Past Productions 2005 to 2001
Click here for 2009 to 2006.
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2005
Stacey Dinner-Levin writes Autistic License a play inspired by the real-life stories of her family of six with one amazing son who is autistic. The play first appears in Fresh Ink (2005), then on ILLUSION’s stage (2007), and then is presented as an in-service training to schools, community centers, professional organizations, temples, churches, and clinics. It tours for over 5 years. Autistic License was named one of the Ten Best Plays Of 2007 by the St. Paul Pioneer Press. The original production remounted for film was accepted into film festivals in Fort Lauderdale, New Jersey, South Africa and the Family Film Festival of Burbank where it won Best Educational Film in 2010 and has its own Facebook Page. To learn more about Autistic License, please visit www.autisticlicenseplay.com.
“Autistic License is a docu-drama, a true to life play that takes audiences on the roller coaster ride of raising a child with autism. It is sometimes exhausting, sometimes exhilarating frequently a terrifying trip that informs, enlightens and entertains. Stacey Dinner-Levin knows her material cold and delivers it with unflinching honesty.” —St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Murderers by Jeffrey Hatcher, directed by Sara Gioa world premiere.
Ping Chong returns to the Twin Cities with Undesirable Elements 10 Years Later. First performed in 1996, the 2005 rendition adds Ping Chong’s own story and also up-dates the original members’ stories to include the ways they have been seen as “undesirable” and later, as “cherished.”
Mrs. Man Of God, a world premiere, written by Beth GIlleland and Donald Bazzini is the story of a man who is the partner of a minister who cannot reveal that relationship. He is the ‘minister’s wife.” The play is presented at religious conferences throughout the Upper Midwest.
2004
Northern Lights / The 9/11 Plays - ILLUSION puts out a call to writers to write a piece that is a response to 9/11. We produce works by Jimmy Breslin, David Adjani, William Borden, Bill Corbett, Anne Dimock, Steven Drukman, Diane Glancy, Kim Hines, Henry W. Kimmel, Brenda Shoshanna, and a film by Adanan Shati and Jonathan Carlson. These are directed by Ellen Fenster, Beth Gilleland, Kim Hines and Michael H. Robins.
2003
Shakespeare’s Lovers showcasing the talents of the U of M theatre students, written by Libby Appeal and Michael Flachmann directed by Louis Rackoff.
Miss Richfield 1981: Fall On Your Knees written by Russ King and directed by Michael H. Robins. The title comes from Jeffrey Hatcher.
Fast Forward - A Jazz and Spoken Word Series curated by Anthony Cox featuring the Harriet Tubman Trio and Spoken Word artist Reggie Harris.
Fresh Ink: Dietrich & Piaf: The Kamikaze and the Chameleon conceived and performed by Kristin Frantzich and Josette Antomarchie directed by Michael Robins with additional material by Beth Gilleland
The Cocoanuts is remounted with Jim Cunningham as Groucho, Kevin Dutcher as Chico, Michael Paul Levin as Harpo, Beth Gilleland and Michelle Cassioppia as Margaret Dumont and Dieter Bierbrauer as Zeppo. The Company also includes Patricia Neiman, Randy Schmeling, Ann Michaels, Mary McDevitt, and Bonnie Morris. The production is choreographed by Brian Sostek and Megan McClelland with musical direction by Denise Prosek.
2002
Fast Forward - A Jazz and Spoken Word Series: A new music series curated by Anthony Cox. Featuring he Baikida Carroll Quintet, J. Otis Powell, NS Truth Maze.
Clear the Air written by Bonnie Morris, Michael Robins, and Sima Rabinowitz. With Tobacco Legacy Funds, ILLUSION activates its Peer Education Teams to be a part of the Minnesota Department of Health's Youth Tobacco Prevention Initiative. ILLUSION creates the play Clear the Air which is performed by high school students for middle school kids. Research reports that if a teen doesn’t start smoking until age 18 there is a likelihood that they will not become a smoker. Research also tells us that many kids begin smoking at 9th grade, so the play will be presented to 6th thru 9th graders, hoping to reach students before they start to smoke. ILLUSION trains teens to perform Clear the Air in Bemidji, North Branch, Chisago, Redwood Falls, Fairmount, Staples, Motley, Asian Media Access, and Chicanos/Latinos United in Service.
2001
A new piece for the Education Program, No Laughing Matter is a play about seven high school friends who experience the pressures and tensions of adolescence as they strive to develop a healthy self–image. All of the high school characters have a questionable relationship with food, one never eats, one is constantly eating, one talks incessantly about food, and another is a picky eater. The impulse to create No Laughing Matter came from students at Highland Park Senior High in Saint Paul who felt it was an issue among their peers that no one was talking about. The play is made possible by contributions from Blue Cross Blue Shield Foundation, The Diana Princess of Wales Memorial Fund, and The Elmer L. and Eleanor J. Anderson Foundation.
ILLUSION partnered with the U of MN Tucker Center to put on a conference, Food for Thought, in conjunction with the play No Laughing Matter to raise awareness about eating disorders. Dr. Dianne Neumark Sztainer was the keynote speaker at this conference which was the beginning of the relationship between Dr. Neumark Sztainer and ILLUSION THEATER.
ILLUSION was the first professional theater outside of New York to produce The Laramie Project, written by Moises Kaufmann with the Tectonic Theatre Company. It is the story of Matthew Shepard's murder, the trials, and the aftermath in the town of Laramie, Wyoming. The ILLUSION Company includes Beth Gilleland, Aimee K. Bryant, Terry Hempleman, and Zach Curtis. This production also features photos by celebrated photographer Wing Young Huie. Several South High School students see the production at ILLUSION and then work to do their own production of The Laramie Project at South High School.
