Mixed Blood ZEALOUS HELLIONS Series Presents Andrea Jenkins In Conversation With Tabitha Montgomery

Mixed Blood curates on-stage conversations with iconoclastic thought leaders whose world view aligns with this theatre's mission, vision, and values: ZEALOUS HELLIONS. A core value of Mixed Blood is to be "predictably unpredictable." Scores of rascals, renegades, and rebels have found a home at Mixed Blood, a place where unconventional thinking and outspoken people can have a voice. 2019's ZEALOUS HELLIONS included Dessa, Oskar Eustis, Ernie Hudson, and Ilhan Omar.

On January 16, Minneapolis City Council Vice President ANDREA JENKINS will take the stage in Mixed Blood's Alan Page Auditorium for 2020's first ZEALOUS HELLIONS offering.

Andrea is the first African American openly trans woman to be elected to office in the United States. A nationally and internationally recognized performance artist, poet, and transgender activist, Andrea received a 2011 Bush Fellowship to advance the work of transgender inclusion. She is also the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including from Jerome Foundation, Napa Valley Writers Conference, the Playwrights' Center Many Voices Fellowship and the 2008 Givens Foundation Black Writers Fellowship. She will be speaking about art, race, politics, gender, and more in conversation with Mixed Blood's Tabitha Montgomery (herself the most zealous of hellions).

Tabitha is the Executive Director of the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association and currently serves on Mixed Blood's Board of Directors. Having abandoned corporate America for the cooperative and non-profit sectors, Tabitha's values guide her every word and act.

These two Zealous Hellions will empathize, spar, and philosophize with each other, always speaking truth to power. The alchemy of these two can only result in outrage, wisdom, and hilarity.

Andrea moved from Chicago to attend the University of Minnesota in 1979. After graduating, she worked for Hennepin County, and then as a staff member on the Minneapolis City Council for 22 years before beginning work as curator of the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota's Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies. Andrea holds a Masters in Community Development from Southern New Hampshire University, a MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University, and a BA in Human Services from Metropolitan State University.

ZEALOUS HELLIONS is a project of Mixed Blood Theatre to provide the community with real-time, face-to-face conversations between artists, cultural provocateurs, and politicians in an intimate setting. The program allows audiences a glimpse of a different facet of a known personality, and a refreshing pause for deeper community dialogue.

This ZEALOUS HELLIONS offering will take place on January 16 from 7:00PM and last 90 minutes. Guarantee admission for $25, become a member, or attend without charge on a first-come-first-served basis via Radical Hospitality.

For reservations or further information, call 612-338-0937 or visit https://mixedblood.com/product/zealous-hellion-andrea-jenkins/.