Fall is packed with fearless art at Open Eye! From the punk-rock power of LIZZIE: The Rock Musical to brand-new plays by local voices, hands-on puppet workshops, and a chance to apply for our next PUPPET LAB cohort, this month’s newsletter is bursting with creative opportunities, and community celebration!

From the joy of summer puppetry in our Driveway Tour to bold new stories on stage, there’s something for everyone at Open Eye! Explore our 2025–2026 season, apply to join our next Puppet Lab cohort, experience the magic of Fringe, and sign up for a puppetry workshop—all in this month’s update!

Summer is sizzling with Open Eye magic! From backyard puppet adventures and outdoor festivals to improv nights and milestone celebrations, there’s wonder around every corner. Catch a Driveway Tour performance near you, explore hands-on workshops with Full Moon Puppet Arts, and get ready for SWEET SONGS & FLYING OBJECTS—our joyful festival of live music and puppetry!

Next week is bursting with Open Eye magic! On Thursday, June 12, we’ll celebrate 25 years of transformative art at the Open Eye Ball: Silver Jubilee—an unforgettable evening of performance and community support! But the fun starts earlier: our summer Driveway Tour kicks off this Thursday with THE ADVENTURES OF KATIE TOMATIE, and there are just four chances left to catch Bart Buch’s hauntingly beautiful ODE TO WALT WHITMAN, closing June 8. Plus, don’t miss the launch of Full Moon Puppet Arts’ new workshop series for puppet and mask artists!

Spring into a season of bold artistry and community connection at Open Eye! Don’t miss the opening of PUPPET LAB this weekend, where emerging puppeteers debut daring new works, or ODE TO WALT WHITMAN, a poetic, wordless tribute to two queer literary icons later this month. Celebrate 25 years of transformative art at our Open Eye Ball: Silver Jubilee and bring neighbors together with a summer Driveway Tour show. This spring is full of opportunities to experience and support eye-opening local theatre!

There are so many ways to connect with Open Eye! Host a Driveway Tour performance in your community or audition to be a puppeteer. Plus, don’t miss Walking Shadow Theatre Company’s WITCH, a show celebrating the Cherokee language by Z Puppets, new work by PUPPET LAB artists, our Silver Jubilee celebration, and more. Support eye-opening art in our community!

Our production of INVISIBLE FENCES, a celebration of Disability Culture created and performed by Gaelynn Lea and Kevin Kling, opens this Thursday! Thank you to everyone who joined us for the nearly sold out run of Frank Theatre’s SANCTUARY CITY as part of our Guest Artist Series last month. Apply now to host a Driveway Tour puppet show in your community this summer or audition to perform! Save the date for our Open Eye Ball fundraiser, and more. We look forward to seeing you soon!

The new year has already brought many opportunities, and more than a few new challenges. Open Eye intends to meet these challenges the way we always have: by being a proud and unapologetic ally to all the artists and audiences who have made our theatre a part of their lives in the Twin Cities – a place to share stories, hear new voices, and come to understand our individual journeys a little better. We are grateful to you all for your encouragement, support, and advocacy.

In the face of calls to shut down discussion, visibility, and access, we continue to keep our eyes, hearts, and minds joyfully open! Join us for Frank Theatre’s SANCTUARY CITY as part of our Guest Artist Series this month; our production of INVISIBLE FENCES, a celebration of Disability Culture in March; and apply to host a Driveway Tour puppet show in your community this summer. See you soon!

Happy New Year! 2025 is our Silver Jubilee, and throughout the year we’ll be sharing milestones that celebrate our first 25 years of opening eyes, hearts, and minds with innovative theater in the Twin Cities! Thanks to our incredible community’s support, we not only surpassed our year-end fundraising goal, but also closed the year with sold-out performances of SCROOGE IN ROUGE! The excitement continues this month with Hinterhands Puppet Company and Frank Theatre joining us for our Guest Artist Series, and we're gearing up for our Mainstage production of INVISIBLE FENCES in March. We can't wait to see you at Open Eye soon!

The holiday season is here! SCROOGE IN ROUGE opened to back-to-back sold out houses this weekend, delighting audiences with hilarious antics. Join us for HOLIDAY HAM later this month, a night of original music by Josef Evans to benefit the theatre. Learn about our new cohort of PUPPET LAB residency artists, and more!

Thank you to everyone who joined us for our spine-tingling production of BROOMSTICK, featuring Cheryl Willis! Our season powers ahead with FULL MOON PUPPET SHOW performing for three nights only next week. And then, get ready for the hilarious holiday hit, SCROOGE IN ROUGE, back on our stage later this month. Join Open Eye for unique and unforgettable performances in November and support our creative community this Give to the Max Day!

Our season continues with our spine-tingling production of BROOMSTICK, opening next week! Learn about our PUPPET LAB artist residency and workshops, a rowdy adult puppetry slam, the return of our holiday hit SCROOGE IN ROUGE, and more. Join Open Eye for a season filled with quirky fun and unforgettable performances!

We just wrapped up a beautiful summer full of Driveway Tour performances around the Twin Cities and now we’re gearing up to launch our 2024 – 2025 Mainstage Season with MOONWATCHERS this week! Learn about upcoming FULL MOON PUPPET SHOW Workshops, a frightfully fun fall show, and more coming soon!

Get ready for an amazing 2024 – 2025 Season filled with unique and profound theatre, puppetry, storytelling, and music! This August, join us for Minnesota Fringe Festival shows, Minneapolis Puppetry Palate: A Taste of Puppetry performances, and Driveway Tour shows across the Twin Cities! Let's create unforgettable memories together!

We hope you had a wonderful PRIDE weekend! We celebrated by closing a successful run of ONLY UGLY GUYS as part of our Guest Artist Series. Thanks to all who joined us! Our summer is continuing with the magic of puppet shows across the Twin Cities and performances of LIFE SUCKS in Alexandria. Join us for FULL MOON puppetry workshops, apply to join our team, see Fringe shows at Open Eye, and more!

As a member of our community, you play a vital role in the future of our small arts nonprofit – show your support next week at our OPEN EYE BALL! Later in June, we’re celebrating Pride Month with ONLY UGLY GUYS, written and produced by Kurt Engh as part of our Guest Artist Series. Our summer Driveway Tour kicks off this week, and puppeteers of all experience levels will want to check out the latest FULL MOON PUPPET SHOW Workshop. Be part of our exciting kick-off to summer!

This week, Four Humors’ RASPUTIN resurrects at our theater, weaving a darkly comic tale of the infamous mystic’s demise. Apply now to host a Driveway Tour show in your back yard this summer, get tickets for a magical evening at our annual fundraiser, apply to be in the FULL MOON PUPPET SHOW this fall, see new experimental theater about modern romance in June, and more!

Experience cutting-edge puppetry as our talented PUPPET LAB residency artists showcase experimental new work! Apply to host a Driveway Tour show in your neighborhood, indulge in cinematic soundscapes, delve into the hilarious investigation of Rasputin's death, sign up for FULL MOON PUPPET SHOW workshops, meet our new Patron Services Manager Andy Whitman, learn about this summer’s Open Eye Ball, and more. There's something for everyone at Open Eye Theatre!

We're thrilled by the overwhelming success of Madeleine Rowe's HONEY, I’M HOME in our Guest Artist Series. Up next, the series continues with THE DOCTOR WEE-WOO SHOW, followed by the much-anticipated return of our PUPPET LAB FESTIVAL in April, showcasing innovative puppetry. Don't miss two nights of live music featuring the reunion of LITTLE LIZARD later in April, sign up to a host a DRIVEWAY TOUR show in your neighborhood, and mark your calendar for the OPEN EYE BALL on June 13! As we continue to enrich our community through the arts, there are numerous ways to get involved. Thank you for being a vital part of the Open Eye community!

Get ready for a hilarious solo show, a clowning workshop, and a quirky show based on a children’s TV program coming soon! In addition to our MainStage productions, Open Eye is deeply committed to curating and presenting a dynamic Guest Artist Series that highlights emerging local artists and innovative performing ensembles who tell stories in ways that are fresh, fun, and experimental. Find out what Open Eye artists are up to around town and get recommendations for productions you don’t want to miss. Join the fun, support unique voices, and be part of the Open Eye family!

New year, new thrills! Hot on the heels of a jam-packed fall season and sold-out holiday spectacular, we’re taking January to plan Open Eye's Winter-Spring line-up! Expect eclectic guest artists, whimsical puppetry (Puppet Lab Festival, anyone?), and the family-favorite Driveway Tour's triumphant return. Plus, a star-studded gala glitters in a secret new space. Ditch the resolutions, this season promises artistic adventure!