HOW TO USE A KNIFE Comes to Mixed Blood Theatre

In the cultural collision of a restaurant kitchen, Chef George, trying to stay sober, spends his shifts yelling at trash-talking Guatemalan line cooks, a wet-behind-the-ears American busboy, and a quiet East African dishwasher. But the heat turns up when an immigration agent arrives.

Directed by Jesca Prudencio, HOW TO USE A KNIFE bursts with hilarity, suspense, machismo, and surprises as secrets from the past come to a boil.

Says Artistic Director Jack Reuler: "HOW TO USE A KNIFE is definitive Mixed Blood: hilarious until it's not, propelled by catalytic cultural collisions, simultaneously political and theatrical, timely in America and in our own Cedar Riverside neighborhood, multi-lingual, and 90 intermission-less minutes. It's the ideal vehicle to jump start this theatre's 42nd season."

The cast includes Ansa Akyea, Taous Khazem, Raúl Ramos, Zack Myers, Michael Booth, Jake Ceseres, and Maxwell Collyard. HOW TO USE A KNIFE marks the 25th consecutive season that Raúl Ramos has been involved with Mixed Blood shows and the 13th consecutive year for Ansa Akyea.

Mixed Blood has had a 35-year relationship with the University of California, San Diego and is a founding member of the 20-year old National New Play Network. HOW TO USE A KNIFE was first seen as a reading in the NNPN Showcase of New Plays and first produced at UCSD in its Wagner New Play Festival. The playwright, director, costume designer, and one of the actors hold MFA's from UCSD and the show has been a NNPN Rolling World Premiere, having had 2017 productions at InterAct Theatre (Philadelphia), Unicorn Theater (Kansas City), Capital Stage (Sacramento), and Horizon Theatre (Atlanta).

Comedy, drama, satire, and musicals invoke a spirit of generosity and self-determination in Mixed Blood's 2017-18 season, dubbed Connecting The Disconnected. Disability meets immigration meets trans youth meets refugees meets ICE meets class meets the gender continuum in stories spanning the globe. This season puts on display Mixed Blood's core value to be predictably unpredictable.

All performances take place in the Alan Page Auditorium in Mixed Blood's historic firehouse theatre.

MEMBERSHIPS are on sale now: $35 for members under 35; $50 for first time members; and year-long memberships from $70 to $140.

Admission for individual shows can be obtained in two ways: 1) Through Radical Hospitality (now entering its seventh season), admission is FREE on a first come/first served basis starting two hours before every show, or 2) Advanced reservations are available online or by phone for $25 per person.

Visit www.mixedblood.com or call 612-338-6131 for more information.

Mixed Blood aspires to be the theatrical destination for people with disabilities. Patrons with disabilities are eligible for free advanced reservations and free transportation to and from the theater. All performances are captioned in English with projected supertitles for patrons with hearing loss. Lobby, auditorium, and restrooms are fully accessible. Audio description is available for most performances.

Mixed Blood Theatre has invited the global village into its audience and onto its stage for its unique brand of provocative, inclusive, and predictably unpredictable theater since 1976. Using theater to illustrate and animate, Mixed Blood models pluralism in pursuit of interconnections, shared humanity, and engaged citizenry.

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