The daily digest of Twin Cities culture | Secrets of the City

While a handful of large companies give our city its national reputation, small, independent theater remains the life-blood of the local scene. Audiences are built by smaller theaters with more affordable ticket prices. Great actors have the opportunity to stretch and grow in smaller venues, without the pressures that they may experience later, in larger productions. Most important, baby theaters grow up to be robust adult theaters. Jeune Lune began in small venues, and the Jungle Theater got its start doing shows in a store front. Some of us can even remember the ’60s, when the Guthrie was a modest, one-theater venue. What was true then still holds true: the Twin Cities theater scene gets its ongoing vitality by fostering little companies and offbeat or challenging performances.

So which tiny theater will grow into the next big thing, with burgeoning audiences and plusher venues? Will it be Nimbus Theatre? Live Action Set? Torch? Wouldn’t it be exciting to watch for yourself as it happens?

In just a few short years, Jon Ferguson has shown himself to be one of the Twin Cities’ best directors. If you wonder what Jeune Lune was like in its early days, Jon is your man. He’s gained quite a cult following and has uniquely talented actors at his disposal. To see one of his shows is to see beauty, humanity, and surprise; to be engaged, touched, and to leave the theater more fully yourself. (Pictured below: Ferguson’s Ligustrum Vulgare, a “dark tale of suburban brutality” created in collaboration with actors Tim Cameron, Adam Hegg, and Katie Kaufmann.)

Pillsbury House Theater is committed to the surrounding Powderhorn community, but its audiences come from all over. They produce raw, gutsy plays about the gritty stuff of life. (Above: John Shuman in 2007’s Glen Berger’s Underneath the Lintel: An Impressive Presentation of Lovely Evidences.)

Mu Performing Arts is one of the leading Asian arts organizations in the country, so this theater, growing by the year, is not exactly “small.” Each year they do a Taiko drumming show (very cool) and three theatrical productions combining Western and Eastern, ancient and modern (very, very cool). Rick Shiomi has recently taken on board Randy Reyes, a smart and energetic young director who moonlights with Workhaus Theater. (Pictured: Isabella Dawis and Sara Ochs, from Mu's production of The Walleye Kid)

Expect most anything from Bedlam’s slightly punk brand of theater. The company recently celebrated the first year in their brand new space on the West Bank. It’s a cool spot for hanging out, with a flexible theater, a bar in the lobby that could be in an old Western, and a rooftop patio. (At left, Bedlam’s “fifth” of The Wizard of Oz, an annual Fringe Festival event in which five theater companies deconstruct a classic script.)

Adapted from issue 14.2 of access+ENGAGE. Subscribe to this free arts e-magazine.