Cahoot?! Open Studio
The Elements of Physical Theatre
Free! Registration Required. Ages 16+
Acrobatics
Puppetry
Vaudeville
Commedia Dell'Arte
Juggling
Dance
Acrobatics Puppetry Vaudeville Commedia Dell'Arte Juggling Dance
Open the doors! Sweep the floors! Cahoot?! Physical Theatre invites you to the Cahoot?! Open Studio workshop series! In The Elements of Physical Theatre, a series of six classes, workshoppers can expect a survey of the techniques and tools of physical theatre. Topics include Acrobatics, Puppetry, Vaudeville, Commedia Dell’Arte, Juggling, and Dance, taught by instructors with national and international experience. Adult students of all skill levels are welcome!
These FREE workshops take at 79 13th Ave NE, #212 Minneapolis, MN.
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Cahoot?! believes that high quality theatre should be available to everyone. In order to remove a major barrier to theatre, Cahoot?! has decided to move past paid admission and instead provide free access to all programming.
Those who have the ability and desire to join us in this mission can find out more about donating here.
Thursday, April 2nd
7:00-8:30pm
Our Acro Explorers workshop is the perfect starting point for anyone curious about flips, balances, and partner/ensemble work in a fun, supportive environment. This beginner-friendly class focuses on foundational skills like forward and backward rolls, cartwheels, bridges, handstands, and basic partner and group work. No prior experience is needed, just a willingness to try something new and have fun! Whether you’re looking to improve athletic performance, enhance performance skills, or simply challenge yourself in a new way, Intro to Acrobatics is a great place to start.
Acro Explorers
with Chase & Emilia Perkins
About the Instructors:
Emilia Björk-Perkins is a Swedish-American physical theatre artist and graduate of Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theatre. Trained in the sacred art of making people laugh, cry, and occasionally question reality, she’s a performer, mover, clown, and storyteller who thrives on the magic of live connection. Emilia loves working in collaborative environments where physical risk, play, and imagination meet. She is a co-founder and company member of Cahoot?! Physical Theatre, and most recently seen in The Fox and Beggar Theatre’s production Tigre! Tigre!
Chase Perkins is a physical theatre maker and graduate of Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater, where he honed the fine art of telling stories with his whole body. A devoted ensemble collaborator, he gravitates toward work where play, precision, and a touch of chaos collide. He is a co-founder and company member of Cahoot?! Physical Theatre in Minneapolis, and, outside of Cahoot, was most recently seen in The Fox and Beggar Theatre’s production of Tigre! Tigre!.
Thursday, April 16th
7:00-8:30pm
Come play in the realm of puppetry and bring inanimate objects to life. Geared to beginners or experienced puppeteers alike this workshop will focus on taking everyday objects and giving you the tools to animate them. We will discuss the relationship between puppet and puppeteer, breath, focus and movement specificity that imbues objects with personalities and points of view.
Puppetry in Poetic Movement
with Kate Tobie
About the Instructor:
Kate Tobie is a clown, puppeteer, playwright, and performance coach. She graduated from the MFA program at Dell'Arte International School of Physical Theatre in 2016 and found her way to the Twin Cities early 2020. She toured her original solo show HerPlease to Canadian Fringe Festivals in 2023 and in 2025 she appeared in Apartment 2B and Open Flame Theater's The Wilderness. She has been both a cohort member and mentor/director for Puppet Lab. Her next focus is coaching and cultivating regular Clown Jams in Minneapolis, reach out to her on IG @TeamTobie if curated play intrigues you! She loves her cat, plants and fashion. Most recently she played the spider in Bug Ballet.
Thursday, April 30th
7:00-8:30pm
Vaudeville and cabaret performers Jesse March & Kathryn Cesarz will take students through the process of creating a short, 3-5 minute act for the vaudeville and variety format. The class will explore examples of vaudeville-style acts, and examine how to structure an act that wows. Students will have the opportunity to workshop individual acts, to be shared for the class at the end. Students will walk away with the beginnings of their own short act to be brought to any variety show, cabaret, or open mic!
Get Your Act Together!
Vaudeville Workshop
with Kathryn Cesarz & Jesse March
About the Instructors:
Kathryn Cesarz is a theatre artist, clown, director and performer developing new works of theatre. She has made theatre in Milwaukee, NYC, Chicago, Minneapolis, Northern California, Scotland, England, Bali, and Mexico, in venues as varied as street corners, 400-seat theatres, and in the B-yard gym at Pelican Bay State Prison. Originally from Wisconsin, Kathryn holds a B.S. from the University of Evansville and an M.F.A. from Dell’Arte International School. kathryncesarz.com
Jesse March is a devising theater artist, street performer, mime, stilt walker, and educator who has received his MFA from Dell’Arte International School of Physical Theater. He received his BFA from Calarts. He especially loves Commedia Dell’Arte, Clown, and any work utilizing his skill with the body and comedy. A native of Los Angeles, Jesse has been a theater artist for twenty plus years, often performing internationally (Mexico, Scotland, England, Indonesia, France, and more). His work includes original devised theater, adaptations of existing work, voiceover, street performance and stilt walking, and commercial corporate work with companies such as Universal Studios Hollywood and Disney. jessemarch.com
Thursday, May 14th
7:00-8:30pm
Commedia Dell'Arte is a performance style known for its bold physicality, clown-like logic, and easily recognizable stock characters. Participants will explore these characters through physical play, developing their own take on each character while engaging in the outlandish and raucous style of Commedia Dell'Arte that has kept it in the public eye for over 500 years.
Commedia Dell’Arte:
Character and Style
with Jacob Snyder Timmons
About the Instructor:
Jacob Snyder Timmons is a theatre-maker and educator from Raleigh, North Carolina. He received his BFA in Theatre Education from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro before heading off to Blue Lake, California to earn his MFA in Ensemble Based Physical Theatre from Dell’Arte International. Jacob has previously worked with Raleigh Little Theatre as a teaching artist, actor, and conservatory instructor of movement; North Carolina Theatre for Young People as an actor and puppet designer; was a founding member of the Springdale Players in Greensboro, NC; and coordinated arts programming at East Side Arts Council in St. Paul, MN. Jacob is a company member with Cahoot?! Physical Theatre and serves as the organization’s Executive Director and Education Manager.
Thursday, May 28th
7:00-8:30pm
Juggling:
A not-so-brief introduction for actors, burlesque performers, renaissance festival characters, and anyone else who finds themselves onstage
with Benjamin Domask-Ruh
Come join professional Circus Artist Benjamin Domask-Ruh as you learn the art of juggling. Whether you’re a complete beginner or have tried before, you’ll be sure to take away new ideas and new skills by the end of the class. Benjamin will lead the group through tricks and techniques for juggling, exploring what it means to throw, catch, and, of course, drop. Ideal participants include anyone who is interested in building more object manipulation into their repertoire of stage tools and setting a foundation to learn more!
About the Instructor:
Benjamin Domask-Ruh is a circus and theatre director, performer, musician, and clown. He collaborates with organizations such as the International Jugglers’ Association (IJA), Tigerlion Arts, Children’s Theatre Company, and Fox and Beggar Theatre. Recent credits include The Paper Operetta (2024), International Physical Theater Festival - Chicago (2023) and the Cascade of Stars (2022). He collaborates with Thom Wall on their mission-focused fundraising-for-hire show, An Evening with Benjamin and Thom & Thom and Benjamin.
As a Teaching Artist, Benjamin is dedicated to arts education, frequently leading workshops and residencies in rural and metropolitan communities. He is a member of the COMPAS teaching artist roster and also serves as the Director of the IJA’s Youth Juggling Academy.
Benjamin is an Associate Editor with Modern Vaudeville Press. He is the Board Chair of the IJA. He has worked with the Activate Rural arts program through the Department of Public Transformation. Professionally managed by Afton Benson.
Thursday, June 11th
7:00-8:30pm
If you have been yearning to explore and learn dance and choreography without the stigma, body shame/expectations, ableism and rigidity that often can be associated with many modern euro-western dance studios, this is the class for YOU! Graham (he/they) is here to teach folks the basics of movement exploration as well as some dance fundamentals one would find in ballet, jazz, modern & contemporary dance classes. Graham provides a space for movement where everybody is respected & celebrated. This 90 minute movement & dance class is for those who want to rediscover and explore their joy in movement & dance while also finding the freedom, play, and confidence that can be discovered and nurtured while exploring dance and learning choreography. This class is for anyone and everyone 16+ of any experience level.
Rediscovering Freedom in Dance
with Graham Casper Haught
About the Instructor:
Graham (he/they) stumbled into a studio dance class at the age of 8 and found himself falling in love with dance and the immense freedom he found in stylized movement. They spent 10 years in studio dance classes, working up to advanced-level classes and competing in dance competitions, all while dealing with the severe fatphobia and body-toxicity that has been so deeply rooted in western style dance culture. The constant clash between his deep love for movement and the deeply rooted body-shame in the dance world is what eventually lead Graham to the path of being a dance instructor. He wanted to show everyone that dance is achievable regardless of the size and shape of your vessel. He has made it a goal to bring the same joy and freedom he experiences through dance without the shame, judgement, and ableism that is often paired with these spaces. They have taught movement, dance, and choreography to people from the ages of 3-60 for nearly 20 years. He combines his 10 years of studio dance training, their 20 years as a movement educator, as well as his physical theatre training from Dell’Arte International to provide a dance class where the focus is kept on the joy & freedom of movement as well as healthy challenges with mindful respect to every individual’s needs as a student.
