Bill Partlan

Now & Then Creative Company is a culmination of perceived needs in the valley, coupled with opportunities for learning and growth with students at Metropolitan Arts Institute. The 'now' focuses on new play development and film production-working with local artists on the development of plays, screenplays, workshop productions, and film productions. The 'then' produces theatre classics that speak to our present time-plays that tackle large issues to provoke conversation around social concerns. Further, I imagine the classics to be interpreted with a strong vision from directors. We are interested in producing classics with strong concepts-we are not interested in producing classics in ways that feel familiar. More to that point sometimes classics begin to feel like museum pieces-once you've seen them, you've seen them. We want to nurture an exciting, vibrant, and meaningful approach to the classics.

Cementing its role as a purveyor of new plays, as a destination for the finest talent in the field, and as an anchor in its Cedar-Riverside Minneapolis neighborhood, Mixed Blood Theatre Company will produce, present, and host 20 theatrical productions in the Alan Page Auditorium of its historic firehouse theatre between August of 2014 and July of 2015.