Lightning Rod

How Funding Helped a Theatre Collective Continue to Live Out Loud.

Lightning Rod is an experimental theatre collective of trans and queer artists the Twin Cities. Their mission is to show their community that they already possess the skills and knowledge needed to create relevant, meaningful, timely, and quality performance art. The collective invites artists of all backgrounds and skill levels to participate in what they call “flash theatre,” an action of community and political involvement, begging the question “What needs to be said this week?” 

On the gift from the Waterers they said,  “We are invigorated by the opportunity to be recognized and supported by artmakers and culture bearers in Minnesota. Our work has become increasingly important as our city processes through the uprisings of 2020 and the ongoing global pandemic.” 

Immediate Distribution funds were used to pay their staff and artists and allow them the ability to strategically plan and make decisions about their future. “We are a company tethered to our community of queer and trans people, most of whom happen to be BIPOC. We are interested in possibility and creation as we believe that Transformative Justice and imagination are tools for discovering a new and just world.”