A conversation with playwrights Kurt Robert Engh and Dave Osmundsen
Conversations from the Barn
Kurt Robert Engh is a theater-maker with the goal to expand the framework of what “theater” is in order to adapt the art form to a twenty-first century audience. He transposes experimental practices to narrative stories, addressing how contemporary audiences consume live performance. He is specifically interested in exploring Midwestern identity, creating characters as complicated as real people, and taking advantage of the metaphysical space of the stage. He likes testing the endurance of audiences and uncovering ways to contextualize a physical space in a digital culture. He borrows more...
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A conversation with Everwood Retreat Administrator Em Haas
Conversations from the Barn
This is a special conversation with Em Haas, Everwood Farmstead’s 2025 Artist Retreat Administrator. Em joined us at the farm this summer to support the 34 artists who traveled from all over the country and Canada to work in the Retreat. Em is a recent graduate of St. Olaf College with a Bachelor of Arts degree focused on English, Creative Writing and Ancient Greek. Em was also a Senior Admissions Fellow for the college, serve as the Literary Editor for The Quarry Literary and Fine Arts Magazine, and work as a copyeditor for The Olaf Messenger. Post Everwood, Em is interested in pursuing...
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A conversation with Playwright, writer, poet and actor Nissa Nordland Morgan
Conversations from the Barn
Nissa Nordland Morgan is a playwright, actor and musician in Minneapolis, MN. She is a member of the Twin Cities' Playwright Cabal and Artistic Director of Twin Cities Horror Festival. Her plays “The Fae”, “Incarnate”, "Stabby Stab Stab" and "Kin" were performed as part of the Twin Cities Horror Festival; “The Fae” was nominated for Best Original/New Work through TC Broadway World. Her Minnesota Fringe play “Xena and Gabrielle Smash the Patriarchy” was awarded the TC Arts Reader Critic’s Choice Award and won the Theatre in the Round Venue Pick. Nissa co-wrote "Finger Lickin'...
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A conversation with musician Sarah Elstran and painter Amanda Hanlon
Conversations from the Barn
Sarah Elstran is an independent musician that bridges the gap between bright-eyed pop composition and hands-on atmospheric live layering of voice. Her vocal loops give us the kind of detail and wide multi-octave range that we might come to expect from a marquee pop star, while her production decisions continually keep us guessing as to what rabbit holes her tracks might fall into next. Amanda Hanlon is a painter and printmaker. She lives and works out of her home located in a historic river town in Minnesota. Amanda has received a MFA in Painting from the University of Washington -...
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A conversation with Ceramic Artist Cym Warkov and Choreographer Genevieve Waterbury
Conversations from the Barn
Originally from Colorado, Genevieve Waterbury grew up in the mountains and in the ballet studio at Boulder Ballet and eventually studied dance at Colorado State University. She then joined Nevada Ballet Theatre in Las Vegas where she collaborated annually with Cirque du Soleil. One of her favorite moments from NBT was working intimately with Cynthia Gregory on character portrayal for the company’s performance of Giselle; It deepened her interest in acting and dance theater, ultimately prompting the move to New York City. In New York, Genevieve had opportunities to work across many...
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A conversation with artist Nichole Gronvold Roller and pianist Brianna Matzke
Conversations from the Barn
Nichole Gronvold-Roller is a painter who received a BFA in Art Education from Minnesota State University of Moorhead, an MA in Art Education from Boston University, MA, and an MFA in Painting from Bradley University. In addition to being an artist, Nichole is a full-time high school art teacher in Tremont, IL, where she has been teaching for the past twenty-six years. Furthermore, she is a contributor writer for the Inland Art column with Community Word. Dr. Brianna Matzke's dynamic pianism shows “a sense of refinement, flair, and technical prowess” (clevelandclassical.com)....
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A conversation with multi-disciplinary artists Cori Nakamura Lin and Tori Hong
Conversations from the Barn
Cori Nakamura Lin (she/her) is a Japanese, Taiwanese, Okinawan-American multimedia visual artist based in Chicago. By painting, documenting, and weaving, Cori is finding her way to a world that prioritizes ecological and community care. Descended from East Asian island peoples and born and raised in the midwest, Cori’s art practice is an ongoing self-archive where she examines her own multiple identities as a story of self. Cori’s work asks: How do we dream beyond our fears in the face of climate collapse? How do we carry multiple legacies, multiple ancestors, through the...
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A conversation with singer/songwriter Leslie Vincent
Conversations from the Barn
LESLIE VINCENT is a prolific songwriter and jazz vocalist. Equally at home singing the Great American Songbook, musical theater, and contemporary rock and pop, she has quickly become one of the most notable voices to emerge in the vibrant Minneapolis music scene, being hailed for her joy-filled performances and her “fun, human, beautiful interpretations” (Levi Weinhagen). Born into a military family, Vincent spent childhood moving along the East Coast and United Kingdom, where she spent her spare time singing along to Frank Sinatra and the Les Mis soundtrack. The one constant was...
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A conversation with authors Molly Beth Griffin and Juliet Patterson
Conversations from the Barn
Molly Beth Griffin is the author of four picture books: Ten Beautiful Things, The Big Leaf Leap, Rhoda’s Rock Hunt, and Loon Baby. She has also published a young adult novel, Silhouette of a Sparrow, two chapbooks of poetry, and a series of beginning readers. Two more picture books are forthcoming in 2024: Rings of Heartwood: Poems on Growing and Just Us. Silhouette of a Sparrow (winner of the Milkweed Prize for Children’s Literature) was a finalist for the Minnesota Book Award, the Lambda Literary Award, and ForeWord’s Book of the Year, and was...
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A conversation with composer Carlisle Evans Peck and playwright Elle Thoni
Conversations from the Barn
Carlisle Evans Peck (they/them) is a genderqueer composer and singer-songwriter of Northern European settler descent based in Minneapolis. Their work is focused on the power and magic of song and the human voice, rich with queer narratives, magical realism, and mythic symbolism. As a singer-songwriter and a music-theater composer, they consider songs as vessels for forgotten stories, landscapes of emotion through which to wander, and spells and offerings. Elle Thoni (they/them) is a queer femmebeast playwright and public artist from the banks of the Mississippi River on Dakhóta land in...
info_outlineOndara offers a unique take of the American dream on Tales of America, his debut album. By Eric Danton
Ondara grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, listening to American alt-rock and making up his own songs for as long as he can remember. After moving to Minneapolis in 2013, he began making his way in the local music scene, continually writing songs about what he saw, felt and experienced in a place far different from home. From a stockpile he says is hundreds of songs deep, Ondara chose 11 for Tales of America. They’re captivating tunes built around acoustic guitars and adorned with subtle full-band accompaniment for an openhearted folk-rock feel. He sings in a strong, tuneful voice well-suited to the gorgeous melancholy he expresses on the wistfully lovelorn “Torch Song,” or his steadfast infatuation on “Television Girl.” Ondara sings rueful lyrics in an anguished tone on “Saying Goodbye,” and leaves plenty of room for interpretation on “American Dream,” the first single.“ I knew I wanted a song called ‘American Dream’ on the record, but I didn’t have that song,” Ondara says with a laugh. “I couldn’t find it. I wrote like twenty songs called ‘American Dream’ before I found the one that ended up being the record.” His persistence is evident throughout Tales of America, which is indeed a classic American tale. It’s the story, told in song, of an immigrant seeking a new life, who dedicates himself to achieving his vision through hard work and determination. See his website.