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News Releases 
'I think of diversity, I think of Eat Street, I think of... a little bit of danger.' – Lisa, Whittier Stories 
For Immediate Release: November 19, 2004
... Performed at Intermedia Arts ... December 10-11, 2004 ...
WHO:
The Children's Theatre Company (CTC) the nation's leading theater for young people and families, recipient of the 2004 National Governors Association Award for Distinguished Service to State Government in the field of Artistic Production and recipient of the 2003 Tony® Award for Best Regional Theater.
WHAT:
CTC announces Whittier Stories, a theatrical snapshot based on personal interviews with a cross-section of Whittier community residents. It is co-presented by The Children's Theatre Company and Intermedia Arts, and performed by CTC's Performing Apprentices as well as CTC teen and professional actors.
Writer/director Rebecca Brown, who headed up CTC's 2002 Land Bridge Project Stories from Montevideo, MN, prepared the interviewers/performers for the project using a particular movement-based theater technique (Anne Bogart's Viewpoints) that would help them establish a common physical way of working throughout the project. Next, they went out into the neighborhood on walking tours and scheduled interviews. Working from the starting point of the Whittier Alliance, the CTC artists were introduced to dozens of people, in parks, in schools, in restaurants, in offices, in homes. They spoke with people who have lived here all of their lives and people who are recent immigrants - students, teachers, professionals, business owners, and parents. When the artists came together again, director Rebecca Brown had selected interview text from which they would build a play. With Brown's creative oversight and crafting, that work continues today and will culminate in two workshop performances and post-show discussions at Intermedia Arts as part of their Immigrant Status series.
The Whittier neighborhood is delineated by I-35W on the East, Lyndale Avenue on the West, Franklin Avenue on the North, and Lake Street on the South. According to the 2000 census, it is home to fifteen thousand people - 53% Caucasian, 20% black or African American, 6% Asian, 2% Native American, and 3% designated as "other." 89% of Whittier residents are renters and 11% homeowners. The neighborhood includes over 80 restaurants; several schools; dozens of churches; and a proliferation of non-franchised, culturally specific shops. Under the surface of this South Minneapolis neighborhood is a complex, evolving community struggling to come to terms with its history as well as its emerging cultural and religious differences. Whittier Stories is the intersection of this neighborhood's divergent influences and personalities.
WHEN:
Friday, December 10th at 8:00 p.m.
Saturday, December 11th at 8:00 p.m.
Party and Discussion to follow both performances
WHERE:
Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Avenue South, Minneapolis, Minnesota
TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets are $5
To reserve tickets call the Intermedia Arts Box Office, 612-871-4444 or www.intermediaarts.org.
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