi of the Nanjing Acrobatics Troupe. Aidan trained with Lu-Yi and eventually did perform with the Pickles, from 1992-2005.

Film credits include ‘The Polar Express’, and the initial design drawings for the ‘Lion, the Witch, & the Wardrobe’ movies. In 2006 Aidan attended The New School for Drama, where he earned his Masters degree in acting. Aidan has taught in NY, LA, SF, and in Brattleboro Vermont at the New England Center for Circus Arts. He is excited to bring his skills to the town where his Mom & Dad met, way back when…

Michael Cumming

Sound
Instructor

Read Bio

Michael Cumming

Originally from London, Michael Cumming is a recording engineer and sound designer. Based in Philadelphia, Michael has made Rittenhouse Soundworks his home. He has worked with a wide range of artists such as Odean Pope, The Sun Ra Arkestra, Xantone Blacq and Lotus.

Jesse Kitzen-Abelson

Acrobatics Instructor

Read Bio

Jesse Kitzen-Abelson

Jesse was a competitive artistic gymnast for over 15 years. He competed collegiately at Temple University where he was a two-year co-captain and consistent pommel horse anchor. After graduation, he went on to coach high performance gymnastics in South Africa for 5 years and represented the country on a world stage. Since returning to the US, he has gone back to his alma mater at Temple to coach the men’s gymnastics team.

Allison Watman

Administrative Assistant

Read Bio

Allison Watman

Allison Watman holds a BA in English and and a BA in Music from Muhlenberg College and an MA in Elementary Education from Lesley University. She has worked at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts in teaching, performing, and administrative roles since 2013, joining the Circadium team in 2017. She has performed with the Give & Take Jugglers since 2011 (jugglers.com).

L Feldman

Writing Instructor

Read Bio

L Feldman

L M Feldman is a Philadelphia-based circus and theater artist whose work is brave, playful, and personal – wrestling with the world we live in, asking questions, challenging norms, and inviting human connection. She freelances as a performer, playwright, collaborator/deviser, artistic consultant, professor, and coach. Her plays and her circus acts have been seen internationally, and she continues to travel around the country performing, teaching, and playwriting. She is a graduate of the Yale School of Drama and the New England Center for Circus Arts, and she is passionate about the art of crafting live performance. During the year, she teaches playwriting to undergrads, med students, and adults, and she’s a coach at Circadium, where she teaches artistic craft and writing live performance – focusing on the artistic tools of circus as an expressive art form. When she’s not writing plays, making circus, or teaching, she’s devising collaborative theater & circus with ensembles.

Andrea Murillo

Dance Instructor

Read Bio

Andrea Murillo

Andrea Murillo is a performing artist raised in Miami, FL. After graduating from New World School of the Arts 2009, she began to work with the Martha Graham Dance Company. Later in 2012 she transitioned to Sleep No More NYC where she played several leading roles, such as Lady Macbeth. Today, Andrea is acting as co-founder for 3AM Theatre, a hybrid performance company based in Philadelphia.

Kyle Driggs

Juggling Instructor

Read Bio

Kyle Driggs

For the past four years, Kyle Driggs has been exploring the spectrums and ideology of contemporary circus. Specializing in a unique fusion of juggling, movement, object manipulation, and theatrical persona, he strives for the convergence of modern aesthetic and high technical skill. Kyle graduated from one of the world’s premier circus schools (Ecole Nationale de Cirque de Montreal) and recently finished a Broadway run of “Paramour” with Cirque Du Soleil. He is now a co founder of “3AM Theatre”, a hybrid performance company based in Philadelphia.

Rebecca Starr

Aerials and Acrobatics Instructor

Read Bio

Rebecca Starr

Rebecca Starr got her start in gymnastics at the age of 3 and has been moving ever since! After years of competing she found her true love, performance and the Circus Arts. In the early 2000s Rebecca studied dance and movement at San Diego State University, while performing with the Fern Street Circus and Cirque de la Mer. Rebecca is the co-founder of Lyralicious, a duo specializing in aerial hoop. She performed worldwide as part of Lyralicious for many years. She has been featured on MTV’s MADE, NY Ink, and CBS This Morning; and performed with Cirque Dreams, “The Girlie Show”, L.A Circus, Frequent Flyers Aerial Dance Festival, San Diego Symphony, Middlebury Opera Company, Quixotic Fusion, and countless more special events, corporate productions, and galas. Rebecca was an integral part of the emerging world of Pole Fitness in the early 2010s; she competed, performed and judged internationally for several years. Recently, Rebecca has been traveling the world as an instructor, doing tours and residencies at circus schools and studios across the globe. Since 2016 she has coached for the Circus Smirkus Big Top Tour and created some of their most memorable acts.

Jacinta Yelland

Theatre Instructor

Read Bio

Jacinta Yelland

Jacinta Yelland is an Australian physical theatre performer and creator. She holds a Bachelor of Creative Industries: Drama from Queensland University of Technology, has completed the Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre Company Internship and was supported by Arts Queensland to study at École Philippe Gaulier, Paris. She recently completed her MFA in Devised Performance at The University of the Arts led by award-winning Pig Iron Theatre Company. In addition to creating her own work, Jacinta has collaborated with companies across Australia and America including Almanac Dance Circus Theatre, Tribe of Fools, Quintessence Theatre Group, Philadelphia Asian Performing Artists, Visual Expressions, Zen Zen Zo Physical Theatre, and RealTV. She is currently an Associate Artist with Almanac Dance Circus Theatre.

Advisory Board

Bim Mason

Read Bio

Bim Mason

A pioneer in the physical-theatre scene of the UK since the 1970s, Bim Mason is the Founder and Artistic Director of Circomedia. http://www.circomedia.com

Bim trained with Jacques Lecoq and Desmond Jones. A professional performer since 1978 with pioneering circus-theatre groups Kaboodle and his own Mummer & Dada. He has also acted with the Bristol Old Vic Company and toured three solo physical comedy shows to events such as the London International Mime Festival. Of the many physical theatre shows he has directed, three have received Fringe First Awards at Edinburgh – with Talking Pictures (1989) and with Relects Revenge (1995 & 1997). In 1999 he founded Dark Horse, which won the Herald Angel Award in 2000.

Other directing work includes Welfare State International, Peepolykus, Macadam Theatre, Wall Street Theatre, Green Ginger Microtheatre, solo mimes and large scale international projects. Bim has taught courses in Jerusalem, Rio de Janeiro and British universities. He was one of the original teachers at Fool Time 1986-1993. His writing work includes the book Street Theatre (Routledge 1992).

Tim Roberts

Read Bio

Tim Roberts

Director of Higher Education, National Centre for Circus Arts (UK), & Vice-President of the Fédération Européene des Ecoles de Cirque Professionelles https://www.nationalcircus.org.uk

Tim was a professional juggler and comedian in Europe who then became involved in the growing higher education sector of circus schools in France. Tim’s contribution to the art form is also recognised internationally through his involvement with the European Federation of Professional Circus Schools (FEDEC) where he held the role of President for six years. With FEDEC he is involved in creating a pan-European teacher training programme for Circus Arts as well as lobbying for increased mobility opportunities for all those involved with the arts; from students to teachers, through to artistic directors, educational directors and administrators.

Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel

Read Bio

Gabriel Quinn Bauriedel

Quinn is a co-founder and Co-Artistic Director of Pig Iron. He has performed, directed, and designed for the company over the last 19 years. Notable roles include Walchak in Hell Meets Henry Halfway, Vincent in Gentlemen Volunteers, Mike/Dr. Michaels in Shut Eye and Spencer in The Lucia Joyce Cabaret. With his fellow Artistic Directors, Quinn received a “Best Choreography” Barrymore for Cafeteria, a Pew Fellowship in Performance Art and a USA Knight Fellowship. In 2007, Quinn was awarded one of 6 national Fox Foundation Actor Fellowships. As part of his fellowship, he directed Welcome to Yuba City, which premiered in September, 2009 at the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and was nominated for 6 Barrymore Awards including Outstanding Direction. Quinn received a Henry Luce Fellowship to spend a year in Bali, Indonesia. He is a graduate of Ecole Jacques Lecoq and Swarthmore College and currently teaches at Swarthmore and at the Headlong Performance Institute. In 2011, Quinn assumed the role of School Director for the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training; visit http://pigironschool.org for more information.

Jay Gilligan

Read Bio

Jay Gilligan

Head Teacher of Juggling and Object Manipulation, University of Dance & Circus, Stockholm. http://www.doch.se/in-english

Jay Gilligan has performed in 29 different countries, touring solo work and collaborating with companies such as The Gandini Juggling Project, Cie Jérôme Thomas, Les 7 doigts de la main, Cirkus Cirkör, and Cirque du Soleil. He is the head teacher of juggling at the Dans och Cirkushögskolan in Stockholm, Sweden, and has recently published a book about contemporary juggling titled “5 Catches.”

Emmanuelle Delpech

Physical Theatre Curriculum Designer & Instructor

Read Bio

Emmanuelle Delpech

Emmanuelle Delpech is a theater artist: an actor, director and teacher. A native of France, she works and lives in Philadelphia. She was classically trained at l’École Superieur d’Art Dramatique de la Ville de Paris and then studied physical theatre at l’École Internationale de Theatre Jacques Lecoq. Additionally, she has earned an MFA in Directing from Temple University.

Emmanuelle has performed with the Pig Iron Theatre Company and Second City Chicago, and she has also produced several successful solo shows.

She has won a Barrymore Award, a City Paper Award, a LAB fellowship, and a Philadelphia Magazine Award for Best Theater Artist.

From 2008-2014, Emmanuelle honed her directing skills, bringing shows to life for the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival and the Arden Theatre. During that time she was also a clown / mime consultant for The Civilians and 1812 Productions.

Teaching credits include the University of the Arts, Swarthmore College, Temple University, Movement Theater Studio NYC, Headlong Performance Institute and the Pig Iron School for Advanced Performance Training.

Krzysztof Soroczynski

School Concept & Acrobatic Program Design

Read Bio

Krzysztof Soroczynski

Krzysztof Soroczynski has nearly five decades of experience in the worlds of sport acrobatics, traditional circus, and contemporary circus.

He was a competitive athlete in sports acrobatics and a professional circus performer from 1977-1989, performing in circuses around the world in acts such as Russian Swing, Banquine, Aerial Perch, Hand-to-Hand, Teeterboard, Russian Bar, and other disciplines. He became a coach in sports acrobatics and the film industry before transitioning to Cirque du Soleil, where he worked as Acrobatic Consultant and Coach from 1991-1999 (Saltimbanco, Mystère, Alegria). From 1990-1999 he was also one of the founders, Co-Director and Senior Coach for l’Ecole de Cirque de Verdun.

From 1999-2013, Krzysztof was the Head Trainer, Casting Agent and Acrobatics Performance Designer at Cirque Eloize. He was integral in the creations of Excentricus, Cirque Orchestra, Nomade, Rain, Nebbia, iD, and Cirkopolis.

He has worked closely with such great circus directors as Franco Dragone and Daniel Finzi Pasca. And he is asked regularly to jury some of the most prestigious circus festivals in the world: SOLyCIRCO Festival in Sylt, Germany: 2011, 2012, & 2013; and the Festival de Cirque Vaudreuil-Dorion, Quebec, Canada: 2012 & 2013.

In addition to his own achievements, Krzysztof has served as mentor and coach to many young artists, including his son, Bartek Soroczynski. Bartek is currently an internationally-acclaimed multidisciplinary circus performer and theater actor.

Krzysztof passionately believes in circus’s deep relevance to society, and its elevation of human potential, and he continues to develop artists and companies to illustrate this.

Board of Directors

Kitsie O'Neill

Read Bio

Kitsie O'Neill

Kitsie Lundell O’Neill first became fascinated by circus arts during her junior year at Moore College of Art & Design. Her Thesis focused on using traditional circus characters as a visual narrative to discuss individual and cultural identity. She took a sample aerial class in Shana Kennedy’s backyard for a fun stress-reliever during her Thesis development- and she was hooked. In the meantime, she graduated with a dual major in Fine Arts Photography and Graphic Design from Moore. After 5 years working in the corporate design world, Kitsie took the exhilarating circus leap and began working at the Philadelphia School of Circus Arts in 2008. She currently serves as the school’s General Manager.

Brett Mandel

Read Bio

Brett Mandel

Brett is a lifelong Philadelphian, very active in city politics and culture. He was most recently the Executive Director of a non-profit organization working to help finance local public school districts. Previously, he was Executive Director of a Philadelphia citizens’ organization promoting tax, government, and ethics reform. He was Director of Financial and Policy Analysis under former City Controller Jonathan Saidel, and had a few other roles in local government. He has written two books on baseball and one book on Philadelphia government.

Stacy Olkowksi

Read Bio

Stacy Olkowksi

Stacy is a product manager at Clarivate Analytics, responsible for creating visualizations and analytic tools to help people answer business questions using patent data. Prior to that she worked for Thomson Reuters as a customer trainer and sales engineer and began her career as a librarian at the University of Chicago. Stacy has a MS in library and information science from the University of Pittsburgh and an MBA from Penn State.

In her spare time she is also a real estate agent with Coldwell Banker.

Stacy jumped into trapeze at the very first iteration of what became Circadium and PSCA back in 2003 — in Shana Kennedy’s back yard.

Julie Goodman

Read Bio

Julie Goodman

Julie Goodman is an Associate Professor at Drexel University, where she conducts research and teaches courses in arts advocacy, cultural policy, and organizational strategy. She was previously Executive Vice President for the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance.

She also works on consulting projects with arts organizations and artists such as Spiral Q and Fleisher Art Memorial. Goodman is a board member of the Association of Arts Administration Educators (AAAE), Citizens for the Arts in Pennsylvania, Tribe of Fools, and the Stockton Rush Bartol Foundation. She currently serves as Chair of the Mayor’s Cultural Advisory Council for the Philadelphia Office of Arts, Culture, and the Creative Economy. Julie earned a BA in Public Policy from Duke University and an MFA in Dance from Temple University. She is a former member of Trapezius Aerial Dance Company who has also performed with Leah Stein Dance Company, and developed choreography for Dancefusion’s fusion2. Her research examines arts advocacy and the value of arts and culture to individuals and communities. Recent publications include articles in the Journal of Arts Management, Law, and Society and the American Journal of Arts Management, as well as the international urban studies website Metropolitics.

Kermit Roosevelt III

Read Bio

Kermit Roosevelt

Kermit Roosevelt grew up in Washington DC and attended Harvard University and Yale Law School. After graduation, he clerked for Judge Stephen F. Williams on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals and Justice David H. Souter on the Supreme Court. After practicing law for two years in Chicago with the firm of Mayer, Brown, he came to Philadelphia in 2002 to begin teaching constitutional law at Penn. He discovered PSCA in 2013, while looking for summer camps for his then-five year-old daughter, fell instantly in love with it, and has taken classes with his daughter steadily since then.

Sandy Kyrish

Read Bio

Sandy Kyrish

Sandy Kyrish has more than 20 years of experience in higher education, with a specific focus on finance and administration. At Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY, she was Director of Budget and Planning for academic affairs. Previously, she was Assistant Dean for Administration at Temple University’s Klein College of Communications. Kyrish currently teaches two classes a semester in public speaking and persuasive writing at Temple. She holds a PhD in communications from Temple University, and an MA and BS in communications from the University of Texas at Austin. Before working in higher education, she was in the telecommunications industry for 15 years.

Martin Focazio

Read Bio

Martin Focazio

Martin has worked as a business transformation consultant for the past 25 years, working with everything from very large publicly traded corporations to small nonprofit organizations to help them build and run efficient and effective organizations.

Vanessa Thomas Smith

Read Bio

Vanessa Thomas Smith

Vanessa Thomas Smith was born and raised in Philadelphia. She graduated from Temple University with a BFA in Dance performance and education. She was a performer for three years at Walt Disney World, dancer and administrator with The Philadelphia Dance Company (PHLADANCO) for a total of 16 years, and toured with American circuses from 1979 -1998. She was the First African American Female Ringmaster in American circus history. She is currently the Business Manager for Your Part-Time Controller, LLC, an accounting firm specializing in nonprofits with offices in Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York City, Houston and Phoenix. She continues to teach ballet and Zumba 4 times / week.

Ali Rogers

Read Bio

Ali Rogers

Ali Rogers is a translation professional with over five years of industry experience translating everything from doctoral dissertations in chemistry to haute couture advertising copy. She is a member in good standing with the American Translator’s Association and has translated for large international corporations, NGOs, international organizations, and the French Embassy to the United States, among others. Since earning her MA in French translation and interpretation from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in 2014, she has continued to reinvent herself both personally and professionally.

Despite spending her college years attending classes in Ringling family mansions in Sarasota, Florida, Ali’s circus journey did not begin in earnest until she wandered into an aerial fitness class in Atlanta in 2015. She was immediately smitten and went on to attend circus schools all over the United States and Europe. Her travels often take her to Ireland, where she has a number of contacts with leading circus professionals and artists, including the Fidget Feet aerial dance company and Taking Flight, an aerial studio in Dublin. Although she is a relative newcomer to this world, she is committed to advancing the profile of circus as an artistic discipline in its own right.

Our diverse team contributes unique talent, insight and perspective from the worlds of theater, circus, and education.