Cahoot?! Open Studio

The Elements of Physical Theatre

Free! Registration required. Ages 16+

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 place at 79 13th Ave NE, #212 Minneapolis, MN.

Thursday, April 2nd
7:00-8:30pm

Acro Explorers
with Chase & Emilia Perkins

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.

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

Puppetry in Poetic Movement
with Kate Tobie

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.

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

Get Your Act Together!
Vaudeville Workshop
with Kathryn Cesarz & Jesse March

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!

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:
Character and Style
with Jacob Snyder Timmons

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.

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 Graham Casper Haught

Learn and experiment with new, fun, innovative and explorative ways to create completely new and original characters. You will be led through various exercises, games and methods to find the mind, body and voice of the character through imagination, play, movement and discovery!

About the Instructor:
Graham Haught has been teaching with Cahoot Physical Theatre since its founding in 2018. He completed the Advanced Ensemble Program at Dell’Arte International and has been leading classes in character, clowning, improvisation, movement and dance for over fifteen years to a wide age-range of youth and adults.
He leads all lessons with intentionality and an awareness of the needs of the specific students he works with, adapting their lessons to pair with the students’ experiences and understanding of theatre, performance, their body, and the world around them. Graham believes in a “structured chaos” approach—they create safe and clear boundaries for the creation and exploration of the mind, body and heart of the character through imaginative play, challenge and support.