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A Glimpse Into the Final Throes of the Night of New Works Process  Taz Song'ony and Marcela Michelle-Mobama rehearse SPOOK. // Photo credit: Alana Horton On a rainy summer night - in a too warm room - twenty five artists gathered together to share ideas and space. TWENTY FIVE. There was sharing and checking in, there was movement and gesture, there was dialogue and essay, there was laughter and moments so disturbing we shook, there was questioning and debating, there were opinions and truths. We talked about what comprises America, how we deal with trauma, how we define “normal,” how we talk about sex, how ghosts live with us, Twister and lost needles, phone calls and paranoia, flashlights, aluminum foil, a Rubik’s cube, and so much more. It was a beautiful - if sweaty - night. It was a lovely alchemy of artists all working and learning together. It was intimate and vulnerable and loud and challenging. Anxious, jittery, moment-before-the-storm electricity flowed through us all. And the best part of it all? We’re inviting you in.  The cast of FRIGID rehearses. // Photo credit: Alana Horton For three nights only THIS week - Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday - we will gather at the intimate and yet loud Bryant-Lake Bowl and share with our audiences all the work and growth and learning that has been this Night of New Works process. We’re excited - and nervous! - for the final component of the workshop process to arrive - and that’s our time with you. Join us and be a part of the conversation. We can’t wait to see you there.  The cast of FOILED shares a moment. // Photo credit: Alana Horton See you under the umbrella!
Creating new works involves great risks and even greater amounts of trust. A Team Lead fosters their ideas through the creative expression of the ensemble. In today's spotlight, Umbrella Collective focuses on the ensemble. We asked a member from each cast to provide their perspective on the process from the new work in which they're collaborating. Night of New Works is less than a week away. We are excited to reveal what's been brewing in the rehearsal room. Have you reserved your tickets?
Kat Purcell from the Ensemble of Spook What about this piece and/or process is important and/or exciting to you? As a white artist, I am deeply humbled to be trusted and invited into the rehearsal room and on stage for this project. I'm excited to support the work of Ricardo, Suzanne, and the ensemble, and to learn and grow from that process. What are you most excited about for the public works-in-progress showings? I am excited to see in what way Umbrella Collective formats feedback sessions, to see how that shapes audience response and what it can accomplish for both audience and artists. How would you describe SPOOK in three words? Arresting, Sensory, Contemplative KJER WHITING From the Ensemble of Frigid What about this piece and/or process is important and/or exciting to you? I think it's exciting to be able to approach the ages old concept of frigidity through a modern lens. The concept has barely changed in the cultural eye, while the science of the day has evolved throughout time. Putting a queer spin on it is important to me personally. What are you most excited about for the public works-in-progress showings? I am most excited to see how the people who choose to come explore these new works with us will critique the three projects.These are not completed scripts, and the input will be extremely beneficial to the creators. How would you describe FRIGID in three words? Average American experience. ERIKA KUHN From the Ensemble of FOILED What about this piece and/or process is important and/or exciting to you? This devising process has been super exciting because it's combined a beautiful medley of writing, improvisation, and honest conversations between the creators. I find devising produces stunningly vulnerable and earnest art; everyone has brought so much of themselves to make this story, and I'm so excited to share it. What are you most excited about for the public works-in-progress showings? I'm most excited to see what gets people reacting, or what makes people feel most. From the inside it's easy to miss what moments are the funniest, or most tender; sharing these pieces shows us what works. How would you describe FOILED in three words? Heartfelt, refreshing, paranoid. Night of New Works Experience three new works created by Beth Ann Powers, Ricardo Beaird, Suzanne Victoria Cross, Jex Arzayus, Sabrina Crews, and Steven Michael Hall. All three pieces performed each night.
September 10 - 12, 2018 at 7:30 PM Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater 810 W Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Sliding Scale Tickets: $5 - $20  In the rehearsal room with SPOOK Night of New Works can spark conversations that an ensemble or audience wouldn't have had otherwise. In our final team lead spotlight, we talk with Suzanne Victoria Cross and Ricardo Beaird. They both co-lead the new work SPOOK, premiering September 10th - 12th at the Bryant Lake Bowl. What are the main themes and/or questions you are exploring in SPOOK? Why are they important to talk about through art right now? Ancestral pain and trauma courses through our veins and aches in our bones. This pain manifest in ways not yet known or deemed appropriate for public expression. It is important to us that this pain and process is explored. This ghost story aims to explore how one seamstress is able to adapt, assimilate, and cope with the trauma of anti-blackness and simply living as a black woman. A few more questions, we wanted to explore: In what manner does one grieve when their loss might not be acknowledged? Why are black folx left out of the horror genre when our history is a literal American Horror Story? What is one thing in your process so far that has surprised you? During one of our first rehearsals, we did a talking circle where we opened space for the ensemble to express anything that was bubbling up for them that day. So many themes and situations that they brought up mirrored the themes and situations we wanted to explore in the text. This is before we laid out any of the questions we wanted to address to the ensemble. It was incredible! If your show was a cocktail or beverage, what would it be? A Hot Toddy! A medicinal beverage that carries a vice. Comforting and biting. Night of New Works Experience three new works created by Beth Ann Powers, Ricardo Beaird, Suzanne Victoria Cross, Jex Arzayus, Sabrina Crews, and Steven Michael Hall. All three pieces performed each night.
September 10 - 12, 2018 at 7:30 PM Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater 810 W Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Sliding Scale Tickets: $5 - $20  Beth Ann Powers leads FRIGID From FOILED to FRIGID. In the second of our series of spotlights, we drop-in with Project Lead Beth Ann Powers and ask about the new work, FRIGID. If these interviews peak your interest even the slightest then you're encouraged to join us as we put inspiration to action at Night of New Works, Sept 10th- 12th. Here's Beth Ann: What are the main themes and/or questions you are exploring with FRIGID? Why are they important to talk about through art right now? Who are the writers of our stories? What do we do when the only narratives we have of our own history are authored by others? Do we discard them? Do we reclaim them? And can we afford to get rid of them when they are often times all we have? FRIGID is an attempt to explore these questions by taking the reclamation path. It’s not so much a history as it is a re-telling of a re-telling of a history. It is the story of the Frigid person as told by the Medical Man as told by the Frigid person. It is a group of people telling their version, not of who they are, but who they have been told they are, and then making the decision to find their own definitions, identities, and labels. This may or may not be the right choice when it comes to dealing with these narratives, but the only way to find out is to try.  In the FRIGID rehearsal room What is one thing in your process so far that surprised you? Apparently we are still learning the same lessons about love that we were in 1920. I think that I expected this to some extent but it has been quite a journey uncovering all the different ways that, while we are using different language, we are very much having the same conversations about communication, education, and fear as it applies to sex, gender, and relationships today as we were back then. If your show was a cocktail or beverage, what would it be? You know I tried really hard to come up with a joke about some kind of frozen cocktail to go with the title FRIGID but I came up short. I think I’m gonna go with an old fashioned because it sounds pretty classic but there are a million variations of it and you can kind of go with your own unique twist on it that works for you - just like love! Also it sounds old and we are talking about old stuff in this show so there you go. Night of New Works Experience three new works created by Beth Ann Powers, Ricardo Beaird, Suzanne Victoria Cross, Jex Arzayus, Sabrina Crews, and Steven Michael Hall. All three pieces performed each night.
September 10 - 12, 2018 at 7:30 PM Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater 810 W Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Sliding Scale Tickets: $5 - $20  The ensemble of FOILED Hey, what are all these new works about? As Umbrella Collective counts down to Night of New Works 2018, let's get to know a little about each project. First up, FOILED, lead by Jex Arzayus, Sabrina Crews, and Steven Michael Hall. We asked the team three questions and all three leads responded with their perspective. What are the main themes and/or questions you are exploring? Why are they important to talk about through art right now? SC: On the surface, FOILED's a dark comedy about a young humanitarian who gets consumed and vanquished by paranoia. On a deeper level, at least to me, it's about flawed, peculiar people connecting in extraordinary ways, but ultimately failing to understand each other. We've got a dynamic cast of complicated personalities that makes it easy to present this disorienting and timely narrative. As for themes... Well, there's a sort of hysteria surrounding millennials in our culture that's been hard to escape for a while now, and we have a lot of fun toying with the stereotypes perpetuated by pop psychologists, various media outlets and... well basically anyone who isn't a millennial. We also examine fringe theory, specifically the way conspiracy theorists are perceived by society, and whether that perception's still valid, given our dystopic, post-truth climate. JA: (I think) it's important because we are in a state of distrust in our country now.  What is one thing in your process so far that surprised you? SC: I'd never devised before. Rehearsals were essentially a series of exercises, and I wondered how integral they'd be to the actual script. Turns out the exercises had an enormous impact. So much of what we developed together as an ensemble is reflected in the play; this is a true collaborative effort. JA: One process that surprised me was how amazing our cast was at capturing their characters and life-like they brought the story. SH: Through the devising process our talented ensemble brought our ideas and their characters to life. I was surprised every rehearsal by the wealth of content that was being generated. If your show was a cocktail or beverage, what would it be? SC: Wild Turkey cocktail with a twist JA: I think we should be a viente soy latte with an extra pump of vanilla from Starbucks SH: Four Loko (original recipe) Experience three new works created by Beth Ann Powers, Ricardo Beaird, Suzanne Victoria Cross, Jex Arzayus, Sabrina Crews, and Steven Michael Hall. All three pieces performed each night.
September 10 - 12, 2018 at 7:30 PM Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater 810 W Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Sliding Scale Tickets: $5 - $20 Night of New Works is coming up next month! You might be wondering: what’s it gonna be like? Here under the umbrella, we believe together is better, and we live out this value in every step of our process — with our artists and with our audiences. We truly believe that our audience members are our valued collaborators. That’s why we invite you in to experience the messy parts of new play making — the first drafts, the unfinished movement sequences, the big ideas. We want to show you something before it’s finished because we want you to have a voice in the process. We know that when you see a play — whether it’s a brand new work or an adaptation of Shakespeare on-the-moon-recited-in-pig-latin — you walk out the door with all sorts of questions, thoughts, and ideas. Well this time... we don’t want you to walk out the door with them! We want to know what they are. (No, seriously, we’re really going to listen to your ideas!) Our audience conversations are not your usual talkback. It’s not about talking to the actors, creators, or directors — though there is always time afterwards for that kind of thing! We want to know what you think, so we ask you the questions to get those wheels turning:
The goal is to invite the most interesting, resonant, delightful, and/or important elements to bubble to the surface to help us shape the next steps of the piece. (AND... something you suggest might make its way into a full production of the play — who knows!) Your answers also give us a lot to think about as we continue to make work that inspires vital conversation in the future. We also want to stress that our audience conversations are extrovert and introvert-friendly. We invite you to participate in whatever ways are most comfortable to you. We always start out by saying silence is okay because thinking and processing time are important. If speaking up in a group of people is totally not your thing, we welcome you to listen and provide feedback on the surveys we provide. You can also always email us at hello@umbrellaco.org if you have another burning question or brilliant thought after you leave the workshop! You might be thinking — but, I won’t have any good ideas! To that we say: #1. we think you’re wrong and you have lots of very creative questions and ideas, and #2. we think even the most “Minnesotan” audience member will be surprised by their own courage to share. Join us and see for yourself!  All of this is to say that when you attend any evening of Night of New Works in September, you’ll be treated to three brand new works-in-progress that need your creativity and support. They will be fresh, raw, and rough-around-the-edges by design, and we can’t wait to add your voice to the mix. As Rachel Teagle of MN Playlist said last year: “If making a play is like cooking a meal, the Night of New Works was like having the chef offer you a tasting spoon. Some flavors aren’t fully developed, maybe something could use a bit more mixing, but you really get a sense of what these works could be when they’re done simmering. And I’m hungry for more." Come hungry for some new work and conversation. See you under the umbrella! NIGHT OF NEW WORKS Experience three new works created by Beth Ann Powers, Ricardo Beaird, Suzanne Cross, Jex Arzayus, Sabrina Crews, and Steven Michael Hall. All three pieces performed each night.
September 10 - 12, 2018 at 7:30 PM Bryant Lake Bowl & Theater 810 W Lake St, Minneapolis, MN 55408 Sliding Scale Tickets: $5 - $20 It's August! and that means it's Minnesota Fringe Festival time for Umbrella Collective members and the Minnesota theater community. We asked our Collective members to tell us a little about their show(s) and what they 'pair best with'. If Fringe is not your thing, you can catch Umbrella Collective members singing, dancing, and drumming all over the Twin Cities. Here's a list of where you can find Umbrella Collective this August: 2018 Minnesota Fringe Festival  You can catch Emily Dussault in two fringe shows, Blood Nocturne and Couple Fight: The Musical Tell us about your shows? Blood Nocturne is a play with music about the infamous Countess Elizabeth Bathory. You may know her as the noblewoman who bathed in the blood of virgins. Pairs well with a bold red wine and a deep sense of injustice about how women's stories are told throughout history. Couple Fight: The Musical is a hilarious, musical romp through the world of... fights that couples have. This cast has some of the most incredible comedic performers in the Twin Cities (including my scene partner and fellow Umbrella Collective company member, Allison Witham. And I get to play her girlfriend, and fellow Collective member, and one of my besties: Leslie Vincent). Its going to be SO CUTE. And funny. And musical! Pairs well with pancakes and the ability to laugh in the face of deep frustration. Anything else in August? Shoot! You just missed Emily singing at Musical Mondays (Lush at 7pm on Monday, August 6th), but you should subscribe to the Champagne Drops' YouTube channel -- if you haven't already!  You can find Allison Witham in Justice League of Their Own and Couple Fight: The Musical Tell us why we should catch these shows? 'Justice League' will be funny, topical, an homage to a great movie, and has an amazing cast. 'Couple Fight' is so funny and heartwarming. Amazing cast, and Keith Hovis is a phenom. I think they'd both pair well with a 2 rosé pregame. Anything else in August? Speaking of Keith Hovis, Collective member Leslie Vincent is doing a reading of his musical, Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant, directed by the incredible Laura Leffler. I'm really excited to see that and watch as it progresses to a full length show next summer at Park Square from its smash hit status of the 2017 Fringe. Drumming By Alana  You have a few gigs coming up, can you tell us about them? My band The Controversial New 'Skinny Pill" is playing along with one of my FAVORITE national DIY groups, Sloppy Jane at the Turf Club - August 18th. They're a 8-to-11 piece music project whose live show includes: laughter, choir vocals, xylophone, saxophone, kazoo, television, slide whistle, vomiting blue dye, a naked body, a rotting suit, guitar, bass, drums, tambourine, ruby red slippers, violent shifts in genre and speed, a make-believe maestro, and a set that does not stop moving once it has started. My other band, Bella Yaga, just had an album release at Open Eye on August 4th. Bella Yaga was joined by opener Eric Mayson, as well as a special roster of video artists, dancers, musicians, clowns, and puppeteers contributing performance and projections to the show, including Ari Newman, Emma Barber, Jay Owen Eisenberg, Katie Kaufmann, Kristi Ternes, and Tony Williams. You can now listen to the album on your favorite streaming service! Beehive: the 60's Musical |
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Legacy is a webseries following Carson, a college student, who is about to find out that they're a god, and just exactly what that means. It features Eli Purdom as Theo. He says 'It's hella queer and all original'.
Subscribe to Legacy on YouTube. |
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The Monster Science Ensemble:
Loveliest Of All Was The Unicorn
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Some of the Twin Cities’ finest performers present poem, songs, dances and stories about the prettiest, most magical, and prettiest again of all the fantastic beasts of European legend (and their counterparts in other places)! The multi-talented Nissa Nordland will make her ukulele playing debut!
June 25th, 2018 at 7:00pm Phoenix Theatre, Uptown Minneapolis Free | Info |
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The Hypotheticast
Podcast
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Three best buds. On a mission. To ask all the questions, and get ALL the answers. Weekly thoughtful comedy podcast about any / all hypothetical questions, including Would You Rathers and other mind-benders. We love it. We love you. Come listen. It'll be great. Featuring the inquisitive Emily Dussault.
Listen to the Hypotheticast. |
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Beehive: the 60's Musical
at Old Log Theatre
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Beehive is the ultimate celebration of 1960’s female empowerment. Featuring such timeless classics as “My Boyfriend’s Back”, “Be My Baby”, “Son of a Preacher Man”, and “Me and Bobby McGee”, Beehive nostalgically recalls the days of miniskirts, transistor radios and flower power. Leslie Vincent belts her way through the classics all summer long.
June 29th - Oct 13th 2018 Old Log Theatre, Excelsior MN $30 | Tickets |
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Foster Johns
a Summertime Update
Recently, Foster provided voice and speech support Joanne Akalaitis’ Bad News, a site-specific performance of messenger speeches from Greek tragedies at the Guthrie. Currently, he’s concocting workshops for the Fall that focus on widening vocal expression, approaching accent work, and exploring aspects of everyday speech (details forthcoming on www.fosterjohns.com). He’s also goin’ to summer shin digs and playfully puttin’ on other people’s hats....soooo....keep an eye on your hat.
See you under the umbrella!
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