Recent conversations with Jon Ferguson, that rising star of the local theater scene, revealed a topical theme: The man is headlong in love. Since he and his partner, performer Megan Odell of Live Action Set, recently welcomed a baby boy into the world, Ferguson—formerly an itinerant, couch-surfing bachelor—finds himself an unlikely inhabitant of a state […]
Eurydice
Sarah Ruhl, Sarah Ruhl, Sarah Ruhl. We’ve been writing up, and seeing, our fill of plays by this hotshot. Still, we’d be fools not to note the occasion of the regional premiere of Eurydice, the play that made Ruhl a certified superstar (thanks to last summer’s extended Off-Broadway run). This production marks Ten Thousand Things’ […]
Framing Suzan-Lori Parks: Directing Challenges and Discoveries
Things could get interesting when the English and Theater departments at the U of M embark on a joint investigation of Suzan-Lori Parks’s oeuvre. This Pulitzer- and MacArthur Genius Grant-winning playwright boasts a body of work that’s rich in poetics and historic awareness, yet audacious enough to confront issues of emotional brutality head-on. (In other […]
Ways to Behold and Sentry
One of the most literate, thoughtful choreographers in town, Stuart Pimsler presents a double bill of protest art late in the month. Ways to Behold, a world premiere with accompaniment by spoken-word artist Tiyo Siyolo, juxtaposes the realities of a U.S.-initiated—yet somehow invisible—war overseas with the comforts of daily life on our own shores. Sentry […]
Creep Show Couture
“Do you ladies sew?” asked Rae Lundquist, a five-foot, fifty-something with a confident manner and long, silvering brown hair falling past her waist. Lundquist serves as costume director of MarsCon, a sci-fi convention that celebrates its tenth anniversary this month. As part of her duties, she had organized an educational field trip for her fellow […]
Fashioning a Movement
To highlight our semi-annual selection of new fashion, we turned to a population that—let’s face it, unfair as it seems—looks delightful no matter what they’re wearing. Our models are four dance students at the University of Minnesota and their choreographer (who moonlights as The Rake’s stylist); we captured them during a rehearsal at the Barbara […]
Off to Mexico
Sick of winter much? Can you bear another cold day of having to bulk up? Me either! That’s why I’m checking out for Mexico, yo. Feast your eyes on this: the adorable, but nonetheless scanty, romper I procured for the occasion (as modeled by the much thinner-than-me office floor). The romper is by Michele […]
Dunking the Fishtank
Fishtank: n. a diffuse, silent comedy ostensibly done in the spirit of Buster Keaton and Jacques Tati. I couldn’t help but make comparisons to Play Time, my favorite Tati flick (I just re-watched the restaurant scene last week). This was Tati’s all-out screed on modernist architecture, if you’ll recall. In my mind, the physical acting […]
Wilson’s: Loss of jobs and my junior-high jacket
When was the last time you entered a Wilson’s? For me, it’s been a while. But the trip that’s forever etched in my memory goes all the way back to junior high. My sister had just scored a cool Michael Jackson Thriller-style red windbreaker. Not wanting to be outdone, I commenced to scour the shopping […]
Exclusive Sneak Peek of Voltage 08
Unbeknownst to most folks, there was a public preview of the Voltage ’08 fashions at last night’s 10,000 Arts Party. Mostly I spent the evening being a bugaboo to the models backstage. (Don’t they look irritated?) But I also managed to take these snapshots of the looks: My favorite dress of the night was […]