3 new plays. locally sourced. 100% organic.
We are proud to wrap up the Fresh Roots Series, a festival of new works presented throughout the season.
We selected 3 locally sourced playwrights to take part in the series. We provided each with a development workshop and a free public staged reading of their newest work.
Each playwright was selected for their unique voice & style, a deep dedication to the craft, and a passion for the Twin Cities theatre community.
Our 2018/2019 Playwrights were: Alayna Jacqueline, Cristina Florencia Castro, and Keith Hovis.
We hope you join us at the table.
We selected 3 locally sourced playwrights to take part in the series. We provided each with a development workshop and a free public staged reading of their newest work.
Each playwright was selected for their unique voice & style, a deep dedication to the craft, and a passion for the Twin Cities theatre community.
Our 2018/2019 Playwrights were: Alayna Jacqueline, Cristina Florencia Castro, and Keith Hovis.
We hope you join us at the table.
Alayna Jacqueline
Alayna Jacqueline is a Minneapolis-based playwright, born and raised in Buckeye Nation (Columbus, Ohio). In her absurd experimental writing, she loves finding new ways to bend, reshape, and deconstruct stories for the stage. Alayna’s plays have been read, performed, or developed at MadLab Theater (OH), Garden Theater (OH), Pythian Theater (OH), Haybarn Theater (VT), Playwrights’ Center (MN), Crane Theater (MN), and Renaissance Theaterworks (WI). She’s a new play instigator with the Twin Cities Playwright Cabal. She earned her MFA in creative writing from Goddard College and her BA in theatre from Otterbein University.
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The Amethyst
Sunday 18 November 2018 @ 7:00PM The Crane Theater 2303 Kennedy St NE #120 Minneapolis, MN 55413 Inspired by the folklore of changelings, this piece explores the experience of Denise, a first-time mother with postpartum depression. As she navigates through motherhood and the changes it brings, she begins to notice subtle differences in the people in her life. The story travels between Denise’s mind and the outside world. Using found sound music from three insidious creatures, we follow the intent behind Denise’s family’s actions and words, but also discover how that intent is lost or manipulated into something dark and harmful. Featuring: Jonathan Feld, Melinda Kordich, Stanzi D. Schalter, and Boo Segersin Directed by Lucas Skjaret with dramaturgy support by Madie Kvale |
"In my writing, I love to turn figurative into the literal. I explore new ways for people to experience the tangled mesh of circuits in my mind and the lens through which I view the world. With words on a page, I find the courage to expose my fears, sorrows, pains, while sharing my curiosity, joy, and faith. I want to create characters with stories that live beyond me, hoping their words and actions resonate forward."
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Cristina Florencia Castro
Cristina Florencia Castro is a playwright/performer who hails from San Antonio, Texas and has been based in Minneapolis since 2007. Her recent honors include a playwriting residency with the Ingram New Works Project at Nashville Rep, the Jerome Many Voices Fellowship at The Playwrights' Center, Silver Award in Playwriting from the National YoungArts Foundation in Miami, Fl. As a performer she has acted in the Twin Cities with theaters such as Penumbra Theatre (For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow is Enuf), The Jungle Theater (Anna in the Tropics), Artistry (W;t), Mixed Blood (The House of Spirits), Park Square (August: Osage County), Daleko Arts (The Shape of Things), Market Garden Theatre (Three Days of Rain), Theater Coup d'Etat (Romeo in Romeo & Juliet and Hamlet), the Playwrights’ Center, Little Lifeboats (Parhelion), and History Theater (RAW STAGES New Works Festival). Cristina is a 2011 alumna of the University of Minnesota/Guthrie Theater B.F.A. Actor Training Program. She teaches with Upstream Arts & The Jungle Theatre’s: Jungle Writes. Cristina is an affiliated writer at The Playwrights’ Center.
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I Forgot About Goliad
Sunday 20 January 2019 @ 7:30PM The Crane Theater 2303 Kennedy St NE #120 Minneapolis, MN 55413 Weaving through time, latinidad, and San Antonio, Texas, I Forgot About Goliad traces the friendship of childhood best friends Maribel and Catherine. While experiencing their joys and tragedies, we see the two young women come into themselves, and just how fragile friendship, in the face of time and inevitable differences, can be. A story known by everyone who has found themselves a stranger to a person they once loved, I Forgot About Goliad shows us the best and worst of our past. Featuring: Stephanie Ruas and Kiko Laureano Directed by Lucas Skjaret with dramaturgy support by Madie Kvale |
"Cristina writes violently delightful plays about identity and unconventional families. With humor, talking animals/objects, possible puppets, and maybe an excessive amount curse words, Cristina explores her Mixed race identity and the inevitable contradictions that come with it. With awareness of her ancestors descending from marginalized and disabled communities, Cristina’s work strives to present nuanced, character driven stories of underdogs."
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Keith Hovis
Keith Hovis is a playwright and composer based in the Twin Cities. His work has been produced by Freshwater Theatre, Market Garden Theatre, Revisionary Theatre Collective, the University of Minnesota, Six Elements Theater, Box Wine Theater, Luther College in Iowa, and the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Keith's one-act musical, Mrs. Housel: A Suicide Suite was featured at the 2014 Ivey Awards, and his first full-length musical, Pioneer Suite, premiered with Freshwater Theatre in October 2015. Keith's hit Minnesota Fringe Festival musical, Jefferson Township Sparkling Junior Talent Pageant, is currently in development with Park Square Theater, and a full-length version will premiere in June 2019 as part of their 2018-19 season. Other original works include: Teenage Misery, Public Exposure, and the collaboratively developed musical A Morbid History of Sons and Daughters for the 2018 Twin Cities Horror Festival. As a composer, he has worked with Theater Mu, Mixed Blood Theater, and Fortune's Fool Theatre. University of Minnesota - Twin Cities, Nautilus Music-Theater Composer-Librettist Studio.
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Jacksonville
Sunday 31 March 2019 @ 7:00PM The Crane Theater 2303 Kennedy St NE #120 Minneapolis, MN 55413 A photographer captures an act of violence and garners acclaim and awards for how the images offer an honest and raw depiction of humanity. As the photos take on a life of their own in the public eye, he finds himself drawn to the woman in the photo, who lived, and haunted by the man in the photo, who died. An exploration of the morals that ground us, the flexibility of truth, and the unexpected destruction of a moment. Featuring: Bradley Hildebrandt, Marci Lucht, James Allen Kerr, Diana Jurand, and Nick Wolf Directed by Lucas Skjaret with dramaturgy support by Madie Kvale |
"I came to terms long ago with the fact that I will never be a scientist or mathematical genius. And while that is my burden to bear, I do have my words. Writing gives me the chance to impact the world around me in my own way. When I write a play or compose music, I use that opportunity to take topics that keep me awake at night and turn them into conversation starters. My work often weaves dark comedy into the narrative, because in terms of starting a dialogue, that is one of the best ways to get people talking. When someone laughs at a joke they normally would be offended by or connects with a character through humor that they would typically not identify with, that opens up an incredible opportunity for reflection and dialogue. In other words, style/voice is dark, fast paced, and contemplative. Finally, I use music regularly because when words fails, music can help a story connect with just about anyone."
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Photos by Kaitlin Randolph
