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Friday Phone Call # 29

Peter Brosius of Children's Theatre Company Minneapolis

This time around I talk with Peter Brosius, Artistic Director of Children's Theatre Company, in Minneapolis. Peter has got to be the prototype for that old energizer-bunny campaign—he is always lit up, banging the drum for big thinking, and just goes and goes and goes. You have to listen to the things he's saying about what CTC does, who they are doing it with and for, and why they are doing it at all. I'm always astonished to be reminded that this is one of the largest theaters in the country, period—over 16,000 subscribers and a staff of more than 100 people. It's a very traditionally modeled big institution. And yet the picture Peter paints of CTC is a very different one than the one we expect, and almost none of that difference seems to be specifically emanating from their focus on young people. In other words, the things that they do there are not "made possible by" their focus on young audiences. They are possible because they are the value set. And then as part of the things they are doing as a large non-profit theater, they are organizing and contributing to the local and international energies around early learning. Just listening to Peter makes clear we can create quality work that reaches diverse audiences, promotes opportunities for contemporary artists, is relevant to the community in which it is resident, and contributes to the expanding knowledge of the field.

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. You can subscribe to the series via iTunes or this RSS Feed (for Android phones).

 

 

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Thoughts from the curator

Listen to weekly podcasts hosted by David Dower as he interviews theater artists from around the country to highlight #newplay bright spots. You can subscribe to the series via Apple iTunes or RSS Feed.

Friday Phone Call

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