current project︎
- commutator (noun):
a device for reversing
the direction of
an electric current
- commutative (adjective):
a mathematical operation
such as addition or multiplication
in which the result does not depend
on the order of the elements
+ x + x + x + x + x + x + x + x + x + x + x +
Commutator Collective is an interdisciplinary group of artists, writers, theatre people, musicians, and filmmakers working in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
It’s here to connect more people to more art.
︎︎︎ hire us ︎︎︎
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Our Work (so far)
NORTH PINE POST
YOUR DAILY-MONTHLY-WEEKLY UPDATE FROM NORTH PINE.
Created collectively. Read the online edition here.
FORBBIDDEN FRUIT(s):
A PROHIBITION EXTRAVAGANZA
Powerpoint by Sam Weisberg
A WINE-CLASS-CUM-THEATRICAL-EXPERIMENT ABOUT PROHIBITION
(AND THE PANSIES WHO THRIVED BECAUSE OF IT)
Lecturing by Sam Weisberg
Script by Marge Buckley
Acting by Marge Buckley & Lahiru Samarasinghe
FORBIDDEN FRUIT(s) was created in the winter of 2020, and was produced during a month-long residency with France 44 Wines & Spirits in March 2020. It ran for one evening as part of France 44’s series of wine education classes.
DOCTOR, DENTIST, VET
OUR GRANDFATHERS, OR SOMETHING; MARKER & COLORED PENCIL
Art by Ray Gorlin
Words by Sam Weisberg
Created in Winter 2020
WHISPERS
a feature film
made in collaboration with M Productions
starring Andy Deluca, Ray Gorlin, Emmet Kowler, Elliot Masters, Maureen O’Malley, Lucy Scherschligt, Asher Weisberg, Sam Weisberg
Created in Winter 2019
PHYLLOXERA!
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Poster by Ray Gorlin
A PLAY ABOUT THE GREAT FRENCH WINE BLIGHT
(YOU KNOW THE ONE)
Two French sisters and their genderqueer sibling face off against flamethrower-wielding German vintners, an amoral American aphid, and a foreign agricultural trade crisis in the greatest showdown of the mid-19th century. Join local wine specialist Solar Champion for an evening of casual theatregoing, heavy drinking, and the history of a canonically-neglected catastrophe.
Conceived by Marge Buckley & Sam Weisberg
Script by Marge Buckley
Animation and Poster Design by Ray Gorlin
Costume Design by Ray Gorlin & Katy Santa Maria
Dramaturgy by Luke Soucy
Sound Design by Asher Weisberg
Featuring the acting talents of:
Marge Buckley, Erik Dagoberg, Bridget McNiff, Maureen O’Malley, Lahiru Samarasinghe, Lucy Scherschligt, Sam Weisberg, Caleb Zarns
PHYLLOXERA! was created in the early summer of 2018 and was produced during a month-long residency at the Bryant-Lake Bowl. It ran for two weekends in September 2018 and was the inaugural production of Commutator Collective. You can read the script on the New Play Exchange, or you can email us for a copy.
Who We Are
Commutator Collective was started in the summer of 2018 by Marge Buckley, Ray Gorlin, and Sam Weisberg in tandem with the opening of their original production, “PHYLLOXERA!”
Sam
Weisberg
(he/him)is, in the words of Luke Soucy, “the world’s smallest impresario.” He is, variously, a theater director, a queer in a dress, a wine educator, a cat enthusiast, a mediocre piano player, and a dinner party host. Find him working with organizations he loves, like Blue Water Theatre Co., The Playwrights’ Center, or Ten Thousand Things. He’s keen on chopped liver and loves a good musical.
Ray
Gorlin
(they/them)is, in the words of Sam Weisberg, “the most creative frog in the lower-48.” They are a full-time visual artist working in multiple mediums, including but not limited to: caricature, felting, comics, infographics, and illustration. They are a regular teacher of Paint-Nites, a steady source of art commissions, a fixture at caricature stands across the Midwest, a fan of herps, and your friendly neighborhood gardener.
Marge
Buckley
(she/her)is, in the words of Ray Gorlin, “a dangerous wordmonger and probably a hologram.” She’s a writer, performer, and artist’s model. She hosts a podcast on wine and spirits for France44. Her play The Rooster and the Magnet was recently performed as an episode in Sparkhaven Theatre’s Tales From Camp Strangewood anthology. Check out her debut collection of short stories right here: The Hunkerdown and Out.
But there are more of us! So many more!!
Commutator Collective values addition and multiplication over subtraction and division. As such, our collective is always growing, changing, and multiplying (as is this page). Every artist who works with us becomes a member of the collective, and the collective exists to serve the needs of every artist, whatever they may be. We are not a non-profit, or a for-profit, or a foundation. Instead, we serve as an in-between for many different artists making many different kinds of work, individually and collaboratively, to find each other and find an audience.
Talk to us we are friendly
For information about upcoming activites, or if you just want to chat, please email us at commutatorcollective@gmail.com