Ethan Bjelland ’12 will be moving to Minneapolis in November to continue working in Theatre and teaching and communing in the thriving Scandinavian/Nordic Community in the Twin Cities Metro.
Ethan spent the past year and a half working with The Commonweal Theatre Company in Lanesboro, MN and the Festival Theatre Company in St. Croix Falls, WI.
With The Commonweal, Ethan joined three other artists in the company’s dual Artist/Administrator Apprenticeship Program. Ethan worked in all aspects of the company’s administration, learning hands-on about Marketing, Development, and Production in non-profit arts. He appeared in two productions: «The Philadelphia Story» as Thomas, and «The Drawer Boy» as Miles Potter. He also worked as Assistant Director for «A Christmas Carol,» and Scenic Designer, Stage Manager, and Translator/Adaptor for the Apprentice Company’s capstone performance of Swedish playwright, August Strindberg’s classic masterpiece, «Miss Julie,» which received an encore performance for Lanesboro’s Annual Ibsen Festival in April. The Commonweal is still the only Company in North America that commits to producing the works of the “Father of Modern Realism,” Norwegian playwright, Henrik Ibsen.
At Festival Theatre, Ethan appeared as a guest artist in four productions: «Crazy for You: The New Gershwin Musical» as Lank Hawkins, «The Foreigner» as Lt. Froggy LeSeuer, «Ichabod Crane & the Headless Horseman» as Ichabod Crane, and finally, in a new work by local playwright and theatre artist, Seth Kaltwasser, called «This Untoward Generation!» as one of five “emerging adults” searching for solidarity and answers in the modern midwest. Ethan also worked as a teaching artist with the company’s Creativity Camp program, teaching 6-12 year olds more about the arts, and new ways to get in touch with their own ingenuity and imagination.