PlaceBase Productions, in partnership with Springboard for the Arts – Fergus Falls, turned the grounds of the Fergus Falls Kirkbride Regional Treatment Center into a stage to showcase the local talent and explore the rich history, stories, and collective memories associated with the building on September 6, 2014. This production brought over 600 people from Fergus Falls and all over Minnesota to experience an unforgettable play about the history of mental health and an outdoor gallery of sculptures, paintings, and installations created by regional artists. Audience members rode on bikes and in hay-ride-style “people movers” from scene to scene around the outside of this 1/3-mile-long building. More than one audience member commented, “I have never seen anything like this!”
The goal of the Kirkbride Cycle was to provide a creative forum for the community of Fergus Falls to explore and discuss the past, present and future of the building and it’s grounds, through a public “walking theatre” performance based on the history and stories of the building.
Ashley and Andrew of PlaceBase Productions collected stories in Fergus Falls for ten months. They had conversations with numerous local citizens about the relationship between the RTC and the community, with former employees and residents about the evolution of mental health care, and with local politicians and preservation advocates about the history of this beautiful building. The play incorporated all of these elements, and, aside from Ashley and Andrew, who served as Artistic Directors, the entire cast and crew was comprised of over 60 Fergus Falls residents. This was community-based theatre at its best.
Watch a documentary about the Kirkbride Cycle
Watch an episode of POSTCARDS from Pioneer Public Television about the role of the Kirkbride Cycle in the Kirkbride Arts and Culture Weekend.
CLICK HERE or on the photo below to see MORE PHOTOS from the production
A Letter from Mayor Hal Leland of Fergus Falls
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Songs from the production–recorded by the cast.
Prairie Dreams
Homespun Music
Watch a video about our process of creating the Kirkbride Cycle in Fergus Falls
Photos from Rehearsal
Click here to read an article about the Kirkbride Cycle from Howlround.com
Click here to read the Press Release for the Kirkbride Cycle.