In early 1991, Leslie Ball was living in Manhattan, graduating from New York University with a MFA degree, and planning to visit Minnesota for the summer.
"I was invited to be part of an independent film that was shooting during the first part of the summer," Ball said. "I thought that after the filming was completed, I would try out this little cabaret idea I had for the last few weeks of the summer, squeeze in a visit to the State Fair, and then return to my apartment in New York."
The "little cabaret idea" was launched at the old Jungle Theater when it was located at its Lake Street address, opening on August 3rd, 1991. Originally slated for a six-week run, it now has been running for more than two decades.
After a year, the Jungle wanted to generate on its own some of the late night success that BALLS was realizing, and it became apparent that BALLS would have to find a new home. Following one late-night show, Ball found the director of the Southern Theater waiting for her backstage. He told her that "BALLS needs to come to the Southern."
BALLS moved to the Southern at Seven Corners and has remained there since, showing every week without fail.
In her opening speech each week, Ball conveys the following message: "BALLS is for artists of any and all disciplines, at any and all levels of experience, to do whatever they wish for five to seven minutes. Nothing is ever screened or censored, so we never have any idea what is going to happen, believe you me! There is always a possibility that someone in the house may be offended tonight. That someone may even be me. We support freedom of expression and diversity of opinion as part of our mission."
The Southern Theater is proud to be the home for BALLS Cabaret, sharing a mission that aligns at all levels and that celebrates the tenacity, experimentation, creativity, joy, and good will of the most organic and exciting cabaret of all time.
On Saturday, September 10th, folks will gather as they have every week for 20 years, and the BALLS community will mark the milestone. Artists of any and all disciplines will present whatever they wish. Audiences will be invited to participate. Afterward, everyone will congregate in the lobby for treats and conversation.
Artists who first developed their craft at BALLS have gone on to success on other stages around the globe. Community members have met, fallen in love, married. Some folks have died. Babies have been born.
"We had one performer expecting a baby on our opening night," recalled Ball. "We had a car waiting outside the theater ready to rush him to the hospital in case his partner went into labor during the show. The mother (Colleen Kruse) didn't go into labor until a few hours after the show ended, and their son Isaac was born later that day. For years, young Isaac would attend our anniversary gathering. We would look at him to see just how old our cabaret had become. He is in college now!"
Performances:
Saturday September 10, 2011
Doors at 11:30pm , show at midnight
Tickets: $5
http://www.southerntheater.org/
Leslie Ball
Has performed on stages around the country... from the Guthrie Theater - to Carnegie Hall - to a U.S.O. tour entertaining the troops stationed in Panama and the Caribbean. In 1991 Leslie returned to Minneapolis and launched BALLS Cabaret, an experimental stage for performers of any discipline or level of experience. BALLS is currently celebrating its 20th anniversary. It's the longest running weekly midnight cabaret in history - and was featured in the New York Times as a "must-see" in the Twin Cities.
Leslie also facilitates a Sunday evening worship service at Hennepin Church, and leads Sunday morning worship at the Minnesota State Fair - Prayer at the Fair complete with trademark bulletin-on-a-stick. She composed the score for her partner Ochen Kaylan's State Fair art film Midwest Brigadoon. In addition to her work as a musician, Leslie also works as an actress, director, educator, and served as the Poet Laureate for the Chautauqua Festival. Her poetry from the fair was a featured summer series on MPR's All Things Considered.
Leslie was honored with the Hawkinson Peace and Justice Award for her work as an artist and activist. She is also the recipient of a number of MN Music Academy awards, including best female songwriter. She earned her MFA at New York University, and her Master of Divinity Degree at United Theological Seminary.
Southern Theater mission and biography
The Southern Theater cultivates artistic exploration by providing a vibrant home for performance, fostering a multiplicity of voices, and catalyzing connections among artists and audiences.
Located in the Seven Corners district of Minneapolis, near the University of Minnesota's West Bank campus, our intimate, 210-seat house has served as a leading and valued venue for eclectic, experimental, and engaging work that appeals to diverse audiences. We are a vital incubator,
assisting Minnesota artists in their research and development in the fields of dance, theater, and music. We provide a stage for new works and facilitate the presentation of artistic expressions that often are not found in competing venues.
