about
OFF-LEASH AREA
25 years in the twin cities community
MISSION & VISION
MISSIONOff-Leash Area’s mission is to create and present original cross-disciplinary and risk-taking productions and programming, throughout the Twin Cities metro area, through which we enrich our local community and nurture independent voices within the performing arts.
VISIONOLA’s vision is to continue to push artistic boundaries and expand its capacity to guide, nurture, and sustain independent, often marginalized local artists throughout their careers. OLA is committed to sowing unity within our community by providing a platform for artistic inclusivity and ingenuity, building a stronger, and more sustainable arts community.
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HISTORY
Off-Leash Area was founded in Minneapolis in 1999 and creates original interdisciplinary performance work.
Named after the public parks where dogs run untethered, OLA’s creative approach is likewise playful, crosses boundaries, and takes risks. The company is led by co-artistic directors Paul Herwig, visual and theater artist, and Jennifer Ilse, director and dance artist. In its 25 years OLA has created 35 original performance works, been commissioned by the Walker Art Center, the O’Shaughnessey, taught classes in Inverted Dance, workshops in Performance & Scenic Design, and collaborated with an ever growing community of the Twin Cities’ most exciting performance makers. Current OLA programs include: presenting its MainStage Productions in Minneapolis venues, MicroStage Productions in their own home/studio Our Garage, the Neighborhood Garage Tour which brings performance work directly into neighborhoods, and the Off-Kilter Cabaret, serving artists with disabilities. Always looking for new ways to support the community. Off-Leash Area launched its own performance space, The Off-Leash Art Box, to provide badly needed inexpensive rental rehearsal and performance space for independent, and emerging performing artists. Community programming at the Art Box inlcluded a choreographers' evening called Inbox & Outbox, produced with Hauss Dance, and Bark!Art! a neighborhood festival of art and dogs! The Art Box closed in 2020 as a result of financial hardship brought on by the COVID pandemic, and a significant lack of State or Municipal support for small arts organizations. OLA is committed to uphold the transformative power of the live performance experience, trusting in the intelligence and capability of its audience to follow them on each new journey of the imagination. Our work often centers on a central character who resides in a marginalized place in society – a combat veteran, an immigrant child, a young woman suffering the onset of mental illness – and builds an experiential visual journey around this character that is uniquely presented, and universally recognizable. The focus on the individual in face of societal and life obstacles creates an intensely compressed emotional space between artist and audience. This is a space where artistic creativity is maximized in order to venture into unique performative dimensions where anything is possible, and a naturalistic presentation of everyday reality and the normal passage of time gives way to an out of body experience, which many audiences have described as contemplative, dreamy, otherworldly, and even spiritual. If there is any one theme that runs through all our work it is a belief in the resilience of the individual human spirit as it seeks to achieve growth and fulfillment in the face of personal and societal barriers. In recent years Off-Leash Area has embraced an all-abilities approach to performance making and presenting, forwarding a belief that all bodies should be seen on stage. |
HERE IS THE COMMUNITY OF ARTISTS WHO HAVE WORKED WITH US OVER OUR FIRST 25 YEARS:
* - indicates multiple times we've worked together
PERFORMERS, DANCERS & ACTORS Adena Brumer Adri Mehra Alison Preston Amber Ellison Andi Cheney Ashleigh Penrod Becky Heist Brently Micheal Davis *Brian Evans Brianna Rivet Bryan Gerber Carla Murphy Cathy Oman Choulette Evers *Christine Macginnis Citlalitl De Leon Dana Buchwald Darrius Strong David P Schneider Delta Giordano *Diane Aldis Emily Randa Erin Ditmarson Erin Drummond Erin Liebhard *Esther Ouray Evelyn Digirolamo *Gabriel Rodreick Gabrielle Garcia Gemma Isaacson Gerry Girouard Gregory Parks *Heather Bunch Heather Klopchin Isabelle Morris Jaime Kleiman James Kennedy Jeffrey Bleam *Jennifer Mack Jerome Barnes *Jesse Neumann Peterson *Jesse Schmitz Boyd *Jim Lieberthal *Jodi Hodgeson Jody Blindauer John C. Heimbuch John Munger John Zeiler Jordan Klitzke Joseph Bryan Crook Joseph Wurm Josh Scrimshaw *Judith Howard Julie Scott Julie Warder *Kaori Kenmotsu *Karla Grotting Katherine Griffis Katherine Sullivan Kathryn Andersom *Katie Kaufmann Kisha Richburg *Kym Longhi Larissa Shea Larry Pontius Laurie White Lindsey Cacich Samples Lisa Conlin Marian Kimball Eichinger Marie Scholtz Megan O'Dell Michael Cohn Michelle DiMeo Mimi Holland Misty Bremmer Morgen Chang Nancy Nair Nieya Azmequita Nina Ebbighausen Non Edwards Parisha Rajbhandari Pat McManus Paulino Brenner Pedro Fonseca Penelope Freeh Rachel Lieberman Raymond Terrill Rebecca Surmont Renee Howard Rhoda Bloch Sally Rousse Sher Demeter Sophie Breitag Taja Will *Taous Claire Khazem Teresa Mock Vanessa Voskuil Virginia Krubsack *Zeb Henderson Shreve COMPOSERS (Jennifer often uses composers, Paul does not) Dameun Strange *Ben Siems *Criag Harris *Gabriel Rodreick (Freaque) *Marc Doty Nick Olson (Headtriiip) Phil Kalar *Reid Kruger LIGHTING DESIGNERS Heidi Eckwall *Jenny Moeller Julia Carlis Kevin Jones *Mike Grogan *Paul Epton Tom Barrett WRITERS (we often don't use text) Coco Mault *Dominic Orlando *Marcie Rendon *Max Sparber COSTUMERS (we've often done our own costumes) *Candy Kuehn Jeanne Artzen *Kym Longhi melancholy (sometimes) Pistachio Creampie Sonja Berlovitz SET DESIGN CONTRIBUTORS (we do the majority of our own scenic design) Jeffrey Morrison Jerrod Grohs Shari Nyman 23 BOARD MEMBERS AND SPECIAL ADVISORS * denotes current *Ann Badami-Williams (chair) Barb Spies Chaim Teitelbaum *Chris Hoppe Dave Sheppard David O’Fallon Douglas DeMers Gwen Vahl Jenell Jacobson Justin Bausch Laura Taken Holtz Mary White Michael Cohn Mike Gottschalk Nancy Haberdank Pat McManus Polly Carl Ray Terrill Robert Borman Scott Pakudaitis Sears Eldgredge *Shanan Tolzin Sheila Path McMahon Siana Goodwin Stefanie Galey Torre Erdahl DIRECTORS, OUTSIDE-EYES Christine Maginnis *Gerry Giroaurd *Kym Longhi *Sears Eldgredge |
