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Some artists return to
Illusion Theater regularly, including Miss Richfield 1981 who explores gender identity through humor, and appears on Illusion's stage most years. Others have included Leslie Ball, Aimee K. Bryant, Vanessa Gamble, Robert Hartmann, and Peter Vitale. Illusion's production range
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and incorporate the elements of music, mime and physical movement, the six members engaged in readings and improvisation, and then in 1979 toured around
Minnesota and elsewhere—continuing their improvisation along the way—and including dialogues with the audience as well. They continued to support
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was brought to high schools around the state, as well as to Boston and New York. At the time it was thought that 1.5 million people had HIV, and 107,000 people had been diagnosed with AIDS. The goal was to provide awareness of both physical transmission of AIDS and its emotional and relationship
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in which new projects underway are workshopped and collaboratively honed with audience participation. Often those works continue to be developed, emerging on main stages at
Illusion and elsewhere in future years. Some of the playwrights who launched their work in Fresh Ink include Dane Stauffer,
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Illusion presented the first Fresh Ink season in 1988, consisting of works-in-progress that the director shares with an audience as part of the crafting process. The long list of playwrights who have participated in Fresh Ink include Kim Hines, Mary Cryer, Lester Purry, Dane
Stauffer, Buffy
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Race, Prejudice and Health Care, the
Lessons of the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment, And, Critical Condition, African Americans in the Health Care System: A Summary of the Materials Presented at Two Health Care Conferences Held at Illusion Theater in Minneapolis in June 1991 and March
417:
Petrie, Carolyn (October 19, 1997). "Long Live the
Theater: Here's how the strong survived. More than a dozen professional-level theaters here are 20 years old. What has kept them going? Passion, conviction, ingenuity, openness, and a sense of their place in the big picture".
374:"We got to a place where we felt we did what we could in a silent form, following what our visions were," said Robins. "We had to explore another element. That's what led us to Orlando. We found a text we could adapt. It led us to the use of songs and dialogue."
27:, United States. It was founded in 1974 by Michael Robins and Bonnie Morris. Their work on social issues has brought national acclaim, and their support of new playwrights has launched numerous careers. In 2021, Illusion completed a move to the
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effects - while carefully approaching the social context. Local government health service staff were involved in the community presentations. Other works were aimed at prevention of adolescent sexual abuse and family violence.
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In the late 1970s and early 1980s
Illusion Theater's "applied theater program" was created. It included programming designed to address specific social ills. Sexual abuse was addressed with groundbreaking work around
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Support of new playwrights was always integral for
Illusion Theater. In the mid-1980s Illusion staged a showcase of company members' new projects. In 1988, Illusion launched a long-running series of new works called
229:, and many more. As with main stage productions, Fresh Ink often includes music and/or dance, like from the Women's Performance Project with Margie Fargnoli, Rebecca Frost, and others; a musical tribute to
86:—which broke new ground in helping children identify harmful actions—to thousands of people starting in 1982, around Minnesota and the U.S. In 1983 Illusion created a 34-minute video of 'Touch' narrated by
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Freed, Gwendolyn (November 19, 1999). "Diversion: The legend of Arthur – A new, Broadway-style 'skip and wave' touring show is the latest venture to make a fortune on a little aardvark with glasses".
253:
Illusion
Theater's mainstage productions are almost exclusively original work, usually by Twin Cities artists—often works that have been nurtured in its Fresh Ink process. One early examples is
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Royce, Graydon (June 29, 2007). "Success is no
Illusion: Illusion's festival of new plays has become the theater's signature program. In 20 years, it has produced an impressive alumni list".
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Burger, Kevyn (October 1, 2017). "State of the Arts: Illusion Theater reboots its legendary "good touch, bad touch" video for the 21st century. Theater gives educators a new 'Touch'".
199:, as well as similar productions were presented to elementary schools around Minnesota and the U.S. in the late 1970's and early 1980's. As of 1985, the total audience for
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in France. For two years they explored that medium exclusively, then began to branch out. Their first departure from silent work was their production of
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that was performed around the state. In the 2000s they pioneered a peer-education program for high school students, funded in part by the
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Another thrust of Illusion Theater's applied theater program directed at teenagers began with a production in the early 1980's called
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Illusion Theater's budget includes ticket sales, group program revenue, and funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board and others.
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Their initial name was The Illusion Theater and School, and works created for performance at schools was a primary activity. The
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addressed fourth- through sixth- graders, and provided tools for dealing with anger and reducing the incidence of bullying.
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Vaughan, Peter (April 24, 1992). "Illusion Theater's Fresh Ink series will present six new works through June 7".
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Sedlachek, T. Mychael Rambo, Gary Rue, Carolyn Goelzer, Ben Kreilkamp, Judy Mcguire, John Fleming, Louise Smith,
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Hudson, Deborah (April 12, 1983). "'Touch' fights sexual abuse of kids: Players act out scenes of 'bad touch'".
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Hudson, Deborah (April 12, 1983). "'Touch' fights sexual abuse of kids: Local team works to protect children".
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Buttweiler, Joe (November 5, 1989). "More than the facts – Play's goal is to teach about the effect of AIDS".
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Bonnie Morris and Michael Robins founded Illusion Theater in 1974, to create silent plays. Morris had studied
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Among their work that has prompted specific community responses, Illusion's Pulitzer Prize-nominated play
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and related sex abuse prevention programming had been presented to 475,000 people. In the late 1980's,
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Abbe, Mary (April 26, 2001). "Twin Cities arts groups get nearly $ 2 million in grants from the NEA".
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Gale, Elaine (June 20, 1997). "Illusion debuts 10th Fresh Ink: Motley mix, new focus on intimacy".
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Abbe, Mary (April 21, 1999). "Minnesota arts groups awarded $ 1.9 million from federal agency".
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Franklin, Ben (October 23, 1990). "St. Scholastica near end of drive to raise $ 8.25 million".
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Raithel, Tom (April 10, 1985). "Theater group visits Bettendorf – Sex abuse program staged".
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Giannettino, Judy (May 1, 1983). "Illusion Theater: Straight Talk for Kids about Sex Abuse".
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dramas to comedies, all in the service of illuminating the illusions of the human condition.
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Vaughan, Peter (May 7, 1995). "Corporate Theater – There's no show like a business show".
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Martin, Mary Abbe (August 8, 1985). "Children's Theatre gets $ 93,500 state arts grant".
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Vaughan, Peter (June 23, 1989). "Illusion to open Fresh Ink series with actor Stauffer's
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Batson, Larry (March 12, 1983). "Illusion Theater dealing with problems in real world".
1032:'Miss Evers boys' and the Tuskegee Syphilis Study listing: Video, Book, 1994 & 2019
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to help reduce the incidence of child sexual abuse. They presented the play called
912:(May 13, 1994). "For 20 years, Illusion Theater has strengthened this community".
596:"Supplement: Turning Points-United Way Funds the Most Health and Human Services".
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Steele, Mike (May 30, 1992). "Illusion taps 'Gold' mine of gender exploration".
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Epstein, Bob (September 13, 1979). "Company treats theater in uncustomary way".
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Beard, William Randall (July 22, 2000). "'Spectrum' showcases cast's talent".
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and others provided partial funding for those activities, helping to make the
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Buttweiler, Joe (November 5, 1989). "Play isn't afraid to be controversial".
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by Peter Rothstein (a teen peer educator who participated in a production of
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an internationally-recognized center of programming by and for children.
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School audiences have been integral to Illusion since the beginning.
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by Gary Rue (who was Pitney's musical director for 16 years), and
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is probably the best known. In 1991-92, Illusion worked with the
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by Mark Cryer and Lester Purry which explored racism. Others are
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Royce, Graydon (July 9, 2006). "Illusion Theater's Fresh Ink".
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created by Cordelia Anderson (then Kent) in collaboration with
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Anderson, Cordelia; Minneapolis MN, Illlusion Theater (1983).
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Hewitt, Chris (December 4, 2020). "Illusion is going south".
147:, which were performed at workplaces around the Twin Cities.
495:"Child Sexual Abuse Prevention: How to Take the First Steps"
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Center for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Minnesota
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In the mid 1980s, Illusion moved from a warehouse space on
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in the Kingfield neighborhood, after being located at the
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In September 2021, Illusion moved to the new wing of the
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475:"109 groups to get $ 941,000 from St. Paul Foundation".
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in his hometown in the mid-1980's). Comedy acts such as
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and the Urban Coalition on national symposia around
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255:Objects in the Mirror are Closer Than They Appear
579:"Who to call, what to do if you observe abuse".
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520:"Preventing Sexual Abuse. Reference Sheet 8"
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19:is an independent theater company based in
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993:. Vol. 40, no. 23. p. 24
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314:Bonnie Morris and Michael Robins, 2014
35:in Downtown Minneapolis prior to that.
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195:and the later version simply named
517:Britton, Patti O. (January 1985).
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235:Spectrum -- An Array of New Songs
784:The Minneapolis Star and Tribune
653:The Minneapolis Star and Tribune
602:. September 17, 1991. p. 6.
478:The Minneapolis Star and Tribune
325:Bonnie Morris and Michael Robins
269:by Michael Robins and Gary Rue.
65:. To create their production of
639:. Little Falls. p. 1B, 2B.
585:. February 2, 1991. p. 2E.
461:. Little Falls. p. 1B, 2B.
131:in downtown Minneapolis to the
122:National Endowment for the Arts
245:are also frequently included.
70:new playwrights every season.
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983:Sander, Michael (June 1999).
481:. July 2, 1986. p. 18D.
133:Hennepin Center for the Arts
33:Hennepin Center for the Arts
101:, the St. Paul Foundation,
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1021:Center for Performing Arts
348:: Illusion Theater. 1992.
152:Center for Performing Arts
29:Center for Performing Arts
304:racial health disparities
47:, and Robins had studied
1026:Illusion Theater, Author
1016:Illusion Theater website
406:. St. Cloud. p. 11.
296:Tuskegee Syphilis Study
265:by Buffy Sedlachek and
1071:Theatre in Minneapolis
818:Carlsbad Current-Argus
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154:in South Minneapolis.
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193:Good Touch, Bad Touch
145:Celebrating Diversity
76:Good Touch, Bad Touch
1066:20th-century theatre
823:Carlsbad, New Mexico
99:McKnight Foundation
710:. p. 1F, 10F.
656:. p. 1C, 12C.
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263:The Warrior Within
261:by Dane Stauffer,
107:Gannett Foundation
910:Hutchinson, Peter
890:Winona, Minnesota
885:Winona Daily News
869:Winona, Minnesota
864:Winona Daily News
787:. p. 1B, 3B.
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259:Letters from Hell
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1047:1987 Video
1038:1983 Video
403:Daily Times
342:Minneapolis
249:Main Season
231:Gene Pitney
182:Programming
111:Twin Cities
21:Minneapolis
1060:Categories
527:January 1,
502:January 1,
382:References
316:Ivey Award
273:from full
173:Ping Chong
160:Fresh Ink,
103:United Way
990:Backstage
346:Minnesota
318:winners.
216:Fresh Ink
187:Education
59:'s novel
25:Minnesota
354:28287272
310:Founders
275:musicals
267:Men Sing
210:Peace Up
723:Letters
294:on the
67:Orlando
62:Orlando
39:History
352:
105:, the
97:, the
1040:Touch
362:Notes
239:Touch
201:Touch
197:Touch
84:Touch
999:2019
529:2020
504:2020
350:OCLC
338:1992
279:noir
171:and
143:and
90:, .
49:mime
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290:by
277:to
135:on
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