Kickstarter Campaign Seeks to Bring The Bill Cosby Assault to Next Year’s FringeArts Festival

Unless you’ve been living under a conveniently placed rock, you’ve seen that people are coming out of the woodwork saying they were sexually assaulted by Bill Cosby. The accusations, which run the gamut from molestation to drug-aided rape, date back to 1965 and have been in and out of the news since 2005.

Due to the “he said, she said” nature of the women’s testimonies versus Cosby’s controversial non-response to new allegations, the jury is still out in the court of public opinion. Skeptics and supporters of the women remain firmly on either side, and still others are overwhelmed with questions.

A Philly Kickstarter campaign started by Victor Fiorillo (whose day job is senior reporter for Philadelphia magazine) hopes to lay all these opinions out on the table — or the stage, that is — and explore their consequences in a new play, The Bill Cosby Assault. Looking to debut during September’s 19th annual Fringe Festival, the play is currently in development and is hoping to reach its $10,000 goal by Sunday, December 21st.

According to the Kickstarter, “The Bill Cosby Assault will tell the stories of Bill Cosby’s accusers and their skeptics in their own words and will explore the divide that exists in America when a woman accuses any man—let alone “America’s dad”—of rape or sexual assault.” The crowdfunded play will use monologues, multimedia, and dramatization and will mark the 10th anniversary of Cosby’s first allegations.

The production’s board of advisors includes Headlong Dance Theatre co-founder Amy Smith, actor/playwright Jennifer Kidwell, and Barrymore-winning actor/playwright/director James Ijames. All money raised will go toward development and production of The Bill Cosby Assault, though Kickstarter campaigns only receive pledges if fully funded by their deadline.