UNBOXED 2012 is unlike any fundraiser we’ve ever held. Dozens of local and national artists have created pieces of art inspired by our fall show BEATNIK GISELLE.
Paintings, mixed media pieces, sculpture, and more. All original, all one of a kind, and all generously donated to help support Sandbox Theatre.
We’ll have complimentary hors d’oeuvres, drinks, and those little touches of performance that make Sandbox events special. And it all goes down in one of the coolest new spots in the city, CO Exhibitions — recently named BEST ART GALLERY in City Pages.

Make a $30 donation now, or $35 at the door. Cash or VISA/MasterCard accepted for donations, and purchases!

Save the date and join us for this incredible night!

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Photo by Scott Streble

One of the strengths of Sandbox is the diversity of artistic backgrounds and disciplines from which we all work. SB Music Director Tim Donahue, one could argue, has an array of diverse backgrounds and disciplines all by himself. The man stays busy, that’s for sure. Always working, Tim’s got some fun coming up.

1.  The Eclectic Ensemble’s, Music Of The Sun project has been awarded the Community Arts Grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council for the 2012 season ( May through 1st half of Oct.) This is our 3rd year of being awarded this grant, and this season will include promotional rides and an augmented budget for guest musicians.

2. Tim was awarded a $900 grant from the Puffin Foundation for the Music Of The Night Project. Music Of The Night will be a bicycle powered sound and visual project that performs at night in the public spaces of Mpls. This project will make its way out into the public by summer 2012. Projection artists, puppeteers, people who can be visually creative with lighting are invited to contact Tim.

3. Tim is also one of five selected artists to present at The Bakken Electric Museum’s Green Energy Art Garden July 13th through 23rd ( a family friendly art event held during the Mpls. Aquatennial). Tim will design and build an interactive sound sculpture that is powered by bicycles.

4. The Eclectic Ensemble will perform as part of the May Day Parade/Festival in the Bloomtown area. Bloomtown, modeled after “transition towns”, focuses on ways communities can reduce their carbon footprint. The Eclectic Ensemble will be performing with bicycle generated power.

5. The Eclectic Ensemble will be performing at The American Swedish Inst. as part of the Northern Spark, Nuit Blanche Minneapolis June 9th, 9pm-1am.

Derek made a pair of Alan Ginsberg Munnys to be sold at our upcoming benefit (details to come). To promote the event, we took Ginsbergs young and old out on the town for some publicity shots. Here are a few that didn’t make the cut.

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I’ve spent seven years meditating on this statement, and I always arrive at the same conclusion: it is true. 

It is true because great art and great life both require great sacrifice and, ultimately, every artist will choose whether it is her art or her life which will give way to make the other preeminent.

Twenty years ago, I would easily have given my life for the sake of making great art. I never dreamed of getting married, having children, or working a ‘real’ job. Creating in the rehearsal room and performing on the stage were the only places I felt at home, the only spaces where I felt alive. My purpose and passion were completely fulfilled in producing art.

But at the age of twenty, I made a life-altering decision (which I will share in a later post)

Nicole, Michael, and Maren

that led to me getting married a year later. It quickly became clear that I needed to focus on my marriage if I wanted it to last. So I walked off the stage for a then-undetermined amount of time that turned into five years of wondering if I would ever have another artistic opportunity.

I’ve now been married for almost twelve years, have a 3-year-old daughter, and am about to give birth to a second child this summer. And I am confident that the sacrifice I made at the beginning was more than worth it. My husband and I counsel couples every year, and I am constantly reminded that great marriages require great effort. I can honestly now say that if I never stepped on stage again, but succeeded as a wife and mother, then I would have no regrets.

Yet, I am somehow, still, an artist. As a member of Sandbox Theatre, I get to participate in making great art. I personally am not great, but because I work with an ensemble, because I rely on the collaborative efforts of a group of artists, I still receive the reward of producing excellent, original, inspiring art.

And I can do all this because I have a husband who is willing to make sacrifices for me. My husband understands that I don’t need to create and perform, but that I love doing it, with this company, towards these ends. Sandbox, too, makes sacrifices for me. Sandbox, too, understands that art is my joy but my family is my life, and that I am unwilling to give up this great life for the sake of art.

So, perhaps, one could say that I am unusually blessed to have both great art and great life, the seemingly impossible coexistence of incredibly difficult realities. And it does require daily sacrifices on many sides, from many people. But I think that this group effort towards greatness, in life and in art, is what makes both so very beautiful. Neither life nor art was ever intended to exist alone.  

-Nicole Devereaux

A Sandbox ensemble member since 2010, Nicole is the co-project lead for Sandbox’s 2012 production Beatnik Giselle.

Here are a few behind the scenes shots of Shoot Day 1 of our underwater project with Rhea Pappas & Kerry Riley. Actors/Models: Kate Guentzel, Katie Bradley, Zainab Musa, Ryan Hill, and Derek Lee Miller.

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