Mn-prog-events Mailing List: FW: The Yshow, Suburban World Theater, November 4, 5, 10, 11, 12, 18,19

[Alan Yelsey (Alan]

Alan Yelsey 
Machine Dreams Incorporated 
800 Lasalle Avenue, Suite 107 
Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402 

www.machine-dreams.com <http://www.machine-dreams.com> 
www.interactivemeetings.com 
612.371.4428 x12 



-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Yelsey 
Sent: Tuesday, November 01, 2005 11:03 AM
To: 'mn-prog-events [at] justcomm.org'
Subject: The Yshow, Suburban World Theater, November 4,5, 10, 11,12,
18,19






 Hi Fred:
>
> I am attaching our press release for the new show at the
> Suburban World Theater - The Yshow (www.y-show.com). I am a UMN trained
> educational psychologist circa 1986.
>
> The Yshow was created to directly take on the myth that
> America is on the right track - business as usual.
> It does so more directly than other shows. It enables the audience
> to express and define themselves. And it proposes a set
> of principles for America to live by, nurture, equality and truth.
> We hardly seem to recognize these principles in practice today.
>
> Please distribute this information to your progressive email lists.
> I invite you to take advantage of 4 free tickets to either of our shows
this
> week - Friday or Saturday, 8pm.
>
> If I can provide any further information, please let me know.
>
> Alan
> 612-616-5430 cell


MEDIA CONTACT: Annie Scott, 612-371-4428 x16

NEW LIVE MULTI-MEDIA, COMEDIC DRAMA 'THE YSHOW' FEATURING WIRELESS
INTERACTIVE COMPUTERS, WIDESCREEN VIDEO FOOTAGE, 3-D GLASSES 
PREMIERES IN MINNEAPOLIS

Hurricane Katrina, Iraq War Addressed in Provocative Show
Debuting October 28 At Suburban World Theatre

MINNEAPOLIS, MN, September 21, 2005 - "The YShow," a new theatrical
experience combining music, humor, social commentary on issues ranging from
Hurricane Katrina and human rights to healthcare and the Iraq War, original
multi-media footage shot throughout Minnesota, handheld digital
communications involving all audience members, and live theater created by
four Twin Cities writers, will have its U.S. premiere at the Suburban World
Theater in Minneapolis beginning October 28. 

Called "an interactive cerebral adventure unlike anything ever produced in
the Twin Cities," The YShow follows a black psychiatrist (actress Kathleen
Hardy) who challenges the realities of America today, as the audience
accompanies her on a virtual road trip that blends music, comedy with a
lively cast of five, and high-definition multi-media displayed across a
26-foot-wide screen. 

Technology Connects Audience with Cast On Stage
As they enter the Suburban World Theatre, every YShow audience member
receives a handheld wireless computer -- an audience-response device whose
built-in 
microphone and text messaging capabilities enable audience members to
electronically
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Page Two

display their intimate thoughts anonymously, participate in real-time
surveys, provide feedback on issues discussed on-stage, and compete for
prizes. In addition, everyone entering the Suburban World receives a pair of
3-D glasses so they can view specially-shot multimedia footage.  
 
The YShow is co-scripted and staged by Twin Cities playwright/director Kim
Hines, along with Minneapolis writer Alan Yelsey, and Annie Scott and
Kathleen Hardy, two actresses who perform in the YShow. Comedy in the script
was enlivened by contributions from Laughing Stock, an improvisational
theater company in Arizona; music ranges from Harold Melvin and the Blue
Notes' "Wake Up Everybody" to the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams Are Made Of
This."

What in the World Is the YShow?
"Just as Cirque du Soleil reinvented the circus and the Blue Man Group
reworked variety shows, The YShow will change what audiences expect live
theatre can be," says Alan Yelsey of the YShow production team. "We're
employing electronics to connect our performers with their audience, so that
the audience becomes the show. The YShow challenges America's most basic
systems - from FEMA in New Orleans to the FDA in Washington - and suggests
how Americans can reinvent the very infrastructure of our country. Not bad
for a night at the theater, eh?"   

"We expect YShow audiences will have been entertained and provoked when they
walk out of the Suburban World Theater," says actress Kathleen Hardy. "But
most 
-more-


Page Three

importantly, we want The YShow to change the relationships between actors
and audiences, and between citizens and their government. Not only does the
YShow use wireless technology to give audiences a say in the content of the
show; we're using that technology to introduce like-minded people to one
another after the show to change the world outside the theater!"

For example, at the conclusion of every YShow performance the audience votes
on which cause should receive a portion of the ticket sales generated that
evening. What's more, audience members will be connected via computer to
others interested in the same issues, so they can network to put the YShow's
insights into action.   

About the YShow Cast, Creators
The YShow is staged by actress/playwright/director Kim Hines, known for her
acting with Guthrie Theater, Penumbra Theatre, Mixed Blood, and the
Children's Theatre and as director with Theatre in the Round, Illusion
Theater and Theater Mu. After the YShow opens, Hines will move to the
Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to adapt Whoopi Goldberg's children's
book, "Alice," for the stage.   

Lead actress Kathleen Hardy has performed with Illusion Theater, Theatre in
the Round, Minneapolis Musical Theatre, and The John Hassler Theater. Hardy
may be best-known for her one-woman show at the Minnesota History Center,
"Lifting As We Climb: African American Women Working For Change." Among the
most moving scenes in the YShow - the true story of how Hardy's mother was
asked to leave a St. Paul hospital hours after Hardy's birth, because no
white woman wanted to share a maternity room with her. 
-more-

Page Four

Co-scripter and YShow actress Annie Scott, a graduate of Sir Paul
McCartney's Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, has worked with the
Guthrie Theater and The Children's Theatre Company, and was most recently
seen as Alice in "You Can't Take It With You" at Park Square Theatre. Other
actors in the YShow include Malaya Kasal (who has performed in Hindu temples
in Bali; The Great Sand Dunes National Monument and at the Walker Arts
Center); John Kunik (who has appeared in the Hey City Theatre's 'Tony 'n
Tina's Wedding," The Children's Theatre Company, Troupe America and Theatre
in the Round); Hal Schuler (who performed in "Grease" in Bolivia, danced
with aborigines in Australia, and worked with street performers in Panama);
and Eric Wood, most recently seen in "Rehearsal for Murder" at the Phipps
Center for the Arts in Wisconsin and in "Driving Miss Daisy" at the Jon
Hassler Theater. 

Taking Up Residence at Suburban World
"The YShow" now becomes the major ongoing show in residence at the Historic
Suburban World Theatre. Originally opened in September 1928 and operated as
the Granada Theater, architect Jack Liebenberg's Spanish Renaissance-style
design transports the Suburban World audience from Uptown into a lush
courtyard in Spain.  

Tickets, Show Dates . . . and Free Chocolate?
The Show runs for 20 performances through at least December 2005. "YShow"
performance dates at the Suburban World, 3022 Hennepin Avenue, are November
4-5; 10-12, and 17-19; and December 1-3, 8-10 and 15-17. All shows begin at
8 p.m.
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Page Five

Ticket prices range from $10 to $80. Food and beverages will be sold before
and after the show at the Suburban World. Each audience member will receive
free chocolate during the YShow.  

For YShow tickets, call 612-843-6635 or visit the Web site www.y-show.com.

#    #    #

>
> Alan Yelsey
> Machine Dreams Incorporated
> 800 Lasalle Avenue, Suite 107
> Minneapolis, Minnesota 55402
> alan [at] machine-dreams.com
>
>