Mixed Blood Theatre Presents AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP Beginning 2/18

Mixed Blood Theatre presents the world premiere of AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP, a tall tale, Aditi Brennan Kapil's funny and powerful new work that imagines the intersecting lives of immigrants in today's America. Kapil also directs this magical adventure, a National Endowment for the Arts' Distinguished American New Play commissioned by Mixed Blood, which opens February 18 at the historic firehouse theatre on the West Bank, 1501 W. Fourth St., Minneapolis.

Under the figurative Big Top and propelled by the rhythms of a subway train, five newcomers find and redefine themselves in their new land - Agnes, a Liberian homecare worker (Sha Cage) employed by bedridden Ella (Linda Kelsey in her Mixed Blood debut), an itinerant transit busker (Nick Demeris), a Bulgarian ringmaster and his wife (Nathaniel Fuller and Virginia Burke) and an Indian call center escapee (Ankit Dogra). Combining a grey subterranean world with music, clowning and unexpected junctions, AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP follows the characters' journeys as they search for beauty amidst the chaos of migration.

"I'm an immigrant born of immigrant parents. The shifting identities, the multiple languages sifting every thought, the disconnect from family history are inescapable parts of how I think and see the world," said Kapil. "I also wanted to celebrate the immigrant spirit -- that hope and faith that makes a person leap from the known to the unknown. I wanted to mythologize migration, as part of the gorgeous spectacle of the human condition, because as well as being Indians and Bulgarians and Swedes and whatever else, my people are immigrants. That's our shared identity."

Kapil, director of Ruined and Messy Utopia-both Ivey Award-winning Mixed Blood productions-and her artistic team have crafted a new configuration for the theatre that immerses the audience in an international world as the fable criss-crosses the globe from Monrovia to Mumbai, from Eastern Europe to the East Coast. The play's creation had a similar trek with six developmental workshops in Minneapolis, Philadelphia, New York, Bulgaria and Ely, Minn.

Prior to its world premiere at Mixed Blood, AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP has a reading at Arena Stage's #NEWPLAY FESTIVAL in Washington, D.C. in late January, and immediately following the Mixed Blood opening, has its East Coast debut at the Long Wharf Theater in New Haven, Conn.

Artistic Director Jack Reuler said, "AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP culminates 15 years of collaboration between this theatre and Aditi, who has been an actor, director, and playwright here since 1994. Mixed Blood's politics, aesthetic, humor and pace first influenced Aditi and now are defined by Aditi. AGNES brims with optimism, convenes disparate individuals on stage, challenges the use of our reconfigurable space, and does so all within the 90-minute intermissionless form that is our signature. She is an interNational Treasure who flatters us by calling Minnesota and Mixed Blood her artistic home!"

AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP's creative team includes scenic designer Andrea Heilman, costume designer Amber Brown, lighting designer Jeff Bartlett, and sound designer Katharine Horowitz.

A preview of AGNES UNDER THE BIG TOP will be held Thursday, February 17 at 7:30 p.m.; the show opens Friday, February 18 at 7:30 p.m. Performances are Wednesdays-Saturdays at 7:30 p.m. with 3:00 p.m. matinees on Sundays. All performances are at Mixed Blood's historic firehouse theatre at 1501 S. 4th St., Minneapolis. Tickets are $10-$28 (with opening night at $15). Groups, senior, student and access prices are offered. Weekday matinees for student and other groups are also available. Tickets are available at 612-338-6131 or online at www.mixedblood.com.

PHOTO CREDIT: Rich Ryan

 

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