In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the theater company created a pop-up pantry to serve the needs of neighbors. The company regularly partners with artists on projects that confront pressing community issues.
Pillsbury Theatre in Minneapolis has just closed its season with Aleshea Harris’ What to Send Up When It Goes Down. The play sets out to disrupt the pervasiveness of anti-Blackness and rejoice in the resilience of Black People throughout history. The show marked the directorial debut of Pillsbury’s new artistic producer, Signe Harriday.
“We are trying to meet the needs of our community with love and respect, [while] helping to build the world that we need and want and deserve,” said Harriday.
Harriday calls theatre one of last remaining cultural experiences where a broad spectrum of people can gather together. In an increasingly segregated community – whether it’s by race, class or politics – she says such gatherings are a ‘radical act.’
In the wake of the murder of George Floyd, the theater company created a pop-up pantry to serve the needs of neighbors. And the company regularly partners with artists on projects that confront pressing community issues.
“Our industry has hoarded resources so that certain stories are elevated or overrepresented on the stage and support the status quo, which has diminished our humanity. So institutions like Pillsbury are in the business of restoring and storytelling such that the theater is a place where we get to vibrate and echo back our humanity – that we get to see ourselves represented.”
Pillsbury is currently seeking applicants for the McKnight Community Engaged Artist Fellowship, an annual program that supports artists with personal and monetary resources. The application is open to all Minnesotans and is due Oct 15.
Photos Courtesy of Pillsbury Theatre
Chicago Avenue Project (CAP) : Free 7-week course in acting and script writing for children.
Naked Stages: Mentorship opportunity for early career performance artists in Minnesota.
Subscribe to hear Daily Updates in your podcast feed
- Potter Found Guilty in Death of Daunte Wright
After three days of deliberation a jury found former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter guilty of two counts of manslaughter in the death of Daunte Wright. Feven Gerezgiher reports - Potter Jury Continues Deliberations
As jury deliberation continues in the Kim Potter trial, many are evaluating the state of racial justice in Minnesota. We talk to former Hennepin County Chief Public Defender Mary Moriarty. Chioma Uwagwu reports - Kim Potters’ Tears
Kim Potter’s crying in court is more than an expression of remorse; it’s part of a history of white women weaponizing their tears against people of color. Tiffany Bui reports. - Jury Deliberations Underway in Potter Trial
The state’s prosecution and the defense made their closing arguments Monday. Georgia Fort reports.
English
Arabic
Chinese (Simplified)
Dutch
French
German
Hmong
Italian
Lao
Portuguese
Russian
Somali
Spanish
Urdu
Vietnamese