BEMIDJI — As a newly selected fellow in a rural arts program, theater director Mary Knox-Johnson is already planning a massive musical stage production she hopes will open an honest dialogue in Bemidji.
Springboard for the Arts has selected 12 Rural Regenerator Fellows who live or work in rural communities across the Upper Midwest. Each fellow receives flexible funds to support or expand existing work and two years of learning exchanges with fellow rural artists.
One of the 12, Knox-Johnson is a retired teacher who serves on the Bemidji Community Theater Board, directing two musicals a year.
The email from Springboard for the Arts came to her at a perfect time, she said during a conversation on Area Voices.
“Usually I am so very, very busy that I can’t do things in the fall, but the dates for this fellowship just happened to work out with my schedule,” Knox-Johnson said. “So, I thought, well, maybe this is fate.”
I believe that everyone has the right to their opinion without being demoralized and demeaned because of that opinion.Mary Knox-Johnson
Requirements include a three-day retreat, where she will meet the other Rural Regenerator fellows this month to get to know one another. In the spring, she will also participate in a weeklong retreat for research and her upcoming project. The fellowship also requires that she work with one of the other fellows for a project.
The fellows are from all over the Midwest, including Nebraska, South Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin. A second local fellow selected this year is Ne-Dah-Ness Greene of Leech Lake, a self-taught photographer and social activist.
Knox-Johnson's tentative plan is to stage the musical 1776, which is based on the events leading up to the signing of the Declaration of Independence. She plans to cast the roles to actors with the most talent.
“So Ben Franklin might end up being a woman,” Knox-Johnson said. “And if I have someone who is a different race and comes in and wants to play Thomas Jefferson, I don’t have a problem with that. If they can sing the role and can act the role, they should have the role.”
She added, “I just want to get a different perspective out there and especially with 1776, I've always felt very strongly that our country is based on democracy, and democracy depends on free flow of ideas.”
She’s also hoping it will open an honest dialogue.
“I'm sure in the next election there will be some issues that will divide this country. And (I hope) that we stop name calling and we start looking at one another as individuals,” Knox-Johnson said.
“I think that's what the whole fellowship is about. That we can look past all of those extra things. That I'm still a person, and I live in this country, and I believe in these principles, and I believe that everyone has the right to their opinion without being demoralized and demeaned because of that opinion.”
Theater has been an interest for Knox-Johnson since high school, but not as an actor. She began as an usher and eventually grew into the roles of director and designer.
Knox-Johnson recommends applying for opportunities like the Rural Regenerator Fellowship through Springboard for the Arts, to grow artistically and connect with others.
“So I say to anyone out there — and the same thing about being on the stage — if you've ever wanted to be in the show and you haven't, well, audition. Because you'll never know if you don't audition, and when you get the part, you might just find out that you like it.”
Aside from the honor of the fellowship, Knox-Johnson is directing the upcoming Bemidji Community Theater musical Brigadoon, which opens Nov. 10.
Tell us about upcoming arts events where you live in Northern Minnesota email psa@kaxe.org.
Area Voices is made possible by the Minnesota Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund and the citizens of Minnesota.