Playwrights' Center Announces 37th Annual PlayLabs Festival
For the 37th annual presentation of PlayLabs Festival, the premier new play incubation program, the Playwrights' Center is meeting the changing needs of the moment. Public readings will be presented online and the festival roster has expanded to include four playwrights developing their work.
Mixed Blood To Host Theatrical Reading Of The Mueller Report
Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Robert Schenkkan has adapted the drama, 'The Investigation: A Search for the Truth in Ten Acts' from former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III's report. This edited 80-minute version focuses primarily on Mueller's findings around whether President Trump obstructed justice. Artistic Directors and theatrical talent from throughout the Twin Cities are donating their time and imagination to bring this report alive. The event is free and open to all. Come participate in the shaping of our country's future.
BWW Review: BLOOD KNOT at The Pillsbury House Theatre: A Play Just as Relevant Now as 1961
Blood Knot by Athol Fugard, currently playing at The Pillsbury House Theatre is a show that was first performed in 1961 and is still just as poignant today. A 'blood knot' is explained in the show as a bond by blood that will never be undone. In this case, the knot ties two brothers together in South Africa in 1960, then heavily racially segregated. One brother, Zachariah, is black and the other, Morris, is white.
BWW Review: Sobering and Resonant Regional Premiere of THE CHILDREN at Jungle Theater
Under Sarah Rasmussen as Artistic Director, the 150 seat Jungle Theater in Minneapolis punches above its weight frequently, mounting finely tuned productions of important new works. They've done it again with the current show: a play for grownups called THE CHILDREN, the first production in the US after the Broadway run. Three accomplished veteran actors with Twin Cities roots, working under Casey Stangl's direction, drop us into a contemporary apocalyptic twist on a 'kitchen sink' play. Only here, environmental disaster has established a new normal where water and food are rationed, electricity is spotty, and questions of morality and mortality are immediate and intertwined.
Playwrights' Center Announces 2018-19 McKnight Theater Artist Fellows
The McKnight Theater Artist Fellowships at the Playwrights' Center recognize Minnesota theater artists other than playwrights whose work demonstrates exceptional artistic merit. The fellowship provides a $25,000 award as well as access to $7,000 in development funds. Selection is based on a commitment to theater arts, evidence of professional achievement and a sustained level of excellence in the applicant's work.
JoAnne Akalaitis Returns To The Guthrie With World Premiere Of BAD NEWS! I WAS THERE…
The Guthrie Theater (Joseph Haj, artistic director) announced it will present BAD NEWS! i was there… created and directed by JoAnne Akalaitis with Kate Atwell, Greg Taubman and Ashley Tata with original music and sound by Bruce Odland. Playing June 2-3, 2018, for four performances only, this unique theater experience will take place in the Guthrie lobbies in promenade style, which requires patrons to stand and walk during the performance. A limited number of chairs will be available for accessible seating.
Playwrights' Center Sets Lineup for 2017 PlayLabs Festival
The Playwrights' Center's annual PlayLabs new play festival runs Monday, October 23, through Sunday, October 29, 2017. The featured playwrights are Jason Gray Platt ('Take Care'), Jen Silverman ('In the Time of the Volcano') and Alice Tuan ('A Humbling in St. Paul'), all Core Writers at the Center.
Suspenseful Sci-Fi Thriller THE NETHER to Open at Jungle Theater
Casey Stangl (Fully Committed) returns to the Jungle from Los Angeles to direct Jennifer Haley's award-winning The Nether opening September 16 and on stage through October 15 at the Lyn-Lake neighborhood theater, 2951 Lyndale Ave. S. in Minneapolis. A smart and tightly wound drama, The Nether is both serpentine crime story and haunting sci-fi thriller exploring the consequences of living out private dreams in a world of ever-advancing technology.
BWW Review: KING LEAR Kills at Guthrie Theater
'Disciplined' may seem an odd word to apply to a production of KING LEAR, a tragedy that is about personal and societal dissolution into madness, both individually and at large. But the current mounting in Minneapolis earns that moniker, both in actorly control and design restraint. The result is a masterful rendering that eschews excess but allows the human relationships to be bared and centered.
Annual PlayLabs Festival Runs October 17"23 at the Playwrights' Center
The Playwrights' Center's 45th anniversary season kicks off October 17 with PlayLabs, a week-long new play festival featuring Core Writers Christina Ham ('West of Central'), Susan Soon He Stanton ('we, the invisibles') and Ken Urban ('The Remains'). Tickets are free and can be reserved at pwcenter.org/playlabs.