Green Stages in the Twin Cities
Selecting a green list of theaters isn't much of a chore because there are hundreds from which to choose. Theaters speak out and let the audience know what kinds of performance they will produce. The theaters named on this list either have social critique or community development as a central tenet of their mission.
Unfortunately, the art of theater has long suffered from its inability to compete with the larger-than-life big screen movie. For the past 50 years, theater's audience has slowly drifted away due to the popular impression that theater consists of men in tights, mumbled Shakespearean quotes and traditional staging. But there are local movements that are actively experimenting and trying to revive performance art. These groups produce work that attempts to show people where they stand in the world in order to change their perspective on consumption, racism, sexism and other mainstream American issues. Although the Twin Cities has long lagged nationally in the production of such innovative, important theater, the organizations found on this list enthusiastically seek to create this kind of work.