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A devised show about a gut/heart-centered and all-consuming feeling, The Loneliness Project premiered in Philadelphia on May 20, 2022 at Philly PACK.

Conceived by our founder, Lauren Earline Leonard, The Loneliness Project was inspired in part by David Whyte’s summation of the experience as written in his book, “Consolations: The Solace, Nourishment and Underlying Meaning of Everyday Words.” The work started with a series of cast conversations and interviews exploring the isolation so many became acquainted with during the global COVID-19 pandemic and grew to be a series of vignettes featuring dialogue and dance.

The show featured writing from playwright Monica Flory, Kristen Humbert, and Earlie Bird’s founder, Lauren Earline Leonard; choreography from Leonard and the cast; and an original score by Todd Ogren, a multi-instrumentalist and member of the rock band, Rival Sons. Art and scenic design were created by graphic and visual artist, Joanna Nowak, who also contributed a piece about dementia.

The sold-out run took audiences to some of the places where loneliness can live: inside the Internet, under the sea, and within our own beating hearts.

Proceeds from the performances were donated to the Cure Alzheimer’s Fund, a 501c3 dedicated to finding a cure.

DREDx, an evening of TED-like talks set in 2050 Philadelphia, premiered at Philly PACK September 21, 2019.

The show that became DREDx was to be the third in a series of female-focused, mother/daughter stories, but something about the script wasn’t right. It wasn’t reflective of the general sense of anxiety and dread so many people were feeling. So, it was reworked to reflect a vision of our future that included a fractured and redrawn United States, off-grid societies of feral humans and stolen and caged babies. It also presented some glimmers of hope; ideas, songs and blessings for how we might live together after the end of the world as we know it.

Proceeds from the one-night-only sellout performance were shared with organizations who serve, support, and defend our neighbors and our planet. 

EBP participated in our first Philadelphia Fringe Festival this past September.

Mother/Daughter brought to the stage vignettes and monologues exploring the relationships between mothers and daughters. Nine actresses from across the age and race spectrum presented takes on fertility, choice, communication, adoption, immigration, and death.

Performances were sold out and well-received. Audience members who participated in the talk-back following the matinee performance bravely shared deeply personal and stirring stories of their own mother-daughter relationships.

EBP participated April 20 in a national campaign of theatre activism to end gun violence by presenting a staged reading of Lauren Gunderson’s new play, Natural Shocks.

Based on Hamlet’s “to be or not to be” soliloquy, the play features a woman waiting out a tornado in her basement. As the storm rages on, the audience bears witness to her stories and secrets, and learns the intimate details of her relationship with guns. To raise awareness about gun violence, Gunderson waved the royalties for readings the weekend of April 20 for companies who pledged to donate proceeds to organizations like Everytown For Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action.

Seven women performed as part of our reading. Their diversity in person and delivery symbolized the scope and scale of domestic abuse in American society.  True to our mission and because we believe building character and community decreases violence, proceeds from our reading were used to establish an Arts Education Scholarship. The first scholarship has been awarded to a second-grader from our South Philly community to attend Shakespeare in the Garage Summer Camp July 2018 at Philly PACK. 

A panel discussion on gun violence in Philadelphia followed the panel for more on our panelists, please visit the Blog. 

When it premiered on Broadway in 1997, Eve Ensler's The Vagina Monologues broke ground by giving hundreds of women the opportunity to speak candidly about their bodies and experiences. To celebrate the 20th anniversary of the play, Earlie Bird Productions presented in February the world-premiere of V2: Creation Myth.  

A sequel of sorts to The Vagina Monologues, V2 continued the conversation of what it is to be a woman in the aftermath of the 2016 presidential election, as experienced by a group of professional women. Part memoir, part composite experience culled from interviews and listening sessions, the production covered topics such as sexuality, motherhood, race, assault, aging, work, and more, culminating in a new vision of female solidarity and power in America. 

Two sold-out performances were held February 23 and 24 at Philly PACK (233 Federal Street). Proceeds from ticket sales and our generous contributors benefited Planned Parenthood and the Women’s Community Revitalization Project, a Philadelphia-based organization committed to social and economic equity for women with low incomes and their families. 

Feedback from audiences was tremendous! The work was called "relevant" and "moving." The cast and crew were received as "talented" and "brave." Specifically, it was the Triptych of pieces including two letters written by parents to their young daughters and a tale of sexual abuse that most moved audiences. 

The closing vision of a female president and a new kind of America left audiences feeling inspired and hopeful.