Bedlam New Work Development

New Work Development

As Bedlam Theatre looks to establish a new venue, we recognize that this current venue-less period is one for growth and exploration of art around the Twin Cities. To that end there needs to be great focus on the growth and creative exploration by Bedlam associate artists and those artists wanting to connect with the Bedlam aesthetic.

Bedlam will be looking to atthe effects of creative catalysts like 10x10 FEST and “Voices of Cedar-Riverside” and the possibility of exploring new connections with artists who want to create theatrical pieces through Bedlam's process. While meeting new possibilities the funding will help us in nurturing existing relationships, such as the youth impacted by "Voices," who want to continue to gain experience of the arts by taking advantage of Bedlam connections.

As the pool of Associate Artists producing new work with and through Bedlam has expanded in recent years, we continue to seek greater resources for nurturing those artists and their ideas. Your support will help us fund the potential following projects:

· Project development of script, score, story development, and presentation of a heavy metal/punk opera created by Bedlam company artist Christopher Allen. Allen grew up in the DIY punk scene in Minneapolis and will draw on his connections with the multi-faceted musicians, visual artists, and fashion designers as well as his own history with role playing games and science fiction to create an epic punk opera telling of an original Nordic myth. We will showcase in-progress in the fall 2011 and produce in Spring, 2012.

· Project development of Queer through the Ages led by Jeffrey Lusiak. Lusiak brought his cabaret celebration of Queer Love, Queertopia, to Bedlam after the folding of the queer company Outward Spiral. Bedlam will support a workshop that pairs queer artist with a decade. The artists will research Twin Cities queer history in that decade and create and original piece. This project - a community based history theater project - serves to harness the queer energy of the community in and around Bedlam, including new generation coming up through dance party events like Pegasus and Bomp!. Fall 2011/Spring 2012 will be the research phase of the project with the full production slated for Spring, 2013.

· Commission of Unit Collective playwright(s) to work with an ensemble of performers in creating a collaborative new work. This project will be a particular opportunity for further involvement from participants in this year's 10x10 Fest and the youth ensemble emerging from Voices of Cedar-Riverside - alongside actors from Bedlam’s core company. Workshop will be in Fall 2011 with production in Summer 2012.

· Commission of one to two projects emerging from Bedlam’s 10x10 Fest to develop on to larger works. The festival will contain 20 short pieces created by professional and community artists working together. Projects forms vary - some are script-based, movement based, or collaboratively created/devised, performance art -etc. Each year has produced a piece or two that we have supported to grow into full productions.

· Research and development for a project led by Bedlam co-founder Maren Ward about the radical environmental movement and direct action activism.

Each of these projects has its genesis in a community or action or artist that evolved in our previous space at 1501 S. 6th St. While it was a time of immense creativity (that thing about when people are in the same space they are more creative) - the magnitude of the experiment of 1501 meant that our ability to focus on one production (as we could our previous studio venue) was compromised. This venue-less period is an opportunity to revive that focus and increase the support to the new work development and to build on the many ideas and connections formed during our time of extreme hospitality and outreach.