Posts Tagged Matthew Glover

Park Square Theatre Seeks Resident Theatre Partners

Is your  theatre company interested in participating with Park Square Theatre as a member of the second generation of resident theatres?

Park Square is seeking to work with up to three groups, beginning with the 2017-2018 season.  

We need partners who:

  • Can produce one full production per year, for at least two consecutive seasons, as part of Park Square’s Boss Thrust Stage subscription season
  • Have a track record of successful producing for a loyal audience
  • Have plans and ambitions for continued programming and the ability to program ahead (18-24 months out)
  • Are willing to collaborate with Park Square and other Partners to coordinate programming, scheduling and marketing

Park Square’s contribution to the partnership includes:

  • Use of the  Andy Boss Thrust Stage for tech/dress and performances
  • Ticketing, sales and house management
  • Direct marketing and promotion as part of the Theatre’s subscription series
  • Collaboration for joint/shared marketing and the potential for joint fundraising

To be considered for 2017-2018, please submit your expression of interest to Richard Cook (cook@parksquaretheatre.org/651.767.7482) no later than November 1, 2016.

 

  Big Money at Park Square Theatre, 2017             Up: The Man in the Flying Chair at Park Square Theatre, 2017

Current Resident Theatre Partners Sandbox Theatre (photo of Peter Heeringa by Matthew Glover), Theatre Pro Rata and Girl Friday Productions present Big Money, Up: The Man in the Flying Chair and Idiot’s Delight, respectively, for the Park Square Theatre 2016-2017 season

          Idiot's Delight, produced by Girl Friday Productions, at Park Square Theatre, 2017

True Gems

I was recently inspired by Matthew Glover’s blogs on June 1 (“When 40 Feels Like a Lot”) and June 3 (“The Finish Line”). Glover was co-Director and Project Lead on Sandbox Theatre’s Queens, which just ended its run on Park Square Theatre’s Andy Boss Thrust Stage. Each of his posts gave us a glimpse of the immense dedication of artists to bring their creations to audiences, regardless of size, and how they feel called to give beyond the best of themselves—in this case, performing through excruciating pain from an injury.

Glover made me recall how I had discovered Sandbox Theatre at Park Square Theatre last season. The ensemble was performing War With the Newts, also on the Boss Stage and as part of Park Square’s Theatres in Residence Series. It was a truly groundbreaking production, described as “a deep exploration of the themes of nationalism, exploitative business practices and human nature’s self-destructive tendencies.” In short, humanity faced extinction at the hands of anthropomorphic newts. Reviewers described the play as “quirky” and “darkly funny.” The utter originality of the production simply blew my mind—in a very good way, leading me to see it twice.

war-with-the-newts-notext

As you can imagine, I could not wait to see Queens this season. But like War With the Newts, Queens also fought for a larger audience, though both garnered good reviews. The sheer quiet beauty of the sure-footed performances made me want to see Queens again as well, though I was unable to do so this time.

In a May 25 review on Queens in City Pages, Jay Gabler wrote, “If you’re willing to set aside your expectations of a conventional narrative, though, you’ll find a show built on trust—trust among the performers, trust in the material, and trust in the audience.” I think that his words would also ring true for War With the Newts a year ago. Sandbox Theatre does excellent but unconventional work that may challenge the audience in new ways; and, often, cutting-edge art takes time to be recognized for the gem that it is—to, essentially, build an audience.

Pondering on the incredible dedication of Sandbox Theatre to its craft made me think about all the other smaller theatres in the Twin Cities that have or will perform at Park Square Theatre this season–Wonderlust Productions, Mu Performing Arts, Other Tiger Productions and Flying Foot Forum–and how they “sweat blood” to inspire us, broaden and challenge our views, and bring us together.

New start-ups, such as Full Circle Theatre (co-founded by Rick Shiomi who was also co-founder of Mu Performing Arts) and Hero Now Theatre (which cast our own Vincent Hannam in its inaugural play), have only cropped up this past year; and you can be sure that others will keep coming, all bent on working to build mutual understanding and inspire a better future.

I encourage you to come and engage with these and other theatres as you discover their existence. Come be challenged. Come to explore. Come to receive their gifts—always with an open mind.

 

Tickets

The box office is currently closed. Please email tickets@parksquaretheatre.org with any questions.

Stay in Touch!

Get the latest updates and offers from Park Square Theatre.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

    Park Square on Instagram  See Park Square Videos on Vimeo