drama

3 Legged Race

420 N 5th St, Suite 540, Ford Center, Minneapolis

Phone: 612-332-3200

Productions use movement and form to create innovative dance. Many of its performances contain social critique of the world around us.

Acadia Cabaret Theater

1931 Nicollet Ave. S., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-874-8702

Plays host to local drama and comedy on its small stage. The space is a little cramped but offers local theater a stage on which to show their work to the public.

Ballet of the Dolls

820 18th Ave., Minneapolis MN 55418

Phone: 612-623-7660

Email: dolls@balletofthedolls.com

www.balletofthedolls.org

The most consistently challenging dance troupe in town, Ballet of the Dolls works to take ballet out of its traditionally elitist format and presents it to the people.

The Brave New Workshop

2605 Hennepin Ave S., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-332-6620

Brave New Workshop's comedy flip-flops between social satire and simple silliness. It also offers improv workshops for comedians looking to get a foot in the door.

Bryant-Lake Bowl Theater

810 W. Lake St., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-825-8949

Email: info@bryantlakebowl.com

www.bryantlakebowl.com

Bryant-Lake Bowl doesn't house its own theater troupe, but hosts plenty of smaller shows. The space offers a much a needed stage for drama, experimental and comedic performances.

Ethnic Dance Theater

2337 Central Ave. NE, Minneapolis

Phone: 612-870-8831

Email: info@ethnicdancetheatre.com

www.ethnicdancetheatre.com

Ethnic Dance Theater attempts to create understanding and awareness of other cultures through the production of traditional dance.

Eye of the Storm

3600 16th Ave. S., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-728-5859

One of the few theaters in town still producing gritty, occasionally intense theater. Eye of the Storm bases a lot of its work in social critique.

Fifty Foot Penguin Theater

2224 Emerson Ave. #3, Minneapolis

Phone: 612-381-1110

Email: fiftyfootpenguin@yahoo.com

Fifty Foot Penguin Theater has produced some of the most dramatic Twin Cities theater in the last few years. They're also fans of absurd comedy as social critique.

Frank Theatre

3156 23rd Ave. S., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-724-3760

Email: frank@bitstream.net

www.franktheatre.org

Frank Theatre may be one of the most socially conscious theaters in town. Recent seasons have included work by Brecht and Orwell.

Fringe Festival

Phone: 612-872-1212

Email: operations@fringefestival.org

www.fringefestival.org

Fringe Festival may not have much "fringe" left in it, but with a 120-production line-up, it offers an incredible opportunity for grassroots performance.

Illusion Theater

Hennepin Center for the Arts

528 Hennepin Ave., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-339-4944

Email: illusiontheaterl@juno.com

In a city filled with theaters and theater groups, Illusion Theater offers a chance for new playwrights to stage their work in addition to housing productions of established work.

In The Heart of The Beast Puppet and Mask Theater

1500 East Lake St., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-721-2535

www.hobt.org

Best known for its participation in the Powderhorn neighborhood's May Day parade, In the Heart of the Beast also works its puppet mastery into stage productions.

Mixed Blood Theater

1501 S. 4th St., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-338-0937

Email: info@mixedblood.com

www.mixedblood.com

Based on the idea that roles shouldn't be cast along traditional "white character, white actor" lines, Mixed Blood pushes audiences to consider issues of race, gender, and more.

Pangea World Theater

2509 Dupont Ave. #209, Minneapolis

Phone: 612-377-1728

Pangea's dance-inspired theater turns traditional theater on its head exploding the racial and societal issues from within the play itself.

Patrick's Cabaret

3010 Minnehaha Ave., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-721-3595

Email: pr_cabaret@yahoo.com

www.patrickscabaret.org

Even though Patrick has departed from the artistic director position at this cabaret theater, the space still plays host to some of the Twin Cities most experimental, dramatic and moving performances.

Penumbra Theater

270 N Kent St., St. Paul

Phone: 651-224-3180

Being the only professional African-American theater company in the Twin Cities puts a lot of pressure on Penumbra. Fortunately, it's up to the task, delivering poetic performance and masterful staging.

Pillsbury House Theatre

3501 Chicago Ave. S., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-825-0459

Shows at Pillsbury House Theatre are deeply rooted in issues of social justice and community. In addition to housing powerful productions, the theater works with the community to produce works by young, local playwrights.

The Playwright's Center

2301 Franklin Ave. E., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-332-7481

Email: info@pwcenter.org

www.pwcenter.org

Twin Cities would have maybe half the performance offerings if not for the artistic guidance of the Playwright's Center. They offer classes, workshops and occasionally stage productions.

Praxis Group

www.waste.org/praxis

Praxis Group explodes the traditions of classical theater. Their productions turn established plays inside out, exposing the unspoken societal programming that is at work within.

Red Eye Theater

15 W 14th St., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-870-0309

Email: contact@theredeye.org

Although the Red Eye only hosts a few shows a year these days, it hasn't dulled down its taste for experimental and challenging performance.

Southern Theater

1420 Washington Ave. S., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-340-1725

The Southern is the premier location for local dance and theater, including Theater Mu. And for those who haven't experienced it, Leslie Ball's local cabaret, where local performers try out their work, is a must see.

Stepping Stone Theater for Youth Development

314 Landmark Center 75 W 5th St., St. Paul

Phone: 651-225-9265

www.steppingstonetheatre.org

Stepping Stone's mission centers around bringing kids into the fold of theater and teaching them how to use performance to express thought and emotion.

Teatro del Pueblo

209 W. Page St., St. Paul

Phone: 651-224-8806

Teatro del Pueblo draws its strength from the Latino community on the West Side of St Paul. The company produces shows based on issues of importance to both local and global Latino people.

Ten Thousand Things Theater

Phone: 612-724-4494

Ten Thousand Things tours most of its shows to non-traditional theater audiences, bringing performance to prisons, homeless shelters and more.

Theater Mu

711 W Lake St., Suite 212, Minneapolis

Phone: 612-824-4804

Theater Mu is the preeminent Asian-American theater troupe in town. Their work focuses on the combination of Western and Eastern stage direction and performance.

Theatre in the Round

245 Cedar Ave., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-333-2919

Theatre in the Round gets a lot of flak for its consistent decision to generally produce comedy of manners plays, but it still remains the best community theater in the Cities.

University Theatre

110 Rarig Center 330 21st Ave. S., Minneapolis

Phone: 612-625-4001

Email: theatre@umn.edu

http://cla.umn.edu/theatre/index.html

Rarig Center plays host to a few different student theater companies. The most visible of these is U Theater, which incorporates the University of Minnesota's base of emerging playwrights, performers and directors into professional productions.