A live reading series featuring new science fiction from Cole and special guest writers, underscored with futurist soundscapes by accomplished musicians. Two writers spin original science fiction, and one musician underscores the readings with complementary auditory landscapes. We focus on Science Fiction because we need to be thinking of the future as a society, for a multitude of reasons: we need to be seeing and talking about ourselves and each other in new ways- seeing people of color, women, queer folks, and immigrants in the future- showing folks in positions of power, showing different ways of leading, etc. Society also needs to think about the effects of continuing to mistreat the planet, humans, plants, and animals; but also to envision new ways of doing things (or imagining old ways of doing things in the future).
April 6, 2025 featuring:
Naomi Kritzer (she/her) is a science fiction and fantasy writer from St. Paul. In Minneapolis and St. Paul, she is probably best known for her political blog, which provides deep-dive information on candidates in local political races. Her fiction has won the Hugo Award, the Edgar Award, the Nebula Award, and the Minnesota Book Award. She has a spouse, two grown kids and three cats (the number of cats is subject to change without notice). You can find Naomi online at naomikritzer.com or on Bluesky as @naomikritzer.bsky.social. Her latest book, Liberty’s Daughter, came out in November 2023.
Dissociate (he/him), the science fiction-inspired dark electronic project from musician and sound designer Jonathan Ford is spontaneity personified. For over 20 years, Ford has been manufacturing aural chaos from hardware sound sources, live synthesizers, triggered samples and abused filter banks in real-time. Each Dissociate performance offers a unique exploration, bringing forth instant musical discoveries within this confined aural space. As a musician, Ford has performed with Nitzer Ebb, Covenant, Haujobb, and more. Ford co-founded and hosted The Descent on the University of Minnesota's Radio K, and has performed with Dies Irae !US, Tiree & Hutch, Stellar Vector and Rear Window. As a sound designer, Ford has contributed music, audio collages, and sound effects to theatrical and performance art pieces including independent film, the XIV World Congress International Federation for Theatre Research in Amsterdam, and the Walker Museum in Minneapolis, MN. Ford is also guitarist for synth pop group Little Tin Box.
Cole Sarar (she/they) is a writer, photographer, and tech-artist. She creates public, interactive literary pieces in collaboration with local writers, using phone technology and simple physical design. She’s the creator of Cole Sarar’s Sci-Fi Reading Hour, a live reading series featuring new science fiction from Cole and special guest writers, underscored with futurist soundscapes by accomplished musicians. Cole’s creative work envisions possible futures and alternate presents, employing under-represented characters and situations to imagine ourselves existing in the future, having roles, and doing things other than what has been written for us in the past. Their work falls along the intersection of technology and literature. They might use code and tech behind the scenes, or simple physical items like paper, flags, and our cell phones to create surprising, interactive fiction in physical space. Cole served on the board of Art Shanty Projects, and moonlights for various arts organizations. They are first generation Turkish-American.
Tickets are $10 in Advance / $15 at the Door. Doors open at 6pm. Online ticket sales end at 5pm.
Our full restaurant and bar service is available in the theater! Order from your seat and enjoy the show, we'll take care of the rest.