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The Velvet Swing Workshop Presentation is just around the corner (Monday and Tuesday!), and we asked the ensemble what most excites them about the work:
 VELVET SWING WORKSHOP PRESENTATION August 28 & 29, 2017 7:30 PM (Doors open at 6:30 PM) at Bryant-Lake Bowl & Theater 810 W Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Tickets are sliding scale $5 - $20 in advance and at the door. Food and bev available for purchase! Full menu in the theater! Conceived by Alana Horton
Written and Directed by Alana Horton and Megan Clark Created with Savage Umbrella and the ensemble: Nayely Becerra, Antonia Perez, Jessie Scarborough-Ghent, Mickaylee Shaughnessy, and Leslie Vincent See you under the umbrella! Hey, friends. How's that Fringe afterglow treating you? We're feeling (maybe surprisingly?) energized as we roll full steam ahead into EX-GAYS: NOT A STR8 REMOUNT. Last night, we were even on the radio chatting about the show's history, what's changed, and how excited we are to be creating and performing at SpringHouse Ministry Center. (Check it out on KFAI - Fresh Fruit about 34 minutes in on the Aug 17 episode!) Whenever Savage Umbrella embarks on a new project, we ask ourselves: Why this? Why now? We're always seeking to tease out the most engaging and timely conversations swirling around in our heads and hearts, and that requires constant checking in about where we're at and where we want to go. Over the next few weeks, we'll start to answer these questions with a few voices from the Creative Team, but we encourage you to come check out the show in September and tell us what this work means to you. We'll kick things off with our fearless director (and Savage Umbrella Artistic Director) Laura Leffler... From Laura: Amber Davis & Laura Leffler getting ready for performance at Duluth-Superior PRIDE in 2011. I'm having this really funny relationship with revisiting this project. When we did the show the first time around, it was so early in SU history. It felt as though we were still defining ourselves. And it was hugely instrumental (maybe because we produced three different versions of it that summer of 2011 at the Matthews' Park Rec Center, at the MN Fringe, and at Duluth-Superior Pride) in solidifying our identity as a company.  Rachel Nelson as "Camp Counselor Virginia" at Matthews Park and Rec Center in 2011. Plus, it was just so fun. I have strong memories of walks to Franklin Freeze, hanging with Amber at Bayfront Park in Duluth at PRIDE, Rachel riding on top of the folded-up lunch table, Tanner's impeccable comedic timing, Hannah's first SU show, Carl and Russ being so dang cute. We were goofballs. We worked to solidify our rehearsal methodology. And seriously, so much Franklin Freeze.  Carl Atiya Swanson as "Pastor Brian" and Russ Dugger as "Camp Intern Ricky" in 2011. Just wee babes! What I don't remember is the apprehension I'm currently feeling. This time around, I feel much differently when listening to the homophobic lines spewing out of the character's mouths. It's still funny, but there's something else there... something that feels like a punch in the gut. Something that, if I'm being 100% honest, scares me. What's changed? What's different? Maybe it's just that six years have passed. Maybe it's just being a little older and wiser. Maybe it's just being on this side of my own coming out journey. Maybe it's just that on the first day of the new administration back in January the White House's webpage on LGBTQ rights was deleted. Maybe it's just that the POTUS is tweeting about banning trans people from serving in the military. The last thing that civil right's activist Heather Heyer posted on Facebook before being murdered by a white supremacist, domestic terrorist was, "If you're not outraged, you're not paying attention." Maybe it's just that last time, I wasn't paying attention.  The 2017 cast getting ready for their great adventure at SpringHouse Ministry Center! Photo: Carl Atiya Swanson I can't believe that a production - even one this funny and campy! - can be a solution to problems. But I do believe it can be a salve to the open-hearts who come to see it. I do believe it can be a good conversation starter. And that's one small thing that we at SU can do; we can start important conversations, and maybe those conversations in a performance space can lead to action out in the streets. And then maybe we can all pay a little more attention. EX-GAYS: NOT A STR8 REMOUNTSeptember 14 - 30, 2017 at SpringHouse Ministry Center 610 West 28th Street Minneapolis, MN 55408 Written by Eric F. Avery Directed by Laura Leffler Created with Savage Umbrella and the ensembles It's CAMP. It's SATIRE. It's a CAMP SATIRE. Tickets: $15 - $25, Pick Your Own Price ***** Space is limited, so reserve your tickets today! *****  Hey kiddos! Are y'all feeling FRINGEY this week? We're so excited that so many people are out supporting, enjoying, and talking about new work. Even though we're not in the Fringe Festival this year, it's been a busy few weeks under the umbrella!  On Monday, we launched our Indiegogo campaign for Ex-Gays: Not a Str8 Remount! We're inviting you under the umbrella to help bring this little baby back to life. Head over to igg.me/at/exgays to find out more about the 2017 version, the sweet perks, and why this show is so important to us right now.  Yesterday, we announced a call for collaborators for the 2017-2018 season. Auditions will be held on Saturday, August 26 at SpringHouse Ministry Center. Come show us what you're made of and tell us why you're excited about making new work. Spots are limited, so sign up, cuties!  ... And today, we want to give you a sneak peek into the upcoming workshop presentation of Velvet Swing! Here's a little behind-the-scenes from Savage Umbrella for company member Megan Clark: Savage Umbrella and the ensemble of smart-strong-sexy-awesome-ladies have been in the "work shop" developing Velvet Swing - a play focusing on the Crime-Of-the-(Last)Century and the life of model and vaudeville star Evelyn Nesbit. Our work has been focused on exploring specific biographical instances in Evelyn's life through melodrama and comedy and then re-telling the same story from the opposite angle, through an intimate, multi-faceted and movement-driven perspective.  R to L: Antonia Perez, Mickaylee Shaughnessy, Leslie Vincent  R to L: Antonia Perez, Mickaylee Shaughnessy, Leslie Vincent We want to understand the ins and outs of the woman who can be described both as an angel-child and a snake-charming vixen. Her story can be used as a bed-time cautionary tale to keep a Victorian Lady in her place or as a rags-to-riches parable encouraging young girls to boot-strap their way to the top. Swinging between these outrageous perspectives, the ensemble is exploring modern femininity and how it feels to be the "It-Girl".  R to L: Mickaylee Shaughnessy, Antonia Perez, Leslie Vincent, Megan Clark VELVET SWING |
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