Through our eyes 2 - new play festival
About the Festival
The Festival is a three week new play festival that is also the culmination of the 2024 - 2025 Through Our Eyes playwriting cohort. For the past year, six Twin Cities playwrights, Mayra Gurrola Calderón, Johanna Keller Flores, Michelle de Joya, Sunny Thao, Jamaka Young and Ehkhudah Zar have developed new scripts through a cohort & mentorship program. Five of the plays, ranging in subject matter from quinceañeras to neighborhood hair salons, will be showcased as part of the Festival.
The first two weeks of the Festival featured two plays performed back to back at Open Eye Theatre in Minneapolis. The final week of the Festival will feature three stage readings at 825 Arts in St. Paul. Sprinkled throughout will be workshops, post-show discussions and a puppet show for our youngest audience members.
TICKETS GO ON SALE JULY 10, 2025
WEEKS 1 & 2 - AT OPEN EYE THEATRE, SEPTEMBER 18 - 28, 2025
Burn & Dash and Quinceañera
The first two weeks of the festival features plays by Sunny Thao & Mayra Gurrola Calderón, performed back to back on the same evening.
Burn & Dash by Sunny Thao, directed by Jame See Yang. Alternately set in the back of a van and the forest of a village, two girls form a deep friendship in the shadow of bride kidnapping.
Quinceañera by Mayra Gurrola Calderon, directed by Nora Montañez Patterson. In preparing for her quinceañera, a girl faces long buried secrets and uncovers a whole world. Quinceañera explores themes of motherhood, grief, queerness and discovery.
PERFORMANCE DATES:
Friday, Sep. 19 at 7:30 pm - Opening
Saturday, Sep. 20 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, Sep. 21 at 2:00 pm - Masks required, Open Captions, Post-show discussion
Thursday, Sep 25 at 7:30 pm
Friday, Sep 26 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, Sep. 27 at 7:30 - Open Captions
Sunday, Sep. 28 at 2:00 pm - Masks required, Closing
LOCATION:
Open Eye Theatre
506 East 24th Street
Minneapolis, MN 55404
TICKETS
Pick-Your-Price, $25 - $10 for every performance
AGE RECOMMENDATION
Recommended for ages 14 & up
CONTENT WARNING
Burn & Dash includes themes of bride kidnapping.
Quinceañera includes themes of the death of a loved one.
ACCESSIBILITY
An ASL-Interpreted performance date will be added soon.
Open Captioning on 9/21 & 9/27
Sensory Kits available at the box office
WEEK THREE - AT 825 ARTS IN ST. PAUL
STAGE READINGS
The last week of the festival features stage readings of new works by Johanna Keller Flores and Michelle de Joya; a ritual creation & sharing by Jamaka Young, and puppet making & storytelling by Speaking Out Collective.
SCHEDULE:
Thursday, October 2 at 7:30 pm: Stage reading of a new play by Johanna Keller Flores. Title TBD.
Recommended for ages 14 & up.
Friday, October 3 at 7:30 pm: Stage reading of AB NAILS by Michelle de Joya, directed by Siddeeqah Shabazz.
Recommended for ages 16 & up.
Saturday October 4 at 11:00 am - Puppet making/Storytelling by Speaking Out Collective.
Recommended for all ages, specifically geared for young children & their families. Free/No-Reservation required.
Saturday, October 4 at 2:00 pm: Ritual creation and sharing by Jamaka Young. Recommended for ages 14 & up.
TICKETS:
Stage Readings - pick-your-price $15 - $5
Puppet Making/Storytelling - FREE
Ritual Creation/Sharing - pick-your-price, $15 - $5
The activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Creative Support for Individuals grants from the Minnesota State Arts Board, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund and support from the National Endowment for the Arts.
The Through Our Eyes cohort is primarily funded by a grant from the Jerome Foundation.