Author: Tracy Blowers

  • Sense and Sensibility – Guthrie Theater – Minneapolis

    Sense and Sensibility – Guthrie Theater – Minneapolis

    Alejandra Escalante (Marianne Dashwood), Jolly Abraham (Elinor Dashwood), Kris L. Nelson (John Dashwood) and the cast of the Guthrie Theater’s production of Sense and Sensibility, adapted by Kate Hamill, based on the novel by Jane Austen and directed by Sarah Rasmussen. Scenic design by Junghyun Georgia Lee, costume design by Moria Sine Clinton, lighting design by Charlie Morrison. September 10 – October 29, 2016 on the Wurtele Thrust Stage at the Guthrie Theater, Minneapolis. Photo by Dan Norman.

    I’ve never attended a play where the audience was on their feet clapping as the show ended even before curtain call. I’ve also never witnessed the audience acting as a whole, everyone standing at the same time. It was incredible.

    Sense: any of the faculties by which the mind receives information about the external world or about the state of the body.

    Sensibility: awareness of and responsiveness toward something

    It’s funny how we think things have changed so much since the 1790s and yet how much has stayed the same. Sense and Sensibility is as significant now as it was then. I think especially for women and how they navigate their feelings and actions. Also in our social media world, how appearance and how people perceive you can be everything.

    Sense and Sensibility is about two girls and how their lives are turned upside down after their father dies. How will they ever find love without a home or any fortune? Love comes and love goes and eventually the girls learn to appreciate each other’s differences and how to find love. It’s a beautiful story of family and of love.

    Kate Hamill did an amazing job writing this adaptation and with the direction of Sarah Rasmussen, the show shines. You can also feel the shift with new Artistic Director Joseph Haj at the Guthrie Theater. It’s hard to put your finger on it but there is definitely something wonderful happening!

    See Sense and Sensibility now through October 29, 2016. Click HERE for all details.

    Guthrie Theater
    818 South Second Street
    Minneapolis, MN 55415
    612.377.2224
  • The 2016 Ivey Awards

    The 2016 Ivey Awards

    This was my first year attending the Ivey Awards and it was a blast! We are so fortunate to have such an amazing theater community in the Twin Cities and this unique event to honor it. Below, I attached the press release naming all the honorees and details about the event supplied by Anne Q. Ulseth with AQUA Public Relations. You can also follow the Twin Cities Theater Bloggers on our Facebook Page for reviews of this event and all things theater. The wonderful thing about this event is that it is open to the public so mark your calendars for next year! Also the 2016 Iveys will be broadcast on 45TV at 7pm on Saturday, September 24 including pre-event activities, behind the scenes interviews and the Awards show.

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    This is my vote for “best dressed” on the red carpet!
    Her purse says: IT’S ALL AN ACT
    Love it!
    2016 Ivey Awards Recognize
    Star Tribune’s Graydon Royce for Lifetime Achievement and
    Costume Designer Trevor Bowen for Emerging Artist
    (MINNEAPOLIS; September 20, 2016) — The Twin Cities theater community honored Graydon Royce, long-time theater critic for the Star Tribune, with the Lifetime Achievement Award, and costume designer Trevor Bowen with the Emerging Artist Award at the 12th annual Ivey Awards. The yearly celebration was held Monday, September 19, at the Historic State Theatre in downtown Minneapolis.
    The 2016 Ivey Awards attracted a sold out audience to the show designed to celebrate and showcase the work of professional theater companies and artists over the past year.
    Based on evaluations completed by the more than 150 volunteer theater evaluators who saw more than 1,200 performances created by 84 professional theaters in the Minneapolis-St. Paul seven-county metropolitan area from September 2015 through August 2016, three productions and seven individuals/ensembles were also recognized:
    Productions
    – The Wizard of Oz (Children’s Theatre Company) – Overall Excellence
    – Glensheen (History Theatre) – Overall Excellence
    – Le Switch (Jungle Theater) – Overall Excellence
    Individuals/Ensembles
    – Victor Zupanc – Sound Design and Music: Pinocchio (Children’s Theatre Company)
    – Kevin Fanshaw and Charles Numrich – Acting: Equus (Theatre Coup d’Etat)
    – Warren C. Bowles – Direction: The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife  (Minnesota Jewish Theatre Company)
    – Kate Sutton-Johnson – Set Design: Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street  (Theater Latté Da)
    – Jasmine Hughes – Acting: Sunset Baby (Penumbra Theatre)
    – Ensemble – Acting: Trouble in Mind (Guthrie Theater)
    – Ensemble – Acting: Now or Later (New Epic Theater)
    The 2016 Iveys – including pre-event activities, behind-the-scenes interviews and the Awards show – will be broadcast on 45TV at 7pm on Saturday, September 24 and on KSTP-TV at 1am on Sunday, September 25.
    About the Iveys
    The Iveys are unique among awards events in the country in that they are open to the public and that there are no nominees, set number of awards or pre-determined award categories, with the exception of the Lifetime Achievement and the Emerging Artist Awards. The artists and organizations receiving special recognition are selected from evaluations completed by the general public and the volunteer theater evaluators. Each participating theater receives a vote to determine the Lifetime Achievement and Emerging Artist Awards.
    The Ivey Awards are presented with the generous support of Target, Best Buy, Delta, Disciplined Growth Investors, Lurie Wealth Advisors, UBS, Galleria, JP Morgan, IATSE, Actor’s Equity Association, AIMIA, Fox Rothschild, Knock, Robins Kaplan, Risdall, BMW of Minnetonka, Far North Spirits, myTalk 107.1, MinnPost, Mpls/St Paul Magazine, martinpatrick3, Summit Brewing, Joel Gott Wines, iheartmedia, Arts Ink, Clear Channel Outdoor, City Pages, William Clark Photography, McKnight Foundation, Thomson Reuters, Marin, Savvi Formalwear, Principal Financial and RBC Dain Rauscher.
    ###
    GRAYDON ROYCE (Lifetime Achievement Award) recently retired from the Star Tribune as a full-time reporter covering theater, classical music and other fine arts. He grew up in Mound, Minnesota, and graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire with a degree in Journalism. He was a fellow at the 2003 O’Neill Theater National Critics Institute and a fellow at the National Endowment for the Arts Institute on Classical Music and Opera in 2009. Prior to his work on the arts team, Royce was an editor in various capacities at the Star Tribune for 19 years.
    Royce got his career start in radio before joining the Star Tribune in 1980, and he’s renewed that path with the “New Frontier Lutheran Radio Hour,” a monthly variety program that he’s created and hosted at his south Minneapolis church since 2011. He’s also written and produced several plays, including one that went off-Broadway.
    In his own words, “Graydon Royce has been in love with theater ever since he portrayed Crusher, Mad Dog Vachon and Wally Karbo to frenzied applause in the 6th grade talent show at Hilltop Elementary School. His most embarrassing moment in life was a dance audition at Chanhassen Dinner Theatre in 1974. So many steps, so few feet. Now he just likes to watch.”
    TREVOR BOWEN (Emerging Artist Award): “A powerhouse of a costume designer and critical thinker, [his] designs have thundered onto the scene and he quickly became a fixture of Twin Cities theatre” (Technical Tools of the Trade) when he arrived in Minnesota less than five years ago. Bowen got his start as a design assistant in the Guthrie’s costume shop (2012-13 Season) and since then, has designed costumes for many of the area’s major theater companies, including Mixed Blood Theater (An Octoroon, Pussy Valley, Colossal, Hir, Charm, DJ Latindad’s Latino Dance Party), Theatre Latté Da (Our Town, Lullaby), Pillsbury House Theatre (The Road Weeps, The Well Runs Dry), Park Square Theatre (Nina Simone: Four Women, My Children! My Africa!), Ten Thousand Things (Romeo and Juliet, Pericles), the History Theater (George Bonga: Black Voyageur) and the Jungle Theater (Bars and Measures).
    Nationally, Bowen has designed costumes for the Contemporary American Theater Festival (West Virginia), the Gateway Playhouse (New York) and has assistant costume design credits with The Public Theater (New York City) and Steppenwolf Theater (Chicago), Jess Goldstein costume designer; and Long Wharf Theater (Connecticut). Bowen holds an M.F.A. in costume design from West Virginia University.
  • Paint Your Wagon – Ordway Theater

    Paint Your Wagon – Ordway Theater

    The Company of Lerner & Loewe’s Paint Your Wagon at Ordway Theater, St.Paul, Minnesota. Photo Credit: Tracy Martin

    The promise of a new life….

    Paint Your Wagon is such a joy to watch! The music, adapted story, costumes and dancing are definitely soul stirring. The California Gold Rush was an amazing time in history when people from all over the world took a leap of faith for the American Dream. This updated version of Paint Your Wagon truly explores all the different perspectives and shows how hard the journey would have been from the competition to the desperation.

    Not only was I swept away by the music and love story, I left filled with hope and inspiration. The reminder that love knows no boundaries when faced with challenges. If we work together without care of background, we can create something beautiful. Wait, did I mention the music?! 🙂 I’m still humming “I Was Born Under a Wand’rin Star” and “There’s a Coach Comin’ In” a week later. “They Call the Wind Maria” was so haunting and beautiful. I could go on and on but just go see it….

    Enjoy this Gold Rush musical now through Sunday, August 21, 2016.
    Get tickets and see all details by clicking HERE.
    Music by Frederick Loewe
    Book and Lyrics by Alan J. Lerner
    New Book Adaptation by Jon Marans
    Directed by David Armstrong
    Choreographed by Josh Rhodes
    Musical Direction by Ian Eisendrath
    Ordway Center for Performing Arts
    345 Washington Street
    Saint Paul, MN 55102
  • Red Chair Journey – Postcards

    Red Chair Journey – Postcards

    It’s been such a cool experience getting my #RedChairJourney postcards back after our road trip west. I left these cards in different locations as we traveled, asking the question – What Stirs Your Soul? This was just a start, an experiment, and I am looking forward to continuing my Red Chair Journey project in Minnesota.

    The top card struck me after the horrible news in Orlando.

    “No two people are alike, we are all made different and unique in our own special way”

    I love reading that someone has so much appreciation for diversity, that he is self aware enough to accept himself and see the differences, the confidence and love to enjoy others without judgment.

    Reading that – stirs my soul.

    We are all upset by what happened and it’s easy to blame, shout our opinions BUT…..

    in the end, it all starts with US. I have to remind myself of that and focus on what I CAN do instead of spending the energy complaining. When we stand together, we can create change.

    Wishing you all a soul stirring day!

  • Red Chair Journey – Zion National Park

    Red Chair Journey – Zion National Park

    Thinking will not overcome fear but action will. -W.Clement Stone

    Continuing the #TNTroadtrip2016 wrap up. After leaving Jackson Hole, Wyoming, we headed to Park City, Utah then to Vegas stopping at Zion National Park on the way.

    I’m way afraid of heights. Driving up and around the cliffs of Zion National Park gave me anxiety BUT I was not going to let that stop me. I crave seeing new things and nature fuels me….so just as W.Clement Stone says – I took action.

    The Red Chair sat, slowly taking in the fresh air at the top of this cliff. Feeling a bit unstable and wobbly so close to the edge but she found her footing. She held her ground, feeling Mother Nature’s strength below her and she soaked it all in. 

    I also have to mention, if you get to Park City, Utah – make sure to stop at High West Distillery. We were SO impressed not only with the whiskey but the food! Truly one of the best meals we’ve ever had and overall great experience. One of our fave nights!

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    ©usoulphoto

     

  • Red Chair Journey – Grand Teton National Park – Jackson Hole – Wyoming

    Red Chair Journey – Grand Teton National Park – Jackson Hole – Wyoming

    Why you shouldn’t put off until tomorrow what you can do today. 😉

    The Red Chair Journey’s next stop after the Badlands & Deadwood, SD was Grand Teton National Park and Jackson Hole, Wyoming. The picture above was the day we arrived. I was so excited to see the Tetons again. I couldn’t wait to get to Jackson Hole, get settled in and show Terry the town. I figured I could shoot the Red Chair photo the next day but then….

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    You know what, it didn’t matter.

    The Red Chair looked out over the Tetons, the rain drizzling, the low clouds hiding the mountains tallest, sharpest points but yet she could still feel their force. What stirred her soul that day was the respect that Mother Nature commands. The power of the mountain range breaking through the earth, the jagged edges showing that broken is beautiful. How small we really are….

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    Travel Tips: This ended up being a great time to travel because it was the off season. We were able to stay at some of the best hotels for great deals.

    In Jackson Hole, we stayed at the historic Wort Hotel. A very cool thing they offer is to have local beer delivered to your room upon arrival. It was exactly what we needed and loved having the variety to try. We ate at the Silver Dollar Grill/Bar in the hotel because of a few reasons – it was recommended from a friend (Bob Stephenson) that use to live in Jackson and also because on Tuesday nights, they have a Blue Grass Band. The food, service and music were fantastic. A bunch of locals come on Tuesday nights to dance, which made the atmosphere even 100 times better.

    The next morning, we had breakfast at the Bunnery. I did a lot of research before we left to find the best spots to eat and local favorites. Thank you to TripAdvisor and Fodor Travel – all the forums on those sites are so helpful. Again, we were lucky to get right in without a wait for a wonderful, made from scratch, locally sourced breakfast due to it being the off season.

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    Then we were off to Park City, Uah! Thank you to AAA for our TripTix, Maps and being able to check in on weather conditions, new routes and construction. Having a map in my lap = soul stirring.

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