COMMFEST is February 6th - 8th and features two shows per day.
Purchase tickets to both shows on the same day and receive a free drink!
One ticket deal, two performances, plus a little something extra.
Friday February 6th
Shorts & Jorts
7pm Show / 6pm Doors
The Shorts: A Variety Show of New Experimental Performance
Bouffon-inspired physical theater, experimental dances about Gratitude and Girlies, an interview with the Universal Publick Friend, and 19th-century drag performances all feature in this rapid-fire variety show of new work by Frankie Gormley & Ben Capp, sn/ophie, Eliana Durnbaugh & Co., Shelby Richardson, and Nat Young.
The Jorts: "GUILLOTINE CITY," A New One-Act Play
Watch your fingers! The blade-like doors of the Minneapolis-St Paul Elevated Rail are razor-sharp, and the masses of swarming, indifferent crows are hungry. Who are you supposed to believe in this city of 44 million people? What kind of revolution wears a mask? And why should I care? "GUILLOTINE CITY" by Marge Jorts Buckley. Directed by Sam Weisberg. Music by Lisa Frank. Starring Erik Abramsen, Sasha Blinnikova, and Allison Young.
PLEASE!
10pm Show / 9:30pm Doors
PLEASE! is a high intensity and humorous trip through expressionism and indie sleaze, exploring the depths of surveillance, desire, power and who holds it. PLEASE! was created in collaborations with Lizz Windnagel, Sam Weisberg, Alice Endo, Davey Steinman, and LIPING VONG, with original music by Lisa Frank.
Felicia Cooper is an artist working in puppetry, performance and embodied research. Her work has been seen at LaMama Theater's Puppet Festival, the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival, Dixon Place, and locally in the Twin Cities. It has been supported by the Tri M Foundation, The National Humanities Center, the Connecticut Sea Grant, the Heinz Foundation, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Pennsylvania State Arts Board, and others. She makes work embedded in community and creates platforms for others to create experimental work, including the Puppet Union and her work with the Minnesota Fringe Festival, where she serves as the Director of Audience and Volunteer Engagement. She holds an MFA in Puppetry from the University of Connecticut. Go Huskies.
Saturday February 7th
Shorts & Jorts
7pm Show / 6pm Doors
Lisa Frank
10pm Show / 9:30pm Doors
Cam Fassett will open February 7th's late night set with songs from their 2020 album, Turtle Shells, followed by Lisa Frank performing tracks from their debut album to be released later this year. Feat. Patrick Marschke (drums, electronics), Lizz Wind (vocals, creative collaboration), Cam Fassett (bass), and Lisa Harrigan (lead vocals).
Lisa (she/they) is a Minneapolis-based vocalist and digital composer. Melding glittering bedroom pop with understated theatricality, their project, Lisa Frank, explores moody inner worlds through tongue-in-cheek lyricism. Inspired by early 2000s internet culture and suburban brainrot, Lisa Frank carves out a pixelated dreamscape full of hazy synths, plodding basslines, and heartfelt vocals. Listen to Lisa Frank at lisafrankmusic.bandcamp.com. Follow Lisa at @lisafrankmpls. (Artist bio by Minna Zhou)
Sunday February 8th
Movie Brunch
10:30am Show / 10am Doors
Because nothing goes with brunch quite like Orson Welles playing a Nazi war criminal. Selection inspired by the COMMFEST premiere of "GUILLOTINE CITY." Join us for a matinee showing of this excellent and underseen film noir, co-presented with Sloppy Discs Video Rental.
Sloppy Discs is a pop-up video rental in Minneapolis. Created by local film enthusiast and physical media booster, Emmet Kowler, Sloppy Discs is a balm for the broken promises of streaming, bringing back a little IRL magic to watching movies at home. Catch the Sloppy Discs rental table at COMMFEST or find them around town at sloppydiscs.com
Shorts & Jorts
2pm Show / 1pm Doors
COMMFEST is a micro-festival of experimental performance running February 6-8 at the Bryant Lake Bowl, presented by Commutator Collective, an interdisciplinary arts group based in Minneapolis. Check out the rest of the weekend’s shows at commfest.net
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Tickets are $15 in Advance / $10 - $20 Sliding Scale at the Door.
Our full restaurant and bar service is available in the theater! Order from your seat and enjoy the show, we'll take care of the rest.