For Immediate Release
August 5, 2014
For TigerLion Arts: Robin Gillette
[email protected]
612-703-6168
For Arboretum:
Barb DeGroot
[email protected]
952-443-1459
Ralph Waldo Emerson descendent creates Nature
Outdoor walking play about Emerson, Thoreau and nature
at Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
When:
Where:
Tickets:
To buy:
More info:
September 12 - October 12, 2014
Full performance schedule below
MN Landscape Arboretum
3675 Arboretum Drive, Chaska, MN 55318
$25 general admission/$20 Arboretum members/$15 students
Children 12 and under admitted free
Arboretum admission included in ticket price. Guests are encouraged to
purchase tickets in advance to expedite their entry into the arboretum, but
tickets may be purchased onsite.
http://arboretum.umn.edu/WalkingPlay.aspx or 952-443-1411
www.tigerlion.org/nature
(Minneapolis, MN) TigerLion Arts and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum present Nature,
the mythic telling of Emerson and Thoreau’s mutual love affair with the natural world. Nature
is performed outdoors as a “walking play.” A professional ensemble of actors takes the
audience on a journey through the natural environment as scenes unfold around them.
Bagpipes, ancient flutes, drums and rich choral arrangements are intricately woven into the
script with compositions by Dick Hensold (2006 Bush Artist Fellow).
1300 US Trust Building, 730 2nd Ave South, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 55402
P: (612) 770-8372 F: (612) 752-1780 E: [email protected] W: www.tigerlion.org
Nature is an extraordinary, family-friendly experience that co-mingles story, spirit, and
nature, as a means to reconnect its audience with the natural world. A version of this show
was presented at the arboretum in 2010.
This original work is collaboratively created with Twin Cities writer/actor/producer Tyson
Forbes, a direct descendent of Ralph Waldo Emerson. Forbes says, “I have always felt
honored to be an Emerson descendent. I feel an intimate responsibility to his lineage, and for
years I have imagined a play that could bring his spirit and teachings, along with that of his
friend and fellow author Henry David Thoreau, to a broader audience. When I read their
work, I find answers to burning questions on how to live my life more deeply and responsibly
in this world. They were both radicals of their time, calling on their peers to think for
themselves and be agents of change. I believe their words and ideas are as necessary now as
they were then.”
The cast of ten actors includes John Catron as Thoreau (named Best Actor 2014 by City Pages
and seen locally at the Guthrie Theater, Jungle Theater, Frank Theater and many others);
Kimberly Richardson (Ten Thousand Things, Open Eye Figure Theater, Children's Theatre
Company); Norah Long (Guthrie Theater, Skylark Opera, Chanhassen Dinner Theater,
Nautilus Music-Theater). Tyson Forbes (Guthrie Theater, Ordway, Jungle Theater and
multiple TigerLion Arts productions) also appears in the show as Emerson. Full cast list and
bios are available at http://tigerlion.org/nature/cast.php.
"We are delighted to welcome back TigerLion Arts and present a wonderful new staging of
the Nature walking play," said Dr. Ed Schneider, Arboretum director. "There's something
magical about enjoying live theater in the great outdoors."
The play will take place in the Arboretum's Johanna Frerichs Garden for Wildlife, a rolling,
open grassy expanse traversed by paved walkways and landscaped with interesting native
trees and demonstration plantings. It is located on the Arboretum's Three-Mile Drive.
Audiences are encouraged to come early to visit the arboretum grounds. Grab-and-go meals
will be available at the café in the Oswald Visitors Center, so guests can picnic on the grounds
and enjoy pre-show music before the performance begins.
More about TigerLion Arts
TigerLion Arts, founded and led by director Markell Kiefer and Tyson Forbes, is a
Minneapolis-based production company with a mission to celebrate human wisdom and the
spirit of nature through creative works that awaken, inform, and delight. Since 2009,
TigerLion Arts has touched thousands nationwide with four original productions: The
Buddha Prince (2009), a walking play about the life of the Dalai Lama, which was performed
in New York City's Central Park; Nature (2010), the outdoor telling of Emerson and Thoreau's
mutual love affair with the natural world; KIPO! (2011), a circus of spirit, song and dance
from Tibet, which was the official arts component of the Dalai Lama's 2011 Minnesota visit,
and The Dragons are Singing Tonight (2012), a musical based on the book of children's poetry
by Jack Prelutsky, created in collaboration with Circus Juventas and Minnesota Boychoir.
More about Minnesota Landscape Arboretum
The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, a top visitor attraction in the metro area, comprises
more than 1,200 acres of gardens and tree collections, prairie and woods and miles of trails. A
premier northern garden, the Arboretum was borne out of the University of Minnesota
Horticultural Research Center and established in 1958. The Arboretum is part of the College
of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.
Open 363 days a year, the Arboretum encompasses 28 display gardens and 45 plant
collections, as well as several sustainable landscaping models. Visitors can enjoy recreational
trails for cross-country skiing, snowshoeing and hiking. For more information, visit
www.arboretum.umn.edu or call 952-443-1400.
Performances
Friday, Sept 12 at 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept 13 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept 14 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, Sept 18 at 5:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept 19 at 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept 20 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept 21 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, Sept 25 at 5:00 p.m.
Friday, Sept 26 at 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Sept 27 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, Sept 28 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, Oct 2 at 5:00 p.m.
Friday, Oct 3 at 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Oct 4 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, Oct 5 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Thursday, Oct 9 at 5:00 p.m.
Friday, Oct 10 at 5:00 p.m.
Saturday, Oct 11 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
Sunday, Oct 12 at 1:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m.
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