Pier Players a growing part of Philly’s arts scene

Every pier needs good support.

For Pier Players Theatre Company, it originally came from an unexpected source. The four founding women of the company had nowhere to rehearse a small murder mystery show in 2022, so they decided to utilize a common area outside one of their homes in Penn’s Landing. 

“I live on a pier and there’s a big common area,” said Artistic Director Chelsea Cylinder. “Before we had any rehearsal space for our first show, we just rehearsed there. All the neighbors would be like, ‘What is this? And who are you?’ They turned out to be our earliest supporters.”

Some brought pets. Other residents set up wine-testing stations and munched on cheese as the Pier Players took their first baby steps at contributing to the city’s rich arts scene. A little more than a year later, they were filling local theaters with original plays and bringing smiles and laughs to audiences around the city.

In April, Pier Players Theatre Company will present the world premiere of Peter Fenton’s I Think We’re Lost, a darkly comedic postmodern reimagining of the J. M. Barrie classic, Peter Pan. The show will run from April 10-19 at Theatre Exile on 13th Street in South Philly.

They’ve come a long way since practicing in front of random neighbors.

“Basically, in the show, a college-age Peter Pan is thinking about leaving Neverland,” Cylinder said. “Tinkerbell is scheming to keep the whole Neverland fantasy alive. In order to do that, she recruits two kids who are from Philadelphia. One becomes a modern-day Lost Boy and the other becomes Wendy 2.0. There’s a lot of unsettling truths buried in Neverland’s past.”

Cylinder, along with co-founders Julianne Kastner, Kate Brighter and Vanessa Torres, became partners and good friends over the past four years. The original murder mystery was called Larry’s Late Show and entertained modest crowds as the group was still officially forming. A Philadelphia Fringe Festival play Mars Doesn’t Want Us helped them gather steam; and their third offering, The Angry Grammarian, which also played at Theatre Exile, sold out quickly. 

I Think We’re Lost will be the seventh play by Pier Players and the most elaborate, according to the co-founders. 

“The thing I like so much about this show is it’s so big,” said Brighter, an East Passyunk resident who grew up in the Mayfair/Tacony neighborhoods of Northeast Philly. “It’s the biggest set, it’s the biggest extravagant lighting and sound design. We also got to bring in different aspects of different types of directors.”

Pier Players Theater Company co-founder Chelsea Cylinder (left) spars with co-founder Julianne Kastner during rehearsal for I Think We’re Lost. Photo/Mark Zimmaro

Brighter is the props designer and the “fight captain” who helps choreograph sword-fighting scenes in the play. All four women have several tasks to navigate behind the scenes as well as acting in the play. They also all help fundraise and promote the shows to keep the Pier Players afloat. 

“It’s a mixed bag of things,” said Kastner, who recently moved into South Philadelphia. “A lot is from the lovely individual people who want to continue to support us through donations. We have fundraisers and I also do the South Philly Book Crawl where we go on South Street and hit up a large swarth of book stores. And jumping off the small business train, we partner with a lot of businesses. Chelsea is incredible at connecting with people and knowing the business owners who advertise with us. We boost their business and they support the arts.”

Pier Players makes a conscientious effort to involve small businesses with their promotions.

“We have partnered with 17 different South Philly businesses and we are continuing to grow that list,” Cylinder said. “South Philly, especially, is really cool because everything is very nearby. If you say Theatre Exile, everyone knows where that is. For each production, we do research on what businesses are in the area and what businesses can thematically connect with the show we are doing.”

Pier Players also does an incredible job connecting with its audiences. The show, written by Peter Fenton and directed by Madison Caudullo, takes place in 2026 and intertwines Neverland and modern-day Philadelphia using pirate ships and SEPTA buses.

“We have some really fun transitions where we’re going from where Tink is tearing holes in reality and jumping between Neverland and Philadelphia,” Kastner said. “I personally recorded some SEPTA noises like ‘doors are closing’ and some buses beeping. I think local people will really appreciate those little nods here and there.”

Just like Peter Pan himself, Pier Players Theatre Company was never scared to take risks. It goes back to practicing plays on an actual pier and forming a company right as the world was coming out of a pandemic. Now, they rehearse at Cylinder’s alma mater Friends Select School in Center City.

“I think just being able to do what we do with people you enjoy art with, it didn’t make it scary at all,” Torres said. “We’re just a band of friends getting together to make some reckless stuff. I feel like at least I never felt the pressure of starting a company. At least we’re doing what we love in a place that celebrates culture.”

Tickets ($21.40) for I Think We’re Lost can be purchased directly at https://pierplayers.org/. The four pillars of Pier Players will continue multi-tasking right up until the curtain is raised. 

“It’s a common theme for a small theater company to say we do everything because we do wear a lot of hats,” Kastner said. “Because it’s just the four of us, it might be slightly more unique that we also all act as well as doing all the marketing and the props and all the other things. But it’s a real joy getting to work with friends and also be proud of what we do.”

Pier Players Theatre Company co-founders (from left) Kate Brighter, Chelsea Cylinder, Vanessa Torres and Julianne Kastner. Photo/Mark Zimmaro