I love the History Theatre for their dedication to producing new works of theater about true events and people in Minnesota history, which is never more in evidence than during their
"Raw Stages" festival, which was held this weekend. This annual festival gives playwrights a chance to see how their work sits in front of an audience, and gives audiences a chance to experience a new work in development and provide feedback. But perhaps the best part of "Raw Stages" is that it's quite common to see a play that was workshopped come back for a full production in the next season or two. Two works from last year's festival will be produced at the History Theatre next spring: Playwrights' Center core writer Harrison David Rivers teamed up with Somali immigrant Ahmed Ismail Yusuf to write Ahmed's story in
A Crack in the Sky, coming in February; and the writers of the smash hit musical
Glensheen, Jeffrey Hatcher and Chan Poling, have written a fantastic follow-up in
Lord Gordon Gordon, coming in May. These and many other great plays had their debuts at "Raw Stages."
