1812 Productions was founded in 1997 by Jennifer Childs and Peter Pryor, two long-time friends and artistic collaborators, with a dedication to comedy, theater, accessibility and Philadelphia artists. In 1998 the company premiered with The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) and was promptly named “Best of Philly – Theater in Infancy” by Philadelphia Magazine.
In 2000 they presented the company’s first original piece created by Childs, The Big Time: Vaudeville for the Holidays. It was a critical and box office success and was the beginning of what would become a holiday tradition – an original piece each year that focused on an era or area of comedic history. It introduced a unique comedic style that is signature 1812 and was the first of now over fifteen original works created by the company.
Since that time, 1812 has continued to combine their original work with plays and devised theater pieces by established and emerging playwrights and artists, producing three mainstage shows and several limited engagement comedy events each season. Their award winning education program, 1812 Outreach, has been in residence at South Philadelphia High School and the Widener School for Children with Disabilities for thirteen years.
1812 is the only professional theater company in the country dedicated to comedy. In 2010, they were honored as one of only 10 theaters in the country to receive a National Theatre Company grant from the American Theatre Wing, founder of the Tony Awards.
The PEX Passport provides Temple University students with Temple ID a discounted $10 admission to select 1812 Productions shows.
1812 VIRTUAL
Thursdays at 6pm EDT
OUR NEXT EPISODE WILL BE THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD—
THANKS FOR TUNING IN!
Every Thursday at 6pm, we welcome you to I Put on Pants for This! I Put on Pants for This features 1812’s Producing Artistic Director Jen Childs and her husband Scott Greer wearing pants in their dining room, talking comedy and 1812 history. It’s a casual half hour conversation about how some of our favorite works came to be, some of our favorite performers, and maybe even a scene or two. We hope you’ll join in and, while they’re wearing pants, you certainly don’t have to! Make sure you like our Facebook Page and join us on Facebook Live HERE on Thursday for good laughs and good conversation.
Of course, all of these Facebook events are free but, if you like what you see, please make a gift of support to 1812 Productions HERE. We’ll see you Thursday!
I Put on Pants for This is available for free on Facebook Live. We’ll start at 6:00pm every Thursday. To watch, visit us on Facebook HERE. You do not need to have a Facebook account to watch (if you are prompted, ignore the request to log in or create an account). Just click HERE and scroll down the page to the section labeled “Posts.” The video will appear at 6:00. Just click “Watch Here” to join in!
Running time: appx 45 minutes
Archived Episodes
Episode 1 (April 2, 2020)
Jen and Scott discuss Jackie Gleason, The Honeymooners, The Jackie Gleason Show, and the making of 1812’s original comedy To The Moon (2015).
Episode 2 (April 9, 2020)
Jen and Scott discuss nightclub comedians from the 1950s and 60s including Nichols and May, Lenny Bruce, Shelley Berman, and more of the comedy greats who inspired our original work Like Crazy, Like Wow in 2002.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Y6HPKTOJ7Q#action=share
Episode 3 (April 16, 2020)
Jen and Scott talk about some great vaudeville comedy and many different performers of the era. Early in our company history, 1812 made a name for itself bringing these great vaudeville acts back to the stage in two productions called The Big Time: Vaudeville for the Holidays in 2000 and 2001. We then brought the form back for a new holiday vaudeville in The Big Time: New Vaudeville for the Holidays, 2013. This new vaudeville combined classic comedy styles with modern content.
Episode 4 (April 23, 2020)
In this episode, Jen and Scott discuss the history of political comedy and the making of 1812’s long-running annual satire This Is The Week That Is. The Emmy-nominated documentary Conceiving Satire: The Making of This Is The Week That Is can be seen HERE.
Episode 5 (April 30, 2020)
In this episode, we’re excited to welcome two very special guests, MB Scallen and Brett Robinson. Jen Childs, MB, and Brett discuss some our favorite bawdy, brash, and hysterical comediennes from the 50s and 60s, as well as the process of creating 1812’s hit cabaret Broads and the 2013 original production It’s My Party: The Women and Comedy Project. (FYI: Very Funny Adult Content!)
Episode 6 (May 7, 2020)
In this episode, Jen and Scott dive into the history of great comedy double acts including Bob and Ray, Burns and Allen, and many more who inspired our original production Double Down in 2005.
Episode 7 (May 14, 2020)
We’re excited to welcome Philadelphia writers and actors Daniel Frederick and Tony Lawton to this week’s episode. They join Jen and Scott for some history and sketches from our favorite British comedians from the halls of Oxford and Cambridge to contemporary performers.
Episode 8 (May 21, 2020)
In this episode, we’re happy to welcome 1812 favorites Mary Carpenter and Dave Jadico. These master improvisers are joining Jen and Scott to talk about the history of Improv theatre from The Compass Players to ComedySportz.
Episode 9 (May 28, 2020)
In this episode, Jen and Scott are joined by Philadelphia performers Leah Walton and Tom Shotkin to talk about the history of Jewish comedy to perform some of our favorite routines from the Bible to the Borscht Belt.
Episode 10 (June 18, 2020)
Every summer, 1812 Productions welcomes the new residents of The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program to our studio, along with their collaborators, to our studio. The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program (click HERE for more information) is dedicated to supporting the creation, development and production of work by female solo artists across a variety of disciplines—theater, performance art and cabaret. On this episode of I Put on Pants for This, Jen and Scott talk about the history of the program and our dear friend for whom it’s named.
Episode 11 (June 25, 2020)
Every summer, 1812 Productions welcomes the new residents of The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program to our studio, along with their collaborators, to our studio. The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program is dedicated to supporting the creation, development and production of work by female solo artists across a variety of disciplines—theater, performance art and cabaret. On this episode of I Put on Pants for This, Jen and Scott spend time with Bi Jean Ngo, a 2012 resident of the Jilline Program, and hear more about the process behind her original solo project Daughter of the Kitchen Gods: A Story in Four Courses.
You can also find out more about Bi Jean and her work at www.bijeanngo.com.
Episode 12 (July 2, 2020)
Every summer, 1812 Productions welcomes the new residents of The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program to our studio, along with their collaborators, to our studio. The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program is dedicated to supporting the creation, development and production of work by female solo artists across a variety of disciplines—theater, performance art and cabaret. On this episode of I Put on Pants for This, Jen and Scott will be talk with the fabulous Lee Minora whose original works CHEEKS and White Feminist were a part of the program in 2017 and 2018. White Feminist went on to critical acclaim and multiple productions.
You can also find out more about Lee Minora and her work HERE.
Episode 13 (July 9, 2020)
Every summer, 1812 Productions welcomes the new residents of The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program to our studio, along with their collaborators, to our studio. The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program is dedicated to supporting the creation, development and production of work by female solo artists across a variety of disciplines—theater, performance art and cabaret. On this episode of I Put on Pants for This, Jen and Scott are thrilled to welcome TS Hawkins and Lois Moses. TS is an internationally recognized author, performance poet, arts educator, and playwright whose work They’ll Neglect to Tell You was part of the 2019 Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program. TS is joined by their collaborator during their Jilline Program residency, Lois Moses, a Philadelphia actress, poet, and playwright. TS and Lois discuss the creation of They’ll Neglect to Tell You and next steps for the project.
You can also find out more about TS Hawkins and their work at www.tspoetics.com.
I Put on Pants for This (Ep. 14 – 7.23.20)
Every summer, 1812 Productions welcomes the new residents of The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program to our studio, along with their collaborators, to our studio. The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program is dedicated to supporting the creation, development and production of work by female solo artists across a variety of disciplines—theater, performance art and cabaret. On this episode of I Put on Pants for This, Jen and Scott are thrilled to welcome Pratima Agrawal and Sarah Mitteldorf. Pratima’s work Voided was developed as part of the Jilline Program in 2018. Voided is inspired by Pratima’s own experiences and the true story of Kalpana Chawla, the first Indian female astronaut in space and one of the crew members who died in the 2003 Columbia accident. Sarah Mitteldorf, a Philadelphia theatre-maker, was her collaborator on the project.
You can also find out more about Pratima Agrawal at www.pratimaagrawal.com.
I Put on Pants for This (Ep. 15 – 7.30.20)
Every summer, 1812 Productions welcomes the new residents of The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program to our studio, along with their collaborators, to our studio. The Jilline Ringle Solo Performance Program is dedicated to supporting the creation, development and production of work by female solo artists across a variety of disciplines—theater, performance art and cabaret. On this episode of I Put on Pants for This, Jen and Scott are delighted to welcome the very funny Jennifer Blaine whose original work The Vicissitudes of Travel was a part of the program in 2017 and premiered at the Philly Fringe Festival that same year.
You can also find out more about Jennifer Blaine at www.jenniferblaine.com.
1 Comment
Add Yours →This looks really interesting!