Pangea World Theater illuminates the human condition, celebrates cultural differences, and promotes human rights by creating and presenting international, multi-disciplinary theater.
Theater Overview
Pangea’s first production was in 1996. Since then 95 artists from multiple disciplines including visual arts, music, choreography, and performance have participated in a process of synergistic collaboration which we employ throughout our international repertoire.
Our productions have included in 1996 an adaptation of Farid Ud-din Attar’s Conference of the Birds by Meena Natarajan, in 1997 an adaptation of Li-Young Lee’s memoir The Winged Seed by poet and playwright David Mura, and The Inner World, an adaptation of classical Indian poems, which included choreography by Anita Ratnam.
Pangea deals with a range of literature – ancient and contemporary. Pangea produced Playland by South African playwright, Athol Fugard, an original adaptation of Rashomon from Ruynosuke Akutagawa’s short stories, and Sophocle’s Ajax.
We created a unique production in 1998 called Freedom Songs with seventeen artists from multiple ethnicities and artistic disciplines, celebrating the power of the artists’ voice in transforming society. The work honored U Sam Oeur, poet and survivor of the Cambodian Holocaust.
In 1999, we created a new play called Bearing Witness which coincided with the war in Kosovo, about the destruction of war and the refugees who suffer the consequences of war.
At Pangea, we consistently utilize diverse casts for all our productions, and strive to bring a truly global and universally accessible literature to the theater. Our conviction is that when actors from all different backgrounds come together to create, a new dynamic of cooperation and dialogue comes to life.
Goals
- Present international theatrical works with artistic excellence.
- Nurture the excellence of local and regional talent.
- Create new international and multiethnic theatrical works: original plays and adaptations of existing works.
- Engage in collaborative creation that involves writers, the director, actors, and other theatrical artists, whether in the process of presenting existing works or in the creation of new works.
- Foster a multiethnic audience.
- Practice multiethnic casting.
- Create an international exchange of artists who are masters in their field.
- Foster the discussion of issues related to our mission and to the works we present.
- Foster coalitions and cosponsorships with other organizations, whether they are based in the arts, social services, ethnic communities, economics, or politics.
Demographics
Pangea’s multi-ethnic productions and choice of literature originating from all parts of the world consistently attracts a multi-ethnic community. We have served nearly 12,000 audience members through 10 productions since 1996. Of these well over 2,000 have been students. We continue to develop our relationship to our communities and track their responses to our work.
In Minnesota where around 17% of the population is people of color, our productions regularly draw audiences of more than 30% people of color.
