Blue Water Theater Company to Present the World Premiere of Jay Eddy's DEVILFISH

Blue Water Theatre Company will present the world premiere of DEVILFISH a new work by Jay Eddy, adapted from the fairy tale THE LITTLE MERMAID by Hans Christian Andersen Devilfish will play July 20 - July 30, 2023, at Blue Water Theatre Company in Wayzata, MN. The performance of Devilfish runs 2 hours with an intermission and is performed with live music.

Playwright / Composer Jay Eddy

is a writer, composer, and performer. Their semi-solo show Driving in Circles won the Richard Rodgers Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, as well as the Jean Kennedy Smith Playwriting Award and Musical Theatre Award, both from the Kennedy Center. The Gull, their musical adaptation of Chekov's Чайка also won the Kennedy Center's Musical Theatre Award. They are a current New Jewish Culture Fellow and a recent New Harmony and Yaddo resident, Jonathan Larson Grant finalist, New York Foundation for the Arts and Connecticut Office of the Arts fellow. Their work for the stage has been called, "Bracingly original, astonishingly resourceful, and daringly theatrical," and, "a joy to listen to...a beautiful tapestry of sound." As a performer, they've been called, "Kate McKinnon on a cocaine bender." MFA in Playwriting at Boston University, MA in Music Theatre from The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.Their poems and essays have been published with North American Review, Tikkun, Pigeonholes, Poets Reading the News, Tiny Seed Literary Journal, and TulipTree. Their work as a generative artist is rooted in a trauma-informed and deeply neuroqueer Weird Futurity (meaning: predestined sense of what-is-to-come as a repeating pattern of what- has-been). They are interested in hybrid and transdisciplinary forms integrating music, theater and performance art, film and video art, installation, testimony and memoir, poetry and essay, translation, and ritual. They score their works with toy, parlor, electr(on)ic, and orchestral instruments in equal measure, undermining the primacy of the trained musician and emphasizing playability and plasticity.

Maridee Slater, Artistic Director

Maridee Slater is a world, story and person-builder. Sometimes she makes with her hands (as a painter, carpenter, and welder), sometimes with her head (as a director and arts administrator), sometimes with her body (as a choreographer and dancer), and often by encouraging, prodding, and cheerleading others to realize their creative potential. Always, she makes with her heart and an unstoppable enthusiasm - she has mountains of it. Maridee holds an MFA in Directing from Columbia University, and BFAs in Acting/Directing and Technical Design from Colorado Mesa University. During the 2016 election, she was a Visiting Associate Professor of Theater in Colorado, which reignited a passion for social discourse and community building. Maridee has taught at Drew University, the University of Washington, Cornish College of the Arts, Marymount Manhattan College, among others. She was Technical Director and resident designer for Horace Greeley High School in 2018/2019. Since 2013, she has taught Creating Original Theatre for the High School Summer Immersive Program at Columbia University. In 2015, she received a Shubert Foundation Scholarship to assist in the development workshop for Waitress: The Musical and Blackout: House. She has worked with myriad companies in the US and Europe, including Intiman, Seattle Rep (where she was a carpenter and welder for over 35 shows, including Shrek on Broadway), The Guggenheim, Siti Company, Tectonic Theater Project, Seattle International Children's Festival, Ontreoerend Goed from Belgium, Chashama Times Square, The Bushwick Starr, Degenerate Art Ensemble, P3 East, and Barn Arts.

Lela Olson, Managing Director.

Lela Olson is a leader, educator, and actor. Working as Blue Water Theatre Company's Managing Director is the perfect way for her to unite these roles while continuing to serve youth. She has worked as a teacher, teacher leader, and administrator in the field of education for over 20 years. Lela earned bachelor's degrees in Elementary Education and Education of the Deaf/Hard of Hearing at Augustana University in Sioux Falls. She earned a master's degree in Educational Policy and Administration and a PhD in Work and Human Resource Education while attending the University of Minnesota. Lela served on the Minnesota Boychoir's Board of Directors and led its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee. She is a trained mediator. No matter what the role, her focus is on helping people and organizations learn, grow, and thrive. Acting tops the list of Lela's favorite pastimes. Her first role was in Carousel when she was in 5th grade, and she's been acting ever since! Being active in theatre arts while growing up taught Lela about teamwork, taking risks, and overcoming obstacles. It also built confidence and was the source of great friendships. As an adult, Lela works with several theaters in the area including The Phipps, Lyric Arts, Century Playhouse, Lakeshore Players, and Black Dirt Theater. In addition to acting in her spare time, Lela loves to travel internationally. Her favorite destinations are Egypt, Italy, and Peru. She lives near downtown St. Paul and enjoys concerts in Mears Park and regular trips to the farmer's market.

Jim Lansing, Music Director...

* SELF-PUBLISHED ARRANGER of 100+ Pop Songs for Piano Rookies.

* MUSICAL THEATER ACCOMPANIST--Piano/Keyboard, Auditions, Arranger, and Pit Director.

* WORSHIP MUSICIAN--organ, piano, keyboards. Music Director, Bell Choir Director, Interim positions, Substitute for services in numerous denominations (UCC, UMC, Presbyterian, ELCA, LCMS, and more), Weddings, and Memorial Services.

* PIANO TEACHER specializing in group instruction for beginners and individual lessons taught with emphasis on pop music skills. Experienced teaching students who only play by ear and those who want to play from non-traditional forms of notation.

Mary Huebert, Choreographer Mary has been choreographing since 2004. Before joining BWTC, Mary worked for Front Porch Musical Theatre for seven years. Mary teaches science in the Juntos Spanish-immersion program at Hopkins North Junior High School, and also has choreographed both at Hopkins North and at Hopkins High School. Mary learned Spanish through Concordia Language Villages and through studying abroad in Nicaragua and Spain. She went to college for Biology at Humboldt State University in the beautiful redwood forest of the northern California coast.

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