NEWS July 1, 2010
Printed in Ink
An article about My Father's Bookshelf was published in the March 2010 issue of Theatre Journal.
Click here to download and it. 4.1.10
Live Action Set Announces Spring Performance Line Up
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Joanna Harmon • 612.388.6059 •
AN ORIGINAL
IMMERSIVE THEATER PRODUCTION
AT THE BEDLAM THEATRE
Preview April 29; Opening April 30;
Running through May 15, 2010
Minneapolis/St. Paul — Twin Cities theater company Live Action Set is excited to present The Happy Show, its latest innovative theater experience. Installed throughout the nooks and crannies of the Bedlam Theatre, The Happy Show is an immersive theater experience following a troupe of happy-makers performing the ancient Ritual of Happiness. After creating happiness through the ages, this happy troupe pitches tent at the Bedlam Theatre to bring joy to the good people of the Twin Cities for sixteen performances, April 29th to May 15th. Tickets include food and drink and are $25 Friday and Saturday evenings and $20 all other times. Learn more on both liveactionset.org and bedlamtheatre.org.
A unique theatrical experience, The Happy Show is a choose-your-own-adventure of whimsy, poetry, surprise, eccentricity and above all happiness. It features food, song, dance, sunsets, picnics, detailed explanations, lightening bugs, and if you are lucky an opera for two or an encounter with the king of all dogs. Audiences are led through a buffet of large spectacles and intimate sideshows exploring the ephemeral state of happiness. The cast of actors, musicians, dancers, clowns, and bicyclists draw audience members into intimate pieces of theater throughout the Bedlam, immersing them in a show that is nearly impossible to experience the same way twice.
Directed by Ryan Underbakke, in his first production with Live Action Set and fresh off his master degree in fine arts from the London International School of Performing Arts – the leading school for European physical theater, The Happy Show is created in the rehearsal room with a core cast that includes Four Humors co-founder Brant Miller, Portuguese clown Diogo Lopes, dancer/ choreographer Emily King, the incomparable Isabel Nelson, and Live Action Set artistic director Noah Bremer in his last performance in Minneapolis before joining Cirque du Soleil for the European tour of Varekai. A chorus of twelve performers is led by Live Action Set co-founder Galen Treuer and Four Humors co-founder Matt Spring, who also provides stage management and assists with direction in his role as consigliere.
Continuing Live Action Set’s collaborative tradition, The Happy Show is drawing insight from researchers at the University of Minnesota who study happiness. The company is also working closely with the Bedlam Theatre’s restaurant staff to create an extremely happy dining experience. Live Action Set is excited and honored to be presenting original plays within one year at both the Guthrie Theater (My Father’s Bookshelf in 2009) and the Sally Award winning Bedlam Theatre. It demonstrates the true dynamic wealth of the Twin Cities arts community and the proper range of itinerate companies like Live Action Set.
Support The Happy Show at the FUNdraiser, a show in and of itself directed by Ally Carey. Festivities take place at the Bedlam Theatre, April 22nd, 4-7 pm. Tickets are $35 at the door. Advanced tickets are $25 and may be purchased online at liveactionset.org. Myriads of discounts apply!
The Bedlam Theatre’s NightCap Series will follow many performances of The Happy Show. Live Action Set is proud to support an evolving roster of emerging and established artists. A schedule and details can be found on the Live Action Set website and includes: to the Lighthouse! a transformation of the novel by Virginia Woolf, presented by Ally Carey and Joanna Harmon, May 1st and 9th at 10 pm. Information found on both liveactionset.org and bedlamtheatre.org.
Live Action Set is a Twin Cities-based performance company that began creating original work in 2003. Under the leadership of artistic director Noah Bremer, the company creates visually poetic, wildly imaginative, and accessible performance experiences that harness the indefinable power of the human spirit. Live Action Set believes that theatrical collaboration can make a difference in our community and is uses ensemble driven collaboration to create new work that dissolves boundaries between artistic disciplines. An ongoing experiment, the company has created over 14 original performances, each combining the talents of a unique ensemble of performers, directors, choreographers, designers, writers and researchers. For more information on Live Action Set, visit liveactionset.org
The Outer Limit of the Local Imagination Since 1993. Bedlam Theatre’s Mission is to produce radical works of theater with a focus on collaboration and a unique blend of professional and community art. Today, Bedlam provides a steady diet of original, avant-garde for Minneapolis and regional audiences. Bedlam Productions vary from 5mins to Full Length and evolve through creative processes that can last 2 weeks to 10 years. As a venue Bedlam supports a year-round calendar of local, national and international artists, in theater, dance, music, puppetry, performance art and more in a theater with a full bar and restaurant. As artists, we try new things, so that no year in fourteen has ever been exactly like the last. Bedlam Theatre builds culture and community through and around experimental performing arts – and their audiences. We support artists that challenge not just form and content but process as well on their adventure to reflect, celebrate and reinvent themselves and their society. We create an atmosphere of dialog with artists and audience. For more information visit, bedlamtheatre.org
Preview: April 29, 2010, 7:30 pm
Location:
Tickets:
Schedule:
THE HAPPY SHOW's
Event date: April 22, 2010, 4:00-7:00 pm
Location:
to the Lighthouse! presented by Ally Carey and Joanna Harmon
Performing:
Location: 3.29
The Happy Show cast grows in numbers
A big happy "Welcome!" to the 11 new additions to the performing cast of The Happy Show. They are:
Allison Witham, Blythe Riske, Mark Benzel, Alicia Dansby, Amelia English, L. J. Johnson, Holly Brimhall, Matt Riggs, Katie Jorgenson, Mike Rylander, and Lisa Bol. 3.22-26.10
Workshop lead by guest teacher, Tom Cornford
March 22nd-26th. This innovative workshop focuses on a psycho-physical approach to acting and character development through improvisation and devising. Lead by guest teacher from London, Tom Cornford, who visits the Twin Cities next week.
 Visit the Workshop Page for detailed information. 3.18.10
Rehearsal Photos Posted
3.10.10
Auditionees, thank you for your time and talent!
Thank you to all of those who auditioned this past Monday. We hope you had as much fun playing with us and we had fun playing with you.
3.4.10
Ongoing Training for the Physical Performer
Come train with us! All are welcome! Starting March 15th, Live Action Set begins its ongoing training sessions for the "dynamic physical performer." Galen Treuer and Noah Bremer lead activities.
Check out the Ongoing Training page for more information. 3.1.10
Upcoming Theatrical Events
Live Action Set is in full-blast production mode for its upcoming theatrical events.
Scroll the Current Events page for the full run down of what Spring looks like with LAS. 1.4.10
Live Action Set Receives Accolades
The Best of Twin Cities theater 2009
From The Whipping Man to Caroline, Or Change , here's what you shouldn't have missed
by Quinton Skinner
This is always a messy process, full of calculation, hunch, rekindled passions, and a thwarted impulse to somehow convey how many and how varied were the emotions and ideas communicated onstage in the last 12 months. The results are never entirely satisfying (for me), but here goes anyway, with the usual disclaimer that I couldn't see everything and surely missed some worthy shows, while nonetheless hogging a gourmand's share of theater seats in 2009. My Father's Bookshelf , Live Action Set 12.29.09
MPR Blogs About Live Action Set
Live Action Set consolidates leadership
by Euan Kerr
Twin Cities theater and dance ensemble Live Action Set has announced a major leadership shake-up. Since it began the Set's four founders, Noah Bremer, Vanessa Voskuil, Megan Odell, and Galen Treuer have shared the duties of artistic director over the years. Now Bremer will lead the company alone. "Numerous things brought it about" Bremer said this afternoon. "But really we were finding ourselves stuck. And then we sat down and said, 'What do we want? What do we want as individuals?' And we all wanted very specific things, and I wanted to run the company." Bremer said the discussions began after the company's successful production of "My Father's Bookshelf" at the Guthrie last summer. It was an affecting examination of a family living in the shadow of a father's Alzheimers disease. Megan Odell told her colleagues she wanted to leave to focus on her family, and her acupuncture practice. "There were tears, and it was hard, but we all understood" said Bremer. It forced the others to examine their own plans. Galen Treuer said he planned to go to grad school in a year, so he could commit just another year to the company. Voskuil was also interested in moving on to other endeavors. When Bremer said his passion lay in making theater and continuing on with Live Action Set, it launched a longer discussion. Bremer and, in a later conversation, Vanessa Voskuil, stressed that this was a long and complex debate where they examined the situation from many angles. Eventually they reached the decision to have Live Action Set continue with Bremer as the salaried artistic director. "Everyone is very excited for it to continue on," he said. The new Live Action Set is still evolving, but Bremer envisions a larger acting ensemble, and more shows. The old model revolved around the central four producing one show a year. "We really were a collective of four people trying to lead all together at the same time," Bremer said. They tried various models where one person would be given the final decision. "It never quite worked out," Bremer laughed. He thinks the new arrangement will allow him to expand, while also unifying the vision. He says he'd like to return to some of the early Live Action Set work which was very dance oriented, while continuing to focus on social justice issues. However he also wants to do work based on his own clown training to give their pieces an accessibility while maintaining its poignancy. Also he has plans to do some family-friendly shows too First up will be the "The Happy Show" at the Bedlam Theater in the spring. The production has been in development for some time, although Bremer admits the re-organization has pushed it on the backburner for a while. "It's being slingshotted out now," Bremer said. He says the show which will examine the idea of happiness will be done as a promenade production, where audience members will have to make decisions as they move through the show. "Part of the idea about happiness is always feeling like you made the wrong choice," Bremer laughs. "The choice you make will be great, but in the back of your mind there just might be a 'Oh, what would have happened if I took the other road?' So we are playing on that sort of inherent quality of being human." Which on reflection seems to mirror the situation Live Action Set is in now. However Bremer says while it's taken time to work through the arrangements, everyone is ok with it. "Because there has been such a history of companies imploding in Minneapolis, we did learn from that, and we didn't want to follow in their footsteps," he said. "There's no hostility. There's no animosity. Everybody's really happy with what's going on. We have come to this decision together. If people really didn't want me to run the company, the company would just cease to exist and we would all be fine with that as well because I would then just do the type of work I want to do. It just so happens the kind of work I want to do is what Live Action Set is, and always has been." 12.29.09
Live Action Set Announces Noah Bremer as sole artistic director
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Noah Bremer • 612-501-6614 •
Minneapolis/St. Paul — Since 2004 Live Action Set has been creating visually stunning interdisciplinary theater and dance. Its award-winning collaborations have been presented by The Guthrie Theater, The Southern Theater, Walker Art Center, The Soap Factory and Minnesota Fringe Festival, among others. Live Action Set was founded by four artists - Noah Bremer, Vanessa Voskuil, Megan Odell, and Galen Treuer - who shared a belief in the power of their collaboration to make a difference in the community. Now, the company's unique collaborative creations are beginning to receive regional and national notice.
Faced with the opportunities of success and needing to formalize the artistic and administrative elements of the organization, Live Action Set is preparing for growth by consolidating leadership in a single artistic director, Noah Bremer.
Following the successful presentation of My Father's Bookshelf at The Guthrie Theater in June, founders Bremer, Treuer and Voskuil worked with organizational consultant Gary Peterson, supported by a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, to develop a new plan for Live Action Set's future. The resulting plan was adopted by the board of directors in October 2009. It is an ambitious program that establishes Live Action Set as an essential piece of the Twin Cities arts scene.
With an eye on the future, the company will expand from it's one-show-per year schedule, to full seasons of unique productions that include dance-driven work, street performance, family friendly shows, and the socially critical works that have strengthened the reputation of Live Action Set. All of these shows will embrace the highly physical and honest performance style identifiable only as Live Action Set. In addition to expanding the repertoire, the company will begin to train together weekly with an ensemble of performer/creators interested in building a common vocabulary. To support this expanding vision, the Board of Directors will grow in numbers.
These exciting changes are reflected in a new mission statement:
All of the founders wish to see Live Action Set continue as a vehicle for realizing the artistic vision, values, and beliefs they have shared. Handing the baton to Bremer, the three other co-founders give their blessings for this change, remain advisers, and now focus on current interests. Megan Odell continues to pursue artistic opportunities while spending more time with her family and working at her acupuncture and Chinese medicine clinic in Northeast Minneapolis. Vanessa Voskuil, a 2009 McKnight Fellow for Choreography, will continue to pursue and develop her career as an independent choreographer/director and is currently the program director for, Dance Film Project, an annual festival of dance for the camera presented by Cinema Revolution Society. She also serves as an ex-officio board member. Galen Treuer is currently applying to graduate school, seeking a degree in behavioral economic and serves as board member until such time.
Upcoming:
Live Action Set will premier it's next original theater experience, The Happy Show, at the Bedlam Theater in Minneapolis, MN from April 29 to May 16, 2010. It is an event that promises to bring happiness to every corner of Bedlam's unique set up as a theater, bar, and restaurant. Live Action Set is pleased to announce they have have secured a $10,000 grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council for the production.
Noah Bremer has worked as an actor, director, or clown with the Guthrie Theater, Children’s Theatre Company, The Red Eye Collaboration, Theatre de la Jeune Lune, the Soap Factory, Illusion Theater, Southern Theater, Pillsbury House Theatre, and others. As a director or actor/creator, he has collaboratively created more than 40 original theatrical works. He received an Artist Initiative Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board in 2005. Also that year, the Star Tribune and City Pages recognized his co-creation of Please Don't Blow Up Mr. Boban, with the latter naming him and collaborator Jon Ferguson Artists of the Year. Noah has studied theater at the University of Minnesota and at the Dell’Arte School of Physical Theater in California.
Live Action Set is a Twin Cities-based performance company that has been creating highly physical original collaborative pieces since 2004. Live Action Set believes that productive collaboration can make a difference in our community. An ongoing experiment in collaboration, the company has created over 14 original performances, each combining the talents of a unique ensemble of performers, directors, choreographers, designers, writers and researchers. For more information on Live Action Set, visit www.liveactionset.org.
Live Action Set's Mission
Live Action Set's Vision Live Action Set's Values
Live Action Set's Beliefs
By Ed Huyck
You’ll have to move quickly, but it would be worth heading up to the Dowling Studio at the Guthrie Theater over the next week to see "My Father’s Bookshelf," the latest creation from the manic folks at Live Action Set. Bold, funny and more than a little confounding, "My Father’s Bookshelf" delves into the world of Alzheimer’s via the experience of a single family. The patriarch, played by Theatre de la Jeune Lune vet Robert Rosen, has been slipping for years. We learn of his plight via his wife (fellow former Jeune Luner Barbra Berlovitz) his children and various doctors, therapists and lecturers (played by Jason Ballweber, Megan Odell and Dario Tangelson). Despite the title (which is explained in perhaps a too-obvious moment at show’s end), the father’s memories and life are represented by a fleet of refrigerators that dot the stage. They don’t all contain food however; some are packed with clothes, or the various medications needed, or other pieces of his life that have slipped away. This makes for some intriguing set pieces and quick jokes, such as one being used for an MRI machine, followed by his "brain" -- a Jell-O mold -- being pulled out of the freezer. The loosely connected segments fold upon each other, creating an on-stage confusion that represents the confusion in life that comes with the disease. Not all of the show -- crafted by the performers and directors Noah Bremer and Galen Treuer -- hits, but for all the chaos the piece reaches deep into the heart. The shuttering of Jeune Lune last year left a real void in the local theater community, but companies like Live Action Set help to keep that manic spirit alive. 6.19.09
MPR Interview
Co-Directors Noah Bremer and Galen Treuer speak to Euan Kerr of MPR about My Father's bookshelf.
6.23.09
Matt Peiken's 3-minute egg, Ready Set Action: part 3 6.8.2009
My Father's Bookshelf - In Rehearsal with Matt Peiken's 3-Minute Egg 4.15.2009
Live Action Set in pictures
See a little bit of what we've been up to. In real live color Pictures! Learn about Past Shows too!
1.3.2009
My Father's Bookshelf - Auditions with Matt Peiken's 3-Minute Egg |
