The Southern Theater Announces New Performance Series, AMPLIFY

The Southern Theater Launches AMPLIFY Program Series this Fall

Performances will highlight important stories focused on underrepresented communities

The Southern Theater, 1420 S. Washington Ave., will present a new program series giving artistic voice to stories that are not always given a performance platform. AMPLIFY: ​to make larger, greater, stronger: to increase in strength. Through movement, music, and narrative, artists will share stories that support and represent the many voices that make up a community. “Art is a powerful way to connect,” says Acting Executive Director Janette Davis. “Our hope is that these performances will spark important conversations, open up minds, and share perspectives.”  

This inaugural year of the AMPLIFY series will feature four stories from African American, persons with disabilities, and LGBTQIA+ communities. A talkback after a designated public performance will allow each artist to connect with audiences, while special Pay What You Can performances make shows accessible to anyone who wants to attend. Youth performances for student groups and ASL shows are also being arranged.

 

PBC Nation presents: ​Pulling Back The Curtain:Remastered

September 19-Sept 22

Valuing freedom of expression and a community in communication, this show visibilizes the invisibilized narratives of marginalized communities and the oppression of African-American people, presented through movement, conversation, and interaction.  

 

Freaque presents: ​A Cripple’s Dance

October 14-20

This live music and dance performance began as an expression of Gabriel Rodreick’s (C5-C6) desire to dance, move, and reconnect with his body post injury, and has now become a deeper story about how to hold the acceptance of one’s injury and hope for a life beyond one’s injury in the same hand. 

 

Mixed Precipitation presents: ​Hit the Wall

November 11-17

Ike Holter's play honors queer ancestors and the historic events of a pivotal night at a gay bar known as the Stonewall Inn.    

 

The New Renaissance presents:​ ​Ancestral Origins: An Afrofuturist Exploration of Joy and Beauty

December 5-8

After discovering that their music powered experiments can open up doorways to other worlds, rebel scientists struggle to escape a post-apocalyptic future and embark on a journey of self-discovery, healing, and transformation.  

 

This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to legislative appropriations from the arts and cultural heritage fund.