It was sort of a miracle the way Cannonball erupted onto Philly’s theater scene in 2021 – Nick Jonczak and four of his theatery-circus friends trying something new after the COVID awfulness.

That first year, Cannonball, a subset of Philly’s Fringe Festival, offered 150 performances of 28 shows at a former brewery turned trolley car repair garage turned performance hub. In 2022, there were 300 performances of 65 shows at two hubs. In the heart of it all, four of the five founders (not Jonczak) were incapacitated by COVID. Aargh.

By 2023, the founders and a growing crew produced 587 performances of 154 shows in four venue hubs. Satisfying by the numbers, yes, but overwhelming for the organizers.

Jonczak needed a rest. They all did.

But what should they do? Should they just abandon

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