The EPE Journey
Where We’ve Been…
Spring Awakening (2017)
EPE’s inaugural production, Spring Awakening, was the first production ever produced at the brand-new Performing Institute of Minnesota. Construction was still underway when auditions were held! We had a vision to create an experience that provided a professionally-minded, fun, and high-quality product for performers in the middle of their educational journey – ages 16-24. A company of performers from across the metro helped bring the killer score and the powerful story about teenagers in 19th-century Germany to life. The catalyst for the EPE, this production helped us establish the unique culture of the EPE – one that is rooted in community, ensemble, and high-quality productions for this age group.
The Rocky Horror Show (2018)
The Rocky Horror Showis a cult-classic made most-popular by the iconic film. The EPE stage production explored the space between camp and popular culture. Our ensemble was encouraged to consider and question how the production could obliterate traditional norms of society and of musical theatre. We mindfully engaged with our LGBTQ+ communities in all aspects of production, particularly in regards to our portrayal of the show’s lead character. This engagement set the tone for how we seek to partner with our communities moving forward in creating art that is inclusive, ground-breaking, and also high-quality.
HAIR - The American Tribal Love Rock Musical (2019)
Conceived during the anti-Vietnam War peace movement of the late 1960s, HAIR was a radical piece of protest theatre that shocked and liberated audiences with its blazon depiction of drugs, race relations, and sex. EPE’s production of HAIR was a brilliant explosion of freaked-out, mish-mash, psychedelic babble that generated challenging, yet critical discussion among our EPs. As a company, we grappled with the discomfort of engaging in a work that simultaneously criticizes and satirizes racism, discrimination, war, violence, pollution, sexual repression, and other societal evils. The production became a valuable learning experience for our community and was the catalyst for developing our values and mission as a company.
…Where We’ve Going
Pippin (2021)
The EPE production of Pippin will tell the story of out-of-work, traveling circus performers & carnival workers who take over a shut down drive-in during the time of COVID.
Pippin will be performed July 29 – August 7 in an outdoor drive-in, live theatre format with the performance also projected on screen.
Our journey has only just begun!
As we learn and grow as a company, we hope to accomplish the following:
- Compensate our performers, technical crew, and production team with a stipend that reflects the incredible work they do
- Add a Summer Play to our yearly season
- Add an entirely EP-led Winter Production to our yearly season
- Workshop/develop new plays and musicals
- Implement a Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion education/training for our board and production team
- Provide monetary support to individuals, groups, and organizations who are empowering & providing aid to marginalized communities across the Twin Cities
- Expand and improve our Community Conversations
