lauren.peck's blog

Ten Thousands Things Theater plays with the idea of the classic fairy tale in its world premiere production of playwright Kira Obolensky’s Vasa Lisa.

Based on Russian folktales, Vasa Lisa follows the story of an unusual young woman named Vasa Lisa in a small Russian village. After her mother’s death, her father brings home a brand-new evil stepmother and stepsister, and Vasa Lisa soon finds herself sent off into the forest to confront the cannibalistic witch Baba Yaga with only a wooden doll for help. Read more »

Robin Gillette, the executive director of the Minnesota Fringe Festival, described the recent one-night benefit performance of Five-Fifths of The Princess Bride as “a spectacular evening of movie destruction.”

And what a spectacular evening it was. Read more »

In May 2005, Jim Miller, a Native spiritual leader and Vietnam veteran, had a dream in which he rode across South Dakota to Mankato and witnessed his ancestors being hanged.

He didn’t know it then, but after some research, he realized this dream depicted one of the largest mass executions in U.S. history, the hanging of 38 Dakota men at the end of a violent and painful moment in history, the U.S.-Dakota War of 1862. Read more »

Hilariously offensive doesn't even begin to cover Mixed Blood Theatre's newest production, Learn to be Latina. This high-energy satire by playwright Enrique Uruela doesn't hold anything back as it pummels the lines of appropriateness concerning race, sexuality, and gender.

That brashness is precisely what makes this play is so much fun. Read more »

The Workhaus Collective’s latest effort, The Mill, tells a very real story from a very real place. 

The show, which continues at the Playwrights' Center through May 5, tells the story of a turbulent moment in the real-life history of the Boise Cascade paper mill, in International Falls, Minn. The year is 1989, and the mill has just decided to expand their operations. The mill's union is being pressured to let non-union workers do the job. Read more »

METRO’s second annual Good Karma Guide provides a look at more than 30 local charities that could use volunteer support. We’re featuring a handful of these organizations to help readers better understand what some these charities do, and how you can help. Read the full series here.   Read more »

Osseo's Yellow Tree Theatre might look unassuming from its suburban strip mall location, but don't let this venue’s out-of-the-way location dissuade you from taking a chance on what it has to offer. Like Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie, Yellow Tree’s latest production, it takes just one encounter to fall in love. Read more »

At first mention, miniature dollhouses depicting brutal crime scenes, complete with blood and doll corpses, sound like a grotesque prank on an innocent child. But these dioramas, the "Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death," really do exist.

They and their creator are the subjects of local filmmaker and writer Susan Marks's latest documentary, Of Dolls and Murder. Read more »

More than 250 craft makers will present their latest handmade creations at the 26^th annual American Craft Council Show, which runs from April 20 to April 22 at the St. Paul RiverCentre. As part of the show, the ACC is recognizing 14 local “Style Makers,” chosen by a group of crafters and trendsetters. METRO caught up with a group of them in anticipation of the show. Their stories will appear throughout the week. Read more »

More than 250 craft makers will present their latest handmade creations at the 26^th annual American Craft Council Show, which runs from April 20 to April 22 at the St. Paul RiverCentre. As part of the show, the ACC is recognizing 14 local “Style Makers,” chosen by a group of crafters and trendsetters. METRO caught up with a group of them in anticipation of the show. Their stories will appear throughout the week. Read more »