Okay, I’m not going to lie, I had a really hard time sitting down to write this blog. (Especially after I just poured a lot of my heart out in a recent blog about SWEET DREAMS, ALFIE.) Like many of you, I walked through Wednesday in a bit of a haze. I was unsure how to move beyond my anger, anxiety, fear, and shame. I was unsure how to support my friends, colleagues, and neighbors who don’t have many of the privileges I have. I was unsure how to move forward.

In my cloud of grief, I was reminded of one of my favorite Charles Mee quotes:

Because what we have come to learn
is that the future is made
not by arguing well
but by speaking differently.
And speaking differently:
that's the job of poets.

As artists and storytellers and makers of things, it’s our job to speak differently. To me, this means listening more closely, engaging more authentically, making weird/bold/new art that asks questions, and supporting art that reflects and connects our community.

As you may know, Give to the Max Day is coming up in exactly one week... Thursday, November 17. It’s usually my favorite day of the year—full of generosity, gratitude, and camaraderie. (Seriously, I become an insufferable thanking machine all day long.) And it really is an incredibly important day for a small (yet mighty!) company like Savage Umbrella. But this year feels different. It feels even more important.

It feels even more important to tell stories in which women are central characters full of voice and agency (like THE AWAKENING, VELVET SWING, and THE RAVAGERS). It feels even more important to create work from the queer experience that is complex and full of love (like JUNE and EX-GAYS). It feels even more important to support the work and stories of people of color (like Underdog’s upcoming production of BALTIMORE IS BURNING at Savage Umbrella's SPACE). It feels even more important to support emerging new work makers as they find their own voices and tools for speaking differently (like through Night of New Works). It feels even more important to have difficult and complex conversations with our neighbors, our lovers, our families, our friends. It feels even more important to support new work because art allows us to transcend the barriers of “dinner table conversation” and tackle those important (and often difficult) topics. It allows us to see beyond our own experience and engage with the experiences of others. It opens us up, if we let it.

These are the things we can do under the umbrella to keep moving forward. Of course, these are not the only things each of us can or should do, but it’s a start. So, this Give to the Max Day, I urge you to seek out those artists/companies/organizations that are telling important stories, lifting up unheard voices, and working towards a brighter future every day. Together is better.

I’m going to leave you with a bit more Charles Mee that is resonating with me today:

How it is to be a human being
is something we decide
not because of how it has always been
but because
whether or not it has ever been that way before,
this is who we want to be
and how we want to behave
now.
Just because, in the past, there have been slaveholders
and patriarchs
we are not destined to live the same way forever.
The reason people study history
is so that they can see
the way things are
is not the only way they have been
or the only way that they can be.
It is up to us to see what human nature can become.

See you under the umbrella next Thursday. <3

In case you missed it, the TWIN CITIES HORROR FESTIVAL opened last night and we're ready to get freaky with all our friends. Here are a few sneak peek pics from our dress rehearsal to get you excited for the opening of SWEET DREAMS, ALFIE on Halloween night!
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Hey all you Savage Umbrella Ella's and fella's! 

We've been busy dipping our toes back into the gorey mess that is SWEET DREAMS, AFLIE now there's a nice mental picture...But we just had to take a moment this week to gush something other than blood seriously, we must have Halloween on the brain. 

We're super stoked to announce the cast for our upcoming ARTshare production of THE AWAKENING! Cue sports-like intro music*!

*just let that play in the background while you read this ;)

Whew!

Thanks to everyone who came out to party with us on Monday night. We are feeling so energized and full of gratitude.

If you weren't able to join us at the BIG PARTY, don't worry... you can still support Savage Umbrella's tenth anniversary season by popping over to our GiveMN page! A contribution of any amount (even $5!) helps us continue to make challenging and inspiring new works, open up important community conversations, and provide SPACE as a community resource for other makers, movers, and shakers.

We're so glad to have you under the umbrella.

In case you missed it (or want to re-live it!) , here are a few memories from the night:

Holy Moses! We supposes the Ivey Awards are done for one more year. Whatta-night! Congrats to all the award recipients :D and we hope everyone enjoyed themselves. We know we did!

But it hardly seems enough to only spend one night partying and mingling. Worry not fellow celebrators! The SU Crew isn't ready to hang up our party hats just yet, so come celebrate and help support a new season of well loved SU classics (and a few new surprises) this upcoming Monday, Sept. 26th at 6pm  ;)

With auditions, fundraisers and horror festivals, the SU Crew hasn’t really gotten a break from all the excitement. Too bad! We’re going have find something in our collective emotions to kick to the curb so we can make room for more, cuz this week we’re getting pumped for the 2016 Ivey Awards! And for an extra special reason.

So the big day is almost here. That's right! Savage Umbrella's annual fundraiser! That magical night that comes but once a year, when you get to hang out with your favorite SU Crew; enjoy some food, bev and games and get inordinately excited with us about what Savage Umbrella will be producing this upcoming season!

Hello, dear readers!

This week Savage Umbrella is getting down to serious business. Party business. ​