All About the Jungle's New 40 & Under Happenings
A night at the theater isn't a thing of the past—come have a great time with us! Enjoy our unique lineup of shows, grab a drink at the reception and engage with our community during the Jungle's new 40 & Under Affinity nights.
— Anna Kay,
Artist and Audience Services Manager
Through polling and conversations with colleagues and acquaintances, we’ve compiled some feedback from patrons in their 20s and 30s about their experience with and opinion of the Jungle. From awkward show experiences to unattainable pricing and practices there is some reasonable hesitancy from young folks in the Twin Cities to engage with theater. As a person in their mid-twenties, I’m excited to make the Jungle more accessible, welcoming and fun for people my age.
Let’s be real, we all experience the world a little bit differently and theater is no exception. We have different personal experiences and media references, we may use different language/slang from one another, and we prefer to interact with the people around us in different ways. Part of the beauty of theater is the differing opinions and reactions sharing space in the room, but we also want folks to be free to express their experience of a performance authentically.
This is one of the main benefits of affinity nights, which were originally popularized by playwrights Dominique Morisseau and Jeremy O. Harris to center the Black artists and audiences experience during performances of “Pipeline” and “Slave Play” but have now been implemented around the country in recent years to create space for people of many identities who have been historically pushed out, under-represented, misrepresented or otherwise made to feel unwelcome in the theatre community.
With the help and guidance of Sha Cage and Brettina Davis, last season we tested the waters by hosting BlackOut nights during our production of “A Jumping Off Point” and we want to continue to build the sense of community those nights ignited. One way we aim to do this in the ‘24-25 Season is by starting Under 40 Affinity nights to bring the community together and make your experience at the Jungle even more unique. And to complement these affinity nights we are also launching an Under 40 Flex Pass at a reduced price to lessen the barrier to entry.
The Under 40 Flex Passes are on sale now for $75 dollars which is $25 per performance this season and more than a 50% discount on our regular 3-ticket Flex Pass. I know that this price is still an investment and may not be doable for everyone, but our subscriptions aren’t designed to be a way to save money—that's what our Pay As You Are single tickets are good for. It’s a way for you to make an attainable investment in the Jungle as we continue to invest in all of you. We hope you join us this season in whatever way you’re able and just know we’re trying to make space for you.
Grab your flex passes now and look at everything we have to offer this season. Join us during our Industry NIghts on Mondays or our scheduled Under 40 affinity nights—we’ll have a pre-show reception for Flex Pass folks, really great audiences and some extra surprises in the works! And stay tuned throughout the season because we plan to expand our affinity night offerings. We’re listening to you and want to continue to hear your voices, so please reach out to me if you want to share your theater experiences or ideas. Hope to see you all at the theater!
Written by Anna Kay, Artist and Audience Services Manager
Check out more of Anna’s initiatives with the Jungle Theater’s First-Timer’s Guide and our Code of Conduct.
You can reach out to Anna to suggest an Affinity Night, ask questions about the Jungle, or book your Under 40 Subscription by emailing here at akay@jungletheater.org.
Photos by Lauren B. Photography
About our 2024/25 FlexPass Shows:
Here at the Jungle Theater we produce some incredible plays (if we do say so ourselves). We pick out the scripts, cast the show, build the set here on our stage, all of it. With that, these are the shows you can see this year:
Dinner For One
Nov 30 - Jan 5 | 40&Under Night: Dec 5
A music-filled comedy show about a woman trying to celebrate her 90th birthday party as her butler acts out all of her friends that weren’t able to attend. Unpredictable mishaps and too much wine result in a hilarious comedic performance that will have audiences laughing long after they leave the theater.
With the show taking place over the holiday season, it is the perfect event to impress out of town guests with!
THE EFFECT
Mar 1 - 30 | 40&Under Night: Mar 6
If you like Black Mirror, Maniac, or Spiderhead, THE EFFECT might be the show for you. It follows two individuals on a clinical trial for antidepressants. As the two start falling for each other, it is up to the audience to decipher if the pair truly loves each other, or if it is just a side effect of the drugs. ALSO, the playwright Lucy Prebble also is one of the writers for Succession, so if you like the razor sharp writing of that show, you should add THE EFFECT to your list.
FAST FWD MOTIONS
May 31 - Jun 29 | 40&Under Night: Jun 5
FAST FWD MOTIONS follows a volleyball team of Hmong-American women and their league right here in Minnesota. It shows the viewers how important the team and the sport are to these women as life starts pulling them in different directions. Local playwright Kaite Ka Vang has created such a dynamic show with truly relatable characters. If you are drawn to Hmong narratives, sports dramas, generational ties, or local Minnesota stories, this is the show for you.
About our 40 & Under FlexPass Subscription and how to use them:
FlexPass Subscriptions are more similar to a punch card than the monthly subscription service that you probably already use. It is a way to commit to an awesome evening at the theater without having to know which day or show you want right away. You are buying 3 ‘passes’ that you exchange for tickets to 2024/25 Season mainstage performances. You can bring two others to one show, or come alone to all of our shows! And don’t worry about coming alone. Book your tickets for our 40 & Under nights to access our pre-show reception and meet other theater-loving individuals!
Where our usual 3-Ticket FlexPass is $144, our 40 & Under pass just $75. That is almost a 50% discount and cheaper than most Twin Cities sporting events/concerts. Plus you get 3 tickets for that one price.