THE CAPITOL PLAY PROJECT, 2018, MINNESOTA STATE CAPITOL BUILDING (PHOTO CREDIT: LINDSAY MARCY)
What is this community?
Civil servants, building maintenance crews, security, lobbyists, researchers, reporters, citizens activists and advocates are at work everyday, trying to make the state work for as many people as possible. Behind the doors, beyond the politics, there are people driven by idealism, hampered by bureaucracy, and trying their best.
“Crisis happens everyday, and government deals with it—whether or not the crisis is happening to you.”
‘expert’, The capitol Play Project
Coming Up
Five years ago, Wonderlust brought an audience to the Capitol for a play we created called Our House. We lead you all over the building and into some thorny issues and ended in the rotunda to sing out in one voice, “Who’s House?!? Our House!” The play was originally created from hundreds of true stories told by state workers, advocates, and others who have devoted their lives to making government work for people–often in non-partisan ways and even when politics makes that hard to do. Since that time, the issues of access to power and equity that the play addressed and the important role that good (or bad) government plays in our life have become even more present in all our lives.
Now, we’re reviving the play for a podcast. It’s co-produced with former MPR reporter and Minnesota’s Society of Professional Journalists 2020 Journalist of the Year Marianne Combs.
We will use the scenes from the play as a catalyst for real conversations with people in the Capitol community, like you. The podcast will be a unique combination of audio drama (and comedy) that leads directly into honest conversations about some of the unseen, often ignored forces and considerations at the Capitol.
Tune in for the first episodes in April 2023.
Art We’ve Made
Our House: The Capitol Play Project
OUR HOUSE was performed live at Minnesota’s State Capitol January 19-28, 2018.
PLAY SYNOPSIS: When a wild card new Governor is elected, the regular order on the state Capitol campus is thrown into chaos. While a chorus of activists, legislators, lobbyists, civil servants, and tour guides attempt to get their way, an idealistic new employee finds herself at the center of an unexpected controversy. Misunderstandings and mistaken identity lead to a crash course in the realities that both constrain and inspire the men and women who have devoted themselves to public service (inside a building brimming with idealism, cynicism, absurdity, significance, and power—plus more than a few old ghosts who have something to say).
COLLABORATORS
♦ denotes Capitol community member
