Posts Tagged ‘Arts No Chaser’
A Great Run: Interview with Jack Reuler
Arts, No Chaser By DWIGHT HOBBES Mixed Blood Theatre ushered in authentic multicultural fare 45 years ago and remains at the fore. Owing to the vision of neophyte upstart, founding artistic director Jack Reuler who recently resigned, leaving Twin Cities considerably stronger than he found it. Reuler spoke about his career and the historic venue established “In the spirit of Dr. King”™s dream”. Jack Reuler, by Rich Ryan Did you have any idea what you were doing when you started Mixed Blood? In 1976, at 22, I wanted to espouse a particular world view and didn”™t know anything about theatre. I had a job with a social service agency, the Center for Community Action, to community needs. Shortly before, Ernie Hudson was at Theatre In The Round Players in The Great White Hope. One of the few opportunities for actors of color. It was the bi-centennial, America celebrating its ideals, but not living those ideals. So, Mixed Blood [...]
Unconventional Stories from a Firebrand
Arts, No Chaser By DWIGHT HOBBES David Daniels. Photo by Mitch Olson Quintessential firebrand David Daniels is that rarity, a performance artist who, instead of self-righteously blowing hot air, actually utilizes spoken word to send messages of consequence. An auspicious debut was his play Malcolm X Meet Peter Tosh, premiering at South Minneapolis”™ Cedar Cultural Center (1993), moving to a 2-year stint in Denver (Mercury Cafe), its popularity there and at other venues starting his career off with considerable traction. He made his home here and recalls, “I feel fortunate to have been part of a rich counter-cultural history...in Minneapolis. My time living on the West Bank and working at the New Riverside Cafe brought me into it. The West Bank was Haight-Asbury long after the Haight was just a memory for the counter-culture. Its blend of artists activists and [...]
