News

Park Square and SteppingStone Theatres’ response to the Atlanta shooting

Dear Friends,

Yet again, we are witnessing violence in our country, cities, communities, towards our friends and ourselves. Some are shocked, many are not, as fear and violence are daily realities.

Last week we witnessed a horrific hate-crime that took the lives of eight people in Atlanta —  six of them Asian American women. This targeted violence occurred amidst increasing threats and hate against the Asian American community.  Park Square and SteppingStone Theatres are grieving and longing for justice.

Less than a year after the murder of George Floyd, we find ourselves grappling with many of the same questions, now for our Asian American community: Why is the world still like this? How can we make it better for our children, neighbors, friends, and ourselves? How can we transform our history, riddled with racial oppression and exclusion, into a future where inclusion is embraced and differences are celebrated?

We don’t have the answers. As theatres, Park Square and SteppingStone are here to bear witness, to share stories that reveal harm, and to inspire us into a just future, joyfully celebrating the possibilities and promise in us all. As we work to share stories of our full community, in our realness, hurt, hope, and imperfect beauty, we have also compiled some resources to help create new narratives in real life.

Here are resources specifically designed for young people and for educators.

Here are resources for those in need of support and safety; and for people who want to learn more about issues of race and justice.

Here are some actions you can take right now to support our community.

We are all a critical part of writing our country’s new story and making our culture together. Your voice and action learning about and addressing stereotypes, bias, and hostility are the first step toward a better future. We need to push back against injustice, challenge the status quo of inequity, violence, and injustice, and generate optimism and fundamental change. What we do now, can create that change. Let’s grieve together, take care of one another, face discomfort, and make this injustice STOP.

Stay healthy, safe, and brave.

Park Square Theatre and SteppingStone Theatre for Youth

Arts Action Week is Feb 16-19!

You are needed to help show our values, recognize this community’s resilience, and make our voice heard at the State Capitol!

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, which shuttered Park Square’s stages as well as arts institutions across the country, government funding for the arts has never been more critical.

As a member of Minnesota Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Park Square is asking you to reach out to your Minnesota state legislators between Feb 16-19. Usually, MCA gathers more than 1,000 energized arts advocates at the Minnesota Capitol for Arts Advocacy Day.  This year, advocacy will take place online from your own computer. (Hey, we won’t need to worry about the annual Advocacy Day snowstorm!).

Register by Feb 14 to get the links for the Opening rally to be kicked off by Maria Jette. You’ll also be able to participate in a first-time advocates training session, and learn key facts about the Minnesota arts economy. During the week, you can participate as your schedule allows in small group Zoom calls with legislators. We’ll even have a happy hour wrap-up hosted by T. Mychael Rambo and featuring themed make-at-home cocktails.

The arts have been included as never before in special funding legislation at every level of government, from federal CARES Act funding that flowed to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and to states, who have set aside CARES Act funds for counties and cities to disburse as well.

In addition to amazing support from its many fans, Park Square is fortunate to have received some key government support from different programs created in response to the pandemic crisis:

  • Payroll Protection Program (PPP) forgivable loan through the Small Business Administration (SBA)
  • Emergency Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL)
  • Saint Paul Cultural STAR operating grant (enhanced with CARES Act funding)

Park Square has also applied for special CARES Act grants through the Minnesota State Arts Board and Ramsey County (fingers crossed!).

The largest source of federal funds being made available soon will be through the #Save Our Stages / Shuttered Venue grants championed by Senator Amy Klobuchar and Representative Betty McCollum. In fact, our Minnesota congressional delegation has the led way on national emergency funding for the arts across the country. Thank you!

The other important work our legislators at both the state and federal level have been doing is to extend and enhance unemployment benefits for individuals – including thousands of Minnesota artists. A special shout out to the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, who together with the National Council of Nonprofits, continues to lobby for the federal government to cover the extraordinary unemployment needs of individuals, nonprofit organizations, and small businesses.

Finally, a cheer for Governor Walz and the leaders at the MN Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED). They have been in regular communication with nonprofit arts leaders (who gather every two weeks on Zoom to coordinate our reopening efforts).

We need you to add your voice to all these efforts during Arts Action Week this month! Register today!

TEARS OF MOONS Released for February Streaming

‘TEARS OF MOONS’ RELEASED FOR STREAMING BY PARK SQUARE THEATRE  

Saint Paul, Minn., January 28, 2021 – Next month, Park Square Theatre will offer its production of TEARS OF MOONS, by Antonio Duke and directed by Ellen Fenster, for a full month of streaming access. The play was filmed on Park Square’s Boss Stage and shown through Zoom in November of 2020 along with live post-show conversations. The rerelease, along with a recorded conversation between Duke, Fenster, and Rie Gilsdorf of Embody Equity, will be available at a reduced price for streaming on Park Square’s website from February 1-28, 2021. 

A young black man sits in a bus stop. He has an African mask and backpack with him.

Antonio Duke, photo by Aaron Fenster.

TEARS OF MOONS moves quickly through history – aboard the number 5 bus – bearing witness to the pervasiveness of violence against Black people in our shared history. Structured around The Poet, a Homeric narrator wrestling with his own rage and ineffectuality, Duke deftly weaves in other characters, victims of racial violence, some recognizable from news headlines and others representing the lost stories of many. Both personal and expansive, the play combines African spiritual figures and mythology with Greek epic theatre to reckon with the past and share a vision of strength. “The heartache and resiliency of the black spirit is as old as time itself,” says playwright and performer Antonio Duke, “Unfortunately, it is newly being tested time and time again. I want to ignite a fire within the audience’s spirit.” 

The streaming release corresponds with the long-planned offering of the play to Park Square’s large middle and high school audience during Black History month and the theatre expects a national reach as well. “A sociology teacher in Baltimore brought some of her students to the original shows, recounts director Ellen Fenster, who is also part of Park Square’s artistic planning cohort, and director of the theatre’s acclaimed zoom production of THE DIARY OF ANNE FRANK. By offering on-demand streamingTEARS OF MOONS can better serve people in and beyond Minnesota.” 

“This is a time of recognizing and reckoning,” she continues. “This play is a witness not only to our history, but how we might grapple with this moment. It is a witness to the truth and the challenge we have before us.”  

TICKET PRICES: Streaming access $10, intended for one household. 

Tickets are availalbe at www.parksquaretheatre.org.

School groups can contact education@parksquaretheatre.org for more information. 

The ticket office is temporarily closed due to corona virus. 
Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with questions. 

CALENDAR INFORMATION: Streaming Feb 1-28, 2021 

PHOTOS : download at https://www.parksquaretheatre.org/media/photos/
Photos by Aaron Fenster.  

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. www.parksquaretheatre.org 

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Park Square play honored by BroadwayWorld

Karen Landry and Edwin Strout in 33 Variations.

The 2020 BroadwayWorld Minneapolis awards were announced January 12, 2020, and Park Square was honored to have its 2015 production of 33 Variations, named “Production of a Play of the Decade.”  The public submitted the nominees and voted for their favorites. Thank you to everyone who supported Park Square!
33 Variations, by Moisés Kaufman and directed by James Rocco, followed the journey of a musicologist, Katherine, to understand why Beethoven was compelled to write thirty-three distinct variations on a simple theme. Park Square’s production featured the late Karen Landry as Katherine and Edwin Strout as Beethoven, with piano by Irena Elkina.
Among other artists and companies recognized, Park Square fans will recognize Jeffrey Hatcher (Riddle Puzzle Plot, Sherlock Holmes and the Ice Palace Murders) for his Glensheen at the History Theatre, James Rocco, and the Ordway Center for the Performing Arts!

See the full list of winners.

Artistic Associates

Park Square Theatre’s cohort of Artistic Associates work collaboratively with the Interim Executive Director and other staff to develop and deliver the company’s artistic programs . In addition, they support and advise on certain performances, education programs and practices, make sure the theatre maintains an equitable and safe working environment for artists, staff and technicians, and advise on marketing and communication strategies and community inclusion.

Current Artistic Associates:

Photo of actor/director Ansa Akyea.Ansa Akyea is a Swiss born Ghanaian-American actor and graduate of the University of Iowa’s distinguished Masters of Fine Arts Acting program. Ansa has worked as an actor and director at some of the best local and regional theaters throughout the Twin Cities, such as the Guthrie Theater, Mixed Blood, and Ten Thousand Things. He can also be seen and heard on film, radio, and television. Ansa is the recipient of the 2011 Minnesota Playwright Center’s McKnight Award for Acting, City Pages Best Actor Award 2007, the 2013 Minnesota Playwright Center’s Many Voices Fellowship, and an Ivey Award for the Guthrie Theater’s production of Clybourne Park.

Ellen Fenstera professional theater director and arts educator in Minneapolis. Ellen has directed at Pillsbury House Theatre, The Illusion Theater, Yellow Tree Theater, Theatre Mu, Artistry, Gremlin Theatre, U of MN/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program and Park Square Theater. She is an associate artist at Pillsbury House Theatre where she ran the Chicago Avenue Project from 2008 to 2016.  She is also an artistic associate at Illusion Theatre where she helps connect the theater with young and emerging artists. She is currently the Artistic and Executive Director of Twin Cities Theater Camp, a summer theater intensive for children.

Rick Shiomi, a founding member and the Co-Artistic Director of Full Circle Theater. He has been a playwright, director and artistic director in the Asian American theater movement since the 1980s and was a co-founder of Theater Mu and Artistic Director for twenty years. His twenty plays include Mask DanceRosie’s Café and Yellow Fever. His directing credits include: Flower Drum Song (David Hwang version), Into The WoodsThe New Mikado and Caught by Christopher Chen. He has received The McKnight Distinguished Artist Award, The Ivey Award for Lifetime Achievement and the Sally Ordway Irvine Award for Vision.

Kim Vasquez, a Saint Paul native specializing in the development of new plays and musicals. She is currently a producer on Be More Chill (Chicago, London, Broadway and Off-Broadway) and Austen’s Pride. Kim is a proud Founding Producer for the currently defunct New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF), which survived for a glorious 16 years. Her most recent directing credit was for the New York Times bestselling Author and Poet, Rupi Kaur, in a live theatrical production of The Sun And Her Flowers at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center.

Upcoming Radio Shows Announced!

MYSTERIOUS OLD RADIO LISTENING SOCIETY ANNOUNCES UPCOMING SHOWS FOR MONTHLY PARK SQUARE THEATRE RESIDENCY 

Four Zoom squares with actors taking bows. They are in their homes surrounded by sound effects tools and twinkling lights.

Clockwise from upper left: Eric Webster, Tim Uren, Joshua English Scrimshaw, Shanan Custer

Saint Paul, Minn., Dec 3, 2020 – Theatre people of all stripes may miss the buzz of a full house, but the dedicated MYSTERIOUS OLD RADIO LISTENING SOCIETY continues finding new ways to entertain. Coming up, they have five new radio shows, continuing their monthly Monday night residency with Park Square Theatre. Themes will include evenings dedicated to cold weather, H.P. Lovecraft, and to dreamsPerformances are on Zoom on Jan 25, Feb 22, Mar 15, Apr 19 and May 24 at 7:30 p.m. 

The group originally pivoted to the pandemic by producing audio-only radio plays, but after applause for a zoom-recorded recreation of Orson Welles’s A Christmas Carol, all upcoming shows will be videos of the actors performing both their lines and creating the sound effects. “This is us in our homes performing on zoom,” says company member Eric Webster, “we do all the characters and all the foley and then edit it together. One audience member commented on how fun it was “seeing Tim literally change his hats to play different characters.”  

“Creating video, not just audio, gets us closer to the on-stage experience we were creating pre-pandemic,” says company member Joshua English Scrimshaw. “More than just remaking our favorites, we create something fresh from the golden-age shows that we all love so much, like Escape and Suspense.” The upcoming shows will be a combination of recreations of classic works, like a 1949 episode of Quiet Please in which scientists discover a gateway to a strange frozen dimension, and homages written by the company themselves, such as their ongoing series, Dead Men’s Tales. Full descriptions of the upcoming shows are available on the Park Square website. 

Another unforeseen benefit from the groupmove to virtual programming has been the ability to reach a national audience of mystery and radio fans. The December show reached audiences in 16 states including many delighted first-time attendees. “We knew we had some followers out there from our podcast, but it is amazing to have folks tuning in from D.C. to California,” says Webster. While some audience members are deep devotees of radio excited to have the opportunity to watch the show, otherhave shared their appreciation of being able to connect to remote friends and family through watching the shows together.  

Each evening includes live trivia-worthy introductions by the company and two prerecorded half hour radio dramas, followed by a live chat Q & A. “The Q & A’s are the best part,” says Webster. “We could just let the audience go sometimes, they are so smart and funny. We laugh and have a great time together.”  

 Members of The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society include local theatrical favorites: Eric Webster (Shade’s Brigade), Shanan Custer (2 Sugars, Room for Cream), Joshua English Scrimshaw (Comedy Suitcase) and Tim Uren (Ghoulish Delights). Online technical support and video editing by Aaron Fiskradatz.

TICKET PRICES: 
All Tickets $18. Intended for a single-household.
3-show packages also available for $36.
Tickets are on sale at parksquaretheatre.org 

The ticket office is temporarily closed due to corona virus. 
Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with questions. 

CALENDAR INFORMATION: 
January 25, February 22, March 15, April 19, May 24. 
All performances at 7:30 pm. 
Streaming access to the pre-recorded portions of each show are available to ticket holders for one month following the initial release. 

PHOTOS: download at https://www.parksquaretheatre.org/media/photos/ 

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. www.parksquaretheatre.org 

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Park Square recognized in “20 who met the challenges of 2020!”

Park Square’s Engine is not in “Park” but “Drive!”

So wrote Chris Hewitt in a December 17, 2020 Star Tribune article recognizing artists and groups who met the challenges of 2020. The list included many notable artists and including a few that will be recognizable to Park Square audiences for work they’ve done on at the theatre: Shá Cage (The Liar), Signe Harriday (Cardboard Piano), and Zorongo Flamenco, who has performed on Park Square’s Boss Stage. Park Square was humbled to be included alongside the wonderful work of other theatre companies including Mixed Blood Theatre, Pillsbury House + Theatre, Barebones and Penumbra Theatre.

Here is what Chris Hewitt wrote about Park Square:

A silver laptop with a screen showing seven actors in a Zoom screen. Each holds a different weapon.

When theaters had to close in March, Park Square made a shift to the virtual realm at warp speed. Within a month, its acclaimed “The Diary of Anne Frank” was Zooming from the homes of its actors. And within four months, Jeffrey Hatcher’s “Riddle Puzzle Plot,” especially written for Zoom, was delighting viewers with its comic twists and turns, enacted by a top-notch cast that included Sun Mee Chomet and Shanan Custer.

Several radio-style dramas and a version of “A Christmas Carol” have continued to demonstrate that the St. Paul venue’s engine is not in “Park” but “Drive.”

View the full article at: 20 Ways Minnesotans met the Challenges of 2020

VISIT THE GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO (AND CHRISTMAS!)

VISIT THE GOLDEN AGE OF RADIO (AND CHRISTMAS) WITH THE MYSTERIOUS OLD RADIO LISTENING SOCIETY’S RECREATION OF THE 1939 BROADCAST OF A CHRISTMAS CAROL 

Gathering around the radio to listen Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was a treasured annual tradition from the 1930s to 1950s. This year, Park Square Theatre and the Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society will present recreation of the 1939 Mercury Theatre broadcast of this holiday masterpiece, along with an interactive reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas, in which children – of all ages – are invited to create the sound effects, or foley as they call it in radio lingo. THE 1939 MERCURY THEATRE ON THE AIR – A CHRISTMAS CAROL will be shared on Zoom Dec 11, 12 and 13 and will be available for streaming through December. Dim the lights and join your loved ones, near or far, to tune in to the true meaning of Christmas. 

Adults will appreciate A Christmas Carol for its redemptive themes, while children are captivated by the familiar holiday trappings and the opportunity to be gently scared by a reassuring ghost story,” says Society company member Joshua English Scrimshaw. Ghost stories are traditional around the holiday time in England,” chimes in fellow company member Eric Webster. This story, howevercomes with the powerful feelgood ending of redemption. It’s about hope that things can change  people and circumstances, Webster added. “We all need hope that things can change for the better.

Three white men in Santa hats and Christmas sweaters holding vintage records.

The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society is left to right: Eric Webster, Joshua English Scrimshaw, and Tim Uren.

Since taking what was a monthly on-stage residency to Zoom, the group has performed adaptations ranging from Agatha Christie to Bram Stokerrecreating lost radio episodes (Scrimshaw’s Peter Lorre impression is spot on) and even writing their own original scripts. Until now, these shows have been audioonly radio dramas for the audience to listen to, but A CHRISTMAS CAROL takes it a step farther. “This will be us in our homes performing on zoom,” says Webster. “We do all the characters and all the foley and then edit it together. You’ll be able to watch us perform it, not just hear the audio of our performance.” 

As for why to tackle Christmas Carol, Webster exclaims, “It’s right up our alley! It’s a ghost story, and fits into our wheelhouse of suspense, crime and horror stories from the golden age of radioPlus, The Mercury Theater and Lionel Barrymore’s performance of Scrooge was  fantastic, and Orson Welles’s adaptation is one of the best ever done. 

Of course, some modifications will be made to adapt and translate the 1939 radio version to a 2020 Zoom production. For example, “Music – we don’t have a full orchestra like they had,” says Webster. “We have four actors playing all the parts, where they had one actor per character.  Other than that, we are staying as true as possible to the original broadcast.” And one more important thing, notes Scrimshaw, “for the sake of both variety and parity, we cast Shanan Custer in a number of roles traditionally played by men.” 

As Park Square enters a partnership with SteppingStone Theatre for Youth, the theatre wanted to bring a family element to the production. Webster has already released a video teaching young people (or anyone who wants to join in the fun) how to create a range of sound effects from “a clatter” to “reindeer on roof” using common household items. Ticket holders will receive a script with cues, and before each zoom performance, the company will perform a live reading of Twas the Night Before Christmas with prompts for the audience to use their new skills to create the sound effects themselves.  

As for how the audience can expect to feel after the show, Webster is enthusiastic. “Joyful!  Hopeful! You can’t help to examine your own life after A CHRISTMAS CAROL, to check in to make sure you are holding on to what really matters in life – family and friends. That’s the true spirit of Christmas. 

Members of The Mysterious Old Radio Listening Society include local theatrical favorites: Eric Webster (Shade’s Brigade), Shanan Custer (2 Sugars, Room for Cream), Joshua English Scrimshaw (Comedy Suitcase) and Tim Uren (Ghoulish Delights). Online technical support by Aaron Fiskradatz. 

TICKET PRICES: All Tickets $30. Intended for a single-household. Tickets are on sale at www.parksquaretheatre.org 

The ticket office is temporarily closed due to corona virus. Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with questions. 

CALENDAR INFORMATION: 
Dec. 11, 12 at 7:30 pm, Dec 13 at 2:00 pm
Streaming on Park Square’s website Dec 14- Jan 3. 

PHOTOS : download at https://www.parksquaretheatre.org/media/photos/ 

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. www.parksquaretheatre.org 

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Cozy Reads (and Watches) for Mystery Lovers

Recently, Park Square’s Mystery Writers Producer’s Club had a virtual cocktail party with playwright Joe Goodrich (The Red Box, Might As Well Be Dead, Panic). Joe introduced his new book Unusual Suspects: Selected Nonfiction published by Perfect Crime Books. This scintillating collection runs the gamut from cozy to noir and celebrates the achievements and personalities of mystery writers working in print, film, television and radio. The collection concludes with a biographical study of Derek Marlowe, forgotten author of the 1960s espionage classic, A Dandy in Aspic.

Joseph Goodrich, pictured in a black fedora and thick glasses.

Mystery writer and playwright Joseph Goodrich.

Joe read a charming autobiographical piece from the book about himself as a young boy growing up in Marshall, MN working up the courage to call ALL THE WAY to New York City.  The call was to Dilys Winn, the owner of Murder Ink, the nation’s first bookstore dedicated to mysteries.

“‘She’d been impressed by expatriate bookseller Sylvia Beach, founder of the original Shakespeare & Co in Paris, and Beach’s example offered a way out of Madison Avenue. ‘I’ll open a bookstore, and call it Murder Ink,’ Winn said. ‘That was on a Wednesday. I found the store on Thursday, and signed the lease Friday. I opened six weeks later.'”

Cover of book titled Unusual Suspects: Selected Non-Fiction by Joseph Goodrich.Back in 1976 Murder Ink offered a “Magical Mystery Tour” to London for only $800 that included meetings with authors and “cocktails with firearms experts.” Alas, the packet of information she mailed to young Joe in Minnesota “went missing.”  (The chief suspects being Mr. and Mrs. Goodrich who most likely thought a London adventure was too much for a 13-year-old boy who’d never been further away than Sioux Falls.)

Before the Zoom call ended, club members did a “round robin” to share what everyone was reading or watching. The list below is mostly mysteries to read, watch or listen to, but there are also a couple of other topics thrown in for variety.

First on the list, of course, is Joe Goodrich’s Unusual Suspects: Selected Nonfiction which can be ordered from the Twin Cities’ own brick and mortar bookstore dedicated to mysteries: Once Upon a Crime, in Minneapolis.

As we all turn to art in all forms to weather the pandemic and continued shutdown of theatres, we hope you enjoy these recommendations from your fellow Park Square Theatre fans.

Cozy Recommendations from the Mystery Writers Producers’ Club

Happy reading, watching and listening!

TEARS OF MOONS GRAPPLES WITH HISTORY

 HOW DO YOU DEAL WITH YOUR RAGE? YOUNG BLACK PLAYWRIGHT ASKS MINNESOTANS TO GRAPPLE WITH OUR SHARED HISTORY IN ONLINE SOLO PLAY 

Media Contact – Connie Shaver shaver@parksquaretheatre.org 

Saint Paul, Minn., November 5, 2020 – Park Square Theatre announces a new production of TEARS OF MOONS, written and performed by Antonio Duke and directed by Ellen Fenster. The poetic solo show winds through time – on the number 5 bus – bearing witness to the historic pervasiveness of violence against Black people and its role in our shared history. Both personal and expansive, the play reckons with the past and shares a vision of strength that interweaves African spiritual figures and mythology with Greek epic theatre. “The heartache and resiliency of the black spirit is as old as time itself,” says Duke, “Unfortunately, it is newly being tested time and time again.” TEARS OF MOONS will be filmed on Park Square’s Boss Stage and shown through Zoom November 19-22, 2020, along with live post-show conversations with Duke, Fenster and a moderator. The play will not be available for streaming. 

A young black man sits in a bus stop. He has an African mask and backpack with him.Structured around The Poet, a Homeric narrator wrestling with his own rage and ineffectuality, Duke deftly weaves in other characters, victims of racial violence, some recognizable from news headlines and others representing the lost stories of many. First written in 2015, Duke is judiciously updating the play in response to current events“As a black playwright, I conjure stories specifically for black folk so we can have a forum to communally bear witness to the rage we usually hide,” he says. “But I want everyone to see it so that the suffering people go through can be remembered and honored through ritual. The human condition is the human condition. Empathy is empathy. The victims of racial violence I speak on are human and their stories speak to our shared humanity. I want to ignite a fire within the audience’s spirit.” 

“We have been talking during rehearsal about how the racial trauma of our shared history affects everyone,” says director Ellen Fenster, who is also a Park Square Artistic Associate. “Iaffects how we interact and trust one another on the micro level, and how our systems work for some and not others on the macro level. These are such deep wounds and in my opinion we all suffer from them, whether we consciously realize it or not. This play is for anyone who wants to start to reconcile the racial trauma we live with in the United States, particularly white people who want to educate themselves and learn from a Black playwright who is coping with violence against Black people. This play illustrates with real information why racism and our racist past continues to haunt us.”  

The play is one of the first, following a three-part Halloween variety series, to be programmed by Park Square’s new leadership team which includes four Artistic Associates and Interim Executive Director Mark Ferraro-Hauck. “Part of what makes this play so incredibly meaningful, and why we so wanted to produce it, is Antonio Duke himself,” says Ferraro-Hauck. “He has a wonderfully grounded, gentle and wise presence. You can tell he comes from place of deep compassion as a storyteller. He brings you along with him like a trusted companion.”

“Antonio wrote this play five years ago,” notes Fenster, “and unfortunately it has only become more relevant. The content can stir a lot of emotions and be uncomfortable, which is why we are hosting it through Zoom instead of streaming. We are strongly encouraging audiences to stay with us after each performance to reflect and start processing these deep feelings. 2020 has been a year or recognizing and reckoning, and this play is a witness not only to our history, but how we might grapple with this moment. It is a witness to the truth and the challenge we have before us.” 

ABOUT THE ARTISTS 

TEARS OF MOONS is performed entirely by Antonio Duke. 

The Production Team for TEARS OF MOONS includes Ellen Fenster (Director) Emmet Kowler (Lighting and Projection Design), Erin Gustafson (Stage Manager), Tomas Leal/Leal Studios (Videographer). 

Antonio Duke is a Twin Cities based actor and playwright. In his work he focuses on mythology. Within mythos lies intimate and epic circumstances that he is driven to explore. He conjures most of his muse form black spiritualities; specifically, those deities from the Yoruba, Santeria and Vodou traditions. His artistic mission is to provide conjuration spells for black folk. By offering black magic he hopes to illuminate a communal healing space. He is an alumnus of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie B.F.A. Actor Training Program. He has been seen on stages with The Blue Barn Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, Pillsbury House + Theatre, Climb Theatre, Nebraska Shakespeare Festival and the Guthrie Theatre. His first solo performance piece Tears of Moons was accepted into the Guthrie Theatre’s Solo Emerging Artist Celebration. His second solo performance piece Ashes of Moons premiered at Pillsbury House Theatre’s as a part of their Naked Stages Fellowship. He received both the Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board and Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship for his next solo piece Missing Mississippi Moons. He is the Co-Artistic Director of The Black Ensemble Players. You can expect him to cultivate many more stages as his journey continues to grow.  

Ellen Fenster is a professional theater director and arts educator in Minneapolis and part of Park Square Theatre’s artistic leadership team. Ellen has directed at Pillsbury House Theatre, The Illusion Theater, Yellow Tree Theater, Theatre Mu, Artistry, Gremlin Theatre, U of MN/Guthrie Theater Actor Training Program and Park Square Theater. She is an associate artist at Pillsbury House Theatre where she ran the Chicago Avenue Project from 2008 to 2016She is also an artistic associate at Illusion Theatre where she helps connect the theater with young and emerging artists. She is currently the Artistic and Executive Director of Twin Cities Theater Camp, a summer theater intensive for children. 

TICKET PRICES: All Tickets $25
Tickets are on sale at www.parksquaretheatre.org.  

The ticket office is temporarily closed due to corona virus. 
Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with questions. 

CALENDAR INFORMATION: Nov 19, 20, 21 at 7:30 pm, Nov 22 at 2:00 pm 

PHOTOS : download at https://www.parksquaretheatre.org/media/photos/
Photos by Aaron Fenster.  

PARK SQUARE THEATRE. 20 W. Seventh Place, Saint Paul. www.parksquaretheatre.org 

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