Born to be Alive

Myron Johnson came of age in the disco era. His new show for Ballet of the Dolls, Born to be Alive, is a dance-laden piece of musical history as seen through Johnson’s eyes. 3-Minute Egg went to Thursday’s performance and spoke with Johnson about his motivation for casting a new light on a bygone era and how he stays inspired after 23 years of leading his Dolls. Performances continue through Sunday at the Ritz Theater.

miniStories

miniStories is a flash fiction competition and publication series by mnartists.org, attracting established, emerging and aspiring writers to create works no longer than 500 words. 3-Minute Egg captured some of the voices from the winners’ circle, reading their pieces in the lobby of the Ritz Theater.

Zebulon Pike

Astute fans of local jazzers Happy Apple can hear the metallic influence in the playing of bassist Erik Fratzke. So it wasn’t much of a stretch several years ago when Fratzke gathered a few of like-minded peers to form Zebulon Pike, an all-instrumental band boasting arty, technical prowess that spotlights the dual guitar work of Fratzke and Morgan Berkus. Zebulon Pike just released its third album, a three-song, half-hour slab called Intransience. 3-Minute Egg met up with the band Monday night at the Triple Rock. If the music frightens you, ride the scare to Halloween night, where you can catch Zebulon at the Turf Club.

Kinetic Kitchen

Kinetic Kitchen is an occasional dance series at Patrick’s Cabaret, where local choreographers of all stripes and levels of experience show their wares. 3-Minute Egg went to last Friday’s rendition and talked with curator Sarah LaRose-Holland and a few of the participating choreographers about the need and niche for Kinetic Kitchen.

Lonnie Knight’s Second Life

Longtime local folk musician Lonnie Knight has breathed new life into his career through the online virtual world Second Life, where Knight goes by the moniker Lonnie Nightfire and draws listeners from all over the world — and many pay for the privilege — to his online virtual concerts. 3-Minute Egg caught up with Knight at his weekly Wednesday gig at Vera’s Cafe, where Knight hosts an online radio show dedicated to local and visiting songwriters, and talked to Knight and a fellow folkster, Ken Duvio, about their musical lives online and off.

Stepping Stone’s Rainbow Crow

SteppingStone Theatre, a youth company with a long history and new space in St. Paul, tonight opens Rainbow Crow, an original work created by former Playwrights’ Center fellow Rhiana Yazzie. The Albuquerque native came here by way of Los Angeles just two years ago, but Rainbow Crow, running through Nov. 9, is just the first of four commissioned works from Yazzie local companies are producing in the next year (look for her work soon on the stages of Teatro del Pueblo, Mixed Blood and Pangea World Theatre). 3-Minute Egg talked with Yazzie and SteppingStone’s artistic director, Richard Hitchler, during Thursday’s final run-throughs.

Sohrab and Rustum

Zaraawar Mistry and Leslye Orr are married artists and performers who, several years ago, converted a building in St. Paul’s Midway neighborhood into a Dreamland Arts — a community room, rehearsal space and 40-seat theater with year-round programming. 3-Minute Egg caught up with Mistry, who wrote and stars in Sohrab and Rustum, a one-person show closing at Dreamland with performances Friday and Saturday.

Fair Trade Om

Folk singer-songwriter Colleen Buckman is the founder and executive director of Fair Trade Om, a production company created to connect socially conscious businesses with Earth-friendly artists. 3-Minute Egg went to the Fair Trade launch party at the Varsity Theater and talked to Buckman about blending art and philanthropy.

Between Roots and Branches

Minneapolis writer Alison Morse forged Talking Image Connection to inject the visual arts into the writing process, for herself and her peers of the pen. Between Roots and Branches marks an evolutionary step for Talking Image Connection — six writers worked separately with one woodworker over the past nine months to create new text and art. The results played out a week ago at Gallery 332 in the Northrup King Building in an evening of readings and a weekend-long exhibition. 3-Minute Egg takes you there.

Strange Attractors

Metro State University, in St. Paul, is home to one of the area’s most obscure music festivals — Strange Attractors. David Means, a music and intermedia arts professor at Metro State, is the festival’s co-founder and engine, bringing avant garde and experimental sound artists from around the country and beyond to perform at the festival each spring and fall. 3-Minute Egg dropped into the opening week of Strange Attractors 19, which continues at the university’s Studio 677 eXperimental Intermedia, with performances at 7 pm every Friday through December 5.