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photos by Kate Raines and Kenzi Crash
community-powered performance made by, for,
and about women, queer and trans people,
and people of color in Philadelphia
MISSION
Ninth Planet makes experimental theatre that centers people of color, women, queer and trans* people in Philadelphia. By making original work with and for these communities, we raise them up as prominent and valuable voices within and beyond the world of theatre. We believe that performance is a life-sustaining force for our community, and we are committed to making our work accessible by offering it for free or low-cost in neighborhood spaces and theatrical venues.
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Our shows are designed to activate imagination, self-reflection, and a sense of adventure through the collision of dance, theatre, music, and installation. By following a different curiosity with each project, we invite our audiences and collaborators of all ages to discover something new about themselves and the world we live in. Our work is an investigation of what connects us and separates us, and the inexplicable experience of being alive together.
about our work
Our performances are created collaboratively by the ensemble, empowering each individual to impact the process. We experiment with co-authorship and long-form process; creating intentional space for reflection, responsiveness, and deviation. Our shows are designed to activate imagination, self-reflection, and a sense of adventure through the collision of dance, theatre, music, and installation. We aim to support socio-emotional development and togetherness by collaborating directly with the communities we serve through workshops, creative research and learning. We believe that performance makers are uniquely positioned to collaborate with people to envision alternative futures through artistic experience
Why Ninth Planet?
While we spent most of the 20th century believing a small cold rock was our ninth planet, it turns out a magnificent giant on the outskirts of our solar system may actually hold that title. The mysterious super-planet remains hypothetical and uncharted. This beautiful rock is a contradiction; a radical discovery at the edge of our universe. Likewise, Ninth Planet is a perception flip. A reminder that there is always another truth you haven’t discovered.
Why this spelling of trans*?
Because of our commitment to building a trans-affirming community, we use the term "trans*" to acknowledge the multitude of experiences that encompass transsexual, transgender, genderqueer, agender, Two-Spirit, people and all individuals whose gender expression and gender identity is nonconforming and/or different from that assigned to them at birth.
