The Only Thing that Stays the Same… … is change. This is what my mom always said. Or was it Heraclitus? Whether it was wisdom spun from a California stock administrator, or a Greek philosopher, I think we can all agree with the sentiment. Just look at the past few blog posts. People moving on, ready to start something new. This was certainly the case for my fiancé Cody and I when we got into the third year of the pandemic in Chicago, picked up our cats, and headed for Bluff Country. Something about these past few years shifted the air (literally) as we put on masks and realized we needed a ..read more

It’s Not Goodbye! Longtime company members Brandt Roberts and Elizabeth Dunn will be moving to the Twin Cities in July. In their own words they each reflect on their time here: Elizabeth Dunn: It’s not goodbye, it’s see you later. You can’t say goodbye to a place like this. As one of the most beautiful towns in bluff country, Lanesboro has a premier professional theatre company, a rails-to-trails track offering over 60 miles of biking, an arts center that supports both emerging and established artists, with the scenic Root River winding through the driftless region, and . . . . So. Much. Mo ..read more

  By Ben Gorman Ben in An Iliad That walrus is so wise. After six years as a member of the resident ensemble at the Commonweal, I’m moving on to new things. Many of you, locally, know of my intense interest in All Things Sustainable; I’ve decided to return to my previous career (2006-2009) in the green sector. My goal is to discover my best fit in the burgeoning world of sustainability and climate change remediation, one which provides me the satisfaction that I’m doing something tangible to alter human society’s headlong course off the Carbon Cliff. I shall begin (or resume) this new vo ..read more

Props Design with Lisa Imbryk Lisa Imbryk is a guest designer for our production of Come Back by Neil Haven, and this is her first time working for the Commonweal. She holds a B.A. from Hamline University and an M.F.A. from the University of Georgia. She works as the Membership Coordinator at the Dakota County Historical Society and is a costume and props designer with a variety of companies around the Twin Cities. All photos in this post are by Lisa. Ashley Graham on the set of Come Back. Bruce’s cage and the vacuum in the foreground, Erin’s shrine sits on the platform. What were your first i ..read more

A Return to the Commonweal A few weeks ago, Tim Sailer (apprentice class of 2010) returned to the Commonweal to serve as a member of the resident acting ensemble and the Assistant Director of Marketing. We chatted with Tim to hear what he’s been up to and what he’s looking forward to, now that he’s back in Lanesboro. Tim Sailer with David Hennessey and Carl Lindberg in The Rainmaker (2009). Photo by Jason Underferth. How did you get your start at the Commonweal? I went to college in St. Paul, and during my senior year (2009), I attended the Twin City Unified Auditions. That’s when I met Hal ..read more

By Philip Muehe   If you see Adrienne, you know Philip is usually close behind! September 1st I will leave the Commonweal and officially become the new Managing Director of the Rochester Repertory Theatre Company. It’s actually quite strange to say out loud to people. I have told many friends, family, and patrons about the news. While I have been met with nothing but support and well wishes, moving on from a place as special as this has been difficult in ways I didn’t anticipate. As I sit down to write this blog post, I am reminded of how much my time at the Commonweal has changed me as ..read more

By Philip Muehe Philip plays legendary chef James Beard As I sat alone at my desk, endlessly scrolling blogs for new ways to promote the Commonweal during the pandemic, Producing Artistic Director Hal Cropp approached me and asked if I’d ever heard of a play called I Love To Eat by playwright James Still. I told him I hadn’t, but that I’d be happy to read it. I was immediately swept away by the humor, the heartbreak, and the honesty of the script and the man at its epicenter. “I like it!” I told him a few days later. “That would be a great show for someone to do!” Little did I know, the leader ..read more

By Ben Gorman It all started when I was a kid in Cleveland…. All our stories begin with “Once upon a time,” our personal histories included. That’s why, deep down—even if we’ve never set foot in a theatre auditorium—we all love theatre at heart. It’s the wondrous sharing of stories—others’ stories, our own—and the best stories show us how all stories are truly our own, in some way. Poe’s “The Tell-tale Heart” is no exception. I’d first encountered it as a kid in Cleveland. Maybe my dad read it to me and my siblings, maybe I chose the tale from a volume of Poe and read it myself; I don’t recal ..read more