Mary Fox has one of the most diverse and interesting theatrical resumes of almost anyone in Duluth. Whether acting, directing, or teaching, she brings her exuberant, funny, and endearing personality and her quirky take on life to everything she does. And while she has done theatre in many different locales, she has come home to Duluth and to Zeitgeist Theater.
Her earliest memories of theatre were “putting on little skits and plays with my brothers and cousins and performing them for our parents on random Friday nights, lots of lip syncing to Huey Lewis and the News, and pretending I was Madonna.”
As a 7th grader in Chaska, Minnesota, where she grew up, she got cast in the lead in a school production of “Mary Poppins” and, as she puts it, “the rest is history.” In high school and in college at UMD as a musical theater major, she performed numerous roles in a variety of musicals and straight plays and received her BFA.
“My college theatre experience gave me humor, humbleness, and fearlessness that I didn’t even know I had. Gosh, we were brave back then! It gave me art, and connection, and love, and boyfriends, and an understanding of myself – it took me to the edge . . . Theatre never stops. UMD taught me that,” she said.
“After graduating from UMD, literally the very next day, I got on a plane with a one-way ticket to NYC,” she noted. “I had never visited before but knew in my hungry artist heart I just HAD to go and follow my dream.”
Acquiring a number of different theater jobs in New York, Mary started adding to her theatrical resume. She worked for Comedy Central behind the scenes and had some success with an off-Broadway play – a political drama.
She fell into some experimental work with The Manhattan Theatre Source, did a tour with National Theater for Children, and had her first directing gig in NYC with The Strawberry One Acts.
After a few years in NYC of auditioning, callbacks, bartending to make ends meet, a gig here, and a gig there, Mary bought a one-way ticket to Ireland, where she spent the next year traveling through Europe and then Southeast Asia.
Her eclectic jobs included doing voice-over work in Chiang Mai, Thailand, playing guitar for euros in coffee shops and tapas bars in Barcelona, and teaching theatre workshops in hostels.
Coming Home
She headed home to Minnesota, where she was cast in a new play at Yellow Tree Theatre in Minneapolis. While Mary says she had every intention of heading back to NYC after the show was done, she auditioned for another play at Yellow Tree and got the job, and then another.
“I found myself truly enjoying being back in Minnesota and fell madly in love with the art and theatre scene in and around the Twin Cities. I directed several shows at Yellow Tree, in addition to acting. I was also able to join the Actors’ Equity Association through my work done in Minnesota,” she explained.
She did plays and musicals with Theater Latte Da, The Children’s Theatre Company, Playwrights’ Center, and a new play in The Guthrie’s Dowling studio, and started to get into the writing and creating side of theatre.
After writing the musical “Stay Tuned,” which premiered at Yellow Tree, Mary and the other writers of the musical, Andy Frye and Blake Thomas, found themselves moving north to Duluth to see if the community here would be receptive to a live variety radio show loosely based on their musical, called “Take It With You.”
“That show is probably my favorite accomplishment in my career. I love it so much. We thought we’d give Duluth a try for a year, that year turned into ten,” she said.
She added, “I have had the honor and opportunity to work at Renegade Theater Company and The Playhouse, I joined Renegade Improv, I also traveled back to the Cities for a few more gigs with Latte Da and Yellow Tree, all the while performing, writing, and producing ‘Take It With You’ at The Underground every third Tuesday of the month.”
She applied and got the job as Artistic Director at Renegade, survived the pandemic – and became the Producing Artistic Director of Zeitgeist Theater Company. In addition to producing theatre at Zeitgeist, she has directed at the Norshor and became an adjunct professor at St. Scholastica, teaching “Intro to Theatre.”
“Most importantly, I want to continue to direct and act in new works. Every Broadway show comes from somewhere, and if we don’t continue to support and take risks on new plays and their creators, we’re just going to be inundated with reboots and remakes and re-whatevers – YAWN.”
Zeitgeist and the Arts Community
“Every day I get to work with the most important people in my life and collaborate with artists in ways I could not have dreamt. Zeitgeist is not just theatre. It’s a place with food, art, school, and films, and work being done through our community.”
She added, “Zeitgeist is a safe place for all. It is a place that opens hearts and minds, and this is happening inside our building and outside in our streets. Zeitgeist is also a place where we continue to ask questions.”
Of the area arts community, Mary said, “Duluth proves over and over again to be this incredible cultural hub of art and music. Duluth is art. Art is Duluth. Goodness! Everyone should move here!”
RENT—A Big Show in a Small Space
Up next for Mary (co-directed with Jess Hughes) is Jonathan Larson’s landmark musical RENT. The show will feature a 5-piece rock band and a fifteen-member cast.
“I think the most challenging aspect of doing this show is that it’s so well known. People have high expectations, so the challenge is to break open those expectations and create a new and different experience. Not better, just new.”
“I am most excited for the audience to SING ALONG TO ALL THE SONGS! There is going to be so much love in that theatre. I cannot wait!
“I’m a sucker for figuring out how to put on big shows in small spaces, especially classics.” She added, “I think audiences find something new about shows they are familiar with when done in a different environment.”
“When you are up close and personal to a show you’ve grown up with, or when you can potentially touch a character by just reaching your hand out, it makes you feel like you are a part of the world. I think the story cracks open a little differently,” she stated.
“My incredible Co-Director, Jess Hughes, describes doing RENT as an act of resistance. It’s a protest play. And that is now my strongest reason why I want to do this show.”
Information About RENT
By Jonathan Larson
Directed by Jess Hughes & Mary Fox
DATES
July 31, August 1, 2, 3 & 6, 7, 8, 9
All evening shows at 7:30pm – Matinee Sunday the 3rd at 2pm
LOCATION
Zeitgeist Teatro
222 E Superior St, Duluth, MN 55802
TICKETS
Box Office: (218) 336-1414 or bo*******@***********ts.com
Purchase Online Tickets Here
“In the late 1980s and early 1990s, friends in Manhattan’s East Village struggle to build the lives of their dreams. Pennilessness, drug abuse, HIV/AIDS, social tension, and political unrest, among other hardships, challenge the group physically and emotionally. Facing the problems head-on, they make personal self-discoveries and find what really matters most in life.” (From Zeitgeist website)
