From MinnPost:
ALSO: New McKnight fellowships – for book artists; Silver Jubilee exhibition at the Textile Center; and more.By Pamela Espeland | columnist
Aug. 28, 2019
The 2019-20 theater season is almost here, with many productions lining up at the starting gate for their September openings. Meanwhile, Seth Patterson, a member of the clergy at Plymouth Congregational Church, has been organizing something new called Theater 45º.
Patterson was originally hired by the church in 2016 as the director of Children and Youth Ministry. In early 2018, he became the director of Spiritual Formation and Theater. For fun, we did a Google search. It seems Patterson is the only person in the world with that title. He holds a Master of Divinity from the University of Chicago, an MFA in theater and a BA in theater and philosophy (from St. Olaf College in Northfield).
Starting Sept. 9, Theater 45º will debut a new series of six events at Plymouth, all free. There is a $15 suggested donation, but at Plymouth, suggested means suggested. In our experience there, specifically for Literary Witness events, volunteers will hold baskets, hoping (and probably praying) you’ll drop something in, but they will not guilt you out or chase you down.
The series is called “Step Back, Listen Up: Stories We All Need to Hear.” Here’s how it is described: “People at the margins in our society have stories that are effectively invisible. This new series will allow groups from outside the dominant culture to tell the stories that they feel need to be made visible.” Theatre 45º won’t do the telling. It will provide the space and the resources.
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Patterson said in a statement, “The purpose of Theatre 45º is to use the theatrical experience to deepen the many facets of being human. We intend to present stories that engage the spiritual idea of the human person regardless of – but not ignoring – a religious experience. These stories are rooted in questions and not answers.”
Here’s the lineup:
Sept. 9: Blackout Improv. A mix of comedy, social justice and arts access that is changing the face of comedy stages in Minnesota.
Sept. 23: Irreducible Grace Foundation. An organization that uses theater arts, written and spoken word to foster youth voices and create healing opportunities for youth of color.
Oct. 7: Interact Center for the Visual and Performing Arts. Creating art in a spirit of radical inclusion that challenges perceptions of disability.
Oct. 21: ALMA (the Alliance of Latinx Minnesota Artists). Making visible the diverse artistic voices of Minnesota’s Latinx community.
Nov. 4: Washburn High School Blackbox Theatre. A social justice theater program at a public high school that promotes youth voices and change in our community. Run by Crystal Spring, director of acting, this program was featured in Season 7 of TPT’s MN Original.
Nov. 18: zAmya Theater. Bringing together homeless and housed individuals to create and perform a theatrical production; turning “homeless” from a word back into a person.
All performances are Mondays at 7 p.m. at Plymouth Congregational Church. (Smart scheduling. Most theaters are dark on Mondays.) Reservations are encouraged because the chapel seats about 100.