Name: Carl Atiya Swanson
Twitter: “You can find me as a bird on a wire—or a drunk in a midnight choir—at @catiyas for myself, @savageumbrella for my theater company, and @FortWilsonRiot, working it for a favorite Minneapolis band.”
Website: “I post at CakeIn15.com, a blog of arty photos, interviews, reviews and ramblings, with its own Twitter handle, @CakeIn15.”
What’s your job?
“Like it seems with everyone else I know, being stretched far in the name of art, or more accurately, negotiating late-stage capitalism at the intersection of lots of varied art practices and fields. I act, I write, I design, I sell, I manage, I make, I make do. Sometimes, when people ask me what I don’t do, I tell them, ‘Skateboard.'”
Other than your job, what are your claims to fame?
“I can say with confidence that I portrayed the first full frontal male nudity in the new Guthrie: Wonderland, 2007. I grill up a storm. Also, I have been sober three years, four months and a couple days, depending on when you read this and provided I don’t fuck up.”
What’s your relationship status?
“Domestic Partnership, as sanctified by the Holy Facebook Empire.”
Where are you most likely to be seen?
“Hanging around the First Avenue complex, Spyhouse Nicollet, a ghost at the old Bedlam, biking around Calhoun—Boogaard? Also at the Cake Shop, the Minneapolis Institute of Arts—where I am paid to be—or in rehearsal.”
Where are you least likely to be seen?
“I have a loathing of raw-wood paneled ‘American’ themed eateries, so I am only ever there because my dining companions think irony is tasty.”
With whom are you most likely to be seen?
“I am most likely to be seen with the better part of me, the gracious and talented Stacy Schwartz; also with the cadre of funny rock nerds, photogs and music geeks blowing up the spot, or the challenging company of the actors and creators of Savage Umbrella. Love ’em all. I do keep my own counsel as well.”
Where were you born?
“Hartford, Connecticut, a town I have not been to since I was four months old.”
In what neighborhood do you live now?
“The Lyndale neighborhood of sexy South Minneapolis.”
What’s your ride? Car? Bike? Public Transit?
“A healthy mix of all three, plus my own two feet. They’ve been with me longer than any of those others.”
What’s the best way for someone to start a conversation with you?
“I’m partial to ‘Hi, I’m ________ and I like _______.’ Don’t worry, I can be just as awkward as you and more. We’ll work through it together.”
Photo courtesy Carl Atiya Swanson
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