Mu Performing Arts Announces 15th Anniversary 2007-2008 Season
(Minneapolis ¾ May 29, 2007) Next year Mu Performing Arts celebrates its 15th Anniversary and we are pleased to announce our 2007-2008 Season. Our season will feature three mainstage theater productions, our annual Mu Daiko concert and three artist development festivals. Like a movable feast, our performances will take place at Mixed Blood Theatre, The McKnight Theatre at The Ordway Center for Performing Arts, The Ritz Theatre and other local venues. Season tickets are available for $75 or tickets can be purchased individually for each production. More ticket information is available below, by calling at 612-824-4804 or by visiting www.muperformingarts.org.
Mu Performing Arts Mainstage:
BAHALA NA (Let It Go)
A World Premiere
Written by Clarence Coo; Directed by Jennifer Weir
September 15-October 7, 2007
Mixed Blood Theater, 1501 S Fourth St, Minneapolis
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm; Sunday at 2:00 pm
Tickets: $20 adults; $18 student/senior; $16 groups 10+
Preview: Friday, September 14 @ 8:00 pm: $10
AD: Saturday, September 29 @ 8:00 pm
ASL: Saturday, October 6 @ 8:00 pm
Pay-what-you-can: Monday, October 1 @ 8:00 pm
Spanning decades from the 1920’s in China to the 1990’s in America, BAHALA NA is about a dying Chinese woman who conjures up memories of her life in China and the Philippines, in hopes of transforming her gay grandson. Her memories, steeped in conflicts about race, ethnicity, gender, sexuality and generational differences, open doors to the past, grip her heart, and lead her to an unexpected ending.
Tickets are available at 612.338.6131 or www.mixedblood.com.
Featuring the taiko artistry of Mu Daiko with award-winning guests TaikoProject
November 9-18, 2007 at The Ritz Theater, 343 13th Ave NE, Minneapolis
Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm; Sunday at 2:00 pm
Mu Daiko Tickets: Nov 9-11: $22 adults; $20 student/senior; $18 groups 10+
Mu Daiko/TaikoProject Tickets: Nov 16-18: $26 adults; $24 student/senior; $22 groups 10+
Preview: Thursday, November 8 @ 8:00 pm: $15
Nationally-recognized Twin Cities taiko ensemble Mu Daiko unveils new work and revisits classic compositions with heart-pounding rhythms, elegant choreography and joyous energy. They are joined on the second weekend by LA’s TaikoProject, the first American-based group to win the Tokyo International Taiko Contest. TaikoProject has been featured on network TV and Mitsubishi commercials in performance infused with hip-hop movement, theater, music and video.
Tickets are available at 612-436-1129 or www.ticketworks.com/ritz
THE WALLEYE KID: THE MUSICAL
Written by R.A. Shiomi and Sundraya Kase; Music by Kurt Miyashiro;
Directed by Jon Cranney; Music Direction by Anita Ruth
January 19-February 3, 2008
McKnight Theater, Ordway Center for the Performing Arts, 345 Washington St, St Paul
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm; Sundays at 2:00 pm
Special performance Sunday Jan 28 @ 7:00 pm
Tickets: $25 adults; $23 student/senior; $20 groups 10+
Preview: Friday, January 18 @ 8:00 pm:
AD: Saturday, January 26 @ 8:00 pm;
ASL: Saturday, February 2 @ 8:00 pm
In this contemporary folktale, The Walleye Kid: The Musical tells the story of a modern day Minnesota couple who long for a child. One night while ice fishing, they reel in a colossal walleye, from which emerges a Korean baby girl. When the girl turns eight, she takes a magical journey to the land of her birth and back as she explores her life between two cultures. Songs, mask dance, and powerful drum rhythms create a timeless setting for this tale that conveys the unique challenges and rewards of adoption.
Tickets are available at 651.224.4222 or www.ordway.org.
THE NEW PERFORMANCE PROGRAM
May 10 - June 8, 2008
Mixed Blood Theater, 1501 S Fourth St, Minneapolis
Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 pm; Sunday at 2:00 pm
Tickets: $18 adults; $16 student/senior; $14 groups 10+
Preview: Friday, May 9: $10
AD: Saturday, May 31; ASL: Saturday, June 7
Pay-what-you-can: Monday, May 19 @ 8:00 pm
Featuring artists from Mu's Jerome New Performance Program, this production promises to push the envelope of Mu's work. With a grant from the Jerome Foundation, Mu commissioned seven independent artists to create works that bring together their own individual vision and Mu's overall mission. Through an intense selective process- also called Mu's own version of Survivor- one or two of these works will be produced for this run.
Mu Performing Arts Festivals
Mu Performing Arts Festivals provide a forum for the development of emerging artists and serve as a testing ground for new work that may be presented on the mainstage in the future. “It's what keeps our company constantly creative and vibrant with new energy,” said Mu Performing Arts Artistic Director Rick Shiomi.
New Directions Festival
Mu Performing Arts’ emerging directors showcase, featuring developing works and up-and-coming directors.
DECEMBER 2007
New Eyes Festival
Get a first look at new plays, taiko pieces, dance and musicals that may later make an appearance during Mu’s mainstage season. APRIL 2008- Mu Performing Arts Studio, Mineapolis
Passing the Beat
A thrilling cacophony of drums, bachi, and rhythm, engaging taiko students and Mu Daiko teachers in a recital featuring taiko classics. SUMMER 2008
About Mu Performing Arts
Founded in 1992 as Theater Mu, Mu Performing Arts is the foremost Asian American theater and taiko company in the Midwest. Mu Performing Arts encompasses the theatrical presentations of Theater Mu and the professional taiko (Japanese drumming) group, Mu Daiko. Through the core value of giving voice to the Asian American experience and the transformational power of their works, Mu Performing Arts successfully merges Eastern and Western, traditional and contemporary theatrical forms.
Mu Performing Arts’ mainstage season includes three Theater Mu theatrical productions, one Mu Daiko concert, and several festivals highlighting new works, emerging directors and taiko artists. Outreach programs to schools, community organizations and corporations reach over 35,000 people annually and Mu Performing Arts offers residencies and classes to develop theater and taiko skills for adults and children in the Twin Cities.
The meaning of Mu: Our Mu (pronounced “moo”) is the Korean pronunciation of the Chinese ideogram for the shaman/artist/warrior who connects the heavens and earth through the tree of life. For more information about Mu Performing Arts call 612-824-4804 or visit www.muperformingarts.org.
