Joe Totten, Gemma Wilson, Johnny Coleman, Will Robertson, Danny McDonald, Jessa Bender, Andy Egbert, and Jessica Ilaug in GOOD 'N' PLENTY at blank slate theatre
Current Season
Disordered [thy name is teenager] @ The Fringe!
Written by Members of blank slate theatre
ADHD. OCD. ODD. Eating disordered. Addicted. Anxious. Depressed. Alcoholic. Suicidal. For teenagers, these may be helpful diagnoses, or harmful labels. Can they be both? Just what is going on inside the teenage brain? In alternatively heart-rending and hilarious ways, a trio of blank slate theatre actors portrays what it's like to live with these labels in Disordered [thy name is teenager].
Just released on DVD due to overwhelming demand for live performances, Twin Cities Daily Planet calledDisordered[thy name teenager] "a top rate production that is an outstanding depiction of real teens."
A chemical health director at an adolescent treatment center said Disordered [thy name is teenager] "is a must-see for every group who wishes to have a more intimate discussion about chemical dependency and mental health with teens."
Lavender magazine gave Disordered [thy name is teenager] the "Outstanding Achievement - Queer Youth Issues in Theater" award for its realistic and compassionate depiction of teen homosexuality.
Fringe Festival Performances
August 5, 2010 @ 7pm
August 7, 2010 @ 10pm
August 8, 2010 @ 7pm
August 13, 2010 @ 8:30pm
August 15, 2010 @ 2:30pm
All Fringe Festival performances located at Ritz Theater Studio located at 345 13th Avenue Northeast in Minneapolis.
Reserve your tickets online here! Tickets may also be purchased at the door.
Watch the Disordered [thy name is teenager] trailer!
On The Slate
An evening of student written, student directed one-act plays
by Student Members of blank slate theatre
A new tradition at blank slate theatre. An evening of three freshly penned plays - written by students, directed by students. Promising the same artistic and social edge implicit in all blank slate theatre productions.
All On the Slate performances are at blank slate theatre (in the basement of First Baptist Church), 499 Wacouta St in St. Paul, 55101.
Ticket prices for On the Slate are $8 for students and seniors, $10 for adults, and $6 for present and former blank slate theatre actors.
Featuring... coming soon!
On the Slate Performances
August 26, 2010 @ 7:30pm
August 27, 2010 @ 7:30pm
August 28, 2010 @ 7:30pm
Autistic License
written by Stacey Dinner-Levin
Autistic License is the autobiographical account of one family's journey to raise a son with autism. From the time that her child is diagnosed at age three, "Mom" leads us through the challenges and milestones of living with autism. An omnipresent interviewer acts not so much as a guide, but rather a sounding board, as she moves along this uncharted path. We learn from her experiences, the impact this disability has on her marriage, and family, while witnessing first hand the best and the worst of people who encounter her son in the outside world. As a result of living with disability, not only does she come to a greater understanding and appreciation of the uniqueness of her child; but also gains greater depth as a woman and a mother.
All Autistic License performances are at Gremlin Theater, located at 2400 University Avenue West, just East of highway 280 at Raymond in St. Paul. Free parking is available for patrons in the US Bank parking lot kitty-corner from the theatre at Raymond and University. Free parking on the street is also available.
Ticket prices for Autistic License are $12 for students and seniors, $15 for adults, and $9 for present and former blank slate theatre actors.
Autistic License Performances
November 5, 2010 @ 7:30pm
November 6, 2010 @ 2pm
November 6, 2010 @ 7:30pm
November 12, 2010 @ 7:30pm
November 13, 2010 @ 7:30pm
November 14, 2010 @ 2pm
For more information on Autistic License and the playwright, please visit www.autisticlicenseplay.com!
Since its overwhelming success on Broadway forty years ago, Hair has inspired generations with its messages of love and liberation - messages that are still relevant today. This definitive and entertaining musical, with such hits as "Aquarius" and "Let the Sunshine In", originally put rock music and the culture that went with it on the stage.
Alyeska
by Jenna Zark
After celebrating his graduation from high school, a young man is hit by a train. In the three days after his death, when the soul is said to be leaving the body, he meets a young suicide, and the two try to apprehend what might be next. A ghost story in two acts.
November 2009
Alice in Wonderland
by Lewis Carroll
This
classic is a staple of our culture. Alice drops down the rabbit hole
and ends up in Wonderland. Keep your head firmly on your shoulders and
stay on the good side of the Queen of Hearts. Attend a tea party that
would make Martha Stewart go mad. And get ready for one of the world's
great adventures! A unique, chaotic, blank slate theatre take on this
epic tale where curiosity and creativity are ends in themselves.
"Alice in Wonderland at blank slate theatre was wonderful and ethereal - as Alice should be."~ Stacey Dinner-Levin, Playwright
August 2009
Disordered [thy name is teenager]
Written by Members of blank slate theatre
ADHD. OCD. ODD. Eating disordered. Addicted. Anxious. Depressed. Alcoholic. Suicidal. For teenagers, these may be helpful diagnoses, or harmful labels. Can they be both? Just what is going on inside the teenage brain? In alternatively heart-rending and hilarious ways, a trio of blank slate theatre actors portrays what it's like to live with these labels in Disordered [thy name is teenager].
Disordered [thy name is teenager] awarded "Outstanding Achievement - Queer Youth Issues in Theatre." ~ Lavender Magazine
August 2009
The Karen Project
by Members of blank slate theatre
Based on the real accounts of refugees from Burma, The Karen Project is a collaboration with the Karen youth of First Baptist Church of St. Paul and blank slate theatre. The Karen Project tells of the Karen youths' struggles of discovering new identities, and new worlds.
The Karen Project is now available on DVD! Contact us (adam@blankslatetheatre.com) to order yours today!
"The Karen Project is an excellent, informative, and thought-provoking production."~ Jean Bender, Parent of blank slate theatre Teen
July 2009
The Little Prince
by Antoine de Saint-Exupery
A downed pilot in the desert, frantically tries to repair his
wrecked plane. His efforts are interrupted one day by a little, well, prince,
who asks him to draw a sheep. “In the face of an overpowering mystery, you
don’t dare disobey,” the pilot tells his audience. “Absurd as it seemed, I took
a scrap of paper and a pen out of my pocket.” And so begins their dialogue,
which stretches the pilot’s imagination – as well as ours – in all sorts of
surprising, childlike directions.
"The Little Prince at blank slate theatre was done so well. Ms. Rosen ["The Little Prince"] is so talented. My daughters and I enjoyed it very much."~ Sheryl Sue Friedman Warren, Audience Member
March 2009
Spring’s Awakening
by Frank Wedekind
The original play version of the Tony Award-winning musical, Spring’s Awakening is set against the backdrop of a repressive and provincial late 19th century Germany, and tells the timeless story of teenage self-discovery and budding sexuality as seen through the eyes of teenagers. Haunting and provocative, Spring’s Awakening celebrates the unforgettable journey into adulthood with a poignancy and a passion you will never forget.
"Spring's Awakening at blank slate theatre was one of the best plays I saw in the Twin Cities this year. It was brave, dark, and ambitious, and showed enormous skill in both acting and direction. It made me want to learn all I could about this company."
~ Jenna Zark, Playwright
December 2008
Songs for a New World
by Jason Robert Brown
Celebrated writer of such musical theatre hits as Parade and The Last Five Years, Jason Robert Brown says of Songs for a New World, “It's about one moment. It's about hitting the wall and having to make a choice, or take a stand, or turn around and go back." Brown transports his audience from moment to moment in the lives of an array of characters from a variety of eras, all looking and hoping for the realization of a “new world”.
"There were many moments during Songs for a New World when I was so moved I literally couldn't breathe."
A therapist's office. A dance studio. And John Lennon. A story of hope amidst suffering, healing amidst trauma, and forgiveness amidst anger. Walk with young Teagan Murphy as she stumbles (gracefully) through recovery from abuse within her family, and finds salvation in a compassionate therapist, newfound friendships, and the artistic medium of dance. A blank slate theatre original.
"I
was blown away by the way the group of young people involved with Generations tackled such challenging
subjects with empathy and grace. It wasn’t sugar-coated and in the time
you had to present the topic - it was very well done. I especially appreciated
how blank slate theatre portrayed everyone involved as emotionally vulnerable
human beings, not monsters or saints. I know many people in the audience were
really affected by what they saw and it will not soon leave them." ~ Ellen Rosen, Parent of blank slate theatre Teen
June 2008
Good ‘n’ Plenty
by Jeffrey Hatcher
Wintersville High School, 1976. Richard Miller is the hip new Social Studies instructor at his crumbling old alma matter, and decides to teach his students about the U.S. criminal justice system by staging a "drug game," where the students play pushers, buyers, narcs, cops, and lawyers, using Good ‘n’ Plenty candies as the contraband of choice. Bad idea. Good ‘n’ Plenty is a brilliant twist on high school madness, and a compelling meditation on democracy, as well.
"Dude. I went. I saw... It was awesome. Good 'n' Plenty at blank slate theatre was very entertaining and interesting to watch. It made me think."~ Jane Yackley, Teen Audience Member
August 2007
A Night To Be...
Written
by Members of blank slate theatre
A
modern-day retelling of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, American
teenagers stumble through prom dates, issues of sexual orientation, parental
conflict, and existentialist philosophy. A bold, honest comedy, A Night To
Be... celebrates the life stage we call "the teenage years," and has
a character who thinks she's a fairy.
"Wow."
~ Nancy Crotti, Parent of blank slate theatre Teens
April 2007
The Laramie Project
Written by Moises Kaufman and Members of the Techtonic
Theatre Project
In
October 1998, 21-year old Matthew Shepard was kidnapped, severely beaten and
left to die, tied to a fence on the outskirts of Laramie, Wyoming. Five
weeks later, Moisés Kaufman and fellow members of the Tectonic Theater Project
went to Laramie, and over the course of the next year, conducted more than 200
interviews with people of the town. From these interviews they wrote the
play The Laramie Project, a chronicle of the life of the town of Laramie in the
year after the murder.
"The
Laramie Project was maybe the greatest thing I've ever done."~
Ashley, 17, blank slate theatre Actor
