The Playing Mantis

The Phoenix Returns on December 10th

SnapDragon — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 14:50:18 +0000

The Playing Mantis fire dancers will be out performing for the crowds at the Firebird Festival in Phoenixville, PA. Later on in the evening, watch the effigy go up in flames up on the hill this year. Once it gets going, it’ll warm you up quick! For more information about the festival and directions, go to [...]

Fire Performance Friday

Mantis — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 21:15:59 +0000

Whether you’re planning on heading out to the nearby St Anthony’s Italian Festival or looking for a nice evening out, stop by Union City Grille this Friday, June 17th. We’ll be street performing out front throughout the evening, and singer Steve Silicato will be performing inside. Their menu is online at unioncitygrill.com, which you should peruse [...]

Taste of Little Italy Fire Performances

SnapDragon — Tue, 17 May 2011 00:37:47 +0000

So I told you there would be more details to come and here they are, just in time! When: Tuesday through Thursday evenings starting around 8:30pm and going until 10 or later if we have an audience. Where: Intersection of Union and 8th Streets in Wilmington, DE. We’ll be around Union City Grille, [...]

Fire during Taste of Little Italy

SnapDragon — Fri, 13 May 2011 00:50:20 +0000

We’ll be outside fire dancing during Taste of Little Italy in Wilmington, DE. Dates are May 17, 18, & 19. Exact times and location to be announced soon!!

Party at Club 3 with Mr. Greengenes this Friday!

SnapDragon — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 23:25:54 +0000

Come listen to the rock of Mr. Greengenes and dance hits of DJ Gizzmo between sets. The Playing Mantis will be going wild out front with their fire props!

Check us out “Under the Big Top” – March 26, 2011 5:30-6:30

SnapDragon — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 20:57:56 +0000

Have you been thinking about hiring The Playing Mantis to entertain at your special event or backyard party? Now’s your chance to get a great performance and support a great cause at the same time. We’re donating a performance to St Elizabeth’s High School to be auctioned off at their Under [...]

Happy St Patty’s Day!

Mantis — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 20:00:46 +0000

Hey there everyone! We're finally getting some warm weather and there's a great event this weekend where you can get out and enjoy it. The St Patty's Day loop is taking place this Saturday, March 12th in Wilmington, DE! For those of you who haven't attended one of the local loops, this one is one of the best! The way it works is that you head to any participating venue (We suggest Club 3) to pick up a wristband. This gets you access to 21 different venues with a complimentary shuttle bus running between them. This is a great way to check out a lot of really cool spots in and around Wilmington all in one night. We'll be performing out front of Club 3 (Formerly the Funkey Monkey) fro 9pm to midnight. For those of you who've seen us perform there throughout the winter with glow, this will be a show you won't want to miss! For those of you who haven't seen our glow performances at Club 3, we're there every Friday night partying it up with DJ Gizmo. Come join us!

Spring is coming…

Mantis — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 20:00:29 +0000

Winter's almost over, and we at The Playing Mantis are excited to be able to get outside and play! We hope all of you other object manipulators and fire dancers feel the same way, and we have some big news for you... Our online store is now up and running! You can click on the "Store" tab to browse our most commonly purchased props and supplies. Pick your new props up now and be ready for that nice weather! You can, of course, still order custom-made props by contacting us directly. We'd also like to invite everyone to come out and join us every Friday night at Club 3 in Wilmington. We perform with LED, glow, and lasers throughout the evening along with beats provided by DJ Gizmo. It's a great party that keeps growing, so come on out and enjoy!

Phoenixville’s Seventh Annual Firebird Festival

SnapDragon — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:30:46 +0000

The Playing Mantis performs at the Phoenixville Firebird festival this December 11th in Phoenixville, PA. Bring out the entire family for this exciting event as the community celebrates the beautiful people, art, music, and culture of Phoenixville!! Our featured performers will be Mantis, SnapDragon, Omni, and Smokey. We'll be performing near the main stage along with several of the featured musicians, as well as in front of the Firebird prior to lighting. For more information on the event, check out the Phoenixville Firebird Festival site at http://firebirdfestival.com.

WoW: Cataclysm Launch

Mantis — Sun, 28 Nov 2010 00:24:46 +0000

Join us at GameStop as they celebrate the launch of the newest update to the World of Warcraft series: Cataclysm. We'll be at the Glen Mills store for the midnight launch, performing in the parking lot out front. Directions are available on our events page. For more information, or to pre-order WoW: Cataclysm, you can call GameStop at (610) 558-3514. Hope to see you there!

Ruins

Mantis — Mon, 01 Nov 2010 01:02:21 +0000

Last year's Firebird Festival in Phoenixville introduced us to Mitch Martinez of Stamphill Motion Pictures. We came up with a number of ideas about what we could come up with by combining our talents, and decided that the best way to test some of the concepts we'd been batting around would be by exploring those ideas through a video. We're looking forward to working with Mr. Martinez in the future, and we hope you enjoy what we've come up with so far. So, without further ado... Ruins.

RUINS - Fire Dancers from Stamphill Motion Pictures on Vimeo.

Produced by Stamphill Motion Pictures - stamphill.com

Halloween at Wild Birds Unlimited

Mantis — Fri, 15 Oct 2010 04:10:52 +0000

Hey everyone! Just wanted to let you know about a performance coming soon! The Playing Mantis will be returning to Wild Birds Unlimited on Saturday, October 30. We'll be performing from noon-2pm as part of the Halloween in Hockessin event. A wide variety of local businesses will be opening their doors to trick-or-treaters, offering both the more traditional treats as well as a couple of surprises (like us!) If you'd like more information on the event, you can find it here: http://hockessin.wbu.com/content/show/42475 Hope to see you there!

Great Times at the Magic Gardens

Mantis — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 04:23:21 +0000

The Playing Mantis had the pleasure of performing last Saturday night at Philadelphia's Magic Gardens. We were joined by Liana, who introduced us to this great venue as well as performing with us throughout the evening. Really, the impressiveness of this space cannot be overstated. Every visible surface is covered in a variety of mosaics comprised in many cases of mixed mediums. Combinations of tiles, mirrors, bottles, pottery, and other sculptures combine to produce an absolutely overwhelming visual experience. A number of pathways and small alcoves wind through the outdoor portion of the venue allowing visitors to stop and examine the intricate artwork, or simply wander and explore. You can visit their website and find pictures of some of the various art installations at www.philadelphiasmagicgardens.org. They say that a picture is worth a thousand words... We're not sure how that translates into video, but check out this footage of SnapDragon taken by an audience member in our second set.

Here’s to a Firey 4th!

Mantis — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:27:24 +0000

Independence day is upon us once again, one of our favorite holidays here at The Playing Mantis. From grills to fireworks, fire has always been a part of this great American holiday and we've found fire dancing to be a logical addition to the traditional mix. Mantis and Snapdragon will be performing on the Wilmington Riverfront this 4th of July as part of the city's celebration. The evening also features performances by the Chorus of the Brandywine and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, as well as a fireworks display. The event runs from around 4pm to 10pm, and is free to the public. The Playing Mantis will be roaming around performing in a street performance format from around 7:30pm to 8:30pm. We shouldn't be too hard to find, we'll be the ones on fire! Additional information on the event can be found at http://www.wilmingtonde.gov/newsroom/2010/0629_july4th_celebration.html or by visiting our events page. Hope to see you there!

Playing Mantis Double-Header!

Mantis — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 22:21:32 +0000

For those of you who’ve noticed that the news feed on our page has been a little light lately, it’s been because we were preparing for a pair of amazing festivals which we visited over the past two weeks. The first was Playa Del Fuego, the Mid-Atlantic regional burn located in our home state of Delaware. [...]