Camden is a place that 27,000 people call home, but few participate in activities that make a community come alive. In the four years that Workhouse Theatre Company (WTC) has been in existence, the Northside arts community has blossomed through the tireless efforts of a small but committed group of artists and activists.
Since its foundation WTC has been engaging their audiences and finding ways that each audience member can connect with the experience of live theatre. “‘Thank you for helping to ensure that live theatre has a home in Camden’ is a phrase that the bulk of our audience is quite familiar with,” muses WTC member Dan Hylton.
“That phrase, or something like it, is something we’ve been saying at curtain speeches since the beginning. Certainly, it expresses a sentiment that we feel strongly about,” he says. “People are proud of their support for the arts in Camden. We see it in response cards that we get back after the shows, but we also see it in our growing volunteer base, and in the businesses that have emerged to become sponsors of our shows.”
Over the last three years, WTC’s production staff and actors have been a mixture of experienced and notable theatre artists from the greater Twin Cities area and those artists residing in Camden or the Northside. Last year’s Prometheus Bound featured 16 Camden cast and crew members. And five of the six performances in last year’s Reader’s Theatre series featured Camden performers — bearing out City Pages’ description of WTC as “staunchly devoted to putting down roots in a part of town that has been underserved in terms of stage options.” (Sept. 12, 2007)
In addition to WTC company members that reside in Camden (Dan Hylton, Duane Atter and Jeff Redman), other Northsiders participating in the 2007-2008 season are Cris Tibbetts, Jason Dresson, Jeff Johnson, Miriam Monasch, Bruce Stripe, Mark Webb, Sarah J. Leigh, Travis Olson and Jenni Redman.
The business community understands the arts connection to the neighborhoods and the community. This season they raised their support-for-the-arts profile with sponsorships. Papa’s Pizza & Pasta and Rix Bar & Grill offer discounts to patrons (redeemable with ticket stub thru the run of the show), and Camden Pet Hospital has gotten into the act by offering free cat and dog treats for WTC patrons in exchange for a ticket stub. Other sponsors include Camden Music School, Northside Arts collective and the Goddess of Glass. It is that combination of community and business support that has WTC so hopeful for their future in Camden.
Fans of live theatre can show their support in February when WTC brings the area premiere of Steve Martin’s The Underpants to the stage at The Warren. In the play “Louise discovers the fleeting price of fame when her underpants inadvertently drop during the King’s parade, much to her stuffy bureaucratic husband’s dismay. Suddenly, the couple’s “Room for Rent” sign goes down and the renters (all male) seem to want their sugar included.”
The Underpants, directed by Christopher McGahan, runs for three weekends beginning February 8. Tickets $10 in advance ($8 for students and seniors) at www.workhousetheatre.org or $12 at the door ($10 for students and seniors). For info contact info@workhousetheatre.org or call 612-237-2014.
Editor’s note: You can also find out more about Northside arts at Northside Arts Collective meetings on the second Thursday of each month from 6-6:30 p.m. at different Northside art venues. The next meeting is January 10 at NorthPoint Health & Wellness, 1315 Penn. Enjoy a tour of NorthPoint’s fabulous art collection including a current showing by members of the Northside Arts Collective. Info at 612-643-2050, www.nacarts.org or nacarts@earthlink.net.