It's not often a show falls into our lap proclaiming to slay gender essentialism right in it's title--which is why when director Kristin Fox chose this show as her piece for the festival, our geeky little hearts rejoiced. A cutting look at various geek mythologies and how they as well as the cultures they create treat geek girls or anyone outside the binary, this show centers around endlessly endearing protagonist Sam as Gargle takes her through multiple dimensions to help him fight many platonic ideals--including masculinity and femininity.

A cast that is a wonderful mix of Gadfly returning talent Indira Addington, Steve Modena, G Zachariah White, and Fox herself alongside newbies Cheyne King and Lauren Diesch. Our Othello fight director Steve Looten Jr. also lends his talents to this show--but I don't want to give too much away!

Playwright Alex Reed gave us a great little blurb that we're just copying and pasting. He had this to say about his show: "Sci-fi is my favorite genre because, at its best, it can fundamentally change the way you perceive the universe. Space, time, probability: all can be shattered, pieced together, pulled, stretched, inverted, and twisted in every combination imaginable. But when it comes to social issues, much (though certainly not all) sci-fi can be disappointingly regressive. In universes of literally infinite possibility, it’s aggravating to see a sci-fi production reaffirm conventional gender norms, assuring us that society is fine just the way it is, rather than stimulate our imaginations through visions of better societies. When I created the character of Gargle McFury for a one-act I wrote for a Directing class, I wanted he/she to shatter all boundaries conceivable. He/she exists outside not only time, space, and probability, but outside every category we might use to classify a person, especially sex and gender. For this one-act, the second in the Gargle McFury saga, Gargle is able to share a little of this freedom from categorization and labeling with one of us mere mortals, a sci-fi fan who feels constrained from expressing her fandom because of her gender. I hope that this play can deliver on some of that promise of the sci-fi genre: the opening of possibilities and the expanding of the imagination."

This show opens on Saturday the 14th, just in time for the opening weekend party, and then performs the 16th, 20th, and 22nd. Tickets, as always, available here at Brown Paper Tickets.

See you at the shoW

Artistic Director Immanuel Elliott fell absolutely in love with Falling Awake the first time he read it, and once Cassandra read it she could see why. This wonderful story of Kip, who died in war and his boyfriend Landon, sister June, and best friend Billie meeting again exactly one year later is absolutely captivating as they attempt to find refuge in sleep. Their grief-induced dreams force them to face what they are running from, and force us to take a look into the unapologetic nature of dreams and how we cope with loss.

Playwright Alexis Scheer from Boston Conservatory had this to say about the conception of the script itself. "Falling Awake has been with me for a while. I started writing it when I was 17, a year after I lost a good friend in a scuba diving accident. My "Final Frontier" is Dreamland: a place we all rediscover every night. I'm interested in the new land our subconscious explores when we close our eyes," and here at Gadfly we can assure you that Scheer channeled her grief in a breathtaking, truly uniquely relatable way.

Director Mel Day was elated to receive this script, and has remained one of the most enthusiastic directors of "The Final Frontier Festival." Her cast, Lauren Diesch, Autumn Rasmus, Ian Donahue, and Jason Rodney have been pouring their hearts and souls into this work as they confront the issues of grief in the script, as well as the challenge of working on a fantasy piece. 

Don't miss Falling Awake at "The Final Frontier Festival", performing third in Set B on June 14th, 16th, 20th, and 22nd at Nimbus Theatre. Tickets are for sale here per show, night, or festival. 

Good Afternoon, Cassandra Snow, artistic director of Gadfly Theatre Productions here, throwing some love to a very fun show in the "Final Frontier Festival," Lovebot by Matthew A. Everett. I've been a fan of Matthew, a Minneapolis playwright of much acclaim, for awhile now, so I had a feeling I would at least LIKE Lovebot when he sent it to us for consideration. I ended up being completely charmed by the script and cracking up alone in my apartment several times. I was very excited when Scott Pakudaitis, one of our fearless directors, chose the show as his number one choice. Scott and Matthew have known each other for awhile, so working together has been a natural fit for them. The show itself is flourishing under Scott's directorial guidance and Matthew's eye overseeing his latest work.

Lovebot finds us meeting two beautiful astronauts charged with repopulating the world with humans. Unfortunately, they are a lesbian and a gay man, and even though they know repopulation is important, they just can't bring themselves to go through with it. Luckily, their successors thought this might be an issue--so they created a lovebot who was able to present as male to the male astronaut, and female to the female astronaut, who is able to help them.

This show is one of two featuring robots in the Festival, but I assure you they are nothing like each other. This is one of the most fun scripts in the festival, but still has that Gadfly heart and mind we always look for.

This cast of Liv Anderson, Shannon Leach, Pedro Juan Fonseca, and John Gebretatose is dynamite, and we can't wait to see them bring both bots and humans to life. Lovebot is in Set B of the Festival, which means is shows June 14th, 16th, 20th, and 22nd at Nimbus Theatre. Tickets are available here on a per night or whole festival basis. See you at the show!

Rehearsals are speeding along at Warp 2 for Who Killed Captain Kirk? by Paco Jose Madden, and I'm as happy as a Klingon with a brand new bat'leth. The show features a hilarious and charming cast of Gadfly senior officers and ensigns alike as obsessed Trekkies cosplaying their favorite characters at a Star Trek convention that I've tentatively dubbed TrekKon. Heading the intrepid crew of the Starship Enterprise is Alyssha Rose Jordan in the role of Captain Kirk. While she doesn't get the chance to seduce quite as many green skinned alien women as Shatner, she does get to command the crew in an epic space battle against an evil alien presence intent on destroying all individuality and diversity in the universe. And where would any Captain Kirk be without the logically minded Mr. Spock? In this case Spock is portrayed by Nikolas Martell with all the monotone charisma you'd expect from a real live Vulcan. Andrew Rosdail, Mikko Lee Bonilla, and Hector Chavarria round out the crew as Bones, the doctor cramming for a bio midterm, Sulu, the pilot with an allergy to aloe, and Uhura, the communications officer and ship's resident drag queen. The final member of this irreverent parody is Nichole Carey as Pluto. While not a planet, Pluto is the volunteer coordinator and person in charge of guest services. She pretty much runs the whole conference, and when William Shatner is found dead in his hotel room, it's up to Pluto to find out who killed Captain Kirk. It's the audience, however who is tasked with revealing the murderer's true identity.

This play is a whole lot of fun and a bit of a change of pace for me as a director. Coming off of two very intense shows like Precious Little, which involved a lesbian woman making some difficult choices about her pregnancy, and Sans Merci, about a woman dealing with sexual assault and the murder of her lover, I jumped at the chance to direct a campy and comedic romp that still addresses important issues like racism, sexism, homophobia, and class distinction. A big challenge and opportunity with Who Killed Captain Kirk? is that a very large portion on the show relies heavily on improv and the audience's participation. With three different endings decided upon each night by audience members, myself and the cast never really know exactly how the show will turn out on any given performance. That is both a very scary and very exciting thing for a theatre artist.

This show promises to be a very interesting experience for those of us involved and the audience as well. If you've ever seen a Gadfly show and wanted to be involved, but weren't quite ready to go to an audition or join our company behind the scenes, this a great way to get your feet wet and participate in creating the art you want to see from us. So beam on down to nimbus Theater June 13th and help us catch that dastardly villain who put an end to all those annoying Priceline.com commercials!

That's right, we are once again seeking loud and proud queer, feminist, and allied arts supporters and administrators to join our ranks. Gadfly is a fantastic place to stretch, play, and grow within your desired function in a theatre, and we always encourage exploration outside of that. Positions are stipended per show, with one or two exceptions, based on the show's budget. We are flexible, professional, and FUN, and we are looking for people of the same mind-set to come on as company members. Our company members are the heart and soul of our fantastic organization. In addition to flexing your muscles within your skill set, you'll also know that you are organizing and acting on behalf of arts, advocacy, and visibility for LGBTQIA* persons and women right here in Minneapolis.

We are specifically looking to fill these roles (in order of urgency)

Development Director--A largely fundraising position, this person will be leading the way on designing and implementing sponsorship and donor campaigns. Fundraising experience not necessarily required, but being outgoing, fearless, hyper-organized, and easily excited are. Copywriting and Social Media prowess also appreciated. Comfort talking about queer and feminist issues and visibility mandatory.

Audience Development and Special Events Director--Someone to get our audience excited, help us gain more audience through outreach and group sales efforts, and help those audience members get excited about donating. As part of these efforts, this position will also produce our free salons, our annual fundraising cabaret, and a couple of other fun things. The best candidate is someone who's organized, good at prioritizing, fearless, and creative.

Marketing Director--Exactly what it sounds like, someone to design and implement marketing campaigns for shows, events, and the company's overall visibility. We are looking for an organized, passionate individual with copywriting and social media know-how. Obviously with this position, comfort talking about queer and feminist issues and visibility is mandatory.

Technical Director--Someone to support the directors by designing and implementing most technical elements (or hiring out--typically our shows only need one or two designers, but in the rare case we have a lot of needs in more than one area, you are not expected to do everything, just oversee it.) Organization, slightly flexible schedule, proven ability to meet deadlines, and knowledge and experience in technical theatre make an ideal candidate.

If you think you're a great fit, or know someone we should reach out too, contact us immediately at gadflytheatre@gmail.com. If you are applying, please send a resume that highlights your experience and a couple of paragraphs in the body of the e-mail explaining why you want to come on board.

That is, to many lands and universes in our Sci-Fi and Fantasy Festival! The Final Frontier Festival will be an annual festival centering around geek culture that still fits our Queer & Feminist mission. This year we kept it broad--sci-fi and fantasy, and we have SIX awesome directors directing short plays by awesome emerging or mid-career playwrights. Now, we just need YOU--the actors (and perhaps a couple of stage managers)--to make this festival complete.

For Stage Management, please send us your resume and some times you would be available for a brief interview. We are looking for two stage managers for this festival. Our preference is to have you there at auditions in March.

Auditions are two Saturday afternoons, March 22nd and 29th between 1:00 and 4:00 P.M. at the People's Center Theatre on the West Bank neighborhood of Minneapolis. Please schedule your appointment in advance by e-mailing gadflytheatre@gmail.com and sending your headshot and resume, as well as letting us know what your preferred gender pronouns and ages you can believable play are.

Auditions will consist of ONE 60 second monologue from a contemporary play of your choice, and then directors will ask you to cold read scenes for shows you are being considered for. Please respect everyone's time and stick to the 60 second mark, but feel free to use all 60 seconds to show yourself off. Please let us know if you have time restrictions and can only read one or two scenes. Please also bring a hard copy of your headshot and resume.

Here is the breakdown of plays, directors, and the roles we are casting. Please keep in mind that we are a queer organization, so many of these roles are not heterosexual roles, and you may need to be intimate with someone of the same gender identity as yourself. Please also keep in mind that we are a feminist organization, and so we could not care less about your body type when casting, only that you've got the acting chops and the time to commit.

Who Killed Captain Kirk by Paco Jose Madden
Directed by: Immanuel Elliott
Captain Kirk-- African American, Female-Identified, in her 20’s.
Mr. Spock-- Female-identified, any race or age
Sulu-- Male-identified, Asian, any age
Uhuru-- Male-identified but dresses in drag, Mexican, any age
Bones-- Male-identified, white, any age
Pluto-- Female-identified, any race, any age

The Wolves Above by Alyssa Zaczek
Directed by: Cassandra Snow
Venus-- Female-identified, in her 20’s, any race
Booker-- Male-identified, in his 20’s, any race
Cyril-- Male-identified, older than B & V, any race

Falling Awake by Alexis Scheer
Directed by: Mel Day
Landon-- Male-identified, age 18,  any race
June-- Female-identified, age 16, any race
Billie-- Female-identified, age 18, any race
Kip-- Male-identified, age 18, any race, has blonde hair

Love Bot by Matthew Everett
Directed by: Scott Pakudaitis
Solomon-- Male-identified, any race, childbearing age
Esther-- Female-identified, any race, childbearing age
Justin-- Male-identified, any race, childbearing age
Jennifer-- Female-identified, any race, childbearing age

Honest to God by J.C. Pankratz
Directed by: Anna Lewein
Nina-- Female-identified, early 30’s, any race. Must be able to play multiple characters.
*Given the demands of this show, Nina will not be double cast in the festival.

Gargle McFury Slays Gender Essentialism by Alex Reed
Directed by: Kristin Fox
Sam-- Female-identified, any race, fairly young
Gargle McFury-- Any gender, age, or race
Announcer/Author-- Any gender, age, or race
2 Chorus Members-- Any race, age, or gender, must be willing and able to play multiple roles.

Looking forward to seeing all the great Twin Cities talent in March!

QUEERulously Yours,
Cassandra Snow

"You hurt people a lot less when you use the actual words." Brodie's girlfriend throws the words to her at the end of scene 9 of Precious Little.

I've been thinking a lot about language lately. Or more specifically communication. The two are related but certainly not the same and I find myself navigating the negative space in between the two on a daily basis. I read this play about a year ago and knew right away that Gadfly had to do it, but damned if I could tell you why.  After rereading the play multiple times it became clearer and clearer that that was the point.

While I've never had the experience of being a lesbian, being pregnant, or having to make a difficult choice regarding said hypothetical pregnancy, Brodie's struggle to describe thoughts and feelings with words that simply do not exist in the English language resonated with me. As a person who identifies as part of the queer community, where we are constantly silenced, and part the theatre community, where everyone has an opinion, I wanted to play with the idea that all too often we find ourselves at the crossroad of too many or not enough words.

Every theatre artist is taught to seek out the subtext in a play. Every person who has lived in a closet understands to look for the coding in art. As a queer theatre artist most of my life is spent in those in between places. In the things left unsaid. The things said just to fill the silence. And the things we try to say but don't know how. I often wonder how much easier life would be if we just used the actual words.

Instead we take words away from those who would use them, we shorten words into meaninglessness, we smash them together, tear them apart, and alter their definitions until we can no longer remember how that word first entered our language. We encounter thousands of words each and every day and very seldom take the time really digest what they say. How many of us have counted down the seconds until we can skip an ad on a youtube video? Or deleted an email from one of those well meaning non-profits whose petition we signed at Pride? And how many arguments have been started over a careless Tweet, awkward autocorrect, or mistranslation in a holy text? Words are all around us though their meaning isn't necessarily. When words lose their meaning people stop using them. When people stop using words they become silent, in the case of queer people, or in the case of the ever discerning theatre community, they become a very vocal group with very little to say.

Brodie's journey from seeing herself as a linguistic expert, and then realizing she has only a passing experience with communication is one I think we can all identify with, because at one point we've all thought we had all the answers, only to find out how wrong we were.

These things have made the play a whole lot of fun to work with, but the play has posed in interesting challenge, both for myself and for the actors. Not only have we had to figure out what was meant by the "actual words," but had to create a working, fictional language as well as turning one actor into an ape and another into an entire crowd. Hopefully, by the time March rolls around our words and meaning will meld into a seamless theatrical experience that will leave you speechless.

We at Gadfly are delighted to announce that we are looking for outside directors to come in and direct for our "Final Frontier" Festival. The festival itself will be an annual geek fest that stays true to our queer and feminist mission. All one acts, and this year we have selected a great group of Sci-Fi and Fantasy shows between 20 and 40 minutes that will make you laugh, cry, and think about your own world differently.

Featuring some of the best local playwrights the Twin Cities has to offer as well as some amazing national writers, this festival should have something for everyone. We're looking for directors who have a passion for queer and feminist messages and missions, can work on a minimal budget, and want to dip their toes into something different. Passion for geek life and directing experience would be awesome but are not necessarily mandatory.

The festival takes place in June, and rehearsals will be expected to be had throughout May and leading up to tech week in June. Each show will get 3-4 performances. 

If interested, please send a directing or production resume to gadflytheatre@gmail.com and let us know how soon and when you'd be available for an interview. 

There will be a small stipend. Details are not firm, but we pay all artists, and will keep you posted on numbers as they develop if chosen.