Art Hounds: Escape from puzzle rooms; stream a play about microaggressions and 'Minnesota Nice'
Musician and dancer Sharon Stephens of White Bear Lake, Minn., recommends a theatrical production, available for streaming, “Angry Black Woman & Well-Intentioned White Girl.” The play was written by Minneapolis playwright Amoke Kubat, who acts in the two-woman show along with Jennifer Johnson.
Stephens called the play “brilliant, passionate and memorable” with moments of humor alongside painful truths. Written in 2016, the explorations of microaggressions in a land of “Minnesota Nice” feel deeply current, Stephens said. The 90-minute production is available on Vimeo and comes with a tool kit for self-exploration and post-play discussion.
Actor and playwright JuCoby Johnson is looking forward to attending the “Shine a Light” installation at the Jungle Theater in Minneapolis. It’s an outdoor, multimedia show that consists of window installations and wall projections. “Shine a Light” is a platform for artists who make theater, including costume, lighting and set designers, to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and the uprisings following the killing of George Floyd.
The event is free and open to the public. It runs Thursday through Aug. 30, with projections running Thursday evening through Sunday from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m.
Mikaela Bagley of Eagan, Minn., embraces a different kind of theater in her home. She gathers with friends through virtual escape rooms from Minnesota-based Trapped Puzzle Rooms. Typically, an escape room is a timed, group puzzle-solving experience. These virtual escape rooms rely on the art of Gabe Gomez of St. Paul to set the scene and unlock the next clues.
“It was so different from a normal escape room,” said Bagley, “but it was so much fun, and it almost felt like we were there.” A minimum of three players are required, and there are three rooms available: “Heist, Heist Baby,” “Prehistoric Park” and “Super Squad.”
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