Silen Wellington (they/he) is a sculptor of sound, artist of people, storyteller, witch, genderqueer shapeshifter, mercurial name collector, and lover, among other things. Avidly interdisciplinary, they like to combine music with other art mediums, be that spoken word, visual art, ritual performance, loud and fiery eye contact, otherworldly and melting trysts, or something else entirely.

They were a 2022-2023 American Opera Initiative composer with Washington National Opera for a production at the Kennedy Center. In 2022, they were Bouman Fellow with the composer collective Kinds of Kings and in 2019, they were the SEAMUS Allen Strange Award recipient. Internationally performed from Hyderabad, India to Invercargill, Aotearoa New Zealand, their work has won competitions & commissions from ensembles such as Ars Nova Singers, Denver’s Playground Ensemble, Resonance Women’s Chorus, and Phoenix: Colorado’s Transgender Community Choir.

They have participated in residencies and festivals such as Virginia Center for the Creative Arts & Connecticut Summerfest. Besides writing music, they enjoy writing poetry, harvesting stories, unhinged-unfettered-unapologetic dance, and falling in love.

Alma Engebretson is a multi-disciplined composer and instrumentalist. They front local rock band Girdle of Judith, in which they compose, play guitar, and sing. Alma plays lead guitar in other exciting groups such as: d’Lakes, and Kym and the Kick. They were also a founding member of Mr. Zipp, who released their first album, Heathen’s Easter, in spring 2024. Alma has been composing and performing on bass and cello with jazz group, SPACE, since 2017. In that time, SPACE has released two albums: Non-Trivial Problem, and The Approaching Coast. Apart from their instrumental work, Alma collaborates in a variety of other theatrical projects, including The Garden by Open Flame theatre, Once Upon a Winter’s Night by Open Eye theatre, and Mother King by Dameun Strange. Alma also worked with Walken Schweigert on creating their one person show, Clocked Out, at Pangea Theater. In their spare time, Alma enjoys juggling, skiing, and weaving on their loom.

Orren Fen (They/Them)

All their life, Orren has been making weird Queer art in South Minneapolis. They focus their work on puppetry, costume design, dance, performance art, sequins, and googly eyes. Recent productions include Co-Host/curator of Puppet Fashion show at HOBT (spring 2023), Costume Design/Puppeteer for Impact Theory of Mass Extinction at HOBT (spring 2022),

Co-Host of MPLS Crankie Fest (fall 2022),

Costume Design/Puppeteer for Into the Bowels of Heck with Open Eye Theater (fall 2022).

Orren is currently attending FAIR high school and is an intern at Heart of the Beast Theater.

You can find them on Instagram at

@sequined_stardust

Richard Newman is an actor, creator, dramaturg, and director. As co-director of The Hinterlands, Richard has led the company in its process of creating several original touring performances and public interventions that have been seen at venues ranging from the Detroit Institute of Arts to Legion Arts, and contexts from the Illinois Humanities 50th Anniversary commemoration of the Democratic National Convention Protests to the Shanghai Biennial. His directorial work disarms through humor and disruption, using sharp shifts in tone and structure to keep audiences on their toes. An audience might begin the performance sifting through the contents of a radical archive, find themselves in a method acting class, and end by reading through a newspaper from a fictional, utopian past. In addition to his work with The Hinterlands, Richard was an ensemble member of Double Edge Theatre from 2004-2008 where he co-created numerous performances including Republic of Dreams and the UnPOSSESSED. He was an artist in residence with The Dell’Arte Company (Blue Lake, CA) and founded the Breaking Bread Project – a multi-year collaboration between artists in the U.S. and the Balkans, and is currently directing “The Garden” for Open Flame Theatre. Richard has led workshops and trainings at universities and theatres around the world and has performed abroad in China, Spain, Poland, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Canada. Richard also composes electronic music under the moniker Registered Nurse.

Musician, audio engineer, and local stagehand. Polyglot traveler, alpine skier, night walker.

Kate Tobie is a clown, physical performer, puppeteer, and artist in various mediums. She loves her cat, plants and making people laugh. She grew up on the West Coast and found her home in the Twin Cities five years ago. After touring her solo show, HerPlease, internationally last year she is excited to be making work in the Twin Cities in ensemble. She graduated from Dell'Arte School of Physical Theatre’s MFA program in 2016. Keep a lookout for her clown and movement workshops coming soon and catch her on stage at Red Eye Theatre in Apartment 2B. 

Carlisle Evans Peck is a queer composer, singer-songwriter, and educator based in Minneapolis. Based in Minnesota since 2015 they have performed their original work locally and nationally, collaborated extensively with local theater and performing artists, and self-released four albums. They have received a 2020 Minnesota Music Creators Award and the 2022 Cedar Commissions, and toured their original queer ancestor cabaret Iconoclasm through Minnesota in 2024 with the support of the Minnesota State Arts Board. Collaboration credits include Barebones Puppets, Mixed Precipitation, Wild Conspiracy, Minneapolis Choir Coop, and May Day. They are elated to be working with Open Flame for the first time!

Chrystal A. Odin (all pronouns), is a Queer and ADO(e)S mother, spouse, flower farmer/florist, educator, facilitator, consultant, care-giver, visual artist & performer, and activist for ADO(e)S and Indigenous access to land as a human right; believing that the historical relationship of oppressed peoples to agriculture is a cultural imperative that contains the legacy of humane process, and that centering this legacy is part of the answer to healing the global harms of colonialism. Chrystal is a current resident of Philadelphia Community Farm Inc (PCF)., serving as a Community Member, Educator and Co-Farmer.  Chrystal’s artistic roots are grounded in the theater, classical vocals, jazz, puppets & clowning. Chrystal is a Springboard For the Arts (2024-2026) Rural Regenerator Fellow, a Level 2 Social Clown through Nose-To-Nose of North America, and a featured creative writer with Lillipoh magazine. Chrystal’s education style brings together hand work and cultural heritage history to reconnect youth and adults to their ancestral lineages through fiber arts, seed keeping, plant care, and soil health.

PHOTO CREDIT: MICHAIL MOORE PHOTOGRAPHY

Isabel Nelson (she/they) is a community songleader, ritual artist, and award-winning theater director, creator and performer. In 2010, she founded Twin Cities-based physical theater ensemble Transatlantic Love Affair (TLA), which collaboratively creates original works from the reimagined bones of old stories, and served as artistic director of the company until 2022. She is the recipient of the 2012 Emerging Artist Ivey Award and the National Theater Conference’s 2015 Emerging Professional Award, and is currently a 2025-26 McKnight Theater Artist Fellow at the Playwrights’ Center. She received her B.A. from Macalester College in Theatre and Religious Studies, completed a two-year program (M.F.A. equivalent) in Creating Theatre at the Lecoq-based London International School of Performing Arts (LISPA), and received her M.Div. in Theology and the Arts from United Theological Seminary. Currently Isabel brings their creative practice to bear in collaboration with folx incarcerated at state prisons in Lino Lakes, Shakopee, and Stillwater. Isabel believes in singing and storytelling as vessels for healing, and theater as sacred action – a chance to imagine, embody, and create the just and generative world we deserve.

Erin Leigh Crites (she/they) is an international theatre artist, educator, and maven of make-believe. Erin has traveled extensively to explore the global community and create bonds through theatrical play, positive embodied presence, and ensemble dynamics work. She has worked as full-time faculty for the University of Louisville (where she was also director of graduate studies and head of movement) and at the international arts boarding school, Idyllwild Arts Academy.  Erin originated a role for Nobel Laureate, Dario Fo and Franca Rame’s final work, La Storia di Qu, for the International Expo in Milan in 2015 and has been a storykeeper of the (yet) unpublished play ever since. She has served as president of the board of directors as well as an ensemble performer for Clowns Without Borders USA. She is an Alexander Technique teacher and founder of Feel Better Sessions, a culture-building community birthed in the pandemic that provides prompts, coaching, and curated content for those who dream of a stronger connection with themselves, others, and nature. Erin has facilitated workshops in empowered storytelling, positive presence, and collective creation for many institutions globally, including but not limited to: VICE, Google, Plaza de la Raza, the Hollywood Fringe Festival, University of Louisville, Hunter College, Accademia dell Arte, Dell’Arte International, The Paolo Grassi School, Hospital Juarez and Risaterapia. Erin graduated from Dell’ Arte International with their MFA in physically based ensemble theatre in 2010. She is thrilled to be in The Wilderness with fellow creative kin. Look for her work in upcoming projects Apt 2B at Red Eye Theatre (10/31-11/8) and Go Dog Go! Ve Perro ¡Ve! At Children’s Theatre Company (1/23-2/22/26).