The Fulcrum Fund is a chance to look back at Pig Iron’s rich history and an invitation to look towards our future together. This 3-year campaign will allow us to realize an exciting 30th anniversary season and invest in a new age of Pig Iron vision and creation.

30 Years of the Unexpected

Pig Iron Theatre Company was founded in 1995 by a gaggle of artist-nerds from Swarthmore College. We had big dreams: to create performance in new ways; to weave together strains of theater history with original approaches to playmaking; to cross-pollinate with artists from across the world; and to make audiences laugh, think, wake up, and lean forward. 

Now it’s 30 years later. That scrappy ensemble theater has evolved into a Philadelphia institution and a national leader in the alternative theater movement. 

We’ve toured to 15 countries on 4 continents and made work with some of the most exciting artists of our time. We’ve won multiple OBIE and Barrymore Awards and hosted a national institute on devised theater. We’ve collaborated with rock bands, wrestlers, classical orchestras, choirs, scientists, filmmakers, technologists, choreographers, and novelists—always on the hunt for unusual and spirited work that pushes the boundaries of what theater can be.

30 years on, we remain committed to invention and play, even in this very tough economic and political environment. Here’s what’s on tap for our 30th Anniversary year and beyond:

New Leadership and New Works

Welcoming new leadership

We are thrilled to announce that, for the first time in Pig Iron history, we will expand our leadership! Beginning in 2026, Pig Iron School alum and acclaimed director Eva Steinmetz (‘16) will step into the role of Co-Artistic Director. 

In 2023, Eva joined the company as Artistic Producer and helmed Pig Iron’s 3-time Barrymore Award winning Poor Judge, which will return to Philadelphia in January. Working in collaboration with Founder and Co-Artistic Director, Dan Rothenberg, Eva will bring her skills as a devisor-director, writer, and filmmaker to the next chapter of Pig Iron creations.

Three exciting reprises in 2026

From January to June, audiences will have a second chance to see our 3 most recent, highly acclaimed shows: the gorgeous and bittersweet Poor Judge in January, starring Dito van Reigersberg and featuring the music of Aimee Mann; the brainy Bartok’s Monster in March, featuring the Daedalus Quartet and Sebastienne Mundheim’s paper sculpture set; and in June, the special effects-laden family-friendly spectacle Franklin’s Key. 

A younger generation of creators

In April, we will collaborate with the Philly Contraption Contest to co-host a citywide Rube Goldberg Machine competition for middle schoolers. And in the summer, we will pilot our very first summer camp at our studios in North Philly.  Our School and Community Manager Francesca Montanile (‘15) will lead our first “Science Fiction Theater Camp” for kids aged 8-11.

The Next Generation of Groundbreaking Artists

15 years ago, we launched the Pig Iron School, a way to share our training and spirit of adventure with the next generation of theater artists. Funk bands, cabaret stars, and award-winning performance artists and ensemble theaters have emerged from this nexus of training and experimentation. We are incredibly proud of the artists and graduates who have become fixtures at the Fringe Festival, reshaping Philadelphia’s performance scene.  

15 years (and one unprecedented loss of a University partner) later, the Pig Iron School continues to train the next generation of remarkable theater makers, now with our new (and much improved) partner Rowan University.

The Journey Towards a Center for Devising

With your help, Pig Iron will spend the next three years laying the groundwork to become a Center for Devising—a space where our unique experimental approach can be shared more widely and with more people. With so many of our graduates making original work here in Philadelphia, and with our new initiatives aimed at young audiences, we dream of marshalling all this creative energy into a hub at our building in North Philly: outfitting one of our studios as a more robust performance venue; offering young ensembles creative residencies; launching a Pig Iron summer camp; and continuing to bring curious Philadelphians of all ages into conversation with renowned artists from across the globe.

How We Get There

Over 3 years, Pig Iron will raise $1 Million towards new leadership, new plays, new workshops, and new communities.

40% New shows and new leadership 

Director-instigators Eva Steinmetz and Dan Rothenberg will continue to develop new works that are, as the Scotsman said in 1995, “highly inventive and bursting with color.”  

30% Education programs for the next generation of artists

With our new (and much improved) partner Rowan University, the Pig Iron School will continue to train the next generation of remarkable theater makers, led by master teacher Quinn Bauriedel. Fulcrum funds will support an expanded workshop and recruitment strategy, and scholarships for our workshops and graduate program, as we seek to reach a diverse group of artists in search of our unique training. 

20% The groundwork for a center for devising 

Pig Iron will turn our studios into a creative hub with more regular performance and gathering spaces, broaden our creative programming to include more opportunities for graduates of the Pig Iron School, expand our creative and educational offerings to bring Philadelphians in conversation with renowned artists from across the globe.

10% Keeping the lights On

Even big dreams need paid staff, clean bathrooms, and tidy accounts! One fifth of our campaign will be directed towards core operations - salaries, rent, healthcare - a critical piece of financial stability as general operating support for the arts seems to keep going the way of the dodo.