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FringeArts Announces Full Details for 2022 Philadelphia Fringe Festival

The 26th Annual Philadelphia Fringe Festival is proud to present a city-wide celebration of progressive, world class art that expands the imagination and boldly disputes expectations. The festivities will feature nearly 200 diverse productions throughout Philadephia from September 8 through October 2nd. Tickets for members will go on sale August 5; general public will go on sale August 8th.

FringeArts Announces Full Details for 2022 Philadelphia Fringe Festival 1
TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps Cookie Diorio in LATE NIGHT SNACKS. Photo credit Cass Meehan

Of note, this year’s festival includes world premieres by Geoff Sobelle, Pig Iron Theatre Company, and collaborative team David T. LIttle, Anne Waldman, and Michael Joseph McQuilken; the U.S. premiere of acclaimed French choreographer Jérôme Bel’s self-titled “auto-bio-choreo-graphy”; the highly-anticipated Philadelphia premiere of An Untitled Love by A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham; plus, the return of Lightning Rod Special and The Bearded Ladies Cabaret, both longtime FringeArts collaborators and festival favorites.  Additionally, MacArthur and Guggenheim Fellow Annie Dorsen brings her Spokaoke to Philadelphia for one night only.

“For over 25 years, the Philadelphia Fringe Festival has elevated our city as a primary nexus for cultural conversation, progressive ideas, and innovative art-making,” notes President and Producing Director Nick Stuccio.  “We are excited to welcome audience members to enjoy this year’s dynamic programming  and hope that the festival can act as a social space in which conversation can blossom between artists and audiences, artists and artists, and Philadelphia and the world.”

The 26th Annual Fringe Festival call for artists produced over 200 submissions, a record for the organization.  Fringe audiences can expect an assortment of live theatrical and dance performances, art installations, circus arts, and genre-bending experiences that highlight the wide variety of local and national talent that the festival attracts.  The artistically daring performances include live and in-person national and international artists curated by FringeArts, and both live and digital works that are produced by independent artists from across Philadelphia and beyond and promoted by FringeArts.

The Philadelphia Fringe Festival has featured a Digital Fringe component since 2015. This year, audience members can still enjoy an assortment of digital shows throughout the Independently Produced lineup. Some will be available to watch throughout the festival, while others will have specific viewing times and involve a degree of interactivity between performers and audiences. 

Curated Productions

FringeArts will present productions as part of this year’s curated slate, including works by Geoff Sobelle; Josephine Decker and Pig Iron Theatre Company; Annie Dorsen; A.I.M. by Kyle Abraham; Lightning Rod Special; Jérôme Bel with Megan Bridge; David T. LIttle, Anne Waldman, and Michael Joseph McQuilken; and The Bearded Ladies Cabaret.

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TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps Geoff Sobelle in FOOD. Photo Credit Maria Baranova-Suzuki

FOOD

World Premiere

Geoff Sobelle

September 8-18, 2022

FringeArts

140 N Columbus Blvd

An intimate dinner party performance of smell, taste, and touch, FOOD offers a meditation on the ways and whys of eating. The audience gathers around a white linen-covered dining table, engaging with each other and their empty plates in an immersive, constantly transforming performance. Sounds, scents, and tactile elements shape a conversation about personal memories, consumption, and the evolution of food production over generations.

FOOD is the third work in a trilogy by renowned clown and devotee of the “sublime ridiculous” Geoff Sobelle. Continuing the investigations of The Object Lesson and HOME, FOOD provokes questions about everyday experiences that many of us take for granted, served with Sobelle’s signature flavor of rigorous design, stage illusion, and an absurdist sense of humor. 

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TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps Courtney Henry and Jessica Almasy in The Path of Pins or the Path of Needles. Photo credit Jauhien Sasnou

The Path of Pins or The Path of Needles

World Premiere

Josephine Decker + Pig Iron Theatre Company

September 16-Ocotber 2, 2022

Rigby Mansion

523 East Church Lane

Visionary writer and filmmaker Josephine Decker (Shirley, Madeline’s Madeline) joins forces with Pig Iron Theater Company (Superterranean, Love Unpunished) for a dark fairy tale about the terrors, joys, and deep uncertainties of pregnancy. Inspired by Maria Tatar’s research on the history of fairy tales, this immersive performance dreamscape explores the complex decisions that mothers, fictional and real, must make about their children’s lives. This new work brings Decker's singular vision into conversation with Pig Iron's 20-year investigation with site-specific and immersive theater.

Each audience member becomes “The Pregnant Dreamer,” seeking to evade a curse on their unborn child by choosing their own path through Rigby Mansion and its grounds. Interactive scenes — weaving contemporary dance, physical theater, and performance art — unlock secret knowledge and whispers of horror. All bodies are welcome; come prepared to wander. 

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TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps A scene from “Spokaoke.” Photo credit Brittany Buogiorno

Spokaoke

Annie Dorsen

September 16, 2022

La Peg at FringeArts

140 N Columbus Blvd

Spokaoke invites the audience to perform speeches as they would ordinarily perform songs in a karaoke bar. Created by writer and director Annie Dorsen (2019 MacArthur Fellow, 2018 Guggenheim Fellow, Infinite Sun, The Great Outdoors, Yesterday Tomorrow), this participatory event plays with the legacy of spoken artifacts, treating snippets and snatches of public address like a Top 40 radio of collective discourse.

Over a hundred texts are available on the karaoke system and arranged in a catalog that audience members can peruse. Some texts are familiar to the point of iconic status (“I have a dream,” “Mr. Gorbachev, tear down this wall”), while others are lesser-known. Texts come from a wide variety of sources and eras — Socrates’ trial speech, Sojourner Truth’s “Ain’t I a Woman,” Colonel Qaddafi at the United Nations. All texts are in English. Hearing the speeches in relation to each other reveals new connections between them, as distinct moments of socio-historical urgency collide in unpredictable and unexpected ways. 

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TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps Tamisha A. Guy and Claude “CJ” Johnson in AN UNTITLED LOVE. Photo Credit Christopher Duggan

An Untitled Love

A.I.M by Kyle Abraham

September 22-24, 2022

Philadelphia Film Center

1412 Chestnut Street

An Untitled Love is a new evening-length work from acclaimed choreographer Kyle Abraham (2013 MacArthur Fellow, Ash, The Runaway). Drawing from the catalogue of Grammy Award-winning R&B legend D’Angelo, this creative exaltation pays homage to the complexities of self love and Black love, while serving as a thumping mixtape celebrating our culture, family, and community.

A.I.M is one of the most active touring dance companies in the United States, with an audience base as diverse as A.I.M’s movement vocabulary, drawing inspiration from a multitude of sources and dance styles. Since A.I.M’s founding in 2006, Abraham has created more than 15 original works for and with the company — including this feel-good work of visceral hope, solace, and joy.

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TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps Alice Yorke in SPEECH. Photo credit:Friday Anderson

SPEECH

A Lightning Rod Special Production

Created by Shayok Misha Chowdhury, Scott R. Sheppard, and Alice Yorke

Written by Scott R. Sheppard in collaboration with the ensemble

Directed by Shayok Misha Chowdhury

September 28-October 1, 2022

Proscenium Theatre at The Drake

302 S. Hicks Street

Lightning Rod Special (The Appointment, Underground Railroad Game) offers a satirical scrutiny of the free speech debate and the rapidly shifting terrain of civil discourse within our hyper-visible social-media-centered world. Characters careen through different microcosms of American culture in a searing look at how trepidation and performativity infect all aspects of our lives. 

Philadelphia-based performance company Lightning Rod Special specializes in raucous and contemplative works that scramble theatrical conventions and intellectual assumptions. SPEECH continues their investigations into lightning rod topics, exploding complex questions with precision and play.

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TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps Jerome Bel. Photo credit Herman Sorgeloos

Jérôme Bel

US Premiere

Jérôme Bel with Megan Bridge

September 30-October 2, 2022

FringeArts

140 N Columbus Blvd

French choreographer Jérôme Bel (Gala, The show must go on, Cédric Andrieux) continues his renowned portrait series, this time examining himself. Through a combination of lecture, archival video excerpts, and live dance, Bel constructs a genealogy of the driving forces behind his work — what he calls an “auto-bio-choreo-graphy.” He reflects on the doubts, commitments, failures, and questions present throughout his career and creative process. In this impassioned illumination of the motivations of contemporary performance and postmodern dance, the personal becomes entangled with the artistic and the political. 

For ecological reasons, Bel and his company stopped traveling by plane in 2019. This performance, therefore, relies on a unique collaboration with Philadelphia dancer Megan Bridge (Fidget). Bridge serves as director and translator, in addition to portraying Bel on stage. She embodies Bel’s honesty and vulnerability, holding tension between humanism and formalism.

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TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps Jennifer Harrison Newman in a screenshot from BLACK LODGE

Black Lodge

World Premiere

Music by David T. Little

Libretto by Anne Waldman

Story & Screenplay by Michael Joseph McQuilken

October 1-October 2, 2022

Philadelphia Film Center

1412 Chestnut Street

Co-presented with Opera Philadelphia as part of Festival O22

Drawing on the complicated mythologies of the surrealist writer William S. Burroughs (Naked Lunch), Black Lodge uses dance, industrial rock, classical string quartet, and opera to take viewers through a Lynchian psychological escape room.

Set in a nightmarish Bardo, a place between death and rebirth, a tormented writer faces down demons of his own making. Forced to confront the darkest moment in his life, he mines fractured and repressed memories for a way out. A woman is at the center of all the writer’s afterlife encounters. She is the subject of his life’s greatest regret, and she materializes everywhere in this Otherworld. The writer cannot detach any thoughts of his life from her. 

Part film screening and part industrial rock opera concert, this world premiere event features glam opera band Timur & the Dime Museum alongside musicians from the Opera Philadelphia Orchestra.

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TomikaTalks | Life in Pumps Jess Conda in LATE NIGHT SNACKS. Photo credit Johanna Austin

Late Night Snacks

The Bearded Ladies Cabaret

September 9-October 2, 2022

The Switch

421 N. 7th St.

The Bearded Ladies Cabaret shares a new selection of guilty pleasures, soul nourishment, and tasty cabaret treats in this year’s Late Night Snacks. The after-hours performances feature different artists every night — from opera singers to drag queens, cabaret stars to art clowns, and everything in between — all baked together and seasoned to perfection, taking inspiration from the stories and history of our community.

Whether you come for one night, come every night, or just stop by on your way to the corner store, this potluck of a performance series is here to welcome you with music, drinks, and more enticing entertainment than you can fit on a single paper plate. Full lineup and performance details to be announced in August. 

Fringe Festival Hubs

FringeArts is thrilled to partner with three independent satellite festivals: Cannonball at the Mass Building, Crossroads Comedy Theatre at Theatre Exile, and Circus Campus Presents at Circadium, the School of Contemporary Circus. 

Independently Produced Productions

This year’s independently-produced slate includes a robust lineup of 180 shows across genres and platforms. The full list of independent artists, and subsequent press information, can be found at this website: FringeArts.com/press-room

“Bon Appétit!” By Julia Child and Lee Hoiby (During a Pandemic!) by Aurora Classical of CultureTrust Greater Philadelphia

“Sex-Files” StorySlam by First Person Arts

(R)evolution by Muyu Yuan Ruba, Christina Eltvedt, Elizabeth June Bergman

1,000 miles: celebrating the 10th Walk Around Philadelphia! by JJ Tiziou / Walk Around Philadelphia

10th Walk Around Philadelphia: virtual launch / info session by JJ Tiziou / Walk Around Philadelphia

9/11 Remembrance at the SRT Memorial by Aurora Classical

A Jennifer Story by Jennifer Blaine

A Patchwork of Stories for GrownUps by Patchwork Storytelling Guild

A Philly Mikado! by Aurora Classical

A Philly Mikado! LIVE STREAM VERSION by Aurora Classical

ADAM&EVE by Mad Paradox

Afternoon of an Alter by Emmett Wilson

Alternative Theatre Festival 2022 by iNtuitons Experimental Theatre

and you will know it’s done when the oil stops bubbling by Mike Durkin with the residents of the Kensington area, presented by Mural Arts Philadelphia

Andrew has Projects, Cubby Has Comments by Andrew and Cubby

Animation Nation IV by The Women's Film Festival

Awoke: The Musical by Run Boy Run Productions of Culture Works of Greater Philadelphia

Baal & Dix by Die-Cast

Baring More than My Soul by Tommy D Naked Man

BATH HOUSE by Gunnar Montana Productions

Bird in the Window by Sewer Rats Productions

BLAZE by Lillian McGonigle

Bodies by Watermelon Bathtub

Borrowed Time Comedy Showcase by Crossroads Comedy Theater

Bower Bird by Emily Mayer

bpm by bpm & Cotallo Solares/Yager

Brain Bros Presents: Uber Chronicles by Narada Owens c/o Brain Bros Productions

Carnivore by Kate Seethaler/Meghan Frederick

Centrifugal Hope by Marybeth Tereszkiewicz

Character Juggler Chris Ivey by Character Juggler Chris Ivey

Chill Room Records Presents: NIA & The Chill Room Band by NIA

Cognatus by Britt Fishel and Artists

Constellations by Nick Payne by Id Circo Theatre Group

cooning into the metaverse one day at a time: hopefully !!! by Crackheadbarney

Corpus by The Kammerspiel

Coven by Courtney Colón

creativeWorks by creativeWorks

Creature: A Movement Meditation by Kalila Kingsford Smith

Dance/sing by Darling Performance Group

Daughter of the Sea by Laura Lizcano

DEATH IS A CABARET OL' CHUM: A GRAVEYARD CABARET by REV Theatre Company

Dirt Trip by Alex tatarsky

Dirty Words by Nighthawks / Primitive Glitter

Disassembled: Lives taken Apart and examined through new music for Piano, Cello, Flute and Voices by Cathy Mazza

Eat Me Baladi by Mette Loulou von Kohl & Leila Delicious

Effigy by Wolfsmouth Players Company

Envisions by Dancefusion & Sokolow Theatre/Dance Ensemble

Everything After by ELLA-GABRIEL MASON

ExMen: Not About Superheroes, pt. 2 by Abby Hazlett

Extree! Extree! Comedy Inspired By the News by Crossroads Comedy Theater

Facepaint by Eat Purple Theater Co.

Fair Trade by Jessica Creane & Yannick Trapman-O'Brien

Feeling Red by Savi Stevenoski with Continuum Dance Company

Force the Mirror Open by Tangle Movement Arts

Forever Never Lasts by See/Hear Now Pop-Up Enterprises Worldwide

Forgotten Solo by Kat Brown

Fragments from the Maelstrom by Forgotten Lore Theatre

Free Improv Basics Class by Crossroads Comedy Theater

Free Improv Jam by Crossroads Comedy Theater

Fresh Ink Shorts by TheatreXP

Funicular Circus by Funicular Circus

GO AHEAD by James Haro In Storage

good luck by Devyn Mañibo & Jac I. Pryor

Green Card Project by Sohrab Haghverdi

GROUP PROJECT by Temple Theaters

HAIR by Hillary Pearson

Heart Ripped Out Twice and So Can You! by Linnea Bond

Hello, How Are You? by Jana L. Henry

high noon by Ninth Planet

HOMO FEMINA by MARLEN PUELLO

How to be an Ethical Slut by Brooke McCarthy

How To Meditate: A Burlesque Show by Andrew Steiner

I Hear You and I'd Like to Respond by Almanac Dance Circus Theatre

I.D.: Intimate Deceptions by Ran'D Shine

Imagination Playground by Expansions Contempoary Dance Ensemble

In High Germany and The Parting Glass by Irish Heritage Theatre

it's better when you close your eyes by BigKid Dance Mark Caserta, Choreographer

Jonathan Daylight Live!!! Motivational Speaker and Productivity Coach!!! by Cam Silva

juice by Mackenzie Raine Kirkman

KCBC x KCBCII: Summer Series by Klassic Contemporary Ballet Company

Ladies at a Gay Girls' Bar, 1938-1969 by Maggie Cee

Larry's Late Show by Chelsea Cylinder & Julianne Kastner

Last Call by Natalie Gotter

Latinx 2044: A Hispanic Heritage Month Comedy Special by Crossroads Comedy Theater

Lewis Luvz Clark by Rebecca Posner

LGBTQuiet by Shadow Company

Liebovar, or The Little Blind Girl by The Delaware Valley Opera Company / DVOC

Life After Me by Peter Christian

Lightning Come by NAIL74

Lindsey Noel: I'm a Magician by Lindsey Noel

LUSTER by Brian Sanders' JUNK

Mafia Anonymous; The Women Speak. by PINA

Man of La Manchin by Nick Jonczak

Maybe Tomorrow by The Highland Lakes Players

Me and Jesus and Prince and Captain Jean-Luc Picard in a One Bedroom apartment in the Bronx by Shavon Norris

Medicine Meditation by Severin Blake

Metaphor by Denise McCormack

Mio/Tuyo/Nuestro by Carne Viva Dance Theatre

MOBBLUZ Presents: Shining With Dilla by MOBBLUZ

MOVEMENT/DEVELOPMENT by Angelica Spilis/Equilibrium Dance Company

MURDER MESIBA 2.0 by Tribe 12

Myzrie House by Myzrie House

Neighborhood House Play Festival by Christ Church Neighborhood House

Next Chapter by Three Sheets

Nitty Gritty: A Philly Themed Storytelling Show by Crossroads Comedy Theater

NOT RIGHT NOW by James Christy

Not Yet Rated: An Improvised Rom-Com by Crossroads Comedy Theater

Oedipus in Seattle by skullsdotcom

One Man's Trash: A Repurposed Circus by Cirque Us

Open Page by Leah Stein Dance Company / The Art Room Studio

Outside Your Expectations by The Reclamation Dance Project

OVERBOARD! by Cannonball Festival

PEDESTRIAN CIRCUS by Rose Luardo

Pink Lemonade by Sweet & Sour Circus

Pocketbook Diaries by Magic Fingaz Productions

Poison Garden by Alterra Productions

Real PlaNet Life by Applied Mechanics

Reception by Nick Gillette Improv

Recollection by CAUTION Theatre Company

Rising from a Thousand Thrones by Forgotten Lore Theatre

Roll Play: An Improvised Adventure by Roll Play

Romeo & Juliet in a Bar by Shakespeare On Tap

Romeo and Juliet by OJ Productions

Ronnie, The Musical by 10th Floor Productions

Rough and Tumble: Pickled Peaches and Herring by Lillian Ransijn/Human Resources

Ruciteme Karyenda Culture de Buyenzi by Ruciteme Karyenda Culture de Buyenzi

Runnin' Late Presents: The Marathon by Crossroads Comedy Theater / Runnin Late Rx and Chill by Nicole Ayers

Scarlet Letter by Humble Materials

Science, Engineering & Art: A Juggler's Perspective by Greg Kennedy: Innovative Juggler

Scoring the End by Rodney Murray

SELL ME: I Am from North Korea by Sora Baek/ North Korea Theater

SILVER & BEBBIE by Evelyn Langley and Silvia Birdsall

Social Media Circus by David Darwin: One Man Sideshow

Song Bridge by Matthew Armstead

SpArc Service's Fringe Festival by SpArc Services Cultural Arts Center

Spherus by Innovative Juggler Team

Spruce Street by Allison Kelly

Stamptown Comedy Night by Stamptown

STRESS EXORCIST by Mary McCool

Study Hall: Comedy Inspired By Lectures by Crossroads Comedy Theater

STUNKERED: Stuck in a Bunker by E & J Circus

Surface Tension by Company To X For

Survival In Ruins (work-in-progress showing) by Katie Vickers

Sweet Honey Chiffon Invites you to Fête de la Ville Natale by Sweet Honey Chiffon

The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Allens Lane Art Center Theater

The Bikes Live in the Basement by Ed Roth

The Body Politic by Yao Xu

The Book of Snorin' – Sleep Apnea the Musical by Stew Walker

The Case for Invagination #4 by Nicole Bindler

The Earth by Boram Yi

The Give & Take Jugglers by The Give & Take Jugglers

The Jester of All Maladies by Kurt Fitzpatrick

The Living Gallery at Launch Point by Anastassia Vertjanova and Annemarie Branco

The Most Important Place In The World! by Naked Empire Bouffon Company

The Perspective Collective Presents: Young Goodman Brown, A Mini-Opera by The Perspective Collective

The Sideshow: A Comedy Variety Special by Crossroads Comedy Theater

The Squid and The Octopus by Jim Julien

The Tower by The Hum'n'Bards

The Two-Character Play (Out Cry) by Tennessee Williams by The Idiopathic Ridiculopathy Consortium

Threnody by Threnody Collective

Time as a Symptom by The Bean-Jam Project

Topside by Theater in Quarantine

Tragic Nostalgia by Jeanne Lyons

Tree Confessions by This Is Not A Theatre Company

Trick Machine by Zak McAllister

Triggered by Danse4Nia (Conservatory) in collaboration with Grounded Theatre

Trouble the Water by The Philadelphia Jazz Tap Ensemble

Undersigned by Yannick Trapman-O'Brien

Unorthodox Methods of Cosmic Flight by Anastassia Vertjanova and Annemarie Branco

Valley Traction by Valley Traction

vapors by Megan Mazarick

Vehement by a. dance theatre

Vincero – The Italian Opera Experience by Ascend Classical

Walking with Charles: Live Re-Enactment by Charles Blyzniuk

When All Else Fails: or, Why Not Choose Me? by Madeline Shuron

Wine in the Wilderness by Philadelphia Artists Collective / TheBlackBestFriend

Yes, We’re Ready, We’ll Split an Order of Fries for The Table–Does That Work for You?–Sure, One Check Is Fine by Mike Durkin/Nick Schwasman

You shouldn’t be doing what you’re doing on that Ladder by Peter Nicholls/ Tribe of Fools

Your Show by John Miller & Gabriel Walburn

Zach Zucker: Spectacular Industry Showcase by Stamptown

2022 Philadelphia Fringe Festival Preview Nights

Aug 8, 15, 22 at 7pm

FringeArts

140 N Columbus Blvd

Unsure of what to see during the Festival? Want to get a tiny sample of the nearly 200 Fringe Festival shows? Join FringeArts for free Festival Preview Nights, taking place Mondays, Aug 8, 15, and 22 at 7 pm at FringeArts.  Dance, Theater, Improv, Comedy: it’s like a Fringe Festival sample platter/ Each night, a new group of mystery performances will be highlighted on the FringeArts stage. Come meet the performers, preview their shows, and learn more about the upcoming festival.

PNC Arts Alive

The 2022 Philadelphia Fringe Festival is funded in part by PNC Arts Alive.  “The arts and cultural sector plays a vital role in our community. Now, as we approach a decade-and-a-half of support through PNC Arts Alive, the PNC team is excited to support the arts and cultural organizations, as well as visual and performing arts in the Delaware Valley,” said Joe Meterchick, PNC regional president for Philadelphia, Delaware and Southern New Jersey. “Arts and culture strengthen the local economy and have the power to bring people together. We look forward to gathering with our neighbors as we join together to be a part of art.”  

Ticketing Information

Tickets go on sale to FringeArts Members on Wednesday, August 5 at 10am, and to the general public on Monday, August 8 at 10am unless otherwise indicated.

Tickets can be purchased online at FringeArts.com, by phone at 215.413.1318, or by visiting the Fringe Festival Box Office at FringeArts (140 N Columbus Blvd, Philadelphia)

Welcome to my home on the web... I’m Tomika, the thought leader behind Life in Pumps. I love all things fashion, fun & travel! I’m a wife and mother of two very active teenagers. I'm a social butterfly and passionate about advocating for breast cancer disparities and the benefits of organics. Follow along as I believe life is more fun when you actually live it!

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