Mixed Blood Presents: Story Circles

5 to 6 pm: When was the first time you thought you were an artist?
Location: Art Lab, Floor LL

6 to 7:30 pm: Operation Metro Surge Reflection
Location: Crosby Conference Room, Floor 9

7:30 to 8:30 pm: Ghost Stories
Location: Ellen L. Breyer Library, Floor LL

This event will have ASL interpretation. 

Need another accommodation? Contact Visitor Services at access@walkerart.org or 612-375-7564 at least two weeks before the event to discuss your request. More information is available on our Accessibility page. 

Mixed Blood Artistic Director Mark Valdez is an artist and cultural organizer who partners with communities, organizations, and civic institutions, using theater and creative tools to address community needs and lift-up community voices and stories. Valdez received the Johnson Fellowship for Artists Transforming Communities from Americans for the Arts. He has served Mixed Blood as a Doris Duke Engagement Fellow, participated in directing and producing many productions, and developed a “Good Neighbor Framework” to articulate and assess the theater’s work and intentions with the community. As executive director for the Network of Ensemble Theaters, he created a national festival exploring the intersections of art and community, held in eight cities over three years. He has created plays with/for/by communities across the country, which have been staged in venues ranging from tomato fields to community centers, temples to shopping malls.

Alejandro Tey is a Cuban American, South Texas–raised theater maker, facilitator, and teaching artist. Tey is the Associate Artistic Director of Mixed Blood Theatre, through which he has led the process of Upstream, a participatory play about climate change for middle schoolers and their families; created discussion guides for the Equitable Dinners, a series of plays followed by facilitated conversation around complex topics; and co-directed The Happiness Gym, an event that turns the research on happiness into exercises for an audience aimed at improving well-being. Tey also directed the world premiere of Fallenstar: The Watchoverers, a play about Native teen superheroes produced by New Native Theatre, and the final sharing of Willmar, a verbatim play about the interlocking communities of Willmar, MN, produced by the Neighborhood Theatre Project. He is the creator of The Isle of Sugar, a hybrid roleplaying game/theatrical event based on his grandparent’s experience of the Cuban Revolution.

Tolu Ekisola is the Manager of Community Organizing and Engagement at Mixed Blood Theatre, responsible for building and managing partnerships, forming and engaging coalitions around issues, and working with cultural liaisons and advisory councils to recruit diverse participants. An actor, writer, producer, and founder of CAARE Production Company, Tolu wields the arts and digital media to activate global citizenship, empathy, and mobilization for Black and Indigenous people in her community.

Katy Vernon has been at Mixed Blood since March 2023, where her work involves all communications, production support, and the occasional puppet making or composing. As a part of the vibrant Twin Cities Theater community, she enjoys getting to know audiences, donors, and performers. In addition to Mixed Blood, Vernon is also a busy singer-songwriter. This past year, she launched her newest project, Favourite Girl, and their debut album is garnering rave reviews both locally and in Europe.