Pillsbury House Theatre presents
The Chicago Avenue Project: IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS
starring neighborhood kids and local professional artists
April 30 and May 1
Minneapolis, MN – Following the best-selling BUZZER, neighborhood kids and local performing arts professionals are taking over Pillsbury House Theatre for the Chicago Avenue Project. IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS features ten short plays written by professional playwrights, directed by professionals and acted by some of Twin Cities top theatre artists in partnership with neighborhood kids.
IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS is presented at Pillsbury House Theatre, 3501 Chicago Avenue South, Minneapolis, on Monday, April 30 at 7:00 pm and Tuesday, May 1 at 4:30 pm and 7:00 pm. All performances are free and open to the public.
Playwright (and PHT Director of Communications) Alan Berks pens “Super What” for Taj Ruler to perform in with Jayden. Other titles include “The Hairiest Pirate” by Daniel Pinkerton, starring Kurt Kwan and Diego and directed by Kat Wotke; and “The Presidential Kidnap” by Eliza Rasheed, starring Michael Venske and Gabriel and directed by Jess Finney. Other actors in IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS include Sara Richardson, Phylis Wright, and Christiana Clark.
Since 1996, the Chicago Avenue Project brings together the Twin Cities best adult playwrights, actors, and directors who volunteer to work one-on-one with neighborhood youth on the creation and production of an original play. Individual children develop close mentoring relationships with at least four adults who are successful in their creative fields while adult professional artists share the chance to perform in wildly imaginative plays as talking guinea pigs, horses, computer gaming systems, and other indescribably unique characters.
The Chicago Avenue Project gives every child—regardless of their circumstances—the opportunity to discover that he or she has a lot of value to offer. The project is not about teaching youth to perform, though they do learn acting, nor is it about teaching them how to write plays, though they learn that as well.
Other creative artists involved in IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS include: Actors, Michael Brown, Ricardo Vazquez, and Nathan Christopher; Directors, Hannah Holman, Carin Bratlie, Seth Patterson, Mary Keepers, Zainab Musa, Tom Lloyd and Jennie Ward; and Writers, Heather Meyer, Mooks Vongsay, Jessica Huang, Lisa Brimmer, Jen Scott, and Steve Ackerman.
About Pillsbury House Theatre
Unlike any other theatre in the country, Pillsbury House Theatre is a professional theatre within an inner-city neighborhood center—and a multicultural company of artists whose purpose is to engage a broad community in art and theatre with programs and productions that provoke reactions to the world around us.
Now in its 20th anniversary season, Pillsbury House Theatre is proud to be a professional theatre unlike any other. In partnership with Pillsbury United Communities, one of the largest human services organizations in the state, Pillsbury House Theatre demonstrates that the highest quality art is an integral part of all healthy communities.
CALENDAR EDITORS:
CHICAGO AVENUE PROJECT: IT’S RAINING CATS AND DOGS
April 30 at 7:00 p.m.
May 1 at 4:30 p.m.
May 1 at 7:00 p.m.
Pillsbury House Theatre
3501 Chicago Avenue S.
Minneapolis, MN 55407
Admission is free; seats are first-come, first-served.
All ages welcome.
Hi and lo res photographs and interviews available on request.
###