There Is No Going Back To “Normal” — What To Expect From Theater Mu
And just like that, it’s the first of the month again! For some, June zoomed on, stealing any remaining sense of normalcy. For most, the month was intense, laborious, and electric — and demanded that business not go back to usual. With all the social media activism, one-on-one conversations, and national demonstrations ignited by the Black Lives Matter movement, it’s unfathomable for us to consider a return to “business as usual.” June has shown us that “usual” hasn’t worked for Black and Indigenous people, people of color, and other marginalized communities for a long time.
As a theater company, it’s tough for us to encourage you to stay home and prevent further spread of the virus—we long for the day we can gather and share stories in person again. It’s even more difficult that so many of our Mu family are facing unemployment, lack of insurance, and uncertainty about the state of their well-being. But staying home is the right thing to do, and we are choosing to use this time to focus our attention on the state of our art, our minds, and our society.
After 13 weeks of uninterrupted programming, our staff had the privilege to take a week off to recharge and reflect on the steps we’ve taken and what to do next. Below is an ever-changing, incomplete list of our ideas, desires, and tactics to decolonize our work, fight against anti-blackness, and build solidarity — all while attempting to maintain a more manageable work-life balance.
We’ve loved connecting with you virtually, so we’ll continue Mu-tini Hour, Mu Mondays, and Family Explorations, but at a different cadence. Instead of occurring on a weekly basis, they will occur throughout our season. Many events will be more like theater, and as always we’re exploring new ways to bring you the highest quality virtual programming possible.
As a way to celebrate Black voices and Black/Asian solidarity, we’re bringing Black and Asian playwrights together to co-write short plays responding to the current events in the Twin Cities. We'll perform them LIVE at Mu-tini Hour on July 17. More info coming soon.
As always, we’ll continue our PAY AS YOU ARE pricing to ensure everyone has access to Mu programming.
Knowing that Black liberation means liberation for all, we will use our social media platforms to amplify Black voices and art alongside the Asian American voices we’ve been sharing for years.
We’ll become better at acknowledging the Indigenous land we occupy and how best to return the resources we take from it.
Our content and website will be as accessible as possible for our blind, deaf, and hard-of-hearing audiences.
We’ll continue to work remotely for the health and safety of ourselves and others.
We've never been huge fans of hierarchy, so we’ll continue creating a safe work environment that ensures staff and artists are empowered to speak up and heard when they do so.
Knowing that we can always do better, we remain open to input, including feedback, criticism, and education. We commit to listening, examining, and thoughtfully responding.
Your support is more critical than ever to help ensure Theater Mu can continue to deliver programs and events that illuminate unheard voices and stories from our community and begin the process of healing and unification. If you are able, please make a donation today to support Mu and begin to build our better world together.