Our Mission
We believe that art comes from a place. And we believe, unapologetically, that our place is one of the very best. We exist not only to create our own theater, but to facilitate and promote a vision of the Twin Cities as a major exporter of performing arts. We do beautiful, brave work here. This is an artistic community of revelation, innovation and pride. We have big dreams for Freshwater Theatre Company, and that includes this entire community of artists, individually and collectively.
Founded by the husband and wife team of Ben Layne and Ruth Virkus, with the help of fantastic colleagues and friends, Freshwater Theatre Company has produced over 30 productions since 2011. Our productions have been lauded by audiences and critics alike, and our production of Freshwater Theatre Goes Back to High School won an Ivey Award for playwriting in 2013.
Our motto is simple: we love good stories, told simply and told well. We believe that theatre can be transformative, revelatory, and educational, but we love it best when it’s a good time, too. We like to entertain, and we promise a helluva ride. We refuse to apologize or compromise. It’s time to get serious, Twin Cities. This isn’t flyover country. We’re a coast, too. In fact, we have more coastline in Minnesota than anywhere else in the United States. The water is just fresher here.
Freshwater Theatre. We’re in it for all of us.
THE COMPANY
Ruth Virkus
(Co-Artistic Director)
Ben Layne
(Co-Artistic Director)
Rachel Flynn
(Front of House Goddess)
Scot Froelich
(Resident Sound Designer)
Sheree Froelich
Ariel Leaf
(Resident Lighting Designer)
John Leaf
Jimmy LeDuc
Seán McArdle
J. Merrill Motz
Mame Pelletier
Nicole Marie Wilder
Lacey Zeiler
John Zeiler
Members-At-Large:
Neil Schneider
Katie Starks
Michael Sung-Ho