Tickets
January 15 –30 2022
Naked Stages 2020 & 2021 Cohorts
6 fresh, bold, and creative performances
streaming virtually at pillsburyhouseantheatre.org!
A creative opportunity unlike any other, Naked Stages is a 7-month development program that provides time, financial support, and mentoring to three early career artists as they develop their unique voices as performance artists and creators. Twice a month, they also participate in workshops focused on the business side of art, from audience development to technical support, helping to develop their unique voice into a sustainable, artistic career.
Pramila Vasudevan
Masanari Kawahara
2021 marks Pramila Vasudevan’s sixth year as Artistic Director of Naked Stages as she passes the baton to longtime Pillsbury House Theatre Resident Teaching Artist and collaborator Masanari Kawahara in 2022.
The streaming link, provided in your ticket purchase confirmation email, will open on the midnight of January 15, 2022 and remain available until 11:59PM of January 30, 2022.
Pick-your-price tickets, starting at $5 with a $25 suggested ticket price, are available now.
BUY TICKETS
Questions can be directed to Communications Manager Elise Gumm at eliseg@pillsburyhousetheatre.org.
Applications for next year’s fellowship with be available at pillsburyhouseandtheatre.org in February 2022.
Naked Stages is made possible with major support from the Jerome Foundation.
Program: 2020 Cohort
ALIA JERAJ
Alia Jeraj (she & they) is a performer, writer, and educator in the Twin Cities. With a background in Western classical singing, Alia has shifted their musical focus towards learning the languages, folk songs, love songs, and hymns of her South Asian ancestors. When not singing, writing, or working to subvert mainstream education systems, you can find Alia curled up with hot chai and a book, or somewhere surrounded by trees.
MANGO SONGS
Directed by Aamera Siddiqui
In Mango Songs Alia explores memory loss. From the intimacy of witnessing their dad’s Alzheimer’s, to the memory loss that happens when families move across oceans and adopt new languages and customs, Alia asks, “How do you find a memory everyone has forgotten?” Mango Songs follows the beginning of her journey of (re)membering / (re)learning.
Mango Songs includes the following pieces of music, along with original songs and improvisations:
L’ho Perduta from Le Nozze de Figaro, Amadeus Mozart and Lorenzo Da Ponte, 1786
Eji Darshan Diyo, Sayeda Imam Begum, ~1860
Prabhu Ji, Ravi Shankar, 1997
Parvata Taaraa, Suresh Dalal (1932-2012)
I would like to express deep gratitude to all my teachers, and especially to Preeti Gujar and Ritika Ganguly, who have helped me find my voice in these songs.
ATLESE ROBINSON
Atlese Robinson is a writer, performer, director, producer, and the founding artistic director of Ambiance Theatre Company. Hailing from Saint Paul, MN by way of Chicago, IL, Atlese grew up glued to the stories of her elders. As a result, Atlese’s writing style places an emphasis on the natural flow of speech as a means to preserve the integrity of oral history. As a performer, Atlese draws on ancestral strength to guide her storytelling. Her previous credits include ensemble in The Dutchman (Penumbra Theatre Company), The Garden (Ambiance Theatre Company), co-star in Contact by Simone Brookes LeClaire, and ensemble in Rebirth of Rabbit’s Foot (Mixed Blood Minneapolis). Atlese’s previous directing credits include Naked I : Self Defined (20% Theatre Company), The Spectrum of Blackness (Ambiance Theatre Company), Waiting in Vain (Ambiance Theatre Company), The Place (Lyric Opera of the North). Atlese prides herself on serving as an usher to director at theatre companies around the Twin Cities as no job is too small for a leader. Atlese’s ultimate mission with Ambiance Theatre Company is to support Black dramatic writers through script development, produce new works, and center the need for engaging Black audiences.
AS MY HEART GROWS
Directed by Leah Nelson
As My Heart Grows is a movement-based play exploring theatre of self-image, body love, sensuality, maternal desires, and the wisdoms earned during the 20’s. Inspired by poetry written over the course of Atlese’s early 20’s this work is a redefinition and reclamation of eros (romantic love) and philautia (self love).
C. MICHAEL MENGE
In non-pandemic times, C. Michael Menge (They/them & he/him) is an actor, improvisor, theater-maker, and playful young fool known for their work with the Jungle Theater (Hand to God; Little Women; Redwood), The Boys of the Year (BOTY Presents: Peter Pan and Wendy), Children’s Theatre Company (Snow White), the Black Ensemble Players (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), The Playwrights’ Center, Blackout Improv Comedy, and more. They are currently one of the co-coordinators of both the Black & Funny and Queer & Funny improv festivals at HUGE Improv Theater, and in 2019 were named Best Actor by City Pages.
giving the people what they want
In Collaboration with Jay Owen Eisenberg
We’ve got what you want. Come and get it. Ring in the year 2000 with C Michael Menge and Jay Owen Eisenberg as they giddily mess around with transmasculine love, non-stop spectacle, and other stuff that literally makes them scream.
Mentor: Faye M. Price
Guest Artist Workshops: Dameun Strange, Rhiana Yazzie, Pedro Lander, Masanari Kawahara
Naked Stages Staff:
Pramila Vasudevan, Director: is the outgoing director of Naked Stages. She is also choreographer and a creator of community rooted/routed transdisciplinary work. Vasudevan is the founder and Artistic Director of Aniccha Arts (2004), an experimental arts collaborative producing site-specific performances that examine agency, voice, and group dynamics within community histories, institutions, and systems. Vasudevan is a 2017 Guggenheim fellow and a 2016 McKnight fellow in choreography.
Masanari Kawahara, Incoming Director: 川原正也 (he/him/his) is a theatre artist, puppeteer, and Butoh doer. His recent stage works include ANAMNESIS (2021/22), Speechless (2017/18) by The Moving Company; The Oldest Boy (2016) at Jungle Theater; and Little Boy (2014) which was commissioned and developed by Pangea World Theater’s Alternate Vision series. His most recent puppetry work, for which he was a co-creator and performer, was The Story of Crow Boy (2016/2017/2018) for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. Other notable collaborative works with HOBT include Make Believe Neighborhood (2018); Queen (2016); and A Path Home: A story of Thich Nhat Hanh (2009/2010). Masanari’s Butoh work 8’46” (movement for healing), featuring a soundscape by Sho Nikaido, was performed as part of Offerings: BareBones 2020. Masanari is a Playwrights’ Center McKnight Theater Artist Fellow 2018-2019 and 2010-2011.
Elizabeth MacNally, Production Manager: has been a freelance stage manager in the Twin Cities for over 10 years. As a stage manager she has worked with Pillsbury House Theatre, History Theatre, Jungle Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, Penumbra Theatre, as well as others. In 2011 she became the production manager of Pillsbury House Theatre. Elizabeth is a proud member of Actors Equity Association, a 2021-2022 McKnight Theatre Artist Fellow and holds a BFA in Theatre Production from Rockford College in Rockford, Illinois.
Heidi Eckwall, Lighting Designer: has designed lighting for dance, theater and performance for over thirty years. She has toured extensively in the US and abroad with many choreographers and dance companies including Nora Chipaumire, Urban Bush Women, Compagnie Jant-Bi, Rosy Simas, Emily Johnson, BodyCartography Project, Hijack, Mathew Janczewski and Margaret Jenkins. She teaches Lighting Design at Colorado College. Upcoming projects include work with Leslie Parker, Rosy Simas, Brainerd Community Theater and an international tour with Nora Chipaumire. She was part of the Naked Stages cohort in 2004, where she developed a piece that eventually became “Ridgewood Avenue”. Great to be back! Designer for Alia Jeraj, Atlese Robinson, Alys Ayumi Ogura, and Ashembaga Jaafaru
Katie Deutsch, Lighting Designer: has been a freelance technician and board operator since 2015. They have been working at Pillsbury House + Theatre for just as long and became the Technical Coordinator in 2021. As a freelancer, they have worked in Penumbra Theatre, Artistry, Walker Art Center, and other theatres around the Twin Cities. They graduated from University of Minnesota Twin Cities with a B.A. in Theatre Arts in the Technology and Design Track. Designer for C. Michael Menge and Margaret Ogas.
House Supervisor: Katie Deutsch
House Technician: Maje Adams
House Manager: Sami Pfeffer & Estrella Mercado
Marketing photos by Caroline Yang, 2021.
Production photos by Bruce Silcox, 2021.
Videography by Ben McGinley, 2021.
Pillsbury House Theatre Company:
Signe V. Harriday, Artistic Producing Director
Noël Raymond, Managing Producing Director
Elise Gumm, Marketing & Communications Manager
Michael Hoyt, Creative Community Laison
Elizabeth MacNally, Production Manager
Kurt Kwan, Artistic Program Director
Pramila Vasudevan, Naked Stages Director
Kari Olk, Chicago Avenue Project Director
Resident Teaching Artists: Masanari Kawahara, Pedro Lander, Kellie Larson, Aimee K. Bryant
Ralph Remington, Founder
Contributors
Funding from state and federal government agencies, local and national foundations and donations from individual donors fuel Pillsbury House Theatre’s work.
Contributions support not only our Mainstage and Naked Stages seasons, but also the Chicago Avenue Project and our community engagement programs.
If you have made a donation in the last year and do not find your name listed below, we apologize for the omission and ask that you let us know by contacting Elise Gumm at 612-787-3622 or eliseg@pillsburyhousetheatre.org.
Individual Donors 2020 – Present Include:
BOX OFFICE DONORS:
Elizabeth Athorn
David Fettig
Clare Forstie
Jacque Frazzini
Nancy Fushan
Genene McNabb & Reid Gagle
Christine Gordon
Beth Haney
Larry and Tammy harris
Robert Hokanson
Hannah K Holman
Katharine Horowitz
Judith James
Ochen Kaylan
Wendy Knox
Victoria Lauing
Marjorie Lee
Douglas Logeland
William MacNally
Ann Manning
Miriam Monasch
Tamara Nadel
Rosalind Nelson
Rita and Ben Olk
Karin Olson
Scott Pakudaitis
Natasha Pestich
Jane Powers
Karen Quisenberry
Julie Sand
Sheryl Saterstrom
Jill Schafer
Jeanne Schleh
Scott Strand
Susan M Summitt
Marguerita Tajibnapis
Kristen Treuting
Pramila Vasudevan
Carla Waldemar
Sally Wingert
Joe Stanley & Lori Zook-Stanley
Amalia Magaret
Amoke Kubat
Angelina McDowell
Ann Minnick
Anna Dennis & Karen Wiebe
Barbara Melom
Brad Turner
Carol Grady
Catherine Penkert
Cathleen Marquardt
Cheryl Hanson
Christine Retkwa
Christopher Engstrom
Claire Wilson
Colleen Rusch
Colleen Rusch
Community Shares of Minnesota
Connie Priebe
Danielle Kisner
Deborah Anderson
Diane Faissler
Elissa Adams
Elizabeth Anderson
Ellen Karlson
Erin Williams
Gege Hodgson
Gene & Nancy Zemske
James & Jean Hartman
Jane Greenberg
Jane Powers
Jane Ramseyer Miller & Susan Haugh
Janet Hilliker
Jeanelle Austin
Jessica Rosenberg
Jewlee Washburn
Jill Bernard
Joe Crocker
Joelle Imholte
John Cook
John Kluge
Judith Baldwin
Judy Reiber
Julene Maruska
Julie Costello
Karen Barstad
Kathleen McKay
Kathleen Zeleny
Kathy Kohl
Kristina Boerger
Kyle Meerkins
Laura Leffler
Lauren Anderson
Lauren Daumueller
Laurie Dehmlow
Linda Fei
Lois & Stephen Parker
Lora Horgen
Lynn Glesne
Margaret Cogelow
Marianne Merriman
Marjorie Sigel
Mark Berge
Marsha Aubineau
Mary Hunt
Mat Matsafu
Mykel Pennington
N. Jeanne Burns & Elizabeth A. Oppenheimer
Nadia Benner
Nancy Fushan
Nancy Goodman
Nancy Jones
Rebecca Noon
Regina Marie Williams
Rita Boersma
Wolfram Ruhmann
Ryan Allen
Sandra Smith
Sarah Hauge
Sarah Schuchardt
Shanan Custer
Sharolyn Hagen
Sharon Lyon
Sharon Schmidt
Sheryl Saterstrom
Sigrid Ruhmann
Steve Budas & Gail Irish
Susan Schirber
Susan Tapp
Suzanne Jebe
Tameka Colbert
Tara Fahey
Tom Davis
Tracy Nordstrom
Yo deb
Zeke McKinney
PILLSBURY HOUSE THEATRE GENERAL FUND DONORS:
Abisola Jaiyesima
Alejandro Eduarte
Alisa Revou
Allison and Anthony Harder
Amanda Beardsley
Amy Blumenshine & Michael Troutman
Amy Heinichen Liss
Amy Laboe
Ana Morel
Andrew Adelmann
Angelique Lele
Ann Drew Yu
Ann Manning
Ann Minnick
Ann Schattenberg
Ann Wynia
Annamarie Ettel
Anne Redmond
Anne Seltz
Anthony & Allison Harder
Audrey Kingstrom
Aviva Breen
Barb Davis
Barbara Brooks
Barbara Greenwald Davis
Baron Turns 9
Becky Clawson & Jeffrey Garetz
Becky Clawson
Ben Olk & Kris Berggren
Beth Carlson
Beth Wright
Beverly Davis
Binky Wood
Bob & MaryEllen Manske
Bob Waligora
Brooke Magid Hart and Sean Hart
Bruce Karstadt
Carl Sandberg
Carla Steen & Jeff Friedl
Carol Hovey
Carol Taylor
Caroline Bassett
Caron Moore
Carson Kreitzer
Cassandra Silveira
Cathleen Marquardt
Cecelia Boone
Cecilia Konchar Farr
Cedar Schimke
Chalonne Wilson
Charles Dawson
Chris Morris
Christopher Engstrom
Colleen Rusch
Connor Rohwer
Daina Robins
Daisuke Kawachi
Dan Donkers
Danger Boat Productions
Daniel Mccurdy
Darryl Bullock
David Fettig
David Good & Rosemary Hekman Good
David Miller
David O Fallon
David Schnack
David Woodard
Dawn Hill
Dawn Stratton
Deborah McKnight & James Alt
Debra Ingram
Denise Alden
Dennis & Scott Wachtler Whipple
Dianne Brennan
Dominique Collins
Donna McNamara
Douglas Kearney
Elaine Sloan
Eleanor Skelton
Elizabeth Grant
Ella Jo Thayer
Ellen Baker
Ellen Veazey
Emily & Per Halaas
EOY
Erin F Gallas
Faith Dietz
Farrand Anderson
Faysal Abraham
Fran Davis
Francine Oputa
Frankie Sieg
Gary Gardner
Gary Prevost
Gary Tazelaar
Gege Hodgson
Gene & Nancy Zemske
George Clabon
George Hoagland
Gordon Kipling
Grace Holthaus
Grant Sorenson
GREAT Theatre
Harry Waters & Tom Borrup
Hazel B. Tanner
Hazel Lutz
Heather Allen
Helen Slater
Hope Esparolini
I Kaon Sherarts
Iikka Meriläinen
James & Jean Hartman
James Nelson
Jane Curry
Jane Galbraith
Jane Powers
Janet & William MacNally
Janet Schmitt
Janice & Gary Gauger
Janis Page
Jann Cather Weaver
Jean M Hartman
Jean Raymond
Jeanne Andre
Jeffrey Masco
Jessica Rogers
Joan Cornwell
Joe Crocker
Joe Kuznik
John Becker
John Harrer
John Humphrey
John Mullican
Jon Skaalen
Josh Wirtschafter
Judith Baldwin
Judy Takkunen
Julie Carlson Sladcik
Julie Caruso
Julie Lipelt
Karen Barstad
Karen Charles
Karen Heegaard
Karen Knauer
Karen Lehman
Kari O’Connor
Karon Sherarts
Katharine A Horowitz
Kathy & Allen Lenzmeier
Kathy Kater
Kelley Lindquist
Kelly Nelson
Kelsye Gould
Kendrick Wronski
Kevin Springer
Kimberly A Pepper
Konrad & Jamie Case
Kris Berggren & Ben Olk
Kristen James
Kristen Wiseman
Kristin Lockhart
L. l. Pate
Laura Bachinski & Renee Delong
Laura Stone-Jeraj
Laura Suess
Lawrence C. Smith
Lee Joshua
Leslie Ball
Lewis & Connie Remele
Linda C Giacomo
Lindsay L. Benjamin
Lisa Hinz
Lisa Murray
Lissa Lofgren
Lorene Milligan
Louise Ziegler
Lynn Rabinovitch
Lynne Menturweck
Lynne Murphy
Lynnette Black
Madeleine George
Madeline Cooper
Magaly Ordoñez
Mankwe Ndosi
Marcia & John Stout
Marcia & Russ Palma
Marcus Renner
Margaret Lonergan
Margaret Werry
Marianne Merriman
Marie Simpson
Marilyn Johnson
Mark Berge
Mark Gilberstadt
Marsha Aubineau
Mary Adair
Mary & Ron Mattson
Mary Ann Kelling
Mary Ann Lippay
Mary Ellen Murphy
Mary Kokernot
Maureen Engelhardt
Maxie Rockymore
Maxine Rockymore
Mel Gray & Robin King Cooper
Melinda Ward
Meredith Cain-Nielsen & Jens Knutson
Merrily Karel
Michael James
Michael Koch
Michael Ricker
Michael-Jon Pease
Michelle Gibbs
Michelle Lichtig
Michelle Woster
Mire Regulus
Miriam Kelen
N. Jeanne Burns & Elizabeth A. Oppenheimer
Nancy Fushan
Nancy H. Jones
Nancy Jones
Nickie Dillon
Nicole Grabow
Nigel Berkeley
Patricia Brenneman
Patrick Prochaska & Scott Smith
Paul Erdmann
Paul Hogrefe & Jim Sauder
Peg Birk
Peter Stanley Zeftel
Philip Reinhardt
Randee Edmundson
Ranger Lushus
Rebecca Noon
Renita Martin
Robert Frame
Robin Hickman
Robin Macgregor
Ronnie & Roger Brooks
Sagirah Shahid
Sally Johnson
Sam Crossley
Sandra Smith
Sara Lara
Sarah Peters
Sharon Haas & Nick Faber
Sharon Foster
Sharon Lyon
Shawn Judge
Stephen Yoakam
Shay Berkowitz
Sheila McGinley
Shelley Modell
Sherryl Livingston & Jim Lundy
Sheryl Saterstrom
Shirley Rutherford
Siana Goodwin
Sid Solomon
Simba Blood
Starri Hedges
Stephanie Rogers
Subir K Banerjee & Manju Parika
Sue Gibson
Susan Elsner
Susan Haugh & Jane Ramseyer Miller
Susan Maas
Susan Palmer
Susan Schirber
Suzanne Jebe
Sylvia Schwarz
T. Mychael Rambo
Talia Smigielski
Tammy Darrah Wenberg
TASU Theatre Co.
Terry Shima
Theodore Cornwell
Thomas & Martha Milligan
Thomas Bartl
Timothy O’Brien
Tina Pfau Gonzales
Todd London & Karen Hartman
Tom Scott
Tope Daniel
Torey Erin
Tracey Maloney
Travis & Lori Norvell
Trevor Bowen
United Way
Valeriana Moeller
Viitala Ann
Virginia Brown
Voss Theresa
Zoe Hollomon
CHICAGO AVENUE PROJECT 2020-2021 DONORS:
Baron Heinz Family
Kathy McKay
Kevin Springer
Leah Ferguson
Lily Thiboutot
Liz Hughes
Olive Goff & Family
Shanea Turner-Smith
Spruce Krause
Tammy Darrah Wenberg
Tim and Lindsay Culverhouse
Patrick Bailey
Saymoukda Vongsay
Steve Mayer
Will Siasoco’s Say Their Names project
2020 END OF YEAR CAMPAIGN DONORS:
Davina Baldwin
Jeffrey & Karyl Beeman
Chuck & Lee Blons
Carol Bouska
Marilyn Broussard
Adrienne Chivers
Barbara Davis
Jean Ann Durades
Roberta Ebbers
Laura Esping
Kimberly Ford
Ronald Fraboni
Thelma Fricke
Gary Gardner
Marjorie Goldberg
Meri Golden
Sally Gordon
Beverly Hlavac
Mark Holland
Patricia Johnson
Mary Kaeding
Jeremiah & Pamela Kearney
Miriam Kelen
Michael & Martha Koch
Blayn Lemke
William & Janet MacNally
John & Kristine Mandler
Ruth Markowitz
Lisa McCarston
Sheila McGinley
Toni McNaron
David Miller
Michael Muehlbach
Gretchen Musicant
Joseph & Joan Nelson
Travis and Lori Norvell
James Payne
Faye Price
Patrick Prochaska
Peter Rachleff
Noel Raymond
Alisa Revou
Sandra Sandell
Carolyn Sandvig
Haas Sharon
Rutherford Shirley
Helen (Nell) Slater
Ricki Starck
Marcia & John Stout
Carol Taylor
Ellen Thayer
Darlene Walser
Carolyn White
Rockwell Winthrop
Program: 2021 Cohort
ALYS AYUMI OGURA
Alys Ayumi Ogura is a storyteller through her movement, voice, and quirky humor. Her dance training began in Japan, where she learned from the now late Mika Kurosawa, the famed godmother of Japanese contemporary dance. She earned a BA in Theater Studies from Westmar University, and her theater training concluded with her earning the “most outstanding student” award from the school’s Theater and Dance Department. Her choreographies and performances have been curated for the Walker Art Center’s Choreographer’s Evening by Megan Mayer, and BodyCartography Project’s/HIJACK’s Future Interstates. Ogura has worked since 2010 with various talented theater and dance artists in the Twin Cities’ thriving arts community. As a way of giving back to this arts community, Ogura serves as a DanceMN steering-committee member, and she supports MN Artist Coalition efforts.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE A SHORT ASIAN WOMAN WITH AN ACCENT
Directed by Sarah Myers
Never Underestimate a Short Asian Woman with an Accent is a collection of stories that have been percolating in Ogura’s inner landscape while establishing herself as an adult in U.S. mainstream culture. While learning English as a second language, she experienced parallel universes where her thoughts and expressions would run wild, but her limited English proficiency led others question her life experiences and expertise. Through this piece, Ogura challenges the positive and negative stereotypes about people who look or sound like her: a short Asian woman with an accent. These are her stories, but they could easily be versions of other’s stories, maybe even yours. Ogura has taken advantage of the Naked States fellowship to generate, develop, and solidify her stories and share them with audiences through her movements and enthusiastic narratives.
Ogura wants to extend her thanks to the countless number of strong, Asian women who’ve made their voices heard; to her dance parents, Mika Kurosawa and Rob Scoggins; to the special performers who have given Ogura the inspiration for making this work: Gabriel Mata, Julia Gay, and Katie Ka Vang; to the generous curators/directors who gave her space to develop earlier versions of her work, to Patrick’s Cabaret, Raw Sugar, Laurie Van Wieren, and Charles Campbell; to Trista Baldwin and her special cheerleading lecture; and to the Naked Stages Program Director Pramila Vasudevan and Director Sarah Myers.
MARGARET OGAS
Margaret Ogas is a dancer and choreographer who makes funky, spunky, socially engagesd performances. Using an interdisciplinary approach rooted in dance, her works tell surreal everyday stories through a collage of movement, text and sound. Margaret’s choreography has been presented at the Walker Art Center, the Cedar Cultural Center, The Minnesota Museum of American Art, Bryant Lake Bowl, Center for Performing Arts, and on sidewalks in South Minneapolis. She is a teaching artist at Young Dance and serves on the board of Language Attitude, a group developing culturally relevant, arts-based programs in the fields of education, media, and communications. Margaret grew up in Milwaukee, WI and is a proud midwestern Chicana. She holds a BFA in Dance from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
Fantasmamamá: A Powderhorn Ghost Story
Directored by Jeffrey Wells
Fantasmamamá: A Powderhorn Ghost Story, follows a young woman’s dreamlike journey through heartache, grief and resilience. Paying tribute to her neighborhood and Chicana roots, she navigates the ghosts that dwell in her everyday life with moments of both darkness and whimsy. Choreographed specifically for the Pillsbury House lobby, this work uses a collage of dance, narrative and ritual to transform the space into a site for catharsis and flair.
Features the voice of Veera Vasandani
Features music by: Xenia Rubinos, Spellling, Girl in a Coma, Selena
ASHEMBAGA (ASHE) JAAFARU
Ashembaga (Ashe) Jaafaru is an actor, performer, writer, and creative idea-maker. She is involved in theatre, film, and voiceover work in the Twin Cities + beyond. She creates art for liberation and continues to write imaginative stories. Film credits include Buttafly Precinct (Lady) and Keon (Patience) with Catalyst Arts, The Convert (Jekesai) with Frank Theatre, for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (Lady in Brown) with KC Repertory Theatre & Penumbra Theatre, A Midsummer Summer Night’s Dream (Hermia) with Black Ensemble Players, School Girls; or the African Mean Girls Play (Paulina) with Jungle Theater.
JOY ON ME
Directed by Antonio Duke
A solo performance that will illustrate the challenges, triumphs, and JOY of being in your body and spirit while crippling mental health and outside dangers that assail you. This project will use theatrical body wisdom and African diasporic religious concepts to capture the emotions, feelings, and physicality of black queer womxn, femmes, and non-binary folx with liberation and healing. Yoruba, Ibibio traditional spirituality, religious uses divination, Oriṣas, rituals, offerings, sacrifices, dance and utterances — through these practices there is an honoring of Jaafaru’s family and lineage, mind and body, artistic creation, and making sense of the universe within multiple realities. Body wisdom is the fusion of yoga, reiki, dance, song, mediation and ancestral veneration through performance, in the hopes of invoking more information of the inner workings of the body + mind + spirit.
Mentor: Masanari Kawahara
Guest Artist Workshops: Dameun Strange, Rhiana Yazzie
Naked Stages Staff:
Pramila Vasudevan, Director: is the outgoing director of Naked Stages. She is also choreographer and a creator of community rooted/routed transdisciplinary work. Vasudevan is the founder and Artistic Director of Aniccha Arts (2004), an experimental arts collaborative producing site-specific performances that examine agency, voice, and group dynamics within community histories, institutions, and systems. Vasudevan is a 2017 Guggenheim fellow and a 2016 McKnight fellow in choreography.
Masanari Kawahara, Incoming Director: 川原正也 (he/him/his) is a theatre artist, puppeteer, and Butoh doer. His recent stage works include ANAMNESIS (2021/22), Speechless (2017/18) by The Moving Company; The Oldest Boy (2016) at Jungle Theater; and Little Boy (2014) which was commissioned and developed by Pangea World Theater’s Alternate Vision series. His most recent puppetry work, for which he was a co-creator and performer, was The Story of Crow Boy (2016/2017/2018) for In the Heart of the Beast Puppet and Mask Theatre. Other notable collaborative works with HOBT include Make Believe Neighborhood (2018); Queen (2016); and A Path Home: A story of Thich Nhat Hanh (2009/2010). Masanari’s Butoh work 8’46” (movement for healing), featuring a soundscape by Sho Nikaido, was performed as part of Offerings: BareBones 2020. Masanari is a Playwrights’ Center McKnight Theater Artist Fellow 2018-2019 and 2010-2011.
Elizabeth MacNally, Production Manager: has been a freelance stage manager in the Twin Cities for over 10 years. As a stage manager she has worked with Pillsbury House Theatre, History Theatre, Jungle Theater, Mixed Blood Theatre, The Guthrie Theater, Penumbra Theatre, as well as others. In 2011 she became the production manager of Pillsbury House Theatre. Elizabeth is a proud member of Actors Equity Association, a 2021-2022 McKnight Theatre Artist Fellow and holds a BFA in Theatre Production from Rockford College in Rockford, Illinois.
Heidi Eckwall, Lighting Designer: has designed lighting for dance, theater and performance for over thirty years. She has toured extensively in the US and abroad with many choreographers and dance companies including Nora Chipaumire, Urban Bush Women, Compagnie Jant-Bi, Rosy Simas, Emily Johnson, BodyCartography Project, Hijack, Mathew Janczewski and Margaret Jenkins. She teaches Lighting Design at Colorado College. Upcoming projects include work with Leslie Parker, Rosy Simas, Brainerd Community Theater and an international tour with Nora Chipaumire. She was part of the Naked Stages cohort in 2004, where she developed a piece that eventually became “Ridgewood Avenue”. Great to be back! Designer for Alia Jeraj, Atlese Robinson, Alys Ayumi Ogura, and Ashembaga Jaafaru
Katie Deutsch, Lighting Designer: has been a freelance technician and board operator since 2015. They have been working at Pillsbury House + Theatre for just as long and became the Technical Coordinator in 2021. As a freelancer, they have worked in Penumbra Theatre, Artistry, Walker Art Center, and other theatres around the Twin Cities. They graduated from University of Minnesota Twin Cities with a B.A. in Theatre Arts in the Technology and Design Track. Designer for C. Michael Menge and Margaret Ogas.
House Supervisor: Katie Deutsch
House Technician: Maje Adams
House Manager: Sami Pfeffer & Estrella Mercado
Marketing photos by Caroline Yang, 2021.
Production photos by Bruce Silcox, 2021.
Videography by Ben McGinley, 2021.
Pillsbury House Theatre Company:
Signe V. Harriday, Artistic Producing Director
Noël Raymond, Managing Producing Director
Elise Gumm, Marketing & Communications Manager
Michael Hoyt, Creative Community Laison
Elizabeth MacNally, Production Manager
Kurt Kwan, Artistic Program Director
Pramila Vasudevan, Naked Stages Director
Kari Olk, Chicago Avenue Project Director
Resident Teaching Artists: Masanari Kawahara, Pedro Lander, Kellie Larson, Aimee K. Bryant
Ralph Remington, Founder
Contributors
Funding from state and federal government agencies, local and national foundations and donations from individual donors fuel Pillsbury House Theatre’s work.
Contributions support not only our Mainstage and Naked Stages seasons, but also the Chicago Avenue Project and our community engagement programs.
If you have made a donation in the last year and do not find your name listed below, we apologize for the omission and ask that you let us know by contacting Elise Gumm at 612-787-3622 or eliseg@pillsburyhousetheatre.org.
Individual Donors 2020 – Present Include:
BOX OFFICE DONORS:
Elizabeth Athorn
David Fettig
Clare Forstie
Jacque Frazzini
Nancy Fushan
Genene McNabb & Reid Gagle
Christine Gordon
Beth Haney
Larry and Tammy harris
Robert Hokanson
Hannah K Holman
Katharine Horowitz
Judith James
Ochen Kaylan
Wendy Knox
Victoria Lauing
Marjorie Lee
Douglas Logeland
William MacNally
Ann Manning
Miriam Monasch
Tamara Nadel
Rosalind Nelson
Rita and Ben Olk
Karin Olson
Scott Pakudaitis
Natasha Pestich
Jane Powers
Karen Quisenberry
Julie Sand
Sheryl Saterstrom
Jill Schafer
Jeanne Schleh
Scott Strand
Susan M Summitt
Marguerita Tajibnapis
Kristen Treuting
Pramila Vasudevan
Carla Waldemar
Sally Wingert
Joe Stanley & Lori Zook-Stanley
Amalia Magaret
Amoke Kubat
Angelina McDowell
Ann Minnick
Anna Dennis & Karen Wiebe
Barbara Melom
Brad Turner
Carol Grady
Catherine Penkert
Cathleen Marquardt
Cheryl Hanson
Christine Retkwa
Christopher Engstrom
Claire Wilson
Colleen Rusch
Colleen Rusch
Community Shares of Minnesota
Connie Priebe
Danielle Kisner
Deborah Anderson
Diane Faissler
Elissa Adams
Elizabeth Anderson
Ellen Karlson
Erin Williams
Gege Hodgson
Gene & Nancy Zemske
James & Jean Hartman
Jane Greenberg
Jane Powers
Jane Ramseyer Miller & Susan Haugh
Janet Hilliker
Jeanelle Austin
Jessica Rosenberg
Jewlee Washburn
Jill Bernard
Joe Crocker
Joelle Imholte
John Cook
John Kluge
Judith Baldwin
Judy Reiber
Julene Maruska
Julie Costello
Karen Barstad
Kathleen McKay
Kathleen Zeleny
Kathy Kohl
Kristina Boerger
Kyle Meerkins
Laura Leffler
Lauren Anderson
Lauren Daumueller
Laurie Dehmlow
Linda Fei
Lois & Stephen Parker
Lora Horgen
Lynn Glesne
Margaret Cogelow
Marianne Merriman
Marjorie Sigel
Mark Berge
Marsha Aubineau
Mary Hunt
Mat Matsafu
Mykel Pennington
N. Jeanne Burns & Elizabeth A. Oppenheimer
Nadia Benner
Nancy Fushan
Nancy Goodman
Nancy Jones
Rebecca Noon
Regina Marie Williams
Rita Boersma
Wolfram Ruhmann
Ryan Allen
Sandra Smith
Sarah Hauge
Sarah Schuchardt
Shanan Custer
Sharolyn Hagen
Sharon Lyon
Sharon Schmidt
Sheryl Saterstrom
Sigrid Ruhmann
Steve Budas & Gail Irish
Susan Schirber
Susan Tapp
Suzanne Jebe
Tameka Colbert
Tara Fahey
Tom Davis
Tracy Nordstrom
Yo deb
Zeke McKinney
PILLSBURY HOUSE THEATRE GENERAL FUND DONORS:
Abisola Jaiyesima
Alejandro Eduarte
Alisa Revou
Allison and Anthony Harder
Amanda Beardsley
Amy Blumenshine & Michael Troutman
Amy Heinichen Liss
Amy Laboe
Ana Morel
Andrew Adelmann
Angelique Lele
Ann Drew Yu
Ann Manning
Ann Minnick
Ann Schattenberg
Ann Wynia
Annamarie Ettel
Anne Redmond
Anne Seltz
Anthony & Allison Harder
Audrey Kingstrom
Aviva Breen
Barb Davis
Barbara Brooks
Barbara Greenwald Davis
Baron Turns 9
Becky Clawson & Jeffrey Garetz
Becky Clawson
Ben Olk & Kris Berggren
Beth Carlson
Beth Wright
Beverly Davis
Binky Wood
Bob & MaryEllen Manske
Bob Waligora
Brooke Magid Hart and Sean Hart
Bruce Karstadt
Carl Sandberg
Carla Steen & Jeff Friedl
Carol Hovey
Carol Taylor
Caroline Bassett
Caron Moore
Carson Kreitzer
Cassandra Silveira
Cathleen Marquardt
Cecelia Boone
Cecilia Konchar Farr
Cedar Schimke
Chalonne Wilson
Charles Dawson
Chris Morris
Christopher Engstrom
Colleen Rusch
Connor Rohwer
Daina Robins
Daisuke Kawachi
Dan Donkers
Danger Boat Productions
Daniel Mccurdy
Darryl Bullock
David Fettig
David Good & Rosemary Hekman Good
David Miller
David O Fallon
David Schnack
David Woodard
Dawn Hill
Dawn Stratton
Deborah McKnight & James Alt
Debra Ingram
Denise Alden
Dennis & Scott Wachtler Whipple
Dianne Brennan
Dominique Collins
Donna McNamara
Douglas Kearney
Elaine Sloan
Eleanor Skelton
Elizabeth Grant
Ella Jo Thayer
Ellen Baker
Ellen Veazey
Emily & Per Halaas
EOY
Erin F Gallas
Faith Dietz
Farrand Anderson
Faysal Abraham
Fran Davis
Francine Oputa
Frankie Sieg
Gary Gardner
Gary Prevost
Gary Tazelaar
Gege Hodgson
Gene & Nancy Zemske
George Clabon
George Hoagland
Gordon Kipling
Grace Holthaus
Grant Sorenson
GREAT Theatre
Harry Waters & Tom Borrup
Hazel B. Tanner
Hazel Lutz
Heather Allen
Helen Slater
Hope Esparolini
I Kaon Sherarts
Iikka Meriläinen
James & Jean Hartman
James Nelson
Jane Curry
Jane Galbraith
Jane Powers
Janet & William MacNally
Janet Schmitt
Janice & Gary Gauger
Janis Page
Jann Cather Weaver
Jean M Hartman
Jean Raymond
Jeanne Andre
Jeffrey Masco
Jessica Rogers
Joan Cornwell
Joe Crocker
Joe Kuznik
John Becker
John Harrer
John Humphrey
John Mullican
Jon Skaalen
Josh Wirtschafter
Judith Baldwin
Judy Takkunen
Julie Carlson Sladcik
Julie Caruso
Julie Lipelt
Karen Barstad
Karen Charles
Karen Heegaard
Karen Knauer
Karen Lehman
Kari O’Connor
Karon Sherarts
Katharine A Horowitz
Kathy & Allen Lenzmeier
Kathy Kater
Kelley Lindquist
Kelly Nelson
Kelsye Gould
Kendrick Wronski
Kevin Springer
Kimberly A Pepper
Konrad & Jamie Case
Kris Berggren & Ben Olk
Kristen James
Kristen Wiseman
Kristin Lockhart
L. l. Pate
Laura Bachinski & Renee Delong
Laura Stone-Jeraj
Laura Suess
Lawrence C. Smith
Lee Joshua
Leslie Ball
Lewis & Connie Remele
Linda C Giacomo
Lindsay L. Benjamin
Lisa Hinz
Lisa Murray
Lissa Lofgren
Lorene Milligan
Louise Ziegler
Lynn Rabinovitch
Lynne Menturweck
Lynne Murphy
Lynnette Black
Madeleine George
Madeline Cooper
Magaly Ordoñez
Mankwe Ndosi
Marcia & John Stout
Marcia & Russ Palma
Marcus Renner
Margaret Lonergan
Margaret Werry
Marianne Merriman
Marie Simpson
Marilyn Johnson
Mark Berge
Mark Gilberstadt
Marsha Aubineau
Mary Adair
Mary & Ron Mattson
Mary Ann Kelling
Mary Ann Lippay
Mary Ellen Murphy
Mary Kokernot
Maureen Engelhardt
Maxie Rockymore
Maxine Rockymore
Mel Gray & Robin King Cooper
Melinda Ward
Meredith Cain-Nielsen & Jens Knutson
Merrily Karel
Michael James
Michael Koch
Michael Ricker
Michael-Jon Pease
Michelle Gibbs
Michelle Lichtig
Michelle Woster
Mire Regulus
Miriam Kelen
N. Jeanne Burns & Elizabeth A. Oppenheimer
Nancy Fushan
Nancy H. Jones
Nancy Jones
Nickie Dillon
Nicole Grabow
Nigel Berkeley
Patricia Brenneman
Patrick Prochaska & Scott Smith
Paul Erdmann
Paul Hogrefe & Jim Sauder
Peg Birk
Peter Stanley Zeftel
Philip Reinhardt
Randee Edmundson
Ranger Lushus
Rebecca Noon
Renita Martin
Robert Frame
Robin Hickman
Robin Macgregor
Ronnie & Roger Brooks
Sagirah Shahid
Sally Johnson
Sam Crossley
Sandra Smith
Sara Lara
Sarah Peters
Sharon Haas & Nick Faber
Sharon Foster
Sharon Lyon
Shawn Judge
Stephen Yoakam
Shay Berkowitz
Sheila McGinley
Shelley Modell
Sherryl Livingston & Jim Lundy
Sheryl Saterstrom
Shirley Rutherford
Siana Goodwin
Sid Solomon
Simba Blood
Starri Hedges
Stephanie Rogers
Subir K Banerjee & Manju Parika
Sue Gibson
Susan Elsner
Susan Haugh & Jane Ramseyer Miller
Susan Maas
Susan Palmer
Susan Schirber
Suzanne Jebe
Sylvia Schwarz
T. Mychael Rambo
Talia Smigielski
Tammy Darrah Wenberg
TASU Theatre Co.
Terry Shima
Theodore Cornwell
Thomas & Martha Milligan
Thomas Bartl
Timothy O’Brien
Tina Pfau Gonzales
Todd London & Karen Hartman
Tom Scott
Tope Daniel
Torey Erin
Tracey Maloney
Travis & Lori Norvell
Trevor Bowen
United Way
Valeriana Moeller
Viitala Ann
Virginia Brown
Voss Theresa
Zoe Hollomon
CHICAGO AVENUE PROJECT 2020-2021 DONORS:
Baron Heinz Family
Kathy McKay
Kevin Springer
Leah Ferguson
Lily Thiboutot
Liz Hughes
Olive Goff & Family
Shanea Turner-Smith
Spruce Krause
Tammy Darrah Wenberg
Tim and Lindsay Culverhouse
Patrick Bailey
Saymoukda Vongsay
Steve Mayer
Will Siasoco’s Say Their Names project
2020 END OF YEAR CAMPAIGN DONORS:
Davina Baldwin
Jeffrey & Karyl Beeman
Chuck & Lee Blons
Carol Bouska
Marilyn Broussard
Adrienne Chivers
Barbara Davis
Jean Ann Durades
Roberta Ebbers
Laura Esping
Kimberly Ford
Ronald Fraboni
Thelma Fricke
Gary Gardner
Marjorie Goldberg
Meri Golden
Sally Gordon
Beverly Hlavac
Mark Holland
Patricia Johnson
Mary Kaeding
Jeremiah & Pamela Kearney
Miriam Kelen
Michael & Martha Koch
Blayn Lemke
William & Janet MacNally
John & Kristine Mandler
Ruth Markowitz
Lisa McCarston
Sheila McGinley
Toni McNaron
David Miller
Michael Muehlbach
Gretchen Musicant
Joseph & Joan Nelson
Travis and Lori Norvell
James Payne
Faye Price
Patrick Prochaska
Peter Rachleff
Noel Raymond
Alisa Revou
Sandra Sandell
Carolyn Sandvig
Haas Sharon
Rutherford Shirley
Helen (Nell) Slater
Ricki Starck
Marcia & John Stout
Carol Taylor
Ellen Thayer
Darlene Walser
Carolyn White
Rockwell Winthrop
What's New
Announcing the 2021 Naked Stages Fellows!
A warm welcome to Alys Ayumi Ogura, Margaret Ogas, and Ashembaga (Ashe) Jaafaru.
LEARN MORE!
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NAKED STAGES NEWS
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Naked Stages, a 7-month Jerome Fellowship for emerging performance artists at Pillsbury House Theatre, is now accepting applications for 2021. Three emerging artists will be selected.
Read more…
The 2015 Naked Stages fellows are: Marisa R. Carr, Juanda Petris, and Eliza Rasheed. Marisa R. Carr is a composer, playwright, and activist who was named “Best New Political Playwright” by Lavender Magazine earlier this year. She will create a performance piece inspired by her police officer father. Junauda Petris is a dancer, writer, and aerial artist who will be installing ritualistic and artistic spaces around the building, outside of the theatre. Finally, Eliza Rasheed is an actor, dancer, playwright, and director who will use her lens as an Asian multiracial woman to guide her work.
About
WHAT IS NAKED STAGES?
Pillsbury House Theatre, with support from the Jerome Foundation, seeks to provide a mentorship opportunity for early career performance artists in the Minnesota.
A creative opportunity unlike any other in the Minnesota, Naked Stages is the culmination of a 7 month fellowship that provides two early career performance artists with the time, resources, and mentorship they need to bring their distinctive visions to life on stage. In addition to regular feedback sessions, the artists participate in workshops with local creators, as well as more intensive workshops with nationally-renowned artists. Once a month, they also participate in production meetings focused on the business side of art, from audience development to technical support, helping to develop their unique voice into a sustainable, artistic career.
Naked Stages performances are the final step of a multi-layered program designed for artists to be their most bold and creative selves.
What is Performance Art?
Below is a summary adapted from the essay “Fluid Landscapes,” by Lois Keidan and Daniel Brine.
“Performance Art is not a singular form of art, but an umbrella term for work that pushes the boundaries of diverse disciplines. Disrupting borders, breaking rules, defying traditions, resisting definition, asking questions and activating audiences, Performance Art is a research engine where the limits of art and ideas are tested and new possibilities imagined.”
Photos
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2020.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2020.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2020.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2020.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2020.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2020.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2019.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2019.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2019.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2019.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2019.
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- Photo by Bruce Silcox, 2019.
Video
Past Artists
2019 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Hawona Sullivan Janzen
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Amoke Awele Kubat
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Queen Drea
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2018 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Chitra Vairavan
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Anat Shinar
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A.P. Looze
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2017 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Jessica Lopez Lyman
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Ritika Ganguly
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Antonio Duke
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2016 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Magnolia Yang Sao Yia
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Nadia Honary
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Shante’ Sojourn Zenith
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2015 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Eliza Rasheed
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Junauda Petrus
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Marisa R. Carr
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2014 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
B Billy Xiong
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PaviElle French
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Eric F. Avery
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2013 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Moheb Soliman
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Zainab Musa
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Emily Zimmer
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2012 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Jeffry Lusiak
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Zoe Sommers Haas
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David T Steinman
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Ahanti Young
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2011 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Moe Lionel
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Ephraim Eusebio
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Max Wirsing
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Paulino Brener
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2010 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
M. Cochise Anderson
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Esther Ouray
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Andrea Jenkins
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Janaki Ranpura
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2009 NAKED STAGES ARTISTS
Miré Regulus
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Kelley A Meister
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Julian McFaul
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Julia Elizabeth Babb
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All 2010 Naked Stages artist photos by Craig VanDerSchaegen. 2009 and 2011 photos by Ann Marsden.
