Home Arts 20% Theatre Company’s ‘The Naked I’ returns in 2014

20% Theatre Company’s ‘The Naked I’ returns in 2014

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20% Theatre Company’s ‘The Naked I’ returns in 2014

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The 20% Theatre Company Twin Cities is producing “The Naked I: Insides Out,” a the 3rd production of its kind that the company has produced. “The Naked I” consists of “plays that explore queer and trans* experiences through monologues, short scenes, and spoken word poems.”

The 20% Theatre Company, formed in 2006, “is committed to supporting and vigorously promoting the work of female and transgender theatre artists, and celebrating the unique contribution of these artists to social justice and human rights.”

The company’s first run of “The Naked I: Monologues From Beyond The Binary” in 2009 was sold out.

The second run, “The Naked I: Wide Open,” was in June 2012 — also sold out — and a book was produced based on the play.

The company is also featuring interviews with the performers on its blog where they’ve shared their experiences of “The Naked I.”

“I saw the first show The Naked I, and was deeply moved by the honesty shared on the stage,” says Andrea Jenkins. “It featured trans and queer performers, and the audience was amazing. Coming from a transgender experience myself it was a beautiful thing to watch our collective voice take the stage.”

Valencia McMurray said, “I saw The Naked I: Wide Open at my school winter 2012, I believe. I also participated in the workshop that was held. I’ve never seen or heard of anything like The Naked I and I definitely fell in love. When I heard there was a new show happening, I had to audition and bring my Spoken Word background into the picture.”

“My contribution to this production is as a playwright, which seems strange to say because I never considered myself to be one,” said Leslie Lagerstrom. “I wrote a story about our experience raising a transgender child and I was honored and thrilled to have it chosen to be part of The Naked I: Insides Out.”

The production will run Feb. 13-23. Here are the dates and times:

Thursday February 13 – 7:30pm – PREVIEW performance!
Friday February 14 – 7:30pm – OPENING NIGHT (party after!)
Saturday February 15 – 7:30pm
Sunday February 16 – 2pm & 7:30pm
Wednesday February 19 – 7:30pm – ASL INTERPRETED by Tarra and Terp!
Thursday February 20 – 7:30pm
Friday February 21 – 7:30pm
Saturday February 22 – 7:30pm
Sunday February 23 – 2pm

Venue: Intermedia Arts, 2822 Lyndale Avenue S, Minneapolis, MN 55408

Tickets are on a sliding scale of $5-25.

The company says: “On Brown Paper Tickets, we have included 5 different price-points, but if you would rather pay a different amount and/or pay in person, please make a reservation by emailing [email protected].”

The company also notes: “ALL TICKETS ARE WILL-CALL. In a sell-out situation, tickets not claimed 5 minutes before showtime may be released to people on the waiting list. The past two NAKED I productions have SOLD OUT completely – so reserve or buy early, and COME EARLY!!”

Illustration by Anna Bongiovanni

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Andy Birkey has written for a number of Minnesota and national publications. He founded Eleventh Avenue South which ran from 2002-2011, wrote for the Minnesota Independent from 2006-2011, the American Independent from 2010-2013. His writing has appeared in The Advocate, The Star Tribune, The Huffington Post, Salon, Cagle News Service, Twin Cities Daily Planet, TheUptake, Vita.mn and much more. His writing on LGBT issues, the religious right and social justice has won awards including Best Beat Reporting by the Online News Association, Best Series by the Minnesota chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and an honorable mention by the Sex-Positive Journalism awards.