After “Spring Awakening,” St. Paul’s blank slate theatre will shift focus to educational touring productions

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“Come be a part of this bon voyage production!” blank slate theater casually drops in the promotion of its upcoming production of Spring Awakening. With nothing more than invitation and the fact that this would be the theater’s last mainstage show, people were left wondering—most probably thinking the worst—what had happened. Was this yet another example of a theater in the Twin Cities going under?Earlier this week, a press release was sent out put to rest any fears and rumors floating around. Yes, the mainstage productions will stop, but blank slate theater is anything but finished.Before executive art director Adam Arnold founded blank slate theater, he was working as a counselor at a teen treatment center. There, he started combining his passions for psychotherapy and theater when the teens asked him to teach them improv, which then evolved into full-fledged plays. Continue Reading

MUSIC REVIEW | The Head and the Heart sell out First Avenue, literally

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The prospect of going to a sold-out show at First Avenue doesn’t normally appeal to me; all that means is a violation of personal space for three hours. But it was two good friends (who now live in the suburbs instead of the apartment building next to mine) violating my personal space and The Head and the Heart and Blitzen Trapper filling those hours. I really had nothing to complain about.

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MUSIC REVIEW | Milo Greene fill up the 7th Street Entry

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I became acquainted with Milo Green when they opened for the Civil Wars last fall at the State Theatre (not to be confused with Cee-Lo-Green! I definitely never thought that). Now headlining and selling out shows on their own tour with their new shiny self-titled album in tow, the band is filling, albeit small, venues. Well—at least they filled the 7th Street Entry to capacity on Wednesday, August 8. They’re actually coming back in November to the Varsity Theater, which will most definitely be a better fit for the band—literally, because the five-person band was practically falling off the stage.

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THEATER REVIEWS | Minnesota Fringe Festiva 2012: Day eight

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• Wendy Gennula says that Portrait of the Artist as a Yo-yo Man is classic Fringe. • Kate Hoff also enjoyed Portrait of the Artist as a Yo-yo Man. Kate has reviews for Threads, and Big Thinkers, Serious Issues and offers some picks for the final Fringe weekend. • Wendy runs through shows appropriate for tots. • Bev Wolfe stood in for Rachel Reiva, seeing Ivory Tower Burning, Ash Land and The Billy Willy Show. Continue Reading

THEATER REVIEWS | Minnesota Fringe Festival 2012: Day seven

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• Phillip Low didn’t get Behind the Big Top and was disappointed with the reality of A Drama in Mid-Air.• Kate Hoff reviews Their Century and You Smell like Whiskey and Bad Choices.• TBD is why the Fringe exists, Phillip Low says.• Morgan Halaska laughed through a comedy (Nightmare Without Pants) and a drama (The Gay Banditos). Continue Reading

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2012: “The Gay Banditos” at the U of M Rarig Center Thurst

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One of the things that makes The Gay Banditos so great is that even though it’s categorized as a drama (as it should be), what we’re laughing at—and being able to laugh at—is the appauling ignorance of people when it comes to homosexuality. The Gay Banditos (told as a mockumentary) is based on the true events of a Pittsboro, NC family who recounts the trauma of being invaded by the gay gang known as The Gay Banditos. The interviews and journal entries retold on stage are real and honest, but in the context of this play the thoughts and concerns expressed by the ones assaulted are outrageously funny because they are so outrageously close minded. Continue Reading

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2012: “Nightmare Without Pants” at the U of M Rarig Center Thurst

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All day I was waffling between seeing Class of 98 or Happy Hour in the 5:30 slot. Finally, I decided to see neither and go with Joking Envelope’s Nightmare Without Pants (after realizing I chose one Scrimshaw over another—Joseph Scrimshaw wrote/acted Nightmare Without Pants while his wife Sarah Stevenson Scrimshaw created the boozy dance number Happy Hour). That’s the aspect of the Fringe that causes me anxiety: having to make decisions like this (I’m so afraid of making a regrettable one).  Continue Reading

THEATER REVIEWS | Minnesota Fringe Festival 2012: Day six

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• Phillip Low had a good time at Happy Hour and Ash Land.• Kate Hoff added Zen and the Art of Ushering, and had good things to say about Sneak Thief and Ooh La La to her Fringe repertoire.• Wendy Gennula enjoyed the improv of Cecily and Gwendolyn’s Fantastical Twin Cities Anthropological Probe and I Didn’t Read the Fine Print.• Matthew Everett gave 3 stars to Serif Punglasses.• Morgan Halaska has a Fringe favorite in Rip. Continue Reading

Minnesota Fringe Festival 2012: “Rip” at Minneapolis Theatre Garage

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I’ve seen some pretty good stuff so far during the first half of the Fringe. But Rip is one of those gems that makes me so dang excited about the 11-day festival (which at times has given me a little bit of stress … there’s just so much to see and fit in!) The acting is solid. The storytelling is unique. The soundtrack is amazing. A mix of rock ‘n roll and blue grass? Yes, please. I recognized band and cast member David Darrow from Theater Latte Da’s Spring Awakening, who impressed me then too.  Continue Reading