Mission
To create vibrant theatre which is innovative, topical, and moving for an audience through daring music, compelling text, and passionately physical theatre.

Tessa Nicholson, Mariko Kaonohi, Takako Iijima, Dafydd James, Katie Melby, and Jason Bohon rehearse the first stages of MYTHED at the London International School of Performing Arts.

Since we were graduating, Katie and I had both been toying with the idea of moving to Minneapolis, so we asked the team if they'd be interested in doing a show at the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Many of them had never been to the United States, and the idea of bringing a show to a Fringe Festival sounded exciting- plus it was a good excuse to visit the States. Tessa Nicholson, originally the "girl made of flowers," was unable to come on the tour due to other commitments. Upon our arrival, Jalyn Knobloch, a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota, took on the role of Blodeuwedd, and the production was further developed at the South Dakota Theatre Festival before it became a huge success at the 2005 Minnesota Fringe Festival. And people wanted to see more, as one Christof Madsen said:

"Minneapolis would be extremely lucky if this company could remount this show or continue on in our city. A few members of the cast are moving here, so there is a whiff of hope in the air."

Dafydd James teaches Katie Melby
music for MYTHED at the London
International School of Performing Arts.

I always knew I wanted to start a theatre company but I didn't really think it would be that summer. We weren't really sure what direction Three Sticks Theatre Company would go, since it's founders and original company members were all returning to their respective countries. Since Katie and I were living in Minneapolis and wanted to develop work, we continued to create and produce under the name of Three Sticks Theatre Company. Again, there was really no formal decision to create a theatre company, it was just happening. That following winter, Katie and I gathered a new group of artists: Eric Holm, Andrew Lynch, and Molly Wicks to adapt F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Ice Palace for the 2006 St Paul Winter Carnival. It was an appropriate venue since the story took place in the ice palaces of the Winter Carnival in 1922. This production also laid the groundwork for a relationship that would continue to develop with Festival Director Theresa Fetsch, who wanted to offer theatre as an event for patrons of the Winter Carnival.

That following summer in 2006, original company members Maya Robert-Nicoud and Takako Iijima returned from Switzerdland and Japan, respectively, to create a new piece for the Fringe Festival: Borderlines. Jalyn Knobloch, Katie Melby and I returned to become bouffons, Andrew Lynch wrote the music, and we brought onboard new collaborators: Damon Brook and Andy Langenfeld. (Andy went on to study at the London International School of Performing Arts). After another successful run with Borderlines, I knew that something was starting to emerge- a genuine interest in developing a company.

Jason Bohon, Takako Iijima, Katie Melby, Damon Brook, and Jalyn Elyse in the first stages of rehearsal for BORDERLINES.

With the return of the winter season, I decided to take a stab at the classics and adapted a version of Shakespeare's A Midwinter Night's Dream for the St Paul Winter Carnival. New collaborators included Sara Richardson, Sarah Bahr, Jason Ballweber, Jason Burnstein, Elise Langer, and Katrina Hawley along with long-time collaborators Eric Holm, Andrew Lynch, Katie Melby, and myself. This show brought together such a strong, fresh group of talent and we were inspired to do more...

We decided to change the name from Three Sticks Theatre Company to 3 Sticks for a couple of reasons. Maya Robert-Nicoud always wanted to create a logo and I always envisioned a number instead of the word- for simplicity sake. There was also some confusion as to whether it was the number 3 or the word three, so the logo would help concrete that choice, which was never clear for us. We also took out Theatre Company because it made the logo too long, and we wanted to work outside of the realm of theatre. We also thought about 3 Sticks Productions, but then realized that would be too long as well. We still occasionally refer to ourselves as 3 Sticks theatre company, but no longer include it as part of the official name.

-Jason Bohon, Artistic Director

About Our Name
Originally founded as The Three Sticks Theatre Company, the company took inspiration for its name from a class exercise at the London International School of Performing Arts. In a SpaceLab class, which focused on dynamics and relationships in space, each student was given three wooden sticks and a single piece of string. The objective was to create a freestanding, three-dimensional structure where the 3 sticks never came in contact with one another. Throughout the year, the instructors would constantly refer to the 3 sticks, not only the spatial relationships on stage, but also in drama, tragedy, and of course comedy. The company recently changed its name from Three Sticks Theatre Company to simply 3 Sticks. This not only made it easier when creating our logo but also reflects a change in leadership, structure, and direction for the company.

1 is alone. 2 is balanced. 3 is off balance, when the drama begins...

Music Director
Andrew Lynch

Artistic Associates
Katie Melby
Maya Robert-Nicoud

Collaborating Artists

Founders
Katie Melby
Dafydd James
Jason Bohon