Illusion Theater

They presented the play called Touch—which broke new ground in helping children identify harmful actions—to thousands of people starting in 1982, around Minnesota and the U.S.

In 1988, Illusion launched a long-running series of new works called Fresh Ink, in which new projects underway are workshopped and collaboratively honed with audience participation.

[18][19] Some of the playwrights who launched their work in Fresh Ink include Dane Stauffer, Jeffrey Hatcher, Marion McClinton and Ping Chong.

[20][16] Illusion Theater's budget includes ticket sales, group program revenue, and funding from the Minnesota State Arts Board and others.

The goal was to provide awareness of both physical transmission of AIDS and its emotional and relationship effects - while carefully approaching the social context.

[27] Illusion presented the first Fresh Ink season in 1988, consisting of works-in-progress that the director shares with an audience as part of the crafting process.

The long list of playwrights who have participated in Fresh Ink include Kim Hines, Mary Cryer, Lester Purry, Dane Stauffer, Buffy Sedlachek, T. Mychael Rambo, Gary Rue, Carolyn Goelzer, Ben Kreilkamp, Judy Mcguire, John Fleming, Louise Smith, Jeffrey Hatcher, Louise Smith, and many more.

Others are Letters from Hell by Dane Stauffer, The Warrior Within by Buffy Sedlachek and Men Sing by Michael Robins and Gary Rue.

[29] Among their work that has prompted specific community responses, Illusion's Pulitzer Prize-nominated play Miss Evers' Boys by David Feldshuh on the Tuskegee Syphilis Study is probably the best known.

In 1991-92, Illusion worked with the Center for Biomedical Ethics at the University of Minnesota and the Urban Coalition on national symposia around racial health disparities.