Choose your own adventure with Paper Darts at the MIA

By Sheila Regan Thu., Jan. 17 2013 at 10:52 AM

Categories: Art, The Written Word, Theater

This evening Paper Darts, a literary arts magazine and independent publishing press, will be shaking things up at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. PD's literary manager Courtney Algeo says this will be the largest lit focused event the museum has ever done. For the party, Jennifer Davis will offer a live art making project where guests can participate in the process, and visual artist Allen Brewer, who has an MAEP show coming up, will have guests write out descriptions of works of art that he will then use to make his own piece. There will also be an interactive activity where revelers will be invited to choose their own adventure based on the writings of four authors: Ed Bok Lee, John Jodzio, Maggie Ryan Sandford, and Katie Heaney. Theater of Public Policy will be on hand with storytelling, performing in the museum's historic elevator. The evening will conclude with music by hip-hop group Kill the Vultures.

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For the choose your own adventure series, the four participating authors have based their stories on works of art in the museum. Attendees start at one piece of art where they'll get a little bit of a story, and then will be given a choice of where they want it to go next. What they decide will lead them to a different piece of art, and the next segment of the storyline. According to Algeo, the activity includes 35 unique piece of art, seven of which overlap and are used in more than one story.

Each story is a little different. For example, Maggie Ryan Sanford's tale utilizes the "diamond method," where the story ends up in the same spot, although the journey to get there will vary from person to person. Her piece features lots of dreamy surrealism, and includes many locations.

Map for Maggie Ryan Sanford's story

Ed Bok Lee's story, "The Ultimate Spiritualist Intelligence Test Version 5.1," involves the audience going to different stations and answering a series of questions. Their answers will shape the end result, which will be an original poem created by Ed Bok Lee.

Both Katie Heaney's and John Jodzio's stories include multiple ending possibilities, with the latter being the only one that actually takes place in the museum, rather than asking the audience to imagine they are somewhere else. Heaney's story involves poltergeists, with Theater of Public Policy on hand to conduct improvisations based on the theme.

With every story, each participant will get an envelope and a map highlighting the areas where they'll be going. Check out Algeo's blog post for a little more background.

Paper Darts produced their last issue back in September, and Algeo says they've put just as much work or more into planning this event. "There are so many moving parts," she says. "We're so excited to see it come to life. We're really proud of ourselves." The MIA will also be selling Paper Darts' last issue, as well as Jodzio's book in the gift shop.

IF YOU GO:

Third Thursday: Art & Lit with Paper Darts
6-9 p.m. Thursday, January 17
The event is concurrent with the opening of David Bowen and Brett Smith's new MAEP shows in the museum