Blog Archives

April Under the Umbrella

3/30/2018

Happy Friday! We've been so busy creating characters, building worlds, and exploring poison words for the upcoming WOLF SONG Workshop Presentation that we haven't had a chance to write a blog post in the few weeks! Don't worry, we'll let you in on some behind the scenes secrets before the work-in-progress showings on April 23 & 24 (mark your calendar! UPDATE: Tickets on sale now!), but for now... we're taking a moment to look forward!

After this weirdly-weathered March, you might need some fun/weird/wonderful things to do to get your spring sprung. Here's a roundup of awesome art that involves Savage Umbrella company members this April:

HUGE IMPROV THEATER'S
OFF BOOK

Half-scripted, full speed ahead. It is every actor’s nightmare: getting thrown on stage to perform a play you’ve never read. That’s also the premise of Off Book. HUGE Improv Theater has an actor memorize a script, then send them on stage with an improviser who has no idea what’s going on. Watch Nissa Nordland make the magic happen:

March 31, 2018 at 8:00pm
HUGE Improv Theater, Uptown Minneapolis
$10 in advance, $12 at the door | Tickets

ILLUSION THEATER'S
PINK UNICORN

In this award-winning solo piece, Ivey Award-winning Kate Guentzel plays Trisha, a Christian widow, who must choose sides in her conservative Texas town after her teenage child identifies as "gender queer" and starts a chapter of the Gay Straight Alliance at the local high school. This is the story of this Mom standing up and becoming an advocate for her child against the Church, the School, her own Mother, and all kinds of hate speech. Our own Foster Johns is the dialect coach for the show!

April 5 - 21, 2018
Illusion Theater, Downtown Minneapolis
$20 - $35 | Tickets
$15 preview performance: April 5, 2018

Brave New Workshop'S
The (Almost) Complete and (Mostly) Accurate History of Alcohol

Brave New Workshop alumni Josh Carson and Andy Rocco Kraft, creators of the (smash) comedy hits “The Wright Stuff, or You’ll Believe They Can Fly,” “A Very Die Hard Christmas” and “Our American Assassin or You Can’t Handle the Booth” are (entirely) thrilled to bring you their next production: “The (Almost) Complete and (Mostly) Accurate History of Alcohol,” a comedic tour-de-force through society’s fascination with alcohol from ancient Greece, to prohibition, to your uncle at Thanksgiving. Allison Witham and Leslie Vincent will delight you!

April 6 - 28, 2018 (Fridays & Saturdays)
Brave New Workshop ETC Theatre, Downtown Minneapolis
$20 | Tickets

RAW SUGAR THEATRE's
WTF Comedy Festival

Raw Sugar Theatre and Theatre Unbound present WTF: The Women/Trans/Femme Playwriting Festival. Company Member Antonia Perez will perform in ACE: the story of a young asexual finding her way in a world of middle school crushes, make-out sessions, and sex on TV, with the help of her ace super powers and one confused clone. Also there's music!

April 7 - 15, 2018
Crane Theater, Northeast Minneapolis
$15 for a single show, $25 for two shows, $30 for all three shows. | Tickets

FORTUNE'S FOOL THEATRE'S
THE SKRIKER

Fortune's Fool Theatre will produce the regional premiere of Caryl Churchill's masterpiece THE SKRIKER. This 1994 play, produced professionally only twice in North America, will feature immersive staging, a cast of 17, and original music by Twin Cities composer (and friend of SU!) Keith Hovis. See Nissa Nordland as "The Hag / Nellie Long Arms":

April 7 - 22, 2018
Crane Theater, Northeast Minneapolis
$18 - $20 | Tickets
Pay as Able performance: April 12, 2018

Photo by Phen Grant

CABERNET CABARET:
EMILY IN THE SPRINGTIME

Emily Dussault is back at Troubadour for a night of songs and stories. Come ready for some pop, some soul, some Judy, some Fiona, some songs that will make you feel alive again after a long winter. Accompanied by the lovely KT Thompson on keys!

(ICYMI: Emily & Leslie Vincent recently released a music video for The Champagne Drops ... check it out!)

April 9, 2018 at 7:30 PM
Troubadour Wine Bar, Uptown Minneapolis
No cover; just wine. | Facebook event

HUGE IMPROV THEATER'S
RATED G

Rated G is an improvised family-friendly musical romp in the style of all the fairytale classics you grew up with! You can catch company member Mark Sweeney in the following upcoming performances:

April 21 & 28, 2018 at 6:30 PM
HUGE Improv Theater, Uptown Minneapolis
$5 - $8 | Tickets

Public Transformation
Gallery Exhibition

Public Transformation, is a cross-county documentary art project highlighting how rural-based artists and arts organizations make their communities a more vibrant, healthy, connected place to live. This exhibition will feature images and objects from the Public Transformation journey, and work from it’s mobile artists-in-residence, alongside talks and workshops with participants and community partners. If you're around Des Moines, Iowa in the next month, you can see Hannah K. Holman's work on display! (You can also find her traveling all around the state during April with The Minnesota Theater Alliance.)

March 30 - May 4, 2018
Rush Hall at Wilkins, Des Moines, Iowa
Free | More Info

See you under the umbrella!

20 Reasons to Catch CLOSING WEEKEND of THE RAVAGERS

3/1/2018

This weekend (Thursday, Friday, Saturday at 7:30pm!) is your last chance to catch THE RAVAGERS. Seating is limited, and it looks like all you procrastinators are making your reservations! If you haven't yet, get those tickets before it's too late...

GET YOUR TICKETS > > >

We've been featuring our incredible cast all month on "the Facebooks," but in case you missed it... here are 20 fierce, talented, and ridiculously good looking reasons to join us closing weekend:

Erin Nicole Farsté

Where did you call home growing up?
Home for me is Kansas City, Missouri!

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
This is my first time being apart of devised work and the process in itself is really exciting. I love how collaborative everything is, as well actually being heard and listened to during the rehearsal process. With so many different backgrounds coming together to create such a special story, THE RAVAGERS has been just an amazing experience!

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Secrecy, Devotion, Betrayal

MICHAEL JOHNSON

Where did you call home growing up?
Woodinville, WA

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
The trust. The trust the actors have in the process, and the trust Hannah and the rest of the creative team has in the choices we're making. Trust creates the conditions to allow risk, and all great art is founded on tremendous, daring risk, so I am appreciative of the abundance of trust in this process.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Bloody. Dang. Murder.

NATAVIA LEWIS

Where did you call home growing up?
I was born in Chicago, but grew up in East St. Paul.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
There are many things I find enjoyable about the work we are currently doing. Collaborative pieces like this always excite me; coming together to collectively create a story is a rewarding process. Ensemble work is something that has always surprised and delighted me, especially when working on a piece like this. It has been wonderful exploring the world of THE RAVAGERS and its many characters and themes.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Innocent. Piercing. Loving.

ERIC MARINUS

Where did you call home growing up?
Louisville (that's LOO-uh-vull), Kentucky

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
Working with a fun ensemble, digging into the complexities of Danaus.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
comic, tragic, hopeful

NICK WOLF

Where did you call home growing up?
Saint Paul, MN

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
I love the experience of playing a scene multiple times. That whole sequence I’m looking forward to an audience seeing. *

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Sisters, brides, murders

* Nick's talking about a sequence during the show where the audience gets to "choose your own adventure"! Ushers will guide you around the space to see a series of scenes in any order you want. Don't worry, there's no audience participation. ;-)

DANIEL SAKAMOTO-WENGEL

Where did you call home growing up?
Baltimore, Maryland

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
It's always refreshing when you team up with fearless collaborators who have a breathing ensemble spirit and whose authenticity makes this ancient story new and accessible. This fantastic adaptation by company members Blake E. Bolan and Laura Leffler is like Black Mirror meets Game of Thrones. I can't wait for audiences to immerse themselves in the eerie world of THE RAVAGERS that will challenge their ideas of love, family, and home. I am very thankful to Savage Umbrella for their generosity, patience, and humor.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Thrilling. Raw. Human.

CAMERON REEVES

Where did you call home growing up?
Chicago area--more specifically McHenry, IL.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
What excites me about the work is collaborating across all different kinds of lived experiences. Being able to devise a play with 20 actors, all from different walks of life, has been a really rewarding challenge. I feel as though acting with this group has made me a better team member, and a better actor!

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Exhilarating. Passionate. Diverse.

FERNANDA BADEO

Where did you call home growing up?
The city of Belo Horizonte in Brazil.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
I love the rhythm of this piece! Both the text and the work of the ensemble make it flow and unfold. The story is not just interesting, it carries you with it.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Fear, knowledge, and the world!

ELI PURDOM

Where did you call home growing up?
I grew up in Independence, MO - a suburb of KC.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
I love Greek and classical theatre, and adapting that work is always exciting.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Earnestly discomforting murder.

EMILY CARLSON

Where did you call home growing up?
10 miles south of the Canadian border in Roseau, MN.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
Walking into the warehouse performance space feels like you’re actually entering into the deteriorating environment of the show. It’s an eerie, but incredible feeling every time we walk on!

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Bizarre, uncertain, and heartbreakinggggg!

MORGEN CHANG

Where did you call home growing up?
Honolulu, Hawaii

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
The first time I read the script I felt a buzz...the sparseness of the text and the strictly designed world of the play, marching inevitably to this horrible, chaotic event. It kept me on the edge of my seat.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Ambiguous. Haunting. Stripped.

PATRICK WEBSTER

Where did you call home growing up?
Hastings, Minnesota

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
The focus on ritual (befitting for an adaptation of a Greek tragedy)

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Can-Can Athens land

PEYTON DIXON

Where did you call home growing up?
North and Southside of Minneapolis.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
What I'm really excited about is performing on a unconventional theatre stage. The space really helps give life to this production and gives this amazingly talented cast many different ways to play and use our surroundings to enhance the experience for the audience.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Dark. Blinded. Envy.

ANTONIA PEREZ

Where did you call home growing up?
Minnesota Hockey Capital-Roseau Minnesota

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
I love the juxtaposition of the innocence and the extreme discipline of the daughters. It's been challenging to find the balance. And it's always good to be challenged.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Violent. Tragic. Hopeful.

LAURA LEFFLER

Where did you call home growing up?
Kansas City, on the Kansas side, which is the correct side (ooh, burn ;-) Eli Purdom)

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
You know in the movie Happy Feet, where all the penguins sing their heart song? I feel like this play is that for me. I get to revisit this boss interpretation of an ancient text that I wrote with one of my all-time favorite collaborators, Blake E. Bolan. I get to wear a costume Sonya Berlovitz designed, play with Abbee Warmboe's ever-inspired props, and you guys, Jim Eischen's LIGHTS. I have such dreamy fellow actors, and owe so much gratitude to my fellow sass-master, Eli Purdom (I will not break, I will not break, I will not break). I get to high five Meghan Gunderson every day, and feel overwhelmingly grateful for the steady hands and open hearts of Hannah Holman and Helena Mueller. Oh, man! And those postcards that Alana Horton designed! Heart. Song.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Beauty. Key. Choice.

GRACIE ANDERSON

Where did you call home growing up?
Brooklyn Center, Minnesota.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
This play doesn’t hold back in it’s truthful and visceral exploration of the infinite capabilities of women, especially when their strength and resilience is tested/manipulated by nefarious power hungry dudes. It’s timely and timeless and super creepy and also heartbreaking.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Brutal, feminine, rising.

MATTHEW ENGLUND

Where did you call home growing up?
My home was my parents' house in Lakeville, Minnesota.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
What excites me about this project is that we have all been able to collaborate to create something new and engaging!

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Questions Family Danger

lauren diesch

Where did you call home growing up?
Pittsburgh, PA

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
This cast is amazingly talented, passionate, and funny! I genuinely enjoy working with each person and greatly admire the creativity they bring to each rehearsal and performance!

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Provocative, Tones, Sisterhood

david coral

Where did you call home growing up?
I grew up in Dover, MA, a small, bedroom community about 45 minutes drive southwest of Boston, by Wellesly.

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
I like the re-imagining of the Greek tragedy. I like the notion of consequences being wrought on people when they blindly follow someone instead of thinking for themselves. It took this terrible tragedy for the sisters to open up a new world for themselves. They never can go back.

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Provocative, Ensemble, Tragedy

courtney stirn

Where did you call home growing up?
Hales Corners (Milwaukee), Wisconsin

What excites you most about THE RAVAGERS?
I’m excited about the collaborative aspect of the ritual process, and how in tune we have to be as a cast to pull it off!

How would you describe THE RAVAGERS in 3 words?
Ritual, disruption, murder

THE RAVAGERS
Performed at The X Lab at Can Can Wonderland
February 9 – March 3, 2018*

$15 - $25, pick you own price \\ www.savageumbrella.org
Pay-What-You-Can tickets are available at the door for every performance, only as space allows.

Seating is very limited, so reserve your ticket today!

*ASL/Deaf Interpreted Performance March 1, 2018, with invited conversation to follow.
More information about interpreted activities here.

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.