Dipankar Mukherjee and Meena Natarajan. Photo by Jim Clifford
Today on the Community Arts Network website, writer John Townsend profiles Minneapolis-based Pangea World Theater.
Townsend writes that, “Pangea has evolved from being a group that began presenting imaginative interpretations of plays and adaptations of other literary forms to a stunningly experimental [group] that successfully integrates various talents across cultural boundaries for innovative new work that reflects the post-9/11, post-Katrina reality – something most theaters have barely begun to acknowledge.
Founders Mukherjee and Natarajan envision Pangea as a forum, “to bring people of different backgrounds and ethnicities together… to dialogue together. [And] respond to the times we live in?” It’s clear from the mission statement and their track record that arts-based civic engagment is part of the institutional DNA of this extraordinary theater group. We’re lucky to have them here in the Twin Cities.
Pangea World Theater’s Mission Statement: “Pangea World Theater is committed to international works, styles and traditions that illuminate the human condition, end divisiveness and celebrate differences. We strive to bring communities across the world together through theater productions, workshops, and speakers. We view the stage as a powerful international forum and podium for discussion. Throughout our work we employ a cross-ethnic vision of tolerance and human rights through excellence in the arts.”