Zealous Hellion: Andrea Jenkins
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: JANUARY 2, 2020
Media Contacts:
The PR Team, pr@mixedblood.com
Tim Komatsu, (612) 338-0937
Mixed Blood ZEALOUS HELLIONS Series Presents
ANDREA JENKINS
in conversation with Tabitha Montgomery
January 16, 2020
Mixed Blood curates on-stage conversations with iconoclastic thought leaders whose world view aligns with this theatre’s mission, vision, and values: ZEALOUS HELLIONS. A core value of Mixed Blood is to be “predictably unpredictable.” Scores of rascals, renegades, and rebels have found a home at Mixed Blood, a place where unconventional thinking and outspoken people can have a voice. 2019’s Zealous Hellions included Dessa, Oskar Eustis, Ernie Hudson, and Ilhan Omar.
On January 16, Minneapolis City Council Vice President Andrea Jenkins will take the stage in Mixed Blood’s Alan Page Auditorium for 2020’s first ZEALOUS HELLIONS offering.
Andrea is the first African American openly trans woman to be elected to office in the United States. A nationally and internationally recognized performance artist, poet, and transgender activist, Andrea received a 2011 Bush Fellowship to advance the work of transgender inclusion. She is also the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, including from the Jerome Foundation, the Napa Valley Writers Conference, the Playwrights’ Center Many Voices Fellowship and was the 2008 Givens Foundation Black Writers Fellow. She will be speaking about art, race, politics, gender, and more in conversation with Mixed Blood’s Tabitha Montgomery (herself the most zealous of hellions).
Tabitha is the Executive Director of the Powderhorn Park Neighborhood Association and currently serves on Mixed Blood’s Board of Directors. Having abandoned corporate America for the cooperative and non-profit sectors, Tabitha’s values guide her every word and act.
These two Zealous Hellions will empathize, spar, and philosophize with each other, always speaking truth to power. The alchemy of these two can only result in outrage, wisdom, and hilarity.
Andrea moved from Chicago to attend the University of Minnesota in 1979. After graduating, she worked for Hennepin County, and then as a staff member on the Minneapolis City Council for 22 years before beginning work as curator of the Transgender Oral History Project at the University of Minnesota’s Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies. Andrea holds a Masters in Community Development from Southern New Hampshire University, a MFA in Creative Writing from Hamline University, and a BA in Human Services from Metropolitan State University.
ZEALOUS HELLIONS is a project of Mixed Blood Theatre to provide the community with real-time, face-to-face conversations between artists, cultural provocateurs, politicians, and thought-leaders in an intimate setting. The program allows audiences a glimpse of a different facet of a known personality, and a refreshing pause for deeper community dialogue.
This ZEALOUS HELLIONS offering will take place on January 16 from 7:00PM and last 90 minutes. Guarantee admission for $25, become a member, or attend without charge on a first-come-first-served basis via Radical Hospitality.
For reservations or further information, call 612-338-0937 or visit https://mixedblood.com/product/zealous-hellion-andrea-jenkins/.
Upcoming ZEALOUS HELLIONS include Taylor Mac (March 17) and Tommy Barbarella (May 1).
About Mixed Blood Theatre: Using theatre as a tool to illustrate and animate, Mixed Blood models pluralism in pursuit of interconnections, shared humanity, and engaged citizenry. Mixed Blood Theatre is located at 1501 S. 4th Street, Minneapolis, MN 55454.