Mission
Location and Directions
Parking and Light Rail
Area Dining
Building Rental
Production History
Staff
Mission
The Mixed Blood Theatre Company is a professional, multi-racial theatre promoting cultural pluralism and individual equality through artistic excellence. Using theater as a vehicle for artistry, entertainment, education and social change, Mixed Blood Theatre addresses artificial barriers that keep people from succeeding in American society. Mixed Blood’s purpose is to:
- Produce plays using culture-conscious casting
- Provide the finest forum in the nation for theatre artists of color to practice their craft
- Take artistic risks in the selection and production of plays
- Reach a non-traditional theatre audience
- Produce educational programs on racial and cultural themes
Core Values
Pluralism
Mixed Blood’s programming, audience, artists, board and staff model a plurality of coexisting peoples. On its stage, Mixed Blood presents the world not as it is or as it was, but rather as it would like it to be.
Broad Perspective
Each decision by Mixed Blood leadership must simultaneously ask and answer the questions: “How does this affect Mixed Blood, its communities, and the field?”
Risk Taking
Mixed Blood progresses through the production of bold, new, and risky productions that carry the possibility of failure as well as success.
Quality Environment
Mixed Blood’s work and working conditions must attract and reward the very best theater artists and staff in the nation.
Since its founding in 1976, Mixed Blood Theatre has remained dedicated to the spirit of Dr. King’s dream. With plays ranging from intimate chamber theater to irreverent political satires to technical extravaganzas, Mixed Blood convenes disparate peoples under its roof for common purpose. The theatre presents over 500 performances annually in the Alan Page Auditorium of its historic firehouse theatre, as well as in schools, churches, community centers, juvenile detention centers, and workplaces.
Mixed Blood Theatre is a member of Theatre Communications Group (TCG) and the National New Play Network (NNPN).
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Location & directions
Mixed Blood Theatre is located on the West Bank in Minneapolis, near the
corner of Cedar and Riverside Avenues. Click
here for an interactive map. (Map and driving directions below.)
From the North: South on 35W, follow the Hwy 280 detour south, take 94 West and exit at Cedar Ave. Turn right on Cedar Ave, continue to 4th Street South and take a left. Mixed Blood is at the end of the block.
From the West: East on 394 and 94, north on 35W. Take first exit (3rd St.
/ U of M) and then "U of MN / West Bank" part of the exit. Turn
right on Washington. See FROM WASHINGTON AVE below.
From the South: North on 35W, exit at "3rd St / U of M." Take "U
of M / West Bank" part of the exit. Turn right on Washington. See FROM
WASHINGTON AVE below.
From the East: West on I-94, take the Riverside Ave exit. Turn right on
Riverside and go as far as you can go. Mixed Blood is just west of the Riverside
and Cedar Ave intersection.
FROM WASHINGTON AVE: Go east on Washington from 35W. Washington bends to
the right and becomes Cedar Ave. (Theatre in the Round, a blue building,
will be on your left). Follow Cedar to the next major intersection (Cedar
and Riverside) and turn right. Mixed Blood Theatre is at the end of that
block. It is a century-old, light-color brick fire station. The entrance
to the theatre is at the back of the building.
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Parking & Light Rail
Parking can be a challenge on the West Bank but there are
many options. Light rail stops just a block from the theatre. A large
University of Minnesota parking ramp with ample availability is located
slightly east of the Cedar/Riverside corner (enter off Riverside).
There also is a small lot across from the theatre on 4th Street, and
on-street parking (with meters) surrounding the theatre (please do
not park in the Coyle Center parking lot).
http://www.metrotransit.org/rail/
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Area Dining
There are numerous
restaurants in the immediate area, including the Red Sea, Town Hall Brewery, Chai's Thai, Grandma’s, Jewel of India, Noodles, Chipotle,
KWok, and numerous others. Call the box office at (612) 338-6131 for a brochure,
or click
here for a restaurant guide.
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Building rental
Mixed Blood is available
for daily and weekly rental. Rental information is available by clicking here to download
the rental brochure. Please note that the brochure is a PDF file and
you need to have Adobe Acrobat installed to view it.
The following dates are still available for rental in our 2007-08 season:
For more information, contact Rainbow S. Plant at rainbow@mixedblood.com
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Production History
1976
- 22-year-old Jack Reuler founds Mixed Blood, producing six shows, opening
simultaneously with LeRoi Jones’ (Amiri Baraka’s) Dutchman (directed
by Lou Bellamy) and the class system comedy Status Quo Vadis
- World premieres: Brother Champ by Michael Kassin, Badd High by
Jack Reuler and Carl Lumbly
1977
- World premieres: Mother April’s by Horace Bond; JoAnne! By
Ed Bullins
1978
- Mixed Blood signs contract with Actors’ Equity Association
- World premieres: Tuesday by Jewel Walker; Last Champion by
Sharon Walton; Candide, adapted by Warren C. Bowles
1979
- For Colored Girls…opens at Walker Art Center, directed
by Tony Award-winner Trazana Beverly, for 200-performance run
- World premieres: Make Room for Dada by Mark Frost; Quixote’s
Charge by Steve Pearson; African Jazz by Ken LaZebnik
1980
- Mixed Blood wins Twin Cities Drama Critics Circle Award for best production
for its science fiction trilogy WARP
- Dr. King’s Dream is performed by Warren Bowles for first
of 2000 times as in theater’s extensive touring program.
- World premiere: Wake by Lenwood Sloan and Charles Mills
1981
- Mixed Blood wins Twin Cities Drama Critics Circle Award for best production
for its American premiere of Accidental Death of an Anarchist by
Dario Fo
- Actor Pat O’Brien wins Twin Cities drama Critics Circle Award
for his performance as title role in Strider
- American premieres: Accidental Death of An Anarchist by Dario
Fo; Cruel Tears by Ken Mitchell, in co-production with Chanhassen
Dinner Theatre
1982
- Warren Bowles adds Paul Robeson by Phillip Hayes Dean to touring
repertoire
- World premieres: Black Magic by Jack Reuler, Charles Mills,
Ken LaZebnik, and Bob DeFlores; Harlem Renaissance Revue by Ken
LaZebnik; Lemons by Kent Broadhurst; Basement Tapes by
Erik Brogger
1983
- Mixed Blood begins Midnight Series with Motown Opera, directed
by Steve Yoakam
- Warren Bowles adds Jackie Robinson to touring repertoire
- World premieres: Holiday Inn by Jack Reuler (and Irving Berlin),
performed with Wolverines Classic Jazz Orchestra; Midnight Motown Madness;
Motown Opera; Mr. Motown
1984
- Jack Reuler named to Esquire’s first “Register
of People Under 40 Who Are Changing America”
- World Premieres: I Cheng by Maria Cheng and Mike Kissin; Tango
Fatale by Jon Averill; Lady Soul; Motown Mademoiselles
1985
- Mixed Blood awarded Twin Cities’ Mayors’ Public Arts Award
- World premieres: Rebel Without A Cause (adapted) by Jack Reuler; Ohio
Tip-Off by James Yoshimura; Baby Boomers’ Black Big Bands
Meet the Great Falsettos by Jack Reuler
1986
- Mixed Blood opens A…My Name Is Alice, which has multiple
runs through November 1993
1987
- World premiere: How To Improve Your Golf Game by David Babcock
- American premiere: A Map Of The World by David Hare
1988
- Mixed Blood featured in Sports Illustrated
- World premieres: Liquid Skin by Doug Anderson; Calvinisms by
Ken LaZebnik
1989
- According To Coyote by John Kaufmann added to Mixed Blood’s
touring repertoire
- World premieres: Buenavista by Bernardo Solano; Ali! By
Graydon Royce and Geoff Ewing
- EnterTRaining has first shows
1990
- Mixed Blood presented with Actors’ Equity Association’s first
Rosetta LeNoire Award for “celebrating the universality of the
human experience on the American stage”
- Daughters of Africa by Syl Jones becomes fifth show in touring
repertoire
- Mixed Blood co-produces The Mystery of Irma Vep with The Attic
Theater in Detroit
1991
- Mixed Blood co-produces A…My Name Is Alice and The
Grapes of Wrath with the Ordway
- Jack Reuler named Macalester College’s “Distinguished Citizen”
- Mixed Blood tours Three-Part Harmony to Jacksonville, Phoenix,
and Rochester, sponsored by the Mayo Clinic
- World premieres: Throwing Bones by Michael Erickson
1992
- Jack Reuler receives Minneapolis Award
- King of the Kosher Grocers produced in abandoned supermarket
in North Minneapolis
- Eastern Parade becomes sixth show in touring repertoire
- World premieres: Black Belts by Jevetta Steele and Jack Reuler; King
of the Kosher Grocers by Joe Minjares; Cincinnati Man by
Syl Jones; Eastern Parade, compiled by Rick Shiomi
1993
- Jack Reuler receives Martin Luther King Humanitarian Award from Minneapolis
Community College
- A…My Name Is Still Alice runs for nine months
- World premiere: GunPlay by Syl Jones
1994
- Minnecanos becomes eighth show in touring repertoire
- World premieres: Black Belts, Too by Jevetta Steele and Jack
Reuler
- Minnecanos by Joe Minjares
1995
- Mixed Blood is awarded Minneapolis Civil Rights Commission’s award
for outstanding achievement in human rights
- World premiere: The True History of Coca-Cola In Mexico by Aldo
Velasco and Patrick Scott
1996
- Mixed Blood receives Minneapolis Foundation’s Diversity Award
- World premiere: Ayuda! by Michael Weller
1997
- Mixed Blood receives Dream Keeper Award from Minnesota Council on Black
Minnesotans
- Mixed Blood co-produces Birth of the Boom with City Theatre
(Pittsburgh)
- World premiere: Good News About Third World Shoes by Aldo Velasco
and Patrick Scott
1998
- Co-production of Black No More with the Guthrie and Arena Stage
(Washington, D.C.)
- Playwright-In-Residence Syl Jones wins Roger Stevens Award
- Founding member of National New Plays Network
- World premieres: Black No More by Syl Jones; Maria!MariaMariaMaria! by
Lisa Loomer
1999
- American Theater Critics Association names Black No More finalist
for best new American play
- Mixed Blood’s first annual production presented in Spanish and
English by a bi-lingual cast (La Verdadera Historia de Coca-Cola en
Mexico)
- Black Eagle becomes the ninth show in touring repertoire
- World premieres: Vices by Everett Bradley, Michael Heitzman,
Susan Draus, and Ilene Reed; Black Eagle by Warren C. Bowles
2000
- Dedication of the Alan Page Auditorium
- Mixed Blood’s Silver Anniversary Season: Re-Born to be Wild
- World Premieres: Haroun and the Sea of Stories, adapted by Zaraawar
Mistry from the novel by Salman Rushdie; Cut Flowers by Gavin
Lawrence
2001
- Co-production of Spinning Into Butter with Park Square Theatre
played in three venues (Mixed Blood, Park Square, Ordway)
- World Premiere: A Jew on Ethiopia Street by Allan Havis
- Company produces one of its biggest bilingual hits, Wait Until Dark by
Frederick Knott
2002
- Mixed Blood premieres Two Queens One Castle by Jevetta Steele;
runaway hit in Minneapolis that was also chosen for the National Alliance
for Musical Theatre showcase festival in New York
- Mixed Blood stages the first production of The Boys Next Door to
feature actors with disabilities (co-produced with Interact Theatre)
2003
- Co-production of Pulitzer Prize-winning play Topdog/Underdog with
the Studio Theatre in Washington, D.C.
- Expansion of mission to include another culture and language with Sweet
Nothing in My Ear, produced in both spoken English and ASL
2004
- World premiere of Bill of (W)Rights, ten one-act plays performed
throughout Mixed Blood’s firehouse facility
- World premiere of Jane Martin’s fierce political drama Flags starring
Chris Mulkey and Karen Landry
2005
- Regional premiere of the Tony Award-winning Take Me Out
- World premiere of Victor Zupanc's bilingual Found
- Company awarded VSA arts of Minnesota Access Award
2006
- World premiere of 15-playwright new age vaudeville extravaganza Point of Revue
- New show, Immigrant Dreams, added to touring roster
- Jack Reuler recognized for Lifetime Achievement at Ameriprise Financial Ivey Awards
- World premiere of Ken LaZebnik's Vestibular Sense
2007
- Mixed Blood receives the MetLife Foundation Award for Arts Access
- Ken LaZebnik receives the American Theatre Critics Assocation's 2006 M. Elizabeth Osborn New Play Award for best emerging playwright for Vestibular Sense
- World premiere of 5-playwright piece, Messy Utopia, a play by, for, about, and featuring people of mixed race
- Mixed Blood announces its 32nd season, celebrating the contributions of women artists on stage, off stage, and behind the scenes
