News & Views of Phillips Since 1976
Wednesday May 15th 2024
The Impact Theory of Mass Extinction at HOTB
About Impact Theory
From June 16th to June 26th, Heart of the Beast will produce our first major puppet and mask performance since 2018, The Impact Theory of Mass Extinction, by Junauda Petrus-Nasah.
Impact Theory tells the story of two black, queer, teens who discover dinosaur bones in their South Minneapolis neighborhood! Our teens get sucked through a prehistoric portal, where they explore extinction theories ranging from the scientifically accepted to the outright absurd. On their Jurassic journey, our protagonists draw comparisons to their own lives, reflecting on themes of ancestry, queerness, and non-binary identity.
Impact Theory’s playwright, Junauda Petrus-Nasah, is an acclaimed poet, playwright, screenwriter, and multi-dimensional performance artist. West-Indian descended and African-sourced, she grew up in Minneapolis’s own Phillips and Powderhorn neighborhoods.
This production will be born from the skills of local artists: shadow, table top, and large-scale puppet builders; mask makers; musicians; puppeteers and more. Graphics by: Erica Warren, Steve Ackerman
All performances except ones indicated as totally free are pay-as-able.
Thursday, June 16th 7:30 PM
Friday, June 17th 7:30 PM
Saturday, June 18th 7:30 PM
Sunday, June 19th 2:00 PM Free!
Sunday, June 19th 7:30 PM
Thursday, June 23rd 7:30 PM Free!
Friday, June 24th 7:30 PM
Saturday, June 25th 7:30 PM
Sunday, June 26th 2:00 PM Free!ASLSensory… Read the rest “The Impact Theory of Mass Extinction at HOTB”
The Crossing (Original title: La Traversée)
MAUR film 2021
★★★★★
Movie Corner
By HOWARD MCQUITTER
Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival is back in person! A special gem of the festival is The Crossing.
This animated film follows two children, Kyona (Emilie Lan Dürr) and Adriel (Maxime Gemin), siblings who return from playing in the forest to their village and witness an unspecified group of hooded soldiers who have come to massacre the Yelzid people. Immediately Kyona, Adriel, their parents and two younger siblings pack their belongings and flee. They manage to catch a train packed with others who have also fled the village. However, the ride on the train is thwarted by soldiers for Control detaining the family by force on the platform. Kyona and Adriel decide to proceed alone across the border, hoping for safety.
But it is the opening scene that gives a blueprint for this colorful animation painted in oil paint
on glass. Kyona has a sketchbook, a gift from her father which she will take through her perilous journey. There will be a time when she’s temporarily separated from Ahriel during a blizzard when she stays with a kindly old woman. Later, the two siblings reunite and reside in Stemetsvar where they get involved with a young gang of street thieves, the Ravens, led by Iskender (Arthur Pereira).… Read the rest “The Crossing (Original title: La Traversée)”
Neighbors and Harm Reduction Groups Explore Overdose Prevention Site in Phillips
By GRACIE HALLBERG-CAIN, LEX HORAN, and KOR PACE
As summer settles in, more neighbors are out and about in the neighborhood – gardening, teaching kids to ride bikes, walking dogs. Along with the relief of the warm weather, it’s also a time when some of the issues that we have in the Phillips neighborhood become more visible. Syringes are uncovered when the snow melts. Sometimes, we see folks using drugs in public areas – situations that are often unsafe for the people using drugs, as well as those around them. This year, a group of neighbors has been exploring an approach that we haven’t tried before: an overdose prevention site (OPS). Overdose prevention sites are proven to save lives and reduce syringe litter, and have not been shown to increase drug use in the surrounding neighborhood.
These issues in Phillips are part of a bigger picture. According to the Minnesota Department of Health, overdose deaths rose by 30% between 2019 and 2020 and continue to rise. In 2019, Black Minnesotans were twice as likely to die from a drug overdose as white Minnesotans and Native Minnesotans were seven times as likely to die of a drug overdose as white Minnesotans. We need solutions that center racial and health equity.… Read the rest “Neighbors and Harm Reduction Groups Explore Overdose Prevention Site in Phillips”
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