Audience

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The crowd at Fringe-for-All at the Ritz Theater. Courtesy Minnesota Fringe Festival. Photo: Craig VanDerSchaegen

They sit in the dark; their reactions scare us to death. Who are they? What do they want? They may be the most important actors in your production, yet you know the least about them. Will they judge or join in? In this issue, we stare back at the audience.

Resurrection

by Marya Hornbacher • Jan. 7

Audience | Vision

Theater brings mystery, excitement, and romance, and that’s just when her parents first met. Then she started to see shows.

A war zone

by Four Humors Theater • Dec. 22

Audience | Process

Four soldiers of the theater are pinned down by enemy fire in an unnamed country in an unnamed war. One of them won’t make it home.

Simplicity

by Michelle Hensley • Dec. 30

Audience | Social Service

Performing in prisons and homeless shelters teaches Michelle Hensley a few things about connecting with the audience.

They, the people

by John Middleton • Dec. 30

Audience

Does demography make you cringe? How can they put numbers on art? Relax.

Northside

by Jeff Redman • Dec. 30

Audience

The only theater in north Minneapolis survives by knowing their neighbors, from Katie to Carissa to Ellen and her friend Shirley.

Humans with pulses

by Joseph Scrimshaw • Dec. 30

Audience

Lonely theater artists (LTA) seek HWP (humans with pulse) for GT (good time), maybe a couple laughs. Must be willing to pick up tab.

Decisions, decisions

by Matthew Foster • Dec. 30

Audience

Habitual theater-goers Kay and Jay Jackson share their secrets about how they make decisions on what to see.

Doing data

by Sara Stevenson Scrimshaw • Dec. 30

Audience

We use lots of energy collecting audience surveys then don’t use the results. Let’s root out the disappointing truth.

Electric Arc Radio

by David Salmela • Dec. 30

Audience | Innovation

An ongoing series of staged readings about four writers living in a house?!? How did they wind up with such a cool crowd?

Excerpt from “You Asked For It”

by Greg Allen • Dec. 30

Audience

An excerpt from “You Asked For It”

Beyond “Offending the Audience” or how I came to write America’s most (and least) wanted play

by Greg Allen • Dec. 30

Audience | Innovation

The Neo-Futurists buy pizza for their audience whenever they sell out. Twenty years ago, they never imagined they'd be buying so much pizza.

$hiny object$

by Matthew Foster • Dec. 21

Audience | Management

Before they’ll buy a ticket, your audience wants to see that you’re competent. Welcome to graphic design.

Who? Where? What?

by Alan M. Berks • Dec. 30

Audience

We called around the state to find out where people are going, where they come from, and what they look like. An overview here.

Have some respect, please

by Alan M. Berks • Dec. 30

Audience

Tony n’ Tina’s Wedding is fine—I saw it once, and it was fine.

Out there in the dark

by Brad Dahlgaard • Dec. 30

Audience

A photo gallery of Minnesota audiences.

This is our youth

by • Feb. 19

Audience | Innovation

University of Minnesota student Cristeta Boarini thinks more young people would go to theater, if more theater was like The Flickering Wall.

Blood! Dead cats! Punk rock!

by Casey Greig • Mar. 12

Audience | Vision

Sitting with his unemployment check, actor Casey Greig fantasizes about a season that'll draw in a younger audience. His fantasies are loud.

First, we take Des Moines

by Jon Mikkelsen • Jun. 3

Audience | Greater Minnesota

What do you do when you've written a raunchy gay sex farce sure to offend delicate sensibilities? Take it on the road, of course.

Baby, it's cold outside

by Mo Perry • Dec. 7

Audience | Criticism | Tradition

What is a religious experience? What is magic? What does Fat Man Crying have to tell us about these questions and more?

A great space Christmas

by Tom Poole • Dec. 30

Audience | Criticism | Tradition

"You can bet if the Klingons were in two wars at once, and had been for years, they would have the knobby alien balls to own up to it."

Northside

by Jeff Redman • Jun. 6

Audience

Workhouse Theatre Company makes its way in North Minneapolis through old-fashioned, one-on-one, grassroots marketing. We reprint this story from Dec. 2008.

Humans with pulses

by Joseph Scrimshaw • Jun. 14

Audience

Grassroots political movements effect the policies of mainstream politics; perhaps the work you put onstage could also be effected by grassroots groups.

Mown

by John Middleton • Jun. 29

Audience

Regular MinnesotaPlaylist contributor John Middleton returns with his thoughts on the grassroots.

Watching dance: A four-part primer

by Camille LeFevre • Feb. 28

Audience

An introduction to four essays by local dancers on how to look at dance.

Experimental dance: The universe unlocked

by Justin Jones • Feb. 27

Audience

Justin Jones reflects on experimental or post-modern dance as an experience of infinite processes.

Bharatanatyam: Poetry in motion

by Jessica Fiala • Mar. 1

Audience

Jessica Fiala provides multiple ways into watching and understanding Bharatanatyam.

Modern dance: Still rebelling, still evolving

by John Munger • Mar. 1

Audience

John Munger holds forth on modern dance and how audiences can improve their watching experience.

Ballet: Not a riddle to decipher

by Justin Leaf • Mar. 2

Audience

Justin Leaf on watching classical and contemporary ballet.

Dancing around a subject

by Cristeta Boarini • Mar. 13

Audience | Criticism

The audience responds, live, to Aspen Santa Fe Ballet at the Northop Auditorium on Tuesday, March 8.

Playhouse hooky

by Kevin Coss • Apr. 7

Audience

Kevin Coss on how theater can get student butts in seats.

A tale of two theater towns

by Marya Hornbacher • Apr. 25

Audience

Chicago and Minneapolis; Sex and Song; the practical and literal versus the conceptual and suggestive; the heart and body versus the mind.

Sit down. Shut up. (I've done this before — and some audiences actually laughed.)

by Brian Beatty • May. 11

Audience | Vision

One performer's progression from caring about his audience to caring about his art.

The best is yet to come

by Alan M. Berks • Sep. 5

Audience | Criticism | Vision

Challenging is a criteria for excellence that Minnesota may experience more in the year to come.

Best of 2010-2011: Red Resurrected

by Meena Natarajan • Sep. 28

Audience | Criticism

Spare need not be empty. With the aid of the audience's imagination, minimal has maximum effect.

Best of 2010-2011: Chimera

by John Bueche • Sep. 30

Audience | Criticism

Deborah Stein and Suli Holum's creation crawled under the Bedlam Artistic Director's skin.

In praise of Christmas past

by Matt McGeachy • Dec. 27

Audience | Criticism

After watching Kevin Kling's latest show at the Fitzgerald, Matt wonders whether the essence of the season is nostalgia.

What's the deal with Stand-Up and Improv

by Jen Scott • Apr. 22

Audience | Production

Can improvised theater and Stand-Up Comedy work together in the same show?

Live tweets from the Iveys

by Levi Weinhagen • Sep. 24

Audience | Criticism | Production | Vision

Levi Weinhagen live tweets the Ivey Awards tonight for us @minnesotaplays #iveyawards #theaterprom #canyoubetoosnarky

Searching for awful theater

by Ira Brooker • Jan. 28

Audience

Watching bad movies is a time-honored tradition. Is there a similar niche for transcendently terrible theater?

Sympathy for the Jocks

by Ira Brooker • May. 14

Audience

Playlist editor Ira Brooker attempts to end the culture wars between sports fans and arts lovers.

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