South Minneapolis produced a bunch of really great performances this year, from serious realistic drama to slapstick comedy to experimental work that pushed the bounds of performances.  While there were probably even more great productions that didn't make this list, here's a sample of some really great shows I saw this year in South Minneapolis 

Tales of Hoffman 

Scotty Reynolds, founder of Mixed Precipitation performance initiative, hit upon a wonderful concept in 2009 when he launched the first Picnic Operetta. Weaving classical opera with modern music and text, the performances toured all over the Twin Cities at community gardens, serving fresh gourmet food at each show. In 2010, Mixed Precipitation presented Tales of Hoffman, a delightful show with a talented young cast and yummy snacks to enhance the experience.

Audience members sipped on Kombucha and tasted appetizers made from roast beets, artisan breads, ripe organic tomatoes while listening to Offenbach's glorious music and watching the cast's goofy theatrics. I watched the show in the idyllic Eat Street Community Gardens, at 2416 1st Avenue South and thoroughly enjoyed myself. 

Words to Dead Lips  

Intermedia Arts Catalyst Series wowed me this year, featuring a host of presentations that were both top notch and innovative. In November, the series presented Aniccha Arts Words to Dead Lips, a gorgeous, provocative multimedia performance piece that explored the dimensions of how a climate of fear can shape and form a crowd, and how individuals, or groups of individuals, can fight against that force. Choreographer Pramila Vasudevan and visual artist Matt Wells, along with sound design from John Keston and direction by Dipankar Mukherjee created a thrilling performance that was both visually stunning and intellectually challenging.  

In the show, the dancers used a combination of classical Indian dance, modern dance and yoga movements as they were controlled by an oppressive environment, created by invasive sound, designed by John Keston and by visuals projected on a scrim. Eventually, the scrim itself began to take over the space, and the dancers found themselves enveloped by it. The powerful ending came as the performers found the power to take control of their environment, realizing their own agency.  

Mrs. Smith's Halloween Spooktacular

Of any show I saw this year, Mrs. Smith's Halloween Spooktacular, which played at the Bryant Lake Bowl, made me laugh the hardest.  The drag show/comedy, starring Mrs. Smith (aka David Hanbury), was a weird little show about a church lady searching for her cat. With cameos by local drag acts such as Puss Puss and Barbi-Q, there was plenty of frenetic energy, wonderful song, dance numbers and ridiculousness.

Symptom

Another presentation of Intermedia Arts Catylist Series was Symptom, a performance by Body Cartography Project. I loved the show, though it confused me.  The show played with the idea of the gap between seeing and knowing, the elusiveness of truth, and the mythology that surrounds much contemporary art and art stars, as well as the collision between the visual arts and dance.

With a blank backdrop, the performance centered around two performers: Emmett and Otto Ramstad, real life siblings, wearing turquoise corduroys and white t-shirts. Using casual gestural poses, the performers created sculptures with their bodies, eventually playing with rhythm as well.  The sound-scape, created by Andrea Parkins, utilized sound effects that hearkened back to a 1940s radio show. Spoken text was eventually incorporated into the show as the performers described their thoughts and actions, while the sound of the microphone fumbling added to the audio. It was a stirring piece, viscerally, and I ended up thinking about it quite a lot afterwards.

Eclipsed

Eclipsed, a heartbreaking play by Danai Gurira, told the story of women surviving during the Liberian civil wars. It was presented by Frank Theatre at the Playwright's Center. While the content of the story was difficult to watch because of its brutality, the marvelous cast, including an amazing performance by Shá Cage and newcomer Yeukai Mudzi, kept the audience riveted.  

Curiosities 

The third Catalyst Series production that makes this list was the play Curiosities, by Heid Erdrich, co-presented by Pangea World Theater. Erdrich used historical documents, including the writings of Maungwudaus, an Anishinabe interpreter and translator who led a troupe of Native American dancers on a tour in the mid 19th century throughout Europe. 

Erdrich reversed the gaze that historically put Native Americans as the object of fascination by creating a play were the Native Americans voiced their fascination of the "curious" white people. Humorous and poignant, the play bridged historical context with contemporary oeuvre. R. Vincent Moniz, Jr, who played the main character, was incredible and brought wonderful energy to the role. Marisa Carr, too, was lovely as his wife, and performed beautifully as a singer. 

Irma Vep

Last summerm the Jungle Theatre brought in the laughs in their hilarious production of Charles Ludlam's famous Camp play, The Mystery of Irma Vep. Part Monty Python, part Punch and Judy, Irma Vep mixed lowbrow comedy with witty banter and layered pastiche to create a parody that was both raucous and smart.

The plot, loosely based on Alfred Hitchcock's Oscar-winning film Rebecca, among numerous other source texts, involved vampires, werewolves, mummies and dark family secrets, with a host of cultural references citing everything from James Joyce to Henrik Ibsen.  Director Joel Sass cast spot-on actors Steven Epp and Bradley Greenwald, who both seemed to be having great fun as they sprinted through the dildo gags, cross-dressing shenanigans and changes of costume that happened so fast as to seem instantaneous.

Pa's Hat

Ten years ago, in the midst of Liberia's Second Civil War, playwright Cori Thomas accompanied her father to Liberia, where he had been an ambassador prior to the First Liberian Civil War. Thomas and her father, who was 83 and rather ill, journeyed "against all good judgment," according to Thomas, so that her father could find his brother's body and bury it, find out if there was a way to get back his land, and see the country one last time.

That trip was the basis for Thomas's autobiographical play Pa's Hat: Liberian Legacy, which performed at the Pillsbury House Theatre last spring. Regina Marie Williams particularly shined as the daughter in a play that was ultimately a love letter by the playwright to a country that will always be part of her.  

Gurdjieff Play

Sometimes the best performances are the ones that hardly anyone sees. Often, underground events produce the most exciting work because artists have the freedom to explore new ideas without worrying about "marketing" to a larger audience. Case in point was a performance that happened in a garage in the Powderhorn Neighborhood at the home of choreographer Arwen Wilder and her partner, lighting designer Heidi Eckwall. Conceived by Wilder and co-created by Emily Zimmer and Wilder and Eckwall's daughter, Ea, the play centered on a group of queer women—artists, writers, intellectuals, actresses—who were all weirdly obsessed by the guru Gurdjieff.

 Wilder played the Baroness Elsa Von Freytag Loringhoven, a Dadist and all-around eccentric who wore crazy outfits and allegedly gave Duchamp the urinal he used for his famous piece. I really enjoyed the performance, and I think the private event was indicative of all the burgeoning arts that happen not just in main arts venues, but in neighborhoods. I hope that they continue working on it—I'd love to see what becomes of the idea.

Traveling Light 

Theatre Pro Rata's production of Traveling Light, which took place at the Minneapolis Pioneers and Soldiers Memorial Cemetery, was about two gay men— playwright Joe Orton (Wade A Vaughn) and Brian Epstein (David Beukema)—who meet in a cemetery in the middle of the night in 1960s England. The site specific play was clever and brought out wonderful characterizations of the historical characters.