The Southern Season Will See a Mix of New and Old in 2019-2020

The Southern Theater kicked off 2019 at Indeed Brewing last week, announcing plans for the upcoming season. "We will be opening the Southern Theater doors a little wider starting in 2019," says Acting Executive Director Janette Davis. The Southern which will begin with a pre-season from January-August 2019, then move to a full season in the fall of 2019 through summer 2020, will expand to include more options for artists and companies who want to perform under the historic arch.

The venue has been almost exclusively ARTshare programming since ARTshare launched in 2015. While The Southern will still curate a shared revenue program, groups and organizations that prefer a more traditional model will also have an opportunity to present their work. "Our goal for 2019-2020 is to reacquaint the community with The Southern," says Davis, "expanding to a wider variety of performers while still carving out a niche for artists who are in the process of growing their work."

2019 and the pre-season starts off with some familiar faces. Prime Time Balls, January 10-12, will be a celebration of 25 years of BALLS Cabaret at The Southern. Three star-filled evenings of Balls Cabaret alumni present a different show each night with performers that will include Aby Wolf, Mary Jo Pehl, Ben San Del, Norah Long, Ari Hoptman, Kaleena Miller and more exciting revels to come.

The Jungle Theater will make The Southern it's home away from home as it reprises its immensely popular production of pulitzer prize finalist The Wolves January 31-February 17.

The launch of the 2019-2020 season will include a new program series called AMPLIFY, giving underrepresented stories an artistic platform where they can share their work, thanks to an Arts Access Grant from the MN state Arts Board. "The Arts Access grant will allow us to partner with 3-4 artists and organizations that have important stories to tell, but may not have access to a venue where they can share their work," says Davis. "We are thrilled to receive this grant and get the program underway." AMPLIFY will also include an education component; something the Southern has not tackled until now.

The Southern will also be adding special mini-programs this year that educate, inform and broaden the Southern's reach to artist, audience and community. This includes showcase evenings, new works in progress and various outreach and community engagement programs.

ARTShare will continue as a membership program that supports The Southern and provides members with tickets and reduced rates to shows and guest presenters throughout the season. Those who want to sign up for an ARTshare membership in January get one free ticket per membership to The Wolves presented by The Jungle Theater.

Tickets and more information can be found at www.southerntheater.org