Preceding Co-Artistic Director & Visionary, Faye M. Price
Late Night Founder, Laurie Smith Carlos (Ancestor)
Pillsbury House + Theatre’s mission is to co-create enduring change towards a just society through art. Pillsbury House + Theatre creates theatre productions, arts programs and projects aimed at increasing Access, Attachment and Agency among audiences, artists and community members.
LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Pillsbury House + Theatre acknowledges that we are on unceded Dakota territory. The Dakota and Ojibwe people continue to live on this land, including the sovereign nations of the Bois Forte Band of Ojibwe, Fond du Lac Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, Grand Portage Chippewa, Leech Lake Band of Ojibwe, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe, Red Lake Nation, White Earth Nation, Lower Sioux Indian Community, Prairie Island Indian Community, Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community, and Upper Sioux Community. These Indigenous people and more continue to live on this land despite the genocidal efforts and forced removal by the State of Minnesota and the United States Government. The approximately $3 million promised in the 1851 Treaty of Traverse des Sioux, ceding Dakota land in southern and western Minnesota to the United States Government, has yet to be paid. The land we are on was, is, and will always be Indigenous land.
The Settlement House movement which gave rise to Pillsbury House + Theatre has a history of erasure with respect to Native communities. In alignment with our mission to create challenging art that inspires enduring change towards a just society, Pillsbury House + Theatre commits to continue including Indigenous voices, whether they be Dakota, Ojibwe, or any of the 30+ Indigenous Nations represented in the Twin Cities area and across the globe. We commit to working in partnership with, and providing resources and stage time for Indigenous theatre makers and artists. We strive to support Indigenous voices at every opportunity and we ask you to commit to supporting the Indigenous people wherever you are.
Pillsbury House + Theatre Presents
A Lesson In Love
Written by Nubia Monks
Directed by Jamil Jude
I Sept 24 - 0ct 19 I
David ................................................ Darrick Mosley*
Monique ........................................ Dana Lee Thompson*
Associate Director
Signe V. Harriday
Stage Manager
Lyndsey R. Harter*
Assitant Stage Manager
Elijah Virgil Hughes
Production & Project Manager
Rachael C. Rhoades
Technical Director
Claudia Errickson
Scenic Designer
William Boles
Sound Designer
Queen Drea
Additional Creative Team
Lighting Designer
Ellie Simonett
Props Designer
Jenny Moeller
Costume Designer
Trevor Bowen
Wardrobe
Rane Oganowski
Hair Design
Jamakah Webb
Intimacy Coordinator
Suzy Messorole
Light Board Operator
Keith Ridley
Electricians - Ariel Bodnar-Kline, Kai Deutsch Frost, Nick Fetting, Bevibel Harvey, Janae Lorick, Carl Swanson, Louis Thiessen
TAT@P Apprentice Team - Derrick Marshall, Tay Morrow, David Almquist, Keith Ridley, Shinaana Secody
Performed with no intermission; performance includes some bright lights Taking of videos or photographs is prohibited
Special Thanks: To Theater Latté Da for loaning their curtains for use in this production
* Appearing through an Agreement between Pillsbury House + Theatre and Actors’ Equity Association, the Union of Professional Actors and Stage Managers in the United States.
Ensemble
Darrick Mosley
Darrick Mosley (he/him) is excited to return to Pillsbury House Theatre for the world premiere of A Lesson in Love. A native of Mansfield, Louisiana, Darrick attended the historic Grambling State University, where he received a B.A. in Speech & Theatre. He has performed at numerous Twin Cities theatres, including Penumbra Theatre, the Guthrie Theater, History Theatre, and Children’s Theatre Company. Darrick has also appeared in various commercials and print ads, and his voice has been featured in marketing campaigns nationwide. He dedicates this performance to the loving memory of his grandmother, Pearlie “Lovie” Brown.
Dana Lee Thompson
Dana Lee Thompson (she/her/hers), playing Monique, is appearing for the first time in a mainstage Pillsbury House Theatre production. Originally from Kansas City, MO (Go Chiefs!), Dana moved to St. Paul, MN in 2009 and has been active on professional theatre stages across the Twin Cities ever since. When she is not performing, Dana works in property management, where she has specialized in affordable housing for nearly 10 years (shout-out to PSS!). She would like to thank Nubia for writing such a beautifully complex and relatable character for her to portray in this premiere.
Artistic and Production Staff
Nubia Monks (Playwright)
Nubia Monks is an actor, playwright, and educator. Since graduating from UC San Diego with her MFA in Acting, Nubia has had the privilege of performing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, La Jolla Playhouse, The Old Globe, The Women’s Theatre Festival, Ten Thousand Things, the Guthrie Theater, Folger Theatre, Penumbra Theatre, Theater Latté Da, Geva Theatre, Pillsbury House + Theatre, and Mixed Blood Theatre.
As a writer, Nubia is committed to telling stories that cater to and center the Black experience. Her works include Hands of Color (Synchronicity Theatre, 2019), The War Unseen (Montana Repertory Theatre, 2020), The Lost Women, which was developed and workshopped at the Playwrights’ Center (’21–’22 Jerome Fellowship) and The Playwrights’ Realm (’21–’22 Scratchpad Series), A Lesson in Love, and The Girls Next Door, which was also developed and workshopped at the Playwrights’ Center (’23–’25 Jerome Fellowship).
She is currently a professor at the University of Minnesota, where she teaches Acting, and at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, where she teaches a Creative Writing course on Narrative & Storytelling. Follow her creative journey on Instagram: @_onlynubia.
Upcoming: Primary Trust at the Guthrie Theater (October 11 –November 16, 2025).
Jamil Jude (Director)
Jamil Jude is a highly accomplished director, producer, playwright, and dramaturg, dedicated to bringing socially relevant art to the community. He is the Artistic Director of Kenny Leon’s True Colors Theatre Company in Atlanta, GA, and the Co-Founder of The New Griots Festival, which celebrates, advocates for, and advances the careers of emerging Black artists in Minneapolis–St. Paul, MN.
Jamil has had the privilege of directing across the country at venues including the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, American Conservatory Theater, Round House Theatre, Alliance Theatre, Curious Theatre Company, Pillsbury House + Theatre, Indiana Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, A Contemporary Theatre, and many others.
Signe V. Harriday (Associate Director)
Signe V. Harriday is Senior Artistic Producing Director at Pillsbury House + Theatre and Interim Head of Social Enteprises for Pillsbury United Communities. She has directed on stages across the country. Co-founder of Million Artist Movement, a collective of artists committed to Black liberation. Co-founder of the award-winning synchronized swimming team, The Subversive Sirens. Founder of Rootsprings Coop, a retreat center for BIPOC artists/activists/healers. Co-founder of MaMa mOsAiC, a women of color theater company whose mission is to evoke positive social change through female centered work. Core team member of REP Community Partners. Signe earned her MFA in Acting at the Institute for Advanced Theatre Training at the American Repertory Theatre at Harvard and Moscow Art Theatre and has been Drama League NY Directing and Hermitage Artist Fellow.
Lyndsey R. Harter (Stage Manager)
Lyndsey R. Harter (she/her) is grateful to return for her fourth production at Pillsbury House + Theatre. Previous productions include What to Send Up When It Goes Down, Passage, and A Walless Church. She has also collaborated with The Guthrie Theater, Minnesota Opera, Theater Latté Da, Theater Mu, Penumbra Theatre, History Theatre, New Dawn Theatre, Playwrights’ Center, Park Square Theatre, and Collide Theatrical Dance Company. Lyndsey is a proud member of Actors’ Equity Association and serves on the Central Committee for Independent Theatres. Up next: Playwrights’ Center’s PlayLabs Festival.
Elijah Virgil Hughes (Assitant Stage Manager)
Elijah Virgil Hughes (they/them) is thrilled to join Pillsbury House for the first time as the Assistant Stage Manager for A Lesson in Love. Eli is an actor and stage manager about town who thinks a lot about experimental theatre, fiber arts, video games, and food. They can frequently be found sitting in a nook or cranny, watching 4 hour long video essays about IPs they’ve never consumed, or embroidering a video game character you’ve never heard of. You can find them online @elijahvhughes on Instagram or at elijahvirgiltheatre.com.
Artistic and Production Staff
William Boles (Scenic Designer)
William Boles most recently designed the set for A Walless Church by AriDy Nox at Pillsbury House. Working at the intersection of theater, landscape, and poetry William founded FUTURE FUTURE PARKS, a mixed media studio launched in 2020 that explores how performance and nature can coexist as transformative public experiences. His work spans new plays, operas, and site-specific landscapes, taking him across the U.S. and internationally. See more of his work at wbdesigns. carbonmade.com
Queen Drea (Sound Designer)
Queen Drea is a sound alchemist, mixing sonic potions laced with looped vocals, jagged rhythms, and found sounds. She has designed sonic worlds for PH+T’s productions of What to Send Up, When it Goes Down, The Great Divide 3&4, Penumbra Theater’s For Colored Girls…, Spittin Seeds, Minnesota Children’s Theater’s Locomotion, and dance companies, BrotherHood Dance, and Ananya Dance Theater. She has created work about depression in the Black community, African creator goddess Mawu, and an exploration of what life comes From Black Wombs. Queen is a 2022 McKnight Composer Fellow, 2019 PH+T Naked Stages Fellow, 2019 Jerome Finalist, and 2017 ACF Emerging Composer awardee.
Ellie Simonett (Lighting Designer)
Ellie Simonett is thrilled to be designing at Pillsbury House for the first time! Ellie is a Lighting Designer around the Twin Cities. Her credits include New Native Theatre: Blood Quantum Physics, A Christmas In Ochopee, This Is How We Got Here; Phipps Center: Drowsy Chaperone, Arsenic And Old Lace; TAT At The Children’s Theatre Company: Be More Chill, Head Over Heels, Twelfth Night. She’s also been the Assistant Lighting Designer at the Minnesota Opera, The Guthrie, Children’s Theatre Company, and The Ordway.
Jenny Moeller (Properties Designer)
Jenny Moeller (she/her) is thrilled to be returning to Pillsbury House + Theatre. She is a props and lighting designer, director, playwright, and theater artist working in the Twin Cities. She is currently Technical Director of the Twin Cities Horror Festival, serves on the board for Arts Nest, and is the former Artistic Director of Raw Sugar. She has worked as producer, playwright, director, technical director, designer, and builder for many theaters, including Penumbra, Theatre Pro Rata, Nimbus, the Minnesota Opera, Southern Theater, Theatre Unbound, Four Humors, Six Points Theater, and many others. She believes that stories make us human, and has a passion for helping others bring their stories to life.
Trevor Bowen (Costume Designer)
Select credits include: Pillsbury House + Theatre — Jimmy and Lorraine: A Musing; Prep; Bloodknot; The Gospel of Lovingkindness; Scapegoat; Bright Half Life; The Road Weeps, the Well Runs Dry. Twin Cities — Minnesota Opera (La Boheme, Albert Herring, The Fix, Fellow Travelers); Children’s Theatre Company (An American Tail, I Come From Arizona, Last Stop on Market Street, Corduroy, Something Happened in Our Town); Ten Thousand Things (Good Person of Szechwan, Electra, Intimate Apparel, Fiddler on the Roof, Pericles); Guthrie (A Doll’s House, Nacirema Society, The Histories, Hamlet, Choir Boy, We Are Proud to Present…, U/G/L/Y); Penumbra (Weathering, Girl Shakes Loose); History Theatre (The Highwaymen, The Paper Dreams of Harry Chin); Jungle (Redwood); Mixed Blood (Barbeque, Charm, An Octoroon, Pussy Valley, Colossal). Regional — Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park (Primary Trust, Clyde’s); Denver Center (The Color Purple); Arena Stage (Ride the Cyclone); Kennedy Center (The Day You Begin); Seattle Children’s Theatre (Edward Tulane, Black Beauty, The Watson’s Go to Birmingham); Glimmerglass; Boston Lyric Opera; 5th Ave Theatre; Asolo Rep; American Players Theatre; FIAF; Steppenwolf (True West, BLKS); Oregon Shakespeare Festival (Shane). 2021–22 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow; member, USA 829.
Post Show Events
Mon. Sept. 29th Join a conversation with playwright Nubia Monks after our Industry Night performance.
Sun. Oct. 12th Join Million Artist Movement as they stitch the ‘lessons in love’ they have learned over the last ten years into a 26’ quilt.
Fri. Oct. 3rd Join Dr. Felicia Washington Sy in a dynamic conversation about Black love, joy, complexity and mental health.
Coming up at PH+T
PH+T Contributors
Funding from state and federal government agencies, local and national foundations and donations from individual donors fuel Pillsbury House + Theatre’s work. Contributions support not only our Mainstage and Naked Stages seasons, but also the Chicago Avenue Project and our community engagement programs.
Thank you to all donors for your generosity. If you have made a donation in the last year and do not find your name listed below, we apologize for the omission and ask that you let us know by contacting Sara Abdelaal at 612-787-3622 or SaraA@pillsburyhousetheatre.org.
Sponsors and Grantors
Carlson Family Foundation
George Family Foundation
Jerome Foundation
McKnight Foundation
Minnesota State Arts Board
Mortenson Foundation
Ruth Easton Fund of the Edelstein Family Foundation
Rosemary and David Good Family Foundation
Sheltering Arms Foundation
Shubert Foundation
Wallace Foundation
Annual Fund Donors
(2023 to Present)
Yasmin Abdi
Folasade Adesanya
Cheryl Anderson
Jeanne Andre
Julie Andrus
Andrew Arsham
Sarah Atkins
Judith Baldwin
Davina Baldwin
Christina Baldwin
Caroline Bassett
Jeffrey Beeman
Ike Belton
Jane Berg
Emily Best
Lynnette Black
Amy Blumenshine
Kristina Boerger
Brenna Brelie
Patricia Brenneman
Sharon Bridgforth
Kim Brown
Nancy Brown
Sarah Carew
Heather Carroll
Louisa Castner
Todd Charney
Adrienne Chivers
Sally Christenson
Colleen Clark
Becky Clawson & Jeffrey Garetz
T. Collopy
Ray Conroe & Maureen Shannon
John Cook
Lynda Dahl
Danielle Daniel
Jasmine Davilar
Barbara Davis
Thomas Davis
Barbara Greenwald Davis
Oscar Del Sebastien
Anna Dennis
John Doan
Linda Donaldson
Dan Donkers
Nance Duffy
Jean Ann Durades
Veronica Duran
Lisa DuRose
Troye Dylla
Randee Edmundson
Katie Edwards
Alisa Eland
William Elwood
Anna Marie Ettel
Megan Fortune
Ron Fraboni
Robert Frame
Lee Friedman
Linda C Giacomo
Sue Gibson & Neill Merek
Linda Gill
Kristin Gloe
Carla Gonzalez
Sally Gordon
Kelsey Gould
Carol Grady
Elizabeth Grant
Harry Greenberg
Dolores Gutierrez
Signe V. Harriday
Theamarie Harriday
Lyndsey Harter
James & Jean Hartman
Karen Heegaard
Ruthanne Heenan
Molly M. Henke
Tom Hennum
George Hoagland
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Toni Holloway
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Shelley Jacobson
Suzanne Jebe
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Miriam Kelen
Erin Kelly-Collins
Renee Kerr
Gabby Keys
Linda King & Rob Schauinger
Sarah Kluck
John Kluge
Michael Koch
Kathy Koch
Vaishnavi Kollimarla
Adhi Kona
Stephanie Konadu
Joe Kuznik
Wendy Lane
Laurel Lapore
Kathy & Allen Lenzmeier
David Leppik
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Margaret Lonergan
Kristen Lund
Ray M. Conroe
Xiaohan Ma
Ruth MacKenzie
William & Janet MacNally
Linda Madson
Chrissie & Brian Mahaffy
Kris & John Mandler
Judith Marshall
Humberto Martin
Jeffrey Masco
Danette McCarthy
Sheila McGinley
Kathy McKay
Patricia Mees
Janet Merrill
Jane Miller
David Miller
Dalyce Mills
Jamie Monson
Victoria Mucha
Mary Ellen Murphy
James Nelson
Sandra Ness
Christina Nicholson
David O’Fallon
Alys Ayumi Ogura
Laurie Ohanlon
Janet Oliver
Ben Olk
Joan Owens
Julia Palmer
Jane Pena
Kurt Peterson
Joan Piorkowski
Pauline Posten
Brenda Powell
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Faye M. Price
Jason Price
Terese Pritschet
Patrick Prochaska & Scott Smith
Kelly Ptacek
Doris Rausch
Jean Raymond
Pete & Karen Raymond
Noel Raymond & Amy Finch
Mary Riordan
Beverly Roberts
Linda Rost
Alison Ruth
Bonita Sample
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Ann Sargent
Sheryl Saterstrom
Eleanor Savage
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Anna Schloerb
Evie Schulte
Karin Schurrer-Erickson
Karon Sherart
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Kristin Siegesmund
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Chi-Ante Singletary
Nina Soffer
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Alicia Steele
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Marcia & John Stout
Karen Svien
Judy Takkunen
Hazel Tanner
James Tenley
Michael Tesch
Jo Thies
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Elizabeth Tisel
Karen Townsend
Dottie Rose Tremmel
Ann Viitala
Daniel Vogel
Serena Vruno
Walkup Walkup
Darlene Walser & Eyenga Bokamba
Melinda Ward
Harry Waters & Tom Borrup
Van Wert
Joel Wiberg
Bereket Worku
Beth Wright
Ann Wynia
Merra Young
Laura Young
Kathleen Zeleny
Louise Ziegler
Milligan
Donors
(2023 to present)
This fund is made possible by seed donations from the Milligan family, including a generous bequest from the estate of Carol Milligan in 2021. The fund will be cultivated and used to support the work of BIPOC artists.
Vicki & Eugene Adelman
Pamela Arnold
Malia Burkhart
Todd Charney
Moira Coe
Renee DeLong
Lisa DuRose
Robert Frame
Nathaniel & Cathy Fuller
Linda C Giacomo
Harry Greenberg
Elise Gumm
Lily Cate
Gabby Keys
Adhi Kona
Stephanie Konadu
Miriam Kyzer
Linda Madson
Thomas & Martha Milligan
Dalyce Mills
Nubia Monks
Bunnard Phan
Rich & Katie Piehl
Susan Raffo
Cynthia Reuss
Maxie Rockymore
Stacy Rooney
Helen Slater
Ella Stern
Jane Sturges
Emily Villano
Hayley Walker
Shannon Young
Laura Young
The Faye M. Price Fund Donors
Dedicated to our former Co-Artistic Director of over 20 years, the Faye M. Price Fund directly supports Black femaleidentified artists that PH+T has the honor to collaborate with.
Alan Berks
Denise Chapman
Margaret Cogelow
Lisa DuRose
Maureen Engelhardt
Robert Frame
Madeleine George
Kelsye Gould
Barbara Greenwald Davis
Katherine Harp
James & Jean Hartman
Stephanie Konadu
Meg Kosowski
Dalyce Mills
Mary Ellen Murphy
Faye M. Price
Emma Schubert
Anne Viitala
Laura Young
Louise Ziegler
Chicago Avenue Project Donors
(2023 to present)
Since 1996, CAP has brought local youth together with the Twin Cities’ best adult playwrights, actors, and directors to create and produce original plays.
Yasmin Abdi
Lauren Anderson
Patrick Bailey
Kris Berggren
Douglas Ewart
Harry Greenberg
Catherine Kemp
Stephanie Konadu
Mary Lee Krahn
Miriam Kyzer
Koleah Mantle
Kim McCoy
Margaret McKenna
Dalyce Mills
Elizabeth Mudenyo
Lior Perlmuter
Cynthia Reuss
Janely Rodriguez
Christina Sierra
Lyn Uhl
Laura Young
Kathleen Zeleny
our friends at Jakeeno’s down the street at the corner of 36th and Chicago for Happy Hour after the show.
your program for a FREE Cheese Bread Appetizer with purchase of entree.
Pillsbury Creative Commons Donors
Pillsbury Creative Commons (PCC) is the new name for the PH+T Campus Our expanded arts and economic development hub will fuel a more vibrant future for South Minneapolis, channeling the power of artists to transform the community with and for local residents.
Pamela Arnold
Sharon Bridgforth
Andrew Charon
Sue Gibson
Thomas Hennum
JoAnna Hicks
Suzanne Jebe
Sherry Johnson
Jane Miller
Mary Ellen Murphy
Eleanor Savage
Beth Sletta
Karen Svien
The Ruth Easton Fund
Actress Ruth Easton (née Edelstein) was born in North Branch, Minnesota and graduated from North Branch High School. She attended the University of Minnesota for one year and the following year attended Macalester College before finishing her collegiate career at Cumnock School in Los Angeles. She went on to New York where she studied acting with Oliver Morosco. Mr. Morosco opened a stock theater company in upstate New York where Ms. Easton starred in several plays. After performing with other stock theater companies she returned to New York City where she appeared in five Broadway plays over a period of seven years. They included Exceedingly Small, Privilege Car, Town Bay, Buckaroo and CharlieChan.ExceedinglySmall was directed by Ethel Barrymore and Easton played opposite Eric Dressler. New York critics praised her performance as “thoroughly touching” and “highly spirited and excellent.” She starred in radio dramas on the Rudy Vallee Hour and the Fleischmann’s Yeast Hour opposite such actors as Walter Huston, Judith Anderson and Lionel Barrymore. She also appeared with Clark Gable, Eddie Cantor and Al Jolson during the course of her career.
Ms. Easton’s legacy, her commitment to theater and the development of new works continues through the charitable gifts distributed through the Ruth Easton Fund of the Edelstein Family Foundation.
This activity is made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a Minnesota State Arts Board Operating Support grant, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
Pillsbury House + Theatre is supported in part by:
