Where have we been, and where are we going?
Our thanks to all who joined us for our first full season as a company in 2012/2013! We took a voyage on The Queen of Minneapolis, unveiled marriage in Better (or) Worse, established our Fringe Consolation Remount with Katherine Glover’s Dead Wrong, and took a trip Back to High School, ending up in 1986 with The Gifted Program. Your support made this possible, and we’re so grateful.
But this is merely the beginning.
Freshwater Theatre is proud to announce our 2013-2014 season!
We begin with our 2013 Fringe entry Turn Signals, a comedy by Ruth Virkus, directed by Amber Bjork! Nothing tempers a family unit like the crucible of a road trip. The destination may always be a constant, but the journey is a series of choices. We’re letting the audience make them for us. At every crossroad (emotional or geographical), the audience will be allowed to decide whether the characters turn right or left. The audience will never see the same trip twice – and while the characters will always arrive at their physical destination, they may lose or find each other along the way. Melissa and her teenage daughter Janet have certain traditions when taking to the highways to visit their relatives in Florida, but Melissa’s boyfriend Danny coming along for the ride isn’t one of them. Join this trio as they navigate the possibilities of beginning a new family unit together, and meet some incredible characters on the road. A three person chorus plays the rest of the characters (including the scenery and the radio!). Featuring Mame Pelletier, Joe Swanson, Laura Mason, Dana Bye, Rachel Flynn and Michael Terrell Brown. Minnesota Fringe, Theatre in the Round, August 1-11, 2013
This fall, we present The Beacon From Belle Isle, by company member-at-large J. Merrill Motz, directed by Jamil Jude. Flavored with magical realism, and framed in vignettes that range from unflinching candor to whimsical history, The Beacon From Belle Isle‘s search for a metaphorical lighthouse drives an exploration of Michigan’s growth, decline, and search for a new collective direction.
In rep with this world premiere work, we’re pleased to present our second annual Fringe Encore Consolation Remount, in which we give a Fringe show from an emerging company another life beyond their initial run at the 2013 Fringe. Both shows running November 8-23 at Nimbus Theatre.
In Spring 2014, we bring you Mrs. Charles, a world premiere historical romance from Ruth Virkus. In 1878, Charles and Walter are in love, but the harsh reality of Philadelphia society keeps them from ever truly making a life together. When Walter is offered the chance to open a milling concern in Minneapolis, they hatch an audacious plan: arrive there with Charles…as his wife. An unlikely marriage set against the backdrop of early Minneapolis society, Mrs. Charles is about what we’re willing to give up, what we’re willing to fight for, and what is really worth it in the end.
As a companion piece, Freshwater Theatre will seek performers of all kinds to create works based on archived articles from the Minneapolis newspapers from the 1800s, as we look back on our city’s beginnings. Both shows run at Nimbus Theatre May 3-17, 2014!
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
