zAmya Theatre

A unique theatre experience highlighting housing instability in the region is coming to Marshall on July 28.

The zAmya Theatre Project will perform “A Prairie Homeless Companion” on Sunday, July 28 at 7 p.m. in the SMSU Black Box Theatre.

The performance is free and open to the public.

What’s it all about? “Live Music! Bad Jokes! And Real Stories!”  A long-running outdated radio show produced in the city and about rural Minnesota comes to town and finds a different reality than the one they’ve been describing. The residents of the town take over the show and produce a more appropriate version. “A Prairie Homeless Companion” is both humorous satire and a serious look at housing instability in southwest Minnesota.

Partnership Art — a program of the Southwest Minnesota Housing Partnership — sponsored zAmya Theater from Minneapolis and Placebase Productions from Granite Falls, Minn., to create “A Prairie Homeless Companion.” Story circles were held in four Southwest Minnesota communities: Willmar, Marshall, Hutchinson, and Worthington. Playwright Josef Evans created the script, which was recently shared in staged readings throughout southwest Minnesota with feedback from the readings used for further development. Now the project is ready to be shared in full form with each community.

zAmya Theatre is led by professional artists and gives jobs to actors who’ve experienced homelessness to create the plays, co-facilitate workshops, and guide the directions of the company. They believe that theatre can change the narrative of homelessness. The stories they tell are created by stories lived by the actors and crafted by the artistic members.

zAmya is welcoming community members and musicians from the area to also participate in the production. Only one community rehearsal is required. If interested, please email zamyatheaterproject@gmail.com

They will also be performing “A Prairie Homeless Companion” in The Barn Theatre on July 31 at 7 p.m. in Willmar; Hutchinson Center for the Arts on Aug. 1 at 7 p.m. in Hutchinson; and Minnesota West Fine Arts Theatre on Aug. 6 at 7 p.m. in Worthington.