Name: Matthew Foster
Twitter: @mjgfoster
Websites: fuhotdish.com, theatrearlo.com
What’s your job?
“I’m communications director at Minnesota Fringe Festival and do freelance web design and development for nonprofit organizations.”
Other than your job, what are your claims to fame?
“Right now, Theatre Arlo is the primary creative outlet. Our primary mission is to imagine what would happen if Nick at Nite bought a full season’s worth of product placement ads at the Guthrie. Apart from that, one of my plays was published, I was in the New York Times talking about my zodiac tattoos, I have Václav Havel’s autograph, and, as far as I know, I’m the only Twin Cities theater person to have carried NGO credentials at a World Trade Organization ministerial.”
What’s your relationship status?
“The boyfriend and I just moved in together in March.”
Where are you most likely to be seen?
“Bryant-Lake Bowl, of course, and whatever the Fringe venue lineup is in any given year—I’m particularly excited for HUGE this year. Fringe moved into offices on 13th Avenue in Northeast and that stretch belongs to the ‘throw a rock and hit a fantastic bar or restaurant’ school of urban planning, which I find profoundly civilized. So my standard rotation now includes the Sample Room, the Modern Café, and the 331. Near my apartment, there’re Duplex and Barbette, both of which have cheap wine that yet doesn’t taste like it’s been made from the tears of war criminals.”
Where are you least likely to be seen?
“I’ve abandoned everything between 28th and 31st from Emerson to Hennepin to the Millennials’ Señor Frogification of Uptown. I’m suspicious of any place that uses ‘smothered’ or ‘just the way you like ’em’ on the menu. Also, it’s only under great protest that I’ll go someplace where there’s a Martini named after a sponsoring corporation, so art openings are sometimes stressful.”
With what people are you most likely to be seen?
“I like to think of my friends as a grand federation of various nerdy tribes. There are the Fringe friends, the political friends, the sci-fi friends…there’s really striking overlap among them. The best chance to get them all in one room is Drinking with Geeks at Moto-i once a month.”
Where were you born?
“Selby, South Dakota.”
In what neighborhood do you live now?
“Uptown-y, Lowry-Hill-ish.”
What’s your ride?
“In winter, the bus or kind friends; in summer, the bike. I came to understand bike commuting in Belgium, so I neither disobey traffic law nor imagine my commute as a reckless death-match along unpopulated mountain trails, which means I’m the Debbie Downer of Minneapolis cyclists.”
What’s the best way to start a conversation with you?
“Ask me about my favorite national anthems, and whether you could please hear me play them on the clarinet some time.”
Photo courtesy Matthew Foster
Comment