All American Boys

RESOURCE GUIDES

Thousands upon thousands of young people receive their first exposure to theatre at Stages Theatre Company. Study guides are a great way to extend student learning beyond their visit. Our free study guides contain tons of information, ideas and activities: author/playwright biographies, notes on historical context, cross-curricular classroom activities, theatre etiquette, and discussion questions for before and after you come to see the show!

COMMUNITY CONVERSATION

All ticket holders will be invited to attend
virtual community conversations on:
May 23 from 6pm-7pm.

We will gather on Zoom to discuss the themes of the show and their parallels and impact with our Twin Cities communities. Conversations are made possible through a grant from the Minneapolis Foundation and facilitated by Washburn Center for Children. REGISTER HERE

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CREATIVE TEAM BIOS

Brendan Kiely (BOOK AUTHOR)

Brendan is The New York Times bestselling author of All American Boys (with Jason Reynolds), Tradition, The Last True Love Story, and The Gospel of Winter. His most recent book is The Other Talk: Reckoning with Our White Privilege. His work has been published in over a dozen languages, and has received the Coretta Scott King Author Honor Award, the Walter Dean Meyers Award, and ALA’s Top Ten Best Fiction for Young Adults. A former high school teacher, he is now on the faculty of the Solstice MFA Program. He watches too much basketball and reads too many books at the same time, but most importantly, he lives for and loves his wife and son.

Jason Reynolds (BOOK AUTHOR)

Jason is a #1 New York Times bestselling author of more than a dozen books for young people, including Look Both Ways: A Tale Told in Ten Blocks, All American Boys, Long Way Down, and Stamped: Racism, Antiracism, and You, and the upcoming Stuntboy, in the Meantime. The recipient of a Newbery Honor, a Printz Honor, an NAACP Image Award, and multiple Coretta Scott King honors, Reynolds is also the current National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature. He lives in Washington, DC. (Taken from www.jasonwritesbooks.com)

Jody Drezner Alperin & Vicky Finney Crouch (PLAYWRIGHT)

Jody Drezner Alperin and Vicky Finney Crouch co-founded Off the Page, an arts education and theatre company that works with young people in and outside of school, exploring issues they are most passionate about and creating new works of theatre with them and for them. They collaborated with playwright Finnegan Kruckemeyer and youth artists to create A Song to Bring You Home, a story of migrants from ten different places in the world through time. Currently, they are developing the adaptation of Kip Wilson's White Rose, the true story of student resistance in 1940s Germany. Together, Jody and Vicky are recipients of multiple grants from the Brooklyn Arts Council, Brooklyn Community Foundation, Chipstone Foundation shatterCABINET, and are 2019-20 New Victory LabWorks Artists. (Taken in part from www.playscripts.com)

Theo Langason (DIRECTOR)

Theo is a multidisciplinary theatre artist and teaching artist based in Minneapolis. A graduate of Rutgers University–Camden with a degree in Theatre Arts, Theo has been working in the Twin Cities as an actor, director, musician, composer, improviser, poet, and teaching artist for a decade. In addition to his work with Red Eye, Theo is a company member of Sandbox Theatre, a member of Blackout Improv, and a cast member of The Theater of Public Policy. As a teaching artist, Theo works regularly with Guthrie Theater, Penumbra Theatre, and Upstream Arts. Theo has also worked with Ten Thousand Things, Park Square Theatre, Pillsbury House + Theater, and Theatre Pro Rata, among others. (Taken from www.redeyetheater.org)

Cody R. Braudt (DIRECTOR)

A Minnesota based artist, Cody R. Braudt is a director, writer, and conceiver of live performance and theatrical events for young people and families. With a passion for new work, Braudt has collaborated with artists such as Jon Ferguson, Peter Brosius, Whit MacLaughlin, Mary Lou Rosato, Randy Weiner, Sandy Boren-Barrett, Jeff Zahn, and Tony Award-Winners Diane Paulus and Christine Jones. Previous credits include Theater Forever at The Guthrie Theater, Stages Theatre Company, Mixed Blood Theatre, The Children’s Theatre Company and LaMama Experimental Theatre Club. As a director, his work has been seen at Stages Theatre Company, CREA Theatre Project, The Riley-Jacques Barn, The Depot Coffee House, The CalArts New Works Festival, The Trailer Trash Project, The CalArts Coffeehouse Theater, and Acting for Others in The Shank Black Box Theater at La Jolla Playhouse. Braudt also serves as the Director of Brand Experiences for West Coast Dance Explosion, a national touring dance education convention for aspiring dancers.