Mixed PrecipitationA Midsummer Swig!
Here are some of the operas that we like! Check out the links below to see clips and hear the music!
The Faerie Queen by Henry Purcell
Here’s an example of zarzuela!
The Tender Land by Aaron Copland
Ruslan and Lyudmilla by Glinka
Don’t forget to share your thoughts on this survey!
This 1805 opera of revolution and liberation is retold in the colorful and festive style that Picnic Operetta audiences adore. Emerging from the garden will be secret agents, covert operations and undercover antics–all mashed-up with many musical surprises and served with a sampling menu of locally-sourced bites!
August 10th Opening at Eat Street Community Garden
2412/2416 1st Avenue South, Minneapolis
August 11th Falcon Heights Community Garden
Cleveland Avenue & Roselawn Ave, Falcon Heights
August 16th Dodge Nature Center, Farm Education Center and Community Garden 7pm
1701 Charlton St, West St. Paul
August 17th Skidmore Park Community Garden
1085 E. 4th St Saint Paul, MN (East 4th Street and Earl Street)
August 18th Caponi Art Park *** 6:30 performance
1120 Diffley Road, Eagan
August 23rd JD Rivers Children’s Garden 7pm performance
2900 Glenwood Ave N, Minneapolis MN (Glenwood and North Washburn Ave.)
August 24th Loring Park Garden of the Seasons 4pm
August 25th California Street Farm 4pm
2205 California Street NE, Minneapolis
August 31st Stone’s Throw Urban Farm 4pm
September 1st Alexis Bailley Vineyard 4pm
18200 Kirby Avenue, Hastings
September 7th House of Hope Church 4pm
797 Summit Ave, St Paul
September 8th Bronx Park Community Garden 4pm
2500 Georgia Avenue at Cedar Lake Bike Trail, St. Louis Park
September 14th Women’s Environmental Institute
Farm and Orchard at Amador Hill 4pm
15715 River Road, North Branch
September 15th Swede Hollow Park 4pm
Beaumount and Drewry Lane, St. Paul
(one block from Payne Ave. and E. Minnehaha Ave.)
Picnic Operetta Seeks First Violinist, STAT!
FFI please contact Marya Hart, music director maryahartmusic@gmail.com
Paid Position
Performances August 8 through September 15
Mixed Precipitation’s Picnic Operetta, now in its fifth season, is seeking a first violinist.
We are open to subbing out or splitting the position, if a candidate has some conflicts with the performance schedule. In other words, IF YOU’RE INTERESTED AND CAN ONLY DO SOME OF THE PERFORMANCES, GET IN TOUCH!
This year’s production is a mash-up of Beethoven’s “Fidelio” and the music of reggae legend Jimmy Cliff.
We need a player with these attributes:
Strong technique and good ensemble skills. Experience in chamber groups and theatrical experience is helpful.
Improvisatory skills, familiarity with popular music and ability to make creative adaptations.
Reliability.
Ability to work in a changing environment. (Performances are outdoors, in community gardens throughout the metro area.)
Good leadership and interpersonal skills.
Fun-loving people who like good food, gardens and the outdoors.
Performance schedule:
August 8th FINAL DRESS 7pm
August 9th PREVIEW 7pm
August 10th 4:00
August 11th 4:00
August 16th 7pm
August 17th 4:00
August 18th 4:00
August 23rd 7pm
August 24th 4:00
August 25th 4:00pm
August 31st 4:00
September 1st 4:00
September 7th 4:00
September 8th 4:00
September 14th 4:00
September 15th 4:00
Rehearsal schedule
Weekly, commencing June 24
No rehearsal the week of June 30
Two rehearsals week of July 28
Tech week: band joins cast for run throughs commencing ca. Aug 4
We have posted our auditions and were excited to meet singers, actors and dancers of all ages and abilities!
For our unique adaptation of Mozart’s Idomeneo, We have a special need for classical singers and risk taking physical actors who love to work outside!
Auditions will be held MARCH 7th (5:30 to 9:00) and MARCH 10th! (3:00 to 7:00)
More information is posted on Minnesota Playlist!
CLICK HERE to access the info.
The Return of King Idomeneo: A Picnic Operetta
Mozart’s opera with a crunchy street corner vibe. Mixed Precipitation presents their 4th annual celebration of music in the urban ecosystem.
August 11th through Septmeber 23rd 2012
Performing in community gardens and farms throughout the metro area.
Thanks to all who attended Alcina’s Island: a Picnic Operetta! In all, we reached nearly 2500 people at our performances in 2011, many experiencing opera for the first time, many more discovering vital urban green space for the first time. Thanks to the craftsmanship of chef Nick Schneider, nearly all in our audience tasted something new on their palate, as the music of Handel rang through the urban landscape.
We are deeply humbled by the enthusiasm that greeted us at each new community garden. Your laughter, compliments and generous contributions help us set our sites on a delicious future for this project.
As the season has turned we have set our sites on new projects for the fall season.
We’ll present selections of our new work-in-progress Frequencies of Paranormal Genius at Patrick’s Cabaret.
Inspired by Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House”
and the work of spiritual channel Christine Day, the audience will co-author a
terror experience that animates Patrick’s Cabaret for its unique paranormal potential.
Curator April Sellers has gathered a lively mix of dancers, actors, musicians and filmmakers (including the haunting and charismatic Dan Polnau as Stromboli) to create this evening of work which will travel about the Patrick’s Cabaret firehouse. Find out more information by clicking on the firehouse below or look at this Facebook LINK!
This event is presented in conjunction with Northrup Concert and Lectures and their presentation of the Royal Winnipeg Ballet at the Orpheum Theatre on November 12th and 13th. Their dynamic version of Wonderland will feature music by contemporary Canadian composers, breathtaking dance and lavish glamour. Check out more information at this link! Thanks Northrup!
Upcoming events to enjoy!
Many in our company have been hard at work preparing music and pageantry for the annual BareBones Productions Halloween puppet extravaganza. Check out this years’ production, A Fistful of Dirt: Or How the Death Was Won, performs at Hidden Falls Park in St. Paul, October 22nd through 31st. Check out the link here!
BareBones Productions
A Fistful of Dirt: Or How the Death Was Won
7pm October 22nd through 31st
Hidden Falls Park, St. Paul
Our fiscal agent, the Interact Center for Visual and Performing Arts, is presenting a Joy: A Holiday Cabaret! (November 18th through December 17th) at the Lab Theater in the Warehouse District. This award winning company presents original musical theater with a mixed cast of artists with and without disabilities in a spirit of “radical inclusion”. Mixed Precipitation’s artistic director, Scotty Reynolds, has called Interact his artistic home for seven years. We hope you can come check out this festive show, featuring Kevin Kling and Eriq Nelson! Check out the link here!
Interact Theater Company
Joy: A Holiday Cabaret
November 18th through December 17th
The Lab Theater, Minneapolis
Also, our Alcina, Laura Hynes Smith, is singing the wonderful role of Despina in the University Opera Theatre’s production of Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte at the Ted Mann Concert Hall November 17th through 20th. Check out the link here!
University Opera Theatre
Mozart’s Cosi Fan Tutte
November 17th through 20th
Ted Mann Concert Hall, U of M West Bank
And everyone’s favorite “friendly lion” Paulino Brener has received a Jerome Fellowship for performance art, and he’ll be presenting a new piece at the Pillsbury House Theatre for Naked Stages December 7th through 10th. Check out the link here!
Naked Stages
Paulino Brener’s Don’t Cry for Me
December 7th through 10th
Pillsbury House Theatre, Minneapolis
If you are in our audience, please say hello!
Don’t forget the amazing sponsors who helped us make the Picnic Operetta happen. The fresh local taste lasts all year long at these great establishments. Stop in for a tasty bite and say hello. Let them know you love opera… and trucker songs!
Watermelons may be out of season, but the watermelon truck from Alcina’s Island is still a hit! Textile artist Annabella Miller Sardelis has created a special pillow to commemorate the production. You can find them at local boutique, I Like You and on etsy. Or you can buy directly from the artist at her studio! Click on the pillow below to find out more!
Come to this festive benefit supporting the 3rd annual Picnic Operetta!
August 8th, 2011 6:30 to 10:00
Suggested Donation: $25
Join us for music, food, drink and camaraderie as we toast the opening of another season presenting opera in the Urban Eco-System. The amazing chef Nick Schneider will assemble a loco-vore nosh table and we’ll feature great music by The Hummingbirds (your favorite ukulele quartet) and our singers bring down the house with a sample of music from Alcina’s Island: A Picnic Operetta
© 2011 Clare Pix Photography www.clarepix.com
And a menu of refreshing signature drinks crafted by a dandy bar staff!
Your support will help us bring a free community event to community gardens throughout the metro area. Help us bring musical excellence and shared deliciousness to these amazing green spaces.
ENJOY FOOD, DRINKS, MUSIC and GREAT COMPANY!
We are so excited to have Wise Acre Eatery as a partner presenting this benefit and celebrating our commitment to music, food and the joys of the Minnesota harvest. Many thanks to owners Scott Endres and Dean Engelmann. We hope you will stop by this beautiful restaurant, enjoy a bite, meet the friendly staff and relax on the fabulous patio.
Many Thanks to our presenting partners!
It takes a lot of people and groups to make the picnic operetta happen! We are so glad to have the continued partnership of Gardening Matters, the Seward Co-op, the Wedge Co-op, the Lindon Hills Co-op, and The Aliveness Project!
What is Mixed Precipitation?
We are performance group dedicated to exploring text, space and form in theatrical events that create opportunities for social engagement. We are excited about work that bends genres and brings together communities to honor the spaces and the times that we share.
It’s time to kick up your heels! Yee-ha!
In our colorful re-imagining of Handel’s 1735 opera, the garden becomes a truck stop on the American highway. Scheming sorceresses Alcina and Morgana become truck stop waitresses luring brave truckers astray. We combine Handel’s early baroque with trucker songs and classic country. The magic of this Island will be all the more savory, with Chef Nick Schneider’s five course sampling menu of locally sourced treats created especially for this performance. And, of course, the glory of love and music conquers all!
We’ll be presenting our latest performance experiment Saturday February 12th and Sunday February 13th at the BRECHT-acle!
Mozart and the Freemasons: A Trilogy of Operas Too Small to Fail
We also perform Saturday and Sunday for the the BRECHTACL, hosted by Maren Ward and Bedlam Theater to celebrate performances of Brecht’s Mother Courage and Her Children by the Bricklayers of Chicago.
Join us Saturday February 12th at 10:30 or Sunday February 13th at 7:30 at the Lab Theater in the Warehouse District in Minneapolis.
The Lab Theater is located at 700 North 1st Street in Minneapolis.
The line-up of performers for the cabaret is very impressive, featuring of a host of wacky theater companies, visonary puppeteers and charming music, including Dreamland Faces and Live Action Set.
Mozart and the Freemasons: A Trilogy of Operas Too Small to Fail
Inspired by the music and boyhood adventures of
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Joseph Haydn and John Phillip Sousa
Music Arranged by David Phillip Norris
Text by Scotty Reynolds and David Phillip Norris
Directed by Scotty Reynolds
Featuring Lauren Drasler, Meredith Cain-Nielsen, Jim Ahrens and Daniel Greco
Puppetry Created by Jennifer Arave, Welles Emerson, Ms. Scottie Hall,
Rosie Jablonsky and Andrew Csavoy
This satirical toy theatre collage made its premiere on January 20th, 2011 at the Minnesota Orchestra as a prelude to their concert presentation of The Magic Flute. Thanks to the Crescendo project for hosting us at their pre-concert reception.
Chakra Kahn Massage
and Asian Body Work
MediaShelf LLC / CodeSpace
Host of our MidSummer Swig
Solstice Benefit
Interact Center for Visual and
Performing Arts
Our fiscal agent!
Our performance would not be possible without the support of the Minnesota State Arts Board and the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the City of St. Louis Park Arts and Culture Grant
Also, special thanks to our presenting partners:
Gardening Matters, First Lutheran Church of the Reformation St. Louis Park, Bronx Park Neighborhood Association, Hamline-Midway, Neighborhood Association, East Side Arts Council, Dayton’s Bluff / District 4 Community Council, Urban Farming, Permaculture Research Institute, City of Minneapolis Parks and Recreation, Augsburg College Campus Food Program, Minnesota Institute for Sustainable Agriculture, University of Minnesota College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences
These gardeners and advisory board members were instrumental in helping us build our production and audience:
Dr. Bill Beemann, Romi Sloviak, Welles Emerson, Yolanda Cotterall, Karin DuPaul, Soozin Hirschmugl, Delaney Collins, Mary Lynn Pulscher, Cherry Flowers, Brian Noy, Sandy Moore, Courtny Tschida, Sarah Testen, Laurie Krivitz, Brian Cooper, Susan Melbye, Jim Vaughan and Pastor Tom Mundahl
