Gustavus Adolphus College

Jordan Klitzke '10 (photo by Amy McMullan '10)

by Amy McMullan '10

Since its founding, the Minnesota Fringe Festival has featured the work of Gustavus Adolphus College community members and this year is no exception. A number of performances will feature the work of Gusties, including the Gustavus Department of Theatre and Dance presentation of Keiko Kasza's A Mother for Choco (& other Mother Stories).

To celebrate this ongoing feat at the 11-day Fringe, the Gustavus Department of Theatre and Dance hosts a reception at the Bedlam Theatre (1501 S. 6th St, Minneapolis) at 9 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 1. Alumni, parents, students, friends, and family are invited to attend.

"I'm tremendously excited for the Fringe Festival reception," said student Andrea Gullixson '10. "It's a great opportunity for past and present members of the Gustavus theatre and dance community to connect with each other and bond over the experiences they've had at Gustavus. I hope that we can share our experiences of our theatrical journeys."

"It's always important to make connections and meet people in the close knit community of theatre and dance. It should be especially rewarding to get to know Gustavus alumni who have been down a similar path," said student Jordan Klitzke '10.

Individuals may attend the Gustavus reception whether they attend the show A Mother for Choco or not, but below are more details on the Gustavus production.

Created for the stage by Professor Amy Seham with Anne Sawyer-Aitch, this show will delight children through colorful characters and puppets, amuse adults with a humorous adaptation, and enlighten all through its important message.

The story is about a little bird, Choco, who is searching for his mother and encounters different animals. Choco asks different animals "Are you my mother?" until Mrs. Bear responds by asking, "Well, what would a mother do? What would you need a mother to be?"

This story is especially important to the adoption community, as it addresses the mother-child relationships. "It can be a big issue for an adopted child when he or she does not look like his or her mother and it's an issue that [adopted] children can be confused about," Seham said. This theme is especially important to Seham who has an adopted child from China.

A group of Gustavus students have been involved in every aspect of Choco's creation. In addition to acting in the play, students involved in the production have gained hands-on experience creating puppets, building sets and costumes, and producing the script.

"When working on the show, it's not just the efforts of one person that makes it come together. But it's the cooperation and collaboration of everyone giving their time that allows a creative production to come to life," Gullixson said.

Choco performances will be:

• Saturday, Aug. 1 at 4 p.m.
• Sunday, Aug. 2 at 1 p.m.
• Tuesday, Aug. 4 at 5:30 p.m.
• Friday, Aug. 7 at 5:30 p.m.
• Saturday, Aug. 8 at 2:30 p.m.

Performances will be at the University of Minnesota Rarig Center Xperimental theater, located at 330 21st Ave. S., Minneapolis.

To see the complete schedule of the Minnesota Fringe Festival or for more information, visit http://www.fringefestival.org/2009/.