Who would you YOU rapture?

In our current workshop production of RAPTURE, the characters are artists or lovers of art grappling with the disappearance of many of the world’s artists. If this happened in our world, who do you think would be raptured up and what justifies their place in the artist afterlife?

Here is how a few of the writers answered:

Lisa Brimmer: I’d rapture Erykah Badu, Yasiin Bey, Herbie Hancock, Roy Hargrove, Quincy Phillips, Terrance Hayes, James Tate, Carl Hancock Rux, Taylor Mac, Daniel Alexander Jones, Jeannette Winterson, Common, Alice Walker, Thomas Sayers Ellis, The Roots, Phonte, Dave Grohl, Kehinde Wiley, Robert Glasper, Sonia Sanchez, Amiri Baraka, Frank Ocean ...locally, I am inspired by people like SUPERgroup, Toki Wright, Tacoumba Aiken, Laurie Carlos, Paige Collette, J.T. Bates, Michael Lewis, Mally, K. Raydio, Todd Clouser, Sha Cage, Samantha Johns.

. . Overall I dig on folks that have a sense of perspective, style and grace in portraying their own story. To me being an artist isn’t just about technique in your medium. Artistry should be something you do with your whole mind, whole body and in every aspect of your life.

Megan Clark: I would definitely rapture Suzan-Lori Parks not only because of her amazing plays, but also because of how many other people she inspired to write plays and make art including me. I would also rapture Ann Patchett because her novels are so beautiful especially Bel Canto. Or maybe I wouldn't so that they could keep working and I could keep enjoying their art and learning from them.

Seth Conover: Curating this hypothetical Artists’ Rapture is a solid excuse to be shamelessly exclusionary and biased. There are so many artists on my list, but I would start with playwright/actor/cowboy Sam Shepherd. What a bonafide badass. I think the poetic western mythologies in his plays make them (most of them) distinctly American masterworks of Art.

Plus, up in heaven, Sam and I could smoke cigarettes and talk about Jessica Lange.

Timothy Otte: In thinking about who might be raptured there were a number of artists–mostly writers–whose names came to mind: Charles Mee, Margaret Atwood, and Douglas Kearney. But it was a musician whose name kept coming back. Ryan Olson is a Twin Cities based artist whose work is varied and fascinating. Starting out with a piano driven band, Solid Gold, he went on to create a gargantuan supergroup made almost entirely of Twin Cities musicians, Gayngs. Since then he has formed Marijuana Deathsquads and Poliça, and is currently working on a collaboration with rapper Astronautalis and singer Justin Vernon of Bon Iver (both of whom have performed with Gayngs and Marijuana Deathsquads). All this in addition to collaborating on one-off songs and dabbling with some video direction. He's a multi-talented artist who has yet to work on a piece of music I dislike. I'm sure he would be the first to go in an artists' rapture.

So who would you have raptured? Get in on the conversation and let us know what you think here in the comments and on Facebook or Twitter.

AND be sure to check out the final workshop presentation of RAPTURE. Actors will present scenes hot off the presses, followed by a social hour featuring home brew, nosh, and a chance to give YOUR feedback to the artists. Presentations will be held November 2 & 3 at 7:30 pm at the Interact Center for Visual and Performing Arts in the Colonial Warehouse Building (212 3rd Ave N, Minneapolis).

Tickets are on a sliding scale of $5-$15, with no one turned away for lack of funds. Seating is limited, so reserve your tickets today!