THEATER PREVIEW | “The road weeps, the well runs dry”: Marcus Gardley’s powerful play of spirituality and relationships comes to Pillsbury House Theatre

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The road weeps, the well runs dry, a tale of spirituality, slavery, and relationships, filled with powerful scenes examining identity and other issues relevant to our lives today, is coming this fall to Pillsbury House Theatre. Minneapolis is one of four U.S. venues for this historical fiction drama by poet and playwright Marcus Gardley.This play—opening September 27—is the second part of a trilogy by Gardley, who was awarded the PEN/Laura Pels award in 2011 as a Mid-Career Playwright; Gardley is a visiting lecturer in playwriting at Brown University. At a Pillsbury House preview event on August 23, Gardley said, “I feel like this play found me. It is a mixture of Seminole stories, Biblical values, and family interactions.”The people of the story, represented by 11 cast members, are the survivors of slavery and revolts who came and settled in Wewoka, the first all-black town in Oklahoma. The community comprised freemen—the term used in the historical setting for black Native Americans, who in this second segment of the story find their beliefs and relationships with each other put to the test when new and old religions collide head-to-head. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Midsummer treat for silent film fans: New restorations of “The Thief of Bagdad” and “Safety Last!” hit Twin Cities theaters July 12-14

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The weekend of July 12-14, Twin Cities moviegoers can grab the rare opportunity to see two of the most iconic films of the silent era on the big screen, Harold Lloyd’s Safety Last! and Douglas Fairbanks’s The Thief of Bagdad.  The Trylon Microcinema will screen a new 35mm print of Lloyd’s 1923 comedy throughout the weekend.  The Heights Theater crowns the festivities with a new digital restoration of The Thief of Bagdad (originally released in 1924) on Sunday, July 14 at 7:30 PM.   Safety Last! features Lloyd as a department store clerk trying to convince his sweetheart that he’s really a top executive.  Climbing a skyscraper for a publicity stunt, he contends with a collapsing awning, a barrage of pigeons, and a rope he thinks is attached on the other end, but isn’t.  He ends up, famously, dangling off a clock-face several stories above L.A.   It’s a sequence that still has the power to thrill, ninety years after it first made movie audiences gasp and hide their eyes.  Lloyd’s climbing is all the more impressive considering he’d lost his right thumb and index finger in an on-set accident in 1919. According to Barry Kryshka, repertory programmer at the Trylon Microcinema, the Trylon has a tradition of showing a silent comedy in mid-July to celebrate the microcinema’s anniversary.  This year marks the fourth birthday for the volunteer-powered, 50-seat theater.    The Trylon booked Safety Last! Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | FLOW Northside Arts Crawl releases call for artists for 8th annual event

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FLOW Northside Arts Crawl seeks artists of all genres, ages and experience in the North Minneapolis Community to be a part of this year’s Art Crawl the weekend of July 26th – July 28th. FLOW Northside Arts Crawl is both a community celebration and premier art event in North Minneapolis. FLOW is a non-juried, self-guided tour of studios, galleries, theaters, commercial and vacant spaces over a mile and half of North Minneapolis’ main business corridor. From b-boys to ballet, graffiti to graphite, rap to rhapsody, fine artist to artisan, practicing to professional, FLOW showcases the great art being made every day on the Northside.  This year, FLOW is expanding to a full weekend! Experience evening preview events Friday, July 26th, an exciting day of indoor and outdoor events along West Broadway from the Mississippi River to Penn Ave N on Saturday, July 27th and extended gallery hours the entire weekend of Friday, July 26th – Sunday, July 28th.  FLOW typically draws a crowd of 5,000 community members, art enthusiasts, neighbors and families.  FLOW is accepting proposals from Northsiders to exhibit or perform in select venues along West Broadway as part of the Northside Arts Crawl July 26 – 28th.  The organization is also seeking proposals for public art, interactive installations, artist booths, parade entries and art-making activities along West Broadway.  FLOW defines artist in the broadest possible sense of the word and encourage emerging artists and innovative ideas for community engagement. FLOW will match artists with participating locations along the route of the Art Crawl or artists may propose site-specific work. Possible locations include (but are not limited to) businesses, storefronts, vacant spaces, building exteriors, organizations, pedal stage, and outdoor locations. Continue Reading

COMMUNITY VOICES | Mayor RT Rybak proclaims Social Enterprise Week

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Never heard of social enterprise?  Well, it’s here and growing.  That’s why RT Rybak has proclaimed this to be Social Enterprise Week in Minneapolis.  Minnesota has sometimes been called the “Land of 10,000 Non-Profits,” so deeply embedded is the culture of compassionate support. It’s not surprising that the Twin Cities is ranked #1 for volunteering.  But there are a few new twists on this story. Many Minnesota nonprofits are functioning as “social enterprises” – and yet they might not identify themselves as one.  It’s a new term for a growing national and international trend. Social enterprises bridge the for-profit and non-profit worlds because they operate with a “double bottom line” — profits and social mission.  They sell products and services, which then generate funds that can be used to address social issues.“Not enough people know about the depth of social enterprise leadership and innovation in our area, many started decades ago,” said Mayor RT Rybak.PPL Industries, for example, was launched 30 years ago.  Instead of being primarily funded by grants or donations, they relied largely on fees generated by providing light assembly for larger businesses.  Their operation provided essential work skills and job training for individuals with multiple barriers to employment.  Following a merger with Rebuild Resources last year, the new $6 million organization has been rebranded as Momentum Enterprises.Why are more nonprofits starting or expanding a social enterprise?  Some say it is because they are experiencing the “new normal”, based on increasing competition for both charitable dollars and government contracts.  To become more self-sustainable, nonprofits are increasingly considering the “earned-income” strategies of social enterprise to support their mission.In 2002, CityKid Java was created to raise funds for a worthy cause: the revitalization of the South Minneapolis community.   Since then, they have grown to become a $2 million business selling coffee through Target, Cub, and Whole Foods as well as businesses and faith-based organizations.  The “profits” are used to fund Urban Ventures.  CityKid Java is undertaking an aggressive growth strategy to use this “business model” to expand and support youth in other states.   Social enterprises are as varied as the communities they serve.  Twin Cities based social enterprises include the Beez Kneez, The Arc Value Village Thrift Stores, DumpTech, Finnegans, Genesys Works and Tasks Unlimited.  Another twist is that more for-profit companies are operating with a double bottom line as well, such as Moss Envy and The Data Bank.The Social Enterprise Week proclamation is one way to raise awareness about the social and economic benefits of social enterprise in our communities.  St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman signed one for St. Continue Reading

$99 Art Sale: Part art gallery, part casino

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You know the old art saying – I know what I like and like what I know. Well once a year you can put that theory to the test at the Soap Factory’s annual $99 art sale. The premise is 150 works of art, all the same size, hung on the walls. You choose the ones you like well enough to purchase for $99. Once the credit card has been cleared, you get the name of the artist. Continue Reading

FREE SPEECH ZONE | From Cultural Conflict To Regional War in Minnesota (1862)

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On a beautiful and sunny Saturday afternoon on September 15th, the Minneapolis Central Library invited artist and historian Scott Seekins to display and discuss his latest work in response to cultural and religious aspects of the 1862 Dakota War. This presentation helped to promote a challenging view of the government policies, practices, and behavior of religious organizations through the artwork and media releases, such as Governor Ramsey’s public attempt at Genocide against Native Americans in Minnesota. The main presentation and description of this ‘theme’ in his art was insightful and helped this author explore more detailed facts of the racism and hostile causes of this inevitable and tragic war. As we take time to ‘celebrate diversity’ after more than 150 years of Statehood we are reminded of our continual struggles for unity still happening today in “A very polarized city” (Scott Seekins). As I spoke with the artist, my own ignorance of Little Crow, The Concentration/Prison Camp at Fort Snelling, Native American “War-Brides” and other facts became more and more evident. Continue Reading

FREE SPEECH ZONE | Pan Asian Dance Festival – Symposium and Competition, a Successful & Honorable Festival!

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SAINT PAUL, MN – Lead by the Pan Asian Arts Alliance, the Pan Asian Dance Festival – Symposium and Competition, was successfully presented on August 17 and 18, at the E.M. Pearson Theater of Concordia University, Saint Paul.Free Speech ZoneThe Free Speech Zone offers a space for contributions from readers, without editing by the TC Daily Planet. This is an open forum for articles that otherwise might not find a place for publication, including news articles, opinion columns, announcements and even a few press releases. The opinions expressed in the Free Speech Zone and Neighborhood Notes, as well as the opinions of bloggers, are their own and not necessarily the opinion of the TC Daily Planet.The Festival offers a supportive atmosphere aimed at fostering a creative exchange of ideas, encouraging exploration of new ground and providing opportunities to experience a wide spectrum of Pan Asian dance/movement disciplines. Artists, students and audiences share their knowledge and inspiration through workshops, jams, discussions, informal showings and performances.Hmong Dance Symposium:The Hmong people are one of the oldest ethic groups in several countries, believed by some researchers to be from the Yellow Basin area in China. “Hmong” once unknown people have risen to the forefront of international debate as a result of their entanglement in the Vietnam War, assisting the American CIAs. Continue Reading