John Bueche

John Bueche is a multi‐faceted theater maker and member of Minneapolis’ Bedlam Theatre since 1993. Whether engaging as a director, designer, performer or playwright on a specific project, his over‐riding approach is as a collage artist: sorting promising tidbits to create odd juxtapositions that variably make sense, make non‐sense and make new sense. Bueche has created new work in divergent ways with Bedlam and other companies. Bedlam scripts include “Attic of Whim”(2000), “To Shining Sea”(2002), “West Bank Story “(2006) and “Come to Dada”(2009). He’s performed on stage with Theatre de la Jeune Lune and since 2001 has been the lead scenic designer of FrankTheatre’s roaming warehouse installations.

He founded Bedlam’s Annual Ten‐Minute Play Festival in 2002 as a turning point in Bedlam’s community access to the creative process and led Bedlam’s venue shift and strategic evolution in 2007 to theater‐restaurant‐nightcluboutdoor stage community center. Bueche holds a BA in Philosophy and Dramatic Arts from MacalesterCollegewith additional study at the Eugene O’Neill National Theater Institute and Ersnt Busch Hochscule East Berlin. He currently serves as Executive Artistic Director of Bedlam Theatre as well as the chair of the Cedar RiversideNeighborhood Revitalization Board.

What's this "Executive Artistic Director" business? Well, we had two Co-Artistic Directors the past number of years, but I sorta direct the whole ball of wax and Maren is more focused on production calendar, it was useful to differentiate.  And its maybe a mild commentary that the whole ball of wax is STILL art, because at times, experimenting with the  the mix of activity, some get distracted from the fact that Bedlam is a Theatre (theater?). 

What's the distraction? See "Theater's Becoming Centers in the 21st Century" - a restaurant, beer/wine bar, social center community club, meeting hall, bike shop, youth resource, dance hall, with rain cisterns, full spectrum recycling and compost, with music and cabaret most nights and theater/performance 52 weeks/yr.  Yeah, we're still figuring it out.