With the autumn colours in full swing, there’s still time to soak up the season’s beauty on the Fall Sound Garden, a pop-up music and movement installation that takes place within the woods. You can even see colours onstage, on the Minnesota International Dance Festival, where the colours of Mexico will function a theme for dance and performance. Meanwhile, with Halloween approaching, get into the mood with the premiere of Michael Thomsen’s film, “Tethered to the Ether,” coming to the PNA Hall. Also this week, Mark Mallman and Stranger Gallery hit Hook & Ladder, Six Points Theater celebrates the primary two female Supreme Court justices, and artist Syed Hosain sits down with Ruthann Godollei at SooVAC, where Hosain’s impactful work is currently on view.
Minnesota International Dance Festival: Los Colores de México
Dancer/choreographers Carmen Lucia Lincoln and Erika Martin, co-founders of Dance Projects by ME, have big plans for his or her newly created Minnesota International Dance Festival. Every year, they plan to spotlight a unique “host” country in the course of the run of its festival, with performances, workshops and community exchange. The inaugural event highlights Mexico. Dance Projects by Me will reprise an excerpt of a performance first shown earlier this yr on the Southern Theater called “Migration Stories.” Mexican folkloric troupes Los Alegres Bailadores and Mexico Lindo will even show work together with Houston-based choreographer Alexis Zanety, who focuses on contemporary and Afro-Mexican/Cuban dance, and native dance and performance artist Margaret Ogas. Performances take Friday, Oct. 20, and Saturday, Oct. 21, at 7:30 p.m. ($25) with an off-the-cuff showcase and artist panel on Saturday, Oct. 21, at 1:30 p.m. on the Southern Theater (pay as able). More information here.
Mark Mallman and Stranger Gallery
The theatrical charisma of rocker Mark Mallman has a way of igniting a room. With high energy, poetic lyrics and a danceable beat, Mallman all the time brings in a superb show. Also try the goth-tinged emotion of Stranger Gallery on this double bill of local, full-hearted music. Friday, Oct. 20, 8 p.m. doors, 9 p.m. music at Hook & Ladder ($15 advance, $20 door). More information here.
Michael Thomsen: ‘Tethered to the Ether’ Film Screening & Art Exhibit
Sculpture and installation artist Michael Thomsen spent the past 8 years working on his self-funded film, “Tethered to the Ether,” a couple of woman trapped between the world of the living and the dead. Love, limbo and magic converge amidst Thomsen’s visual world constructing. Besides a screening of the event, Thomsen shall be sharing handmade props, masks, and artwork he created for the project, which shall be shown alongside a slide show of behind-the-scenes set photography by Denny Park. Friday, Oct. 20, 6 p.m. doors, 7:30 p.m. screening at PNA Hall. More information here.
Fall Sound Garden
Head to the woods for music, dance, and poetry as a part of the quarterly Sound Garden event. The location-specific installation series is tailored for every season, with music composed by James Everest, plus dance, history, sculptures, and a live roving musical accompaniment by the Free Range Orchestra & Choir. Saturday, Oct. 21, from 1 to 4 p.m. on the Wargo Nature Center in Lino Lakes (free, reservations required). More information here.
Sisters in Law
Six Points Theater highlights the complex friendship between the primary Supreme Court justices who were women — Sandra Day O’Connor, who began serving in 1981, and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, whose term began in 1993. The 2 firebrands didn’t all the time see eye to eye, but shared a typical vision for ladies’s rights. Laura Stearns directs the play, written by Jonathan Shapiro based on Linda R. Hirshman’s book. Laura Esping and Patty Mathews tackle the 2 powerhouses. Saturday, Oct. 21, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Oct. 22, at 1 p.m. and seven p.m., through Nov. 5 ($26-40). More information here.
Artists in Conversation with Syed Hosain and Ruthann Godollei
Two thoughtful, intelligent artists sit down for a discussion about art, life and Hosain’s recent body of labor featured in “EYES THEY SEA,” on view at SooVAC. Syed Hosain, a former mentee of Ruthann Godollei, shares together with her a political bent to his work, one which’s powered by a decisive emotional language. Hosain created the works — which layer found media along with his abstract, dizzyingly expressive work with paint. Among the many works are ghostly portraits with flattened features. There are also chaotic pieces, where symbolic images emerge from layered thick paint. The works speak to Minneapolis’ unrest after the murder of George Floyd, the experience of the pandemic and our disrupted world. Sunday, Oct. 22, from 3 to 4 p.m. at SooVAC. More information here.