Glowing Ember

05/04/2019

Artist Spotlight: Q***red Classics: Hamlet

Emma VanVactor-Lee (she/her/hers) is playing the title role of Hamlet in our production.

Here’s what she had to say about this show:

“It has been such an amazing experience to come into a room full of people who can be their full authentic selves and know that they will be respected and supported. I never feel like I have to explain or advocate who I am to anyone. Also, Madeline (director) and Dave (fight/intimacy director) did a fantastic job of setting up a space that was incredibly consent-based…which has given me the peace of mind and freedom to make choices, knowing that I was never going to hurt or trigger anyone.

“Most of the folks in this show are used to being in rooms where they are the minority. So to be in a room where 90% of the people laugh at your very specific gay reference, where you share so many experiences, where you can be your whole self without having to justify anything—it's been phenomenal.

“This is the new standard for me. I'm never going to work in a room that is not consent-based, or with less than 50% female or non-binary folks ever again. This is the future of theater, and I'm going to fight for it.”

Your last chance to see Emma as Hamlet is tonight at 7:30pm-- don't miss it!

05/04/2019

Artist Spotlight: Q***red Classics: Hamlet

Sarah Furniss (she/her/hers) is playing Gertrude in this production of Hamlet. This is her first production in Minnesota, but she's done theater all over. After growing up here, she moved to Chicago, then Seoul, then Los Angeles. She's so excited about getting into the theater scene in the Twin Cities and is so thankful to be playing Gertrude in this special production of a classic!

Sarah shared some of her thoughts on how this classic story speaks to the audiences of today:

“There's a reason certain plays endure this many centuries, and one of those reasons is that it lends itself so well to modern approaches and the layering of many different lenses. I think exploring these characters through a Q***r lens, and making Hamlet a woman is fascinating. … It is a very distilled version of the script, one that focuses on the interpersonal relationships of Hamlet with her (her!) family and friends and country. What it means for Hamlet to be Q***r, and a woman in addition to all of the problems that character faces in the course of the play is very cool.

“I have always asked myself before entering a production: why this production and why now? We, as artists, need to be asking ourselves constantly how the work we are doing is benefiting our communities; whether it is helping shift society from the white-privileged, patriarchal, hetero-normative world we have become so accustomed to. How are we creating safe spaces? How can we do this better?

“This production addresses all of these questions, and though it's not perfect at answering them, the awareness is something that I think needs to be present in every production.”

05/04/2019

Artist Spotlight: Q***red Classics: Hamlet

Brighid Burkhalter (she/her/hers) plays Marcellus, one of the players, and Gravedigger #2, and has long been interested in q***ring the stories of Shakespeare. When asked why, here’s what she had to say:

“Shakespeare is complicated. Our historical and cultural relationship to him is messy and loaded… There’s something lasting in the work, but it's definitely not sacred. I'm only interested in working with this text if we are messing with it, poking at it, asking it about being human.

“A production of Hamlet with a woman playing the titular role, surrounded by a predominantly q***r cast, is important for big and small reasons. It’s a matter of representation and making the story relevant and something to be even more deeply connected to.”

05/03/2019

Artist Spotlight: Q***red Classics: Hamlet

Addison Sharpe (they/them) plays Horatio and is a performer, writer, and organizer. Recent credits include their debut feature-length show The Last Resort (20% Theater Co.), Bread & Puppet Theater's The Grasshopper Rebellion Circus (In the Heart of the Beast) and Nicole Jost's The Terror Fantastic (20% Theater Co.). Their devised work has been featured at LALA Fest, Patrick's Cabaret, Lightning Rod, Controlled Burn, and Daddy: A Q***r Variety Show. Addison is an alumna of Pangea World Theater's Arts Organizing Institute (2017/18) and 20% Theater Co.'s Q-Stage (2018). Their ambition is best exemplified by their long and arduous quest to pet every dog.

When asked about performing the role of Horatio and about their experience with this rehearsal process, here’s what they had to say:

“I am usually cast as characters who are so mired in their own baggage and self-sabotage that their main conflict is isolation. It's pretty novel to be playing a character who has a best friend, let alone someone who has the capacity to emotionally support that friend.

“I'm so appreciative of the way Madeline managed this rehearsal process. It is all too common that actors are kept past time, breaks aren't enforced equitably, fight/intimacy scenes are built without professional input, etc. With Madeline, I feel the person's core needs are prioritized (stay home when you're sick, be sure you're eating well, do what you need to do to recoup after running emotional scenes, etc).”

You have just two chances left to see Addison and the rest of the cast in this rendition of Hamlet-- don't miss it!

04/30/2019

Artist Spotlight: Q***red Classics: Hamlet

Aiden Campbell (he/him/his) is playing Francisco, Reynaldo, the Player King, a sailor, and Osric. He grew up in Fort Collins, Colorado, and studied Theatre Arts at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. He has done work with Theatre in the Round, A Keep Little Shakespeare Company, The Minnesota Opera and two installments in Arts Nest's Q***red Classics Series, Troilus and Cressida and now Hamlet.

Aiden had a few thoughts about what it’s like to work on a predominantly q***r production:

“It is such a gift to have a space and a production dedicated to q***r identities, where everyone is celebrated and able to explore the implications of their identity on their character, instead of existing as one gay side character. Hamlet has been a groundbreaking production—since most of the actors are q***r, our identities bring out new facets to each character and show how universal the experiences of love, mental illness, and grief are. Working in a predominately q***r space is refreshing, as it feels safe to be yourself and allows you to make more authentic character choices based on your experiences and values.”

Hamlet runs for one more weekend! We can’t wait to see you there!

04/29/2019

Today’s Artist Spotlight is none other than Ben Harvey!

Ben Harvey (they/them) is a freelance projection, sound, and lighting designer and technician in the Minneapolis area who has done work for Q***rtopia, Uprising Theater, Gadfly Theater, Imagined Theater, The Moving Company, Mission Theater Company, Sabes Theater, Minneapolis Musical Theater, The Lab Theater, Market Garden Theater, Hope Theater, SPOG Theater, numerous Arts Nest Fledgling Projects, and the Minnesota Fringe Festival. They also maintain the lighting and sound systems here at Phoenix Theater.

Here’s Ben’s take on our show:

“It's always great when I'm not the only person in the room with they/them pronouns. [...] We had a lot of fun in the cue to cue (doing a Shakespeare show with all the lines as improv-ed paraphrases would be amazing). Everyone seems to be having fun with it more than I usually see with Shakespeare."

Come see Ben's work tonight at our Pay What You Can performance!

04/25/2019

Artist Spotlight: Q***red Classics: Hamlet

Gillian Constable (she/her/hers) plays Guildenstern and the First Gravedigger and is glad to present this diverse retelling of a classic tragedy. A dual citizen of Australia and the US, Gillian moved to the Twin Cities after graduating from Luther College in 2017. Since then, she's performed with Frank Theatre (The Cradle Will Rock), 21/40 (As You Like It), Chameleon Theatre Circle (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), EnCompass Theatre (Safety Off), St Croix Festival Theatre (Elephant's Graveyard, 1776) and Lakeshore Players (Into The Woods). Next up, you can see Gillian in EnCompass Theatre's production of R Culture.

While she was initially drawn to this production based on her love of sad Shakespeare plays, she had this to say about why she has enjoyed being part of this production in particular:

“An exciting part of this process has been watching q***r characters whose primary character trait is NOT their q***rness. While those stories are so important, it is refreshing to see characters experience myriad other conflicts/arcs/challenges whilst being q***r.”

We open tonight! See you there!

04/24/2019

Artist Spotlight: Q***red Classics: Hamlet

Today we have the great pleasure to introduce James Satter!

James (he/him) is playing Polonius and is a Twin Cities actor/storyteller. He most recently appeared at the Landmark Center in the historical drama Not in Our Neighborhood. James also performed with the BAND Group, Lex-Ham Community Theater, Gadfly Theatre, and Rev. Matt's Monster Ensemble.

When asked about his experience with this production of Hamlet, here’s what he had to say:

“I like Shakespeare and I believe q***r theater is important. That's why I auditioned for this show. … Several word choices from Shakespeare's script become more poignant when read from a contemporary q***r lens.”

Join us to experience one of Shakespeare’s most famous stories through a q***r lens. We open this Thursday!

04/23/2019

We're doing our first tech run for tonight! Emma VanVactor-Lee who is playing Hamlet has been sharing some great Hamlet memes, and we think these pictures of Emma would make some great memes. Get your tickets now!

04/18/2019

Q***red Classics: Hamlet opens in one week! We've been having a grand time creating this piece and can't wait to share it with you.

Rehearsal photos taken by Renee Taylor Photography

04/18/2019

Rehearsal photos taken by Renee Taylor Photography

05/15/2018

February 2016