Latest News

• TTT Honored with Best of Awards
  

  City Pages' Best Small Theater - 2010
  "Ten Thousand Things has a singular mission - play to audiences that usually don't have a chance to see theater - and they attack it with gusto. The company performs at prisons, shelters, and community centers. The approach makes for a singular experience for the theater veteran as well. No sets. Minimal props. House lights that stay on throughout the performance. And there's nothing gimmicky about the productions, which hone the theatrical experience to its raw, thrilling core. Ten Thousand Things topped itself at the end of 2009 with a triumphant reading of Othello that showed that Shakespeare can speak to any audience, from the prisoners who live in a world of conflict, jealousy, and violence to the jaded theatergoer not used to seeing the Bard brought home in such a direct, honest way. The company never stops challenging, be it with Endgame, Raskol, the more recent Stones in His Pockets, or the upcoming My Fair Lady. (Yes, that My Fair Lady.)"
  
  City Pages' Best Director - 2010
  "Ten Thousand Things' Michelle Hensley gets a lot of (deserved) attention for her theater's mission to bring art to disenfranchised audiences (viewing a TTT production in a prison or rehab facility is nothing less than mind-expanding and ennobling). But the drive of that mission shouldn't eclipse the consistently stellar standards of TTT's work, much of it under Hensley's direction. She took on Kira Obolensky's thorny Raskol, a Dostoevsky adaptation that captured the jingle-jangle rhythms of Crime and Punishment and the riot inside the title character's mind. Later in 2009 she co-directed (with Sonja Parks) a production of Othello that was lauded as precise, moving, and full of life. Hensley's art is every bit as admirable as her good works, and her craft as a director puts her among a handful of the best.

• Othello is TTT's Best-Selling Show Yet!
  

  Ten Thousand Things Theater’s season opener, Othello, was the company’s best-selling show in its 16-year history. Every free and paid performance sold out (except for Halloween!). “It’s thrilling to start the year with a show both critics and audiences from all walks of life loved,” says Artistic Director Michelle Hensley.

  The run of Othello include an extra weekend of public performances two performances at correctional facilities in Duluth, made possible by a grant from Theatre Communications Group.

• More Performances!
  

  This summer Ten Thousand Things was awarded a major grant from Theatre Communication Group to add one additional week to all of our productions the next two seasons. Three of the shows will be for our paying audiences at Open Book and Minnesota Opera Center; the other two shows will expand TTT’s reach to outside the metro area with tours to such locations as Duluth, Silver Bay, and Willmar.

• A Growing Year
  

  TTT has celebrated growth in its last three seasons - despite challenging economic times!. Earned income jumped more than 15%, and My Fair Lady became the company’s best-selling show ever with almost all our shows selling out last season. Our donor base grew by 10%, and we have raised over $200,000 for our Things for Artists Campaign. We applaud our audience members and donors for their commitment to the work we do and look forward to sharing a fabulous 2010-11 season with each of you.

Media Contact

Kathy Graves
Parenteau Graves Communications
612.928.7003