Art Hounds: Thought, illumination and worship

This week on Art Hounds: A theater becomes a church, and the Great American Think-Off.

Actor Sasha Andreev is going to see "The Christians," a new play by Lucas Hnath that examines why we hold onto, or let go of, our beliefs. For this show, Mixed Blood Theatre becomes a church, complete with a live choir, and the audience takes the place of the congregation. Andreev says he's always thought of church as being a theatrical experience, and he's curious to see what deeper questions this performance raises. Through Saturday, June 11, produced by Walking Shadow Theatre at Mixed Blood Theater in Minneapolis.

Curator Christopher Atkins just paid a visit to Park Rapids, where he took in the work of Kate Casanova and Cameron Gainer at the Nemeth Art Center. Atkins says the installations use light in different ways. While Casanova uses light to give life to mushrooms in a room that feels like a laboratory, Gainer uses light as a collaborator, taking pictures by lightning or filming a swimmer in bioluminescent waters. The show continues through July 16, and there's a celebration for the artists June 25.

This Saturday marks the 24th annual Great American Think-Off in New York Mills, Minn., and artist Pam Robinson will be there. This year's topic is "Income inequality threatens democracy." The audience will determine who among the four finalists gets to be the "greatest thinker" for the next year.