Sketches of Minnesota: A Civic Comedy Tour Photos
Thank you to everyone that came out to see Sketches of Minnesota: A Civic Comedy Tour.
The Danger Boat team collected stories in each of the ten communities they visited in the 2024 tour. Last night's show was a scripted (mostly) performance that reflects some of what we heard and learned across our state.
Looking Ahead: Second Tour Announcement!
We are excited to announce the second tour of Sketches of Minnesota! If you're interested in having the tour visit your town, applications will open this spring. Watch for the announcement on the Minnesota Humanities Center website or join our mailing list for updates. For more information, feel free to reach out to us or Minnesota Humanities Center. Our team would love to connect with you!
Sketches of Minnesota
In 2024, Danger Boat Productions and the Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) launched Sketches of Minnesota, a first-of-its-kind initiative to bring communities together through facilitated story sharing and improv comedy.
Following an open application process, ten towns across the state were selected for the initial tour: Winona, West. St. Paul, Duluth, Glencoe, Emily, Waite Park-St. Cloud, Morris, Little Falls, Austin, and International Falls.
In each town, the Sketches team worked with local partners to recruit a diverse cross section of the community to participate. At each event, participants would gather for a free community meal and a facilitated conversation, using a simple framework devised by MHC. MHC-trained facilitators would provide ground rules for small group discussions and then ask attendees to take turns discussing four questions with others at their tables:
What is something great about your town and community that people elsewhere might not know about?
What is something you think people who are not from your community often get wrong about it?
What divisions or conflicts do you perceive among your neighbors that are concerning to you, and why?
What do you imagine for the future of your town?
At each table, Danger Boat cast members were listening in on these conversations. Following dinner, they used what they heard as inspiration for an entirely unscripted improv comedy show, reflecting back to participants what they had said about their community: good, bad, and complicated.
After the performance, MHC’s Director of Civic Renewal, Trygve Throntveit, facilitated a “talkback” with participants, ensuring that participants themselves had the final word on their stories’ interpretation.
About Danger Boat Productions
Danger Boat Productions uses improv and theater to connect people with issues, ideas, and each other. Co-founded by Tane Danger and Brandon Boat, they create shows, workshops, and unique projects that make learning and civic engagement fun for diverse audiences. Sketches of Minnesota is just one of their ways of bringing people together across divides using thoughtful conversation and hilarious (hopefully) comedy.
About Minnesota Humanities Center
The Minnesota Humanities Center (MHC) collaborates with individuals, organizations, and communities to bring transformational humanities programming into the lives of Minnesotans throughout the state. Using story as a catalyst, MHC creates, produces, and supports projects and programs exploring and celebrating the myriad ways Minnesotans give meaning to their world. Founded in 1971, MHC, an independent nonprofit, is Minnesota’s exclusive affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities. MHC is also a grantmaking organization and operates a full-service event center in a historic building on St. Paul’s East Side.