Ten Thousand Things Theater Presents Shakespeare’s Two Gents as Season Opener

Article by Becky Fillinger, photos provided

A Discussion with Caitlin Lowans, Artistic Director

Ten Thousand Things (TTT) opens their season with William Shakespeare’s comedy Two Gents on tour September 24 - November 2. We talked to TTT’s new artistic director, Caitlin Lowans, about why she chose the play as season opener, what she will bring to the legendary theater company and the importance of TTT continuing to tour at correctional facilities, schools, low-income senior centers, workplaces for people with disabilities, and also paid public performances at Open Book, Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, Capri Theater, and 825 Arts. The play promises to make you laugh heartily and we could all use more of that – get tickets here. Full performance schedule follows Lowans’ interview.

Q:  Two Gents is your first production as artistic director - what drew you to this play as the season opener and as your debut?

A:  What I love about your question is that it draws attention to Two Gents as a production of firsts: it will be my first time directing for Ten Thousand Things, it's the first time TTT has ever performed Two Gents in our long relationship with Shakespeare; and scholars speculate Two Gents is the first play, and certainly the first comedy, the Shakespeare wrote. The play itself has the energy of a first: we can see Shakespeare trying out so many ideas that he'll develop in his later plays, it bursts with jokes, plots and ideas, as if the playwright couldn't wait to get all everything out of his mind and onto the stage. As I think about the riotous joy of moments in our rehearsal process, I empathize with him! When I think of firsts, I think of the energy that comes from discovery, like a first kiss or a first step; maybe a first isn't the product of a perfect technique, but it goes beyond form into a meaning or a memory that is singular and magical. What more could we want from a play experience?

Caitlin Lowans

It's worth noting that we often think of firsts as something that only happens to young people at the beginning of life. But our relationship with self alters so much across time! As someone who picked up their life and their family and moved to this community in the middle of their 40s, I can firmly attest that it's never too late for firsts!

Q:  The ending of Two Gentlemen of Verona - with its sudden forgiveness and reconciliation - has puzzled directors for centuries. How are you approaching it in this production?

A:  Ooh, I'm also so excited about this question! I approach the ending of the play with a healthy love of Shakespeare's text - and his guiding spirit of uplifting friendship and forgiveness. At the same time, I'm very conscious of the stories that we want to embody in the world right now: how can fault be faced and forgiveness be earned? So, I have reshaped Shakespeare's text to open up slightly different questions of what actions need forgiving and who has the power to grant forgiveness, while uplifting a more expensive version of friendship then the world of the 1580s might have allowed.

Our ending is all Shakespeare's text - just not quite in the order in which he wrote it and with one thought borrowed from another play - but also relying on creative, actor-driven magic and audience imagination in a way that twins the simplicity of Shakespearean stagecraft with the magic of TTT's creativity. I'm really excited for both who will be experiencing Two Gents for the first time, as well as those who have pre-conceived opinions about Two Gents to engage with the work together.

For me, the work of Ten Thousand Things Things harnesses the power of the audience's and artists' imaginations together to create magic. Creativity is our birthright as individuals, and yet contemporary life sometimes feels as if it's taking away our very creative capacities. The style of TTT in which we gather with each other, with the story at the center, and then use the simplest possible tools - actors bodies, voices, the story of the play, the soundscape created by a live musician, the power of the audience members own presence and deep listening - to create something bigger than ourselves is central to how I want to live as a person and create as an artist.

Q:  What new directions or priorities do you hope to bring to the company in your role as artistic director?

A:  As an artist, I believe in building on the legacy of what has come before - the inherited artistic leadership of Marcela Lorca and founder Michelle Hensley - and to lead the organization in partnership with Stephanie Thompson. We have to look towards the world as it is now: a world in which gathering together in physical space and time is less frequent and therefore more precious. I'm excited to rehabilitate our own capacity for presence, including deep listening and deep watching, as well as strengthening our capacity to imagine together new, complex, and joyous futures.

Q:  How do you see Ten Thousand Things continuing to serve both traditional theater audiences and the broader community, including nontraditional spaces?

A:  I think of our audiences in terms of performances in which we are hosted and performances in which we are hosting. When we are hosted in the community, we are lucky enough to enter into spaces important to people and into the lives that they are living. When we gather for shows with traditional theater audiences, we are hosting them and creating a unique community just for that evening. While those two experiences are different, I'm excited to create more pathways for our hosting audiences to join at our hosted public performances. I'm also excited for our public theater audiences to understand the wealth of artistry and depth of life knowledge of our hosting community audiences, and find ways for them to know each other directly, bridging across difference and bonding through shared experiences.

Q:  What excites you most about the Twin Cities theater scene, and how do you envision TTT’s place within it under your leadership?

A:  The depth and breadth of the Twin Cities theater scene, not only in its scale but also in its diversity of voices and aesthetics, is so exciting to me. Bold work is happening at the largest level, and bold work is happening in the neighborhood experimental theaters.

I also see the Twin Cities has such a commitment to homegrown, homemade, accessible art. I'm thinking of the community choirs, the May Day parade, the neighborhood gatherings that I've gotten to witness over my eight months here. When I think of TTT, I think of an overlap in the Venn diagram between the excellence of our largest scale theaters, the accessibility of our mission-centered service organizations, and the communal creativity of our experimental, maker-centered art. 

Q:  How may we follow your news?

A:  Our social media on Facebook and Instagram are great ways to follow our news at Ten Thousand Things, as well as signing up for our email list. We provide sneak peeks behind the scenes and into our unique process, both in the rehearsal room and as we take the production on the road.

* * * * PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE * * * *

Paid Performances: 

• Thursday & Friday shows at 7:30pm
• Saturday shows at 2pm and 7:30pm
• Sunday shows at 2pm
• Tickets are $40 suggested and Pay What You Can starting at $15.
• Pre-show readings on Thursdays with authors from Cow Tipping Press 

Open Book, 1011 Washington Avenue S 

• Thursday, Oct 9 (preview, all tickets $15, pre-show reading)
• Friday, Oct 10 (post-show reception)
• Saturday, Oct 11
• Sunday, Oct 12 

Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church, 511 Groveland Avenue 

• Thursday, Oct 18 (pre-show reading)
• Friday, Oct 17 (post-show talk)
• Saturday, Oct 18
• Thursday, Oct 23 (pre-show reading)
• Friday, Oct 24 (post-show talk)
• Saturday, Oct 25
• Sunday, Oct 26
• Capri Theater, 2027 W Broadway
• Sunday, Oct 19 

825 Arts, 825 University Avenue W, St. Paul 

• Thursday, Oct 30 (pre-show reading)
• Friday, Oct 31 (special pre-show activities)
• Saturday, Nov 1
• Sunday, Nov 2 

Free Public Performances (Reservations Required) 

• Wed, Sept 24, 2:30pm, Episcopal Homes – The Gardens (1860 University Ave W, St Paul)
• Thu, Sept 25, 10:30am, Touchstone Mental Health (2312 Snelling Ave, Minneapolis)
• Tue, Sept 30, 9:10am & 11:25am, Harmony Learning Center (1961 County Rd C East, Maplewood)
• Wed, Oct 1, 6:30pm, Metro State University – Student Center (690 E 7th St, St Paul)
• Thu, Oct 2, 10am, MSS (900 Ocean St, St Paul) (Audio-Described)
• Tue, Oct 7, 1pm, St Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (16 W 5th St, St Paul)
• Wed, Oct 8, 1:30pm, Dellwood Gardens (753 E 7th St, St Paul)
• Tue, Oct 14, 1pm, Sabathani Senior Center (310 E 38th St, Minneapolis)
• Tue, Oct 28, St Paul Opportunity Center (422 Dorothy Day Pl, St Paul)
• TBD Interact Center (1860 Minnehaha Ave, St Paul) 

Closed Performances (Not open to public)

Ramsey County Correctional Facility, St Peter Regional Treatment Center, Minnesota, St. Peter Forensic Mental Health, Federal Correctional Institute – Sandstone