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FARMYARD, by Franz X. Kroetz. Presented
at L'il Pony Theatre in St. Paul. A compelling and gritty story of
a family's attempts to deal with the unplanned pregnancy of their adolescent
retarded
daughter. May 1989.
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KATZELMACHER, by Rainer W. Fassbinder. Presented
at the L'il Pony Theatre in St. Paul. An exploration of the perpetuation
of racism and bigotry
in society,
set among a group of underemployed youths in a small town. (16mm black & white
film and live performance). February 1990.
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TOP GIRLS, by Caryl Churchill. Presented at the People's Center.
A highly theatrical, challenging and complex look at the price of power in
women's lives throughout history. June 1990.
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QUARTET, by Heiner Muller. Presented at the Southern Theater.
Based on the French novel LES LIASONS DANGEREUSES, this daunting work explores
games of seduction, betrayal and conquest. October 1990.
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SINCERITY FOREVER,* by Mac Wellman. Presented at Red Eye Collaboration. A scathing and hysterical attack on the veiling of right-wing
bigotry
and hypocrisy in the name of religion, this highly poetic work confronts questions
of obscenity and censorship in American culture. December 1990.
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MIRIAM'S FLOWERS,* by Migdalia Cruz. Presented at the People's
Center. A compelling and uncompromising look at a family unraveling in the
grief of losing their youngest member. February 1991.
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LUCY LOVES ME,* by Migdalia Cruz. Presented at the People's
Center. A black comedy which presents a disturbing exploration of the rage
and terror
lurking in the isolation of modern urban life. February 1991.
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MEDEA,* by Beverly Smith-Dawson. Presented at the Southern Theater. A multicultural reworking of the Medea myth using music and dance to
explore issues of race and gender from a contemporary perspective. November
1991.
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ETTA JENKS, by Marlane Meyer. Presented at the Southern Theater.
A chronicle of a young actress' pursuit of dreams of movie stardom, as she
is derailed into the pornography industry. June 1992.
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UNDER CONSTRUCTION,* work-in-progress staging of Wendy Knox's adaptation
of Heiner Muller's DESCRIPTION OF A PICTURE, EXPLOSION OF A MEMORY, Euripides'
ALCESTIS, and the classic Noh-drama KUMASAKA. Presented at the Southern Theater.
November
1992.
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MACHINAL, by Sophie Treadwell. Presented at the Southern Theater. A
classic example of early American experimentation in the theatre, Treadwell's
1928
Expressionist work was loosely based on a New York tabloid murder case which
sent one of the
first women in the U.S. to the electric chair. March 1993.
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MAD FOREST, by Caryl Churchill. Presented at the Theatre Garage. An exploration of life in Romania before and after the overthrow of the
Ceaucesus,
told through live performance, recorded and live video, and projections. October
1993.
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TOTTERING HOUSE (HUOJUVA
TALO),* by Maaria Koskiluoma,
based on a novel by Maria Jotuni. Presented at the Southern Theater.
A compelling unraveling
of a
young woman's dreams of "happily ever after" in the face of the unrelenting
cycle of family violence. (English language premiere) March 1994.
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DESCRIPTION OF A PICTURE,
EXPLOSION OF A MEMORY,* based on texts by Heiner
Muller, Euripides, and Noh-drama, adapted by Wendy Knox. Performed at the Southern Theater. An exploration of life and death from several cultural perspectives,
told through music, movement and performance. November
1994.
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MEASURE FOR MEASURE, by William Shakespeare. Produced at
the Southern Theater. This rarely produced "dark comedy," set
in a world sometime between 17th century England and 20th century America,
confronts the concept
of injustice and examines the question of how power changes people. November 1995.
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THE AMERICA PLAY, by Suzan-Lori Parks. A jazz-based, poetic piece, asking
questions about the absence of Black stories in mainstream American history.
Performed
at the Theatre Garage. November 1996.
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THE EDUCATION OF WALTER KAUFMANN, by Kevin Kling. The sometimes charming,
sometimes twisted story of a young man's education in the school of life, which
explores
the various ways in which we learn--by instinct, by intellect, by role model,
by experience. Performed at the Southern Theater. March 1997.
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KALEVALA: dream of the salmon
maiden,* created by Ruth Mackenzie, directed
by Knox, co-presented with the Walker Art Center, Guthrie Theater and the Southern.
This evocative weaving of music, movement and theatre, based on the Finnish
epic
known as the Kalevala, explored questions of self definition, and the relationship
between societal demands and individual truths. Southern Theater: July 1997;
Guthrie Lab: June 1998.
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ALCHEMY OF DESIRE/DEAD-MAN'S
BLUES, by Caridad Svich,
Theatre Garage. Set in a world and a time not clearly divided
between the living and
the dead,
where spirits, rituals, and cigars are the stuff of life and death, ALCHEMY
OF DESIRE/DEAD-MAN'S BLUES is a poetic journey to the place where desire meets
memory,
love and loss. Also, LATE NIGHT DESIRE, DEAD-MAN'S CABARET, a rotating late-night
showcase of local artists, featuring many and varied responses to the notion "desire." November 1995.
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THE CHEKHOV PROJECT,* by Anton Chekhov and Kira Obolensky, Southern Theater. Linked by the themes of brides and weddings, THE CHEKHOV PROJECT
features three short works portraying Chekhov's objective and irreverent
observations of the institution of marriage. March 1998.
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AMBIENT LOVE RITES,* by Daniel Alexander Jones. A hole has been ripped
into the heart of a community with the murder of a young gay man, which
remains
unsolved six weeks later. A swirl of mystery and spirits, the piece tracks
the journey
of the disparate characters who loved the missing one as they move towards
healing their heartbreak. Theatre Garage. October 1998.
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FARMYARD,* by Franz X. Kroetz. An all-new staging of Frank's premiere work,
presented at the Minneapolis Theatre Garage. May 1999.
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THE THREEPENNY OPERA. Bertolt Brecht & Kurt Weill's
musical masterpiece which focuses on the question the link between money
and morality. Presented
at the
Southern Theater. October 1999.
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THE TRESTLE AT POPE LICK CREEK, by Naomi Wallace. Centered on the relationship
between two teenagers in 1936, who are looking for a life better than that
of their parents, the play focuses on the need for human connection. Presented
at
the Loring Playhouse. January 2000.
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THE ADVENTURES OF HERCULINA. Kira Obolensky's piece, at the Southern Theater, directed by Artistic Director Wendy Knox. Based on a true story of a
hermaphrodite
born in France in the 1800's, Herculina's quest for true love ranges from a
French convent school to an encounter with Sarah Bernhardt, from the boudoir
of a bawdy
British prostitute to a sideshow of freaks, and all poetic points in between. November
2000.
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PERFECT PIE, by Judith Thompson. Two women haven’t seen each other since
a life-changing incident 20 years ago. In the course of an afternoon when the
two meet up again, past and present electrically collide with laughter, tears,
mystery, and home-grown wisdom as a buried secret reveals the different paths
the women’s lives have taken. March 2001.
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THE RESISTIBLE RISE OF ARTURO UI,
by Bertolt Brecht. When an economic slump
provides prime conditions for the rise of a small-time thug (strikingly
similar to Al Capone) to take over the vegetable trade in 1930's Chicago, a
parallel is set up for the story of another thug who is rising to power on
the world stage in 1941, Adolf Hitler. UI is a viciously funny "parable
play," written but rarely performed in the United States.
October 2001.
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SELF DEFENSE, or death of
some salesmen, by Carson Keitzer. Seven white men
have been found dead along I-95 in Florida. When her girlfriend betrays her,
a prostitute is arrested and charged with their murders. She says the men tried
to rape her; the police say she's a serial killer. A fascinating and feisty
piece of theatre inspired by an actual case, SELF DEFENSE portrays the events
leading
up to and surrounding the trial of Jo, modeled on the real life character of
Aileen Wuornos. Playwrights' Center. February 2001.
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TAMING OF THE SHREW, by William Shakespeare. One of Shakespeare’s
early works and bawdiest comedies, the play tackles a subject which remains
a lightning
rod for modern audiences: gender roles. October-November 2002.
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THE LOVE
SONG OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER,* by Carson Kreitzer.
Presented at The Playwrights’ Center. THE LOVE SONG
OF J. ROBERT OPPENHEIMER imagines a spirited conversation, a wrestling match,
an argument between Lilith--an
archetypal figure in Hebrew mythology (the first woman God created), who was
cast out when she couldn’t behave and was replaced by Eve—and J.
Robert Oppenheimer, the creator of the atomic bomb, a Jew who was also cast
out, losing his security clearance by the U.S. government after he had created
the tool they needed to stop Hitler." February 2003.
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THE CRADLE WILL ROCK, by Marc Blitzstein. One of the first pro-union
musicals written in this country, THE CRADLE WILL ROCK is set in Steeltown,
USA. Mr. Mister, the corporate magnate, has bought up (or paid off) every
sector of the community. Through flashback and song, the piece illustrates
how each of them sold out, with the exception of Larry Foreman, a union
organizer who victoriously organizes the town against the corporation. October 2003.
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SICILIAN NIGHTS, by Jack Zipes. A fascinating and layered work populated
with hags, fairies, ogresses, and princesses wrestling with curses. It is a
delightful and sometimes naughty epic, which looks at issues of gender and
power as it examines how we use stories to control our own lives. March-April 2004.
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FUCKING A, by Suzan-Lori Parks, is a riff on Nathaniel Hawthorne's novel THE
SCARLET LETTER. In Parks' highly imaginative, idiosyncratic version, Hester
bears a branded "A" on her chest, which, according to the law, must be
visible at all times as punishment for her crime of being the mother of a
son who steals food. When her son was sent to prison for this crime, she was
given the choice of prison herself or remaining free while working at an
unsavory profession, that of an abortionist. When there is an escaped
convict on the loose, complications develop and the dream of seeing her son
transforms into a desperate act of mercy. October 2004.
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THE WOMEN OF TROY, adapted by Wendy Knox. A company generated adaptation of
Euripides' THE TROJAN WOMEN and HECUBA, featuring an original blues-based
score composed by Marya Hart. Set on the eve of the fall of the city of
Troy, THE WOMEN OF TROY retells the stories provided in Euripides' THE
TROJAN WOMEN and HECUBA. THE WOMEN OF TROY explores the impact of war on
society, especially women and children, and examines how wartime transforms
us into that which we most fear. February-March 2005.
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THE GOD OF HELL, by Sam Shepard.
Set in a Wisconsin farmhouse, Frank and Emma's bucolic lifestyle as dairy
farmers is disrupted when they offer cover to Haynes, a long-time friend of
Frank's who is on the lam from a mysterious government project involving
plutonium. When an unctuous government bureaucrat appears at their
farmhouse, questioning their patriotism and knowing far more about them than they would like, their heartland lifestyle is turned into a chilling scene of runaway government.
November 2005.
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VENUS, by Suzan-Lori Parks. VENUS is based on the true life of Saartje Baartman, a woman lured from her South African home with the promise of "making a mint" as a dancer. She was then sold into a London freak show and exhibited to a voracious public, fascinated by her anatomy, especially her large posterior. VENUS was directed by Frank Artistic Director Wendy Knox and featured Shá Cage in the role of "the Venus Hottentot." The cast also included Maria Asp, Patrick Bailey, Virginia Burke, Gary Keast, Taous Khazem, Carson Lee, Adia Morris, Dana Munson, Michelle Myers, Jonathan Peterson and Emily Ziimmer. Joel Sass designed the set, costume were by Kathy Kohl, lighting was by Michael Kittel and Michael Croswell designed sound. March-April 2006.
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MOTHER COURAGE AND HER CHILDREN, by Bertolt Brecht. Pillsbury A Mill Machine Shop. October-November 2006. |
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THE EXONERATED, by Jessica Blank and Eric Jensen. March 2007. |
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THE PILLOWMAN, by Martin McDonagh. Directed by Wendy Knox; featuring Aru Shiney Ajay, Maria Asp, Patrick Bailey, Chris Carlson, Jim Lichtscheidl, Grant Richey, Kai Russell, and Luverne Seifert. At the Guthrie. September-October 2007. |
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PUNTILA AND HIS HIRED MAN MATTI, by Bertolt Brecht, based on a story by Hella Wuolijoki. Directed by Wendy Knox; featuring Maria Asp, Patrick Bailey, Joe Botten, Tony Brown, Aaron Coker, Celeste Jones, Jonathan Peterson, Jennifer Phillips, Aja Pridgen, Cheryl Willis, and Emily Zimmer. At the City of Minneapolis Public Works yard (26th Street E & Hiawatha Ave, in the Bridge Building). March-April 2008. Download the newsletter |
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VINEGAR TOM, by Caryl Churchill, at the Ritz Theatre. Set in England in the 17th century, VINEGAR TOM explores the witchcraft trials of the time. Directed by Wendy Knox, Set Design by Andrea Heilman, Costumes by Kathy Kohl, Lighting by Michael Wangen, Sound by Zach Humes Stage Managed by Kasey Brandt, Spencer Putney and Katie Burger. Featuring Patrick Bailey, Virginia Burke, Dona Werner Freeman, Emily Gunyou Halaas, Katrina Hawley, Christopher Kehoe, Lori Neal, Anika Solveig and Cheryl Willis. Original music composed by Annie Enneking, Marya Hart, George Maurer, Ruth MacKenzie, Willy Murphy and Pablo.
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BY THE BOG OF CATS, By Marina Carr. With a cast that features Virginia Burke, John Catron, Annie Enneking, and Melissa Hart, with Sulia Altenberg, Gabe Angieri, Tony Brown, Christopher Kehoe, Bob Davis, Izzy Rousmaniere, Eric Sharp, Anika Solveig and Cheryl Willis.
Set in rural Ireland, By The Bog of Cats mixes the trademark dark humor of the Irish with an uncompromising tale of abandonment and shocking self-sacrifice. Hester Swane (Virginia Burke) is an Irish "tinker," a woman born of gypsies, and tied to the bleak landscape of the bog where she has lived her whole life. Her younger lover, Carthage Kilbride (John Catron), with whom she has a daughter, is on the verge of a marriage to another woman that will bring him land, wealth and respect. Refusing to acknowledge that Carthage could ever leave her, Hester grips more tightly and tragically to the life she believes is rightfully hers.
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PALACE OF THE END, was composed of three monologues, based on factual
people and events, whose characters and words are imagined by the
playwright. The first was inspired by the media circus around Lynndie
England, the Army private who was convicted of torturing Iraqi prisoners;
the second was inspired by the well-publicized events surrounding the
death of the British weapons inspector David Kelley; the final piece was
inspired by the true story of Nehrjas al Saffarh, a well-known member of
the Communist party of Iraq and a mother of four, who was tortured by
Saddam Hussein’s secret police in the 1970s and died when her home was
bombed by the Americans in the first Gulf war. Download the newsletter
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METAMORPHOSIS, adapted by the company from Franz Kafka's classic novella, takes a new look at the life of Gregor Samsa, a traveling salesman, who wakes one morning to find that he has been transformed into a “monstrous vermin.” Life just isn’t the same after that. Presented at Open Eye Theatre, April 2010. Download the newsletter
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ECLIPSED centers on the lives of five women who are thrown together by the recent civil war in Liberia. Salvaged as chattel from wartime looting, these “wives” of the commanding officer form a hardscrabble alliance and develop their own a hierarchy as they confront questions of survival within their compound. Surprisingly vivacious and often funnier than you would expect, Eclipsed raises thought-provoking questions about power and resistance, solidarity and complicity, as the women hold out for the hope of a brighter destiny. Download the newsletter
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SANTALAND DIARIES, “Based on David Sedaris’ delightfully acerbic observations of his experience working in Macy’s SantaLand, this hysterical alternative holiday classic entertained as “Crumpet the Elf” recounted his uproarious encounters during the height of holiday merriment.”
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* Denotes professional premiere of the work
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