Brian Sanders’ JUNK presents Urban Scuba

Let the showcase begin

First off, Sanders clarified that this iteration is a showcase, not a show. In Hopewell, viewers will get the chance to preview Urban Scuba ahead of its 2026 premiere at the Kimmel Center. Sanders compared the showcase to a crucial part of development in which epiphanies often occur, like “going into the desert for a meditation.” It will debut music composed by his sister, Stephanie Sanders, and played live on stage by five musicians. Additionally, the cast includes three performers new to JUNK. Finding artists fluent in “the sort of vernacular of Brian [Sanders] over his last 30 years is challenging,” he said, given the use of found props, found choreography, and various movement techniques. Hailing from New York and Los Angeles, the new artists bring experience in dance, acrobatics, aerial work, and circus arts.

Urban Scuba combines new elements with those intentionally repurposed from JUNK’s past. Drawing on technology, plastic, and nostalgia, Urban Scuba revisits and reimagines some of Sanders’s most loved work. JUNK is known for standout moments, and some favorites over the years include an erotic duet with a washtub and an 80s-inspired immersive labyrinth of love. In addition, Sanders regularly repurposes props, like the hoverboards in 2022’s Luster and the pommel horse in 2021’s A Modern-Day Carmen Fantasy, a collaboration with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

Another person’s treasure

Fittingly, the title of Urban Scuba is a polite euphemism for dumpster diving. The show originated as a performance in the underground pool at the Gershman Y on Broad Street as part of the 2009 Fringe Festival. The Gershman Y left the building in 2018, refocused on film, and became Philadelphia Jewish Film + Media. Later, Lightbox Film Center and the University of the Arts moved into the building.

Another space in Philadelphia inspired the version of Urban Scuba currently in the works. Sanders saw an “extraordinary black box” in the Kimmel Center’s Perelman Theater. “But nobody uses it that way,” he pointed out, and usually, the Perelman is set up for a chamber orchestra. Sanders decided that the theater was the ideal stage for his final JUNK show. “Finality is always the beginning of something else,” as he noted. Following the 2026 premiere, Sanders hopes to take Urban Scuba beyond Philadelphia—perhaps to Broadway.

In preparation for the performance in Hopewell, Sanders worked with writers, dramaturgs, and video and projection artists. He also transformed the space. Built as a music hall, the venue has good acoustics but needed alterations. A construction permit was needed to build a 20-foot structure for Urban Scuba’s set. A long-term rental maximized collaboration by allowing Sanders to work with the dancers downstairs while his sister worked on the music upstairs.

What Sanders called “this Urban Scuba adventure” folds in new ideas, “revisioning it anew with the music.” The Hopewell event offers an “intimate, casual experience of music and theater together” along with the chance to “take a first dive” by witnessing the show’s growth. For years, Brian Sanders’ JUNK consistently has had something interesting to say to Philly. As Urban Scuba takes Sanders into the future, his voice is “joining the voice of my sister,” he said, and “I’m thrilled to be a part of that collaboration.”