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We help artists make the best work of their lives.

An award-winning, Philadelphia-based producing company dedicated to original works of genre-defying art.

Mission

Almanac Projects is a Philadelphia-based producing company dedicated to creating and supporting original, genre-defying performance. Rooted in over a decade of ensemble circus-theater making, we develop hybrid works that combine circus, dance, theater, and other disciplines, pushing physical limits while foregrounding deeply human experience. Our work centers the vicarious thrill of performance: the shared, embodied encounter with risk, effort, and connection that circus uniquely makes possible. We believe that when artists are supported in bold, interdisciplinary creation, they expand not only the possibilities of performance, but the ways people understand themselves and one another. We prioritize meaning, transmission, and presence over polish or perfection, inviting audiences into experiences that are immediate, challenging, and alive. We commission, develop, and tour performances, produce festivals that platform independent artists, and provide the planning, logistics, and advocacy that allow artists to take creative risks. We are committed to broad access: through free and low-cost public programming and community-embedded residencies, we bring the rigor and aliveness of this work to people who might not otherwise encounter it.

Values

Almanac connects people across borders and cultures through live performance that is rigorous, playful, and deeply human. We harness the dual seriousness and ridiculousness of circus to make and tour original work, to teach and train, and to build spaces where artists and audiences can take part together. We began as an ensemble, and we still believe we can do more together than we can alone. Today that means touring our own work, producing and commissioning the work of peer artists, and building structures that put resources and decision-making power in artists' hands. We recognize the challenge of making and accessing art under colonial capitalism. We work to make circus as accessible as possible, bringing it to parks, community hubs, and theaters, and we welcome people of every body and background into our classes and rehearsal rooms. We seek to be accountable to the communities we move within, and we keep working toward more equitable artistic and administrative models. As educators and community builders, we facilitate open environments of learning and skill-building centered on consent, imagination, and healthy risk-taking. As producers, we follow the voices and values of the artists we present, offering the resources and support they ask for. Our company and extended community hold a rich multitude of experiences and identities, which shapes the stories we tell and how, where, and why we tell them. We believe Black lives matter, and we commit to the ongoing work of dismantling white supremacy in ourselves, our work, and the arts. We are committed to the fight for, and embodiment of, queer and trans liberation. We believe all bodies and abilities deserve celebration, and we aim to be accomplices in the movement for justice for fat, disabled, and neurodivergent people. We believe in the power and pleasure of art and community oriented toward liberation.

Our Services

Creative Producing

Commissioning, developing, producing and touring performances.

Project & Production Management

Planning, logistics and execution with detailed timelines and budgets.

Artistic Development

Readings, workshops and mentoring.

Marketing & Community Mobilization

Leveraging artistic networks for strategy and outreach.

Who We Are

Ben Grinberg (he/they)

Producing Director

Ben Grinberg (he/they) is a Philadelphia-based director, performer, and producer who co-founded Almanac in 2013. He co-founded and led Cannonball Festival (2021–2025), was a founding faculty member and head of Performance at Circadium, and teaches in the Pig Iron MFA in devised performance. He is the 2025 recipient of the APAP/CIPA Award for Outstanding Achievement in Creative Producing.

Lachlan Harper

Associate Producer + Operations Manager

Lachlan Harper is Almanac's Associate Producer and Operations Manager. Trained in gymnastics and at Australia's National Institute of Circus Arts (NICA), he spent nearly a decade performing, touring, and creating with Gravity & Other Myths, including Backbone, The Pulse, Macro, and Ten Thousand Hours. He joined Almanac in 2026.

Rhonda Moore

Project Co-Director, Helpful Hints

Rhonda Moore is a dancer, performance artist, and educator, and a founding member of the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company. A teaching artist with Pierre Dulaine's Dancing Classrooms and adjunct dance faculty at the Boyer College of Music and Dance, she co-created and co-directs Helpful Hints for Strength and Health for Busy People with Ben Grinberg.

Colby Calhoun

Project Co-Producer, Helpful Hints

Colby Calhoun (they/she) is a Philadelphia-based producer and arts administrator. A longtime Cannonball Festival producer who led the festival's philanthropic engagement and grant writing, Colby now co-produces Helpful Hints for Strength and Health for Busy People.

Skye Fort

Project Co-Producer, Helpful Hints

Skye Fort is a theatre director, producer, and production manager based in Philadelphia and originally from New Mexico. She co-founded the experimental theatre company CAROL Performance Group and has production managed Cannonball Festival (2023–2025) and Pig Iron Theatre Company's Franklin's Key. She co-produces Helpful Hints for Strength and Health for Busy People.

Axl Osborne

Web Designer + Wild Horizon Programmer

Axl Osborne is an acrobat, circus coach, and multimedia artist whose movement practice began in elite gymnastics and sports acrobatics. He has co-created and toured internationally with Gravity & Other Myths, including as production manager of Ten Thousand Hours. At Almanac he designs the website, co-programs the Wild Horizon festival, and is developing Goblet of Light, a work combining acrobatics, sensor technology, and live reactive environments.

Laura Schmidt

Marketing Associate + AlmanAcro Facilitator

Laura Schmidt (they/she) is Almanac's Marketing Associate, running social media and audience outreach for Almanac's shows and festivals. Laura joined the Almanac and Cannonball team in 2024 and also facilitates AlmanAcro, Almanac's free, open-to-everyone community acrobatics gym.

Arianna Allen

AlmanAcro Facilitator

Arianna Allen is a Philadelphia-based stage manager and physical theatre artist. She holds a BA in Theatre with a focus in physical theatre from the University of Akron and an MFA from the Pig Iron School, and has stage managed for Cannonball Festival. She facilitates AlmanAcro, Almanac's free community acrobatics gym.

Margo Cramer

AlmanAcro Facilitator

Margo Cramer is a Philadelphia-based stage manager and performer. She has stage managed for Cannonball Festival since 2024, performed with Almanac at Calder Gardens in 2025, and facilitates AlmanAcro, Almanac's free community acrobatics gym.

Vanessa Ogbuehi (she/her)

Operations Strategy

Vanessa Ogbuehi (she/her) is a Philadelphia-based director and performer who devises original theatre through cabaret, physical theatre, and digital media, often centering the wild and extraordinary stories of contemporary and historical women. A graduate of the Pig Iron School, she has served as Almanac's Associate Producer and now advises on operations strategy.

Company Emeritus

Adam Kerbel · Nick Gillette · Nick Jonczak · Nicole Burgio · Desirée Navall · Jess Adams · Emmanuel Becerra · Lauren Harries · Mark Wong · Evelyn Langley · Joseph Ahmed · Robin Stamey