Lab Series
NOW Playing
March 20-29, 2026
The Park Square LAB Series provides Minnesota-based theater artists, companies, and early- to mid-career creators the opportunity to stage their work at Park Square Theatre - without the barrier of rental fees.
The LAB Series program offers theatre makers of all backgrounds the chance to take artistic risks. Whether artists choose to develop ambitious new work, restage and/or reimagine a previous production, or a bit of both, Park Square aims to provide the space and encouragement for artists to flourish.
This initiative reflects Park Square Theatre’s ongoing commitment to cultivating a vibrant, dynamic arts ecosystem in the heart of Downtown St. Paul.
What is the LAB Series?
Check out this teaser of the LAB Series from LAB Series artists Pedro Juan Fonseca and Alex Galick
Performance Weekend 1: March 20-22, 2026
RED HERRING - QUICK FORGE
Quick Forge: a creative experiment at the intersection of theatre and cinema, where original works live twice: once onstage, and once again on screen. Quick Forge has developed a new play exclusively for the Park Square Lab, with a cinematic look and theatrical feel.
Red Herring is a crime drama set in an interrogation room, using the familiar pleasures of a murder mystery to open up urgent commentary on class and performative justice. "Our goal" they say, "is to capture the taut precision of screen thrillers using only the tools of live theatre: movement, voice, and light."
SAY WHEN… - MARK BENZEL & SIMPLE MACHINES
Simple Machines collaborates to make work that is physical and theatrical with a focus on ensemble and new work. Mark, founder of Simple Machines, is a Minneapolis-based theatre maker specializing in devised, collaborative, and movement-driven work.
Say When… is a new interdisciplinary work developed for the Park Square LAB Series inspired by the extravagant life of Evander Berry Wall - the late 1800s “King of All Dudes.” The piece explores questions of wealth, social responsibility, and excess, connecting Wall’s story to today’s conversations about status, privilege, and social media.
Performance Weekend 2: March 26-29, 2026
THE CARMEN FILES - MIXED PRECIPITATION
The Mixed Precipitation team is developing a bold new adaptation of Georges Bizet’s 1875 French opera Carmen, where classical music and crime drama collide. In this reimagined tale, Internal Affairs investigator Micaëla takes on a smuggling ring and opera’s most famous femme fatale - forces that lure her boyfriend, Donnie, an undercover cop drawn to his dark side, down a dangerous path.
Featuring powerful vocals and flamenco dance, Mixed Precipitation blends police procedurals, forensic investigations, and detective dramas to deliver classical music’s most torrid love quartet. Under the music direction of Gary Ruschman, the production fuses Bizet’s beloved melodies with outlaw rock and roll tunes by Fiona Apple, Christopher Cross, and Glenn Frey, with choreography by Colette Illarde.
STEPHANIE HENRY - Willow Storm and the Lightning Bolts
Stephanie is a Minneapolis-based composer and pianist creating genre-blending work that centers on stories of people of color and explores themes of resilience and transformation.
Willow Storm and the Lightning Bolts is an original glam-rock coming-of-age musical set in the mid-1980s. The show follows Aaron Richards, a shy, aspiring songwriter who discovers his fearless alter ego, Willow Storm, with the help of his best friend Tiffany. Together, they form a band -Willow Storm and the Lightning Bolts- and chase their dreams of stardom. At its core, the story explores themes of friendship, queer identity, biracial belonging, and the courage it takes to step into one's fullest self in a world that demands conformity.