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"I like to make plays that codify the present
zeitgeist. My work is current and engaging with a dash of weird but always spectacularly simple." Lucas Skjaret is a director, dramaturg, costume designer, and teaching artist based in the Twin Cities, Minnesota. He received his double BA in Theatre Arts and Scandinavian Studies from the University of North Dakota. During his tenure in North Dakota, he studied abroad at The International Summer School of Oslo and The University of Oslo, where he continued to do research at The Ibsen Centre. He was a KC/ACTF 10-Minute Play Director during his senior year and received a “Best Design Award” through his alma mater for his makeup design on Urinetown: The Musical. Lucas was an artistic intern at the Playwrights’ Center where he coordinated new play development for both local and national writers, including Philip Dawkin’s Le Switch as part of that year’s Play Labs Festival. He also worked as the Artistic Administrator for The Public Theater of Minnesota and did literary consulting at SteppingStone Theatre for Youth Development. In the summer of 2018, he participated in a Advance Professional Artist Retreat at Great River Shakespeare on intimacy direction, lead by Tonia Sina.
In 2013, he founded Market Garden Theatre where he has directed the regional premiere of My Barking Dog (Broadway World Nomination "Best Director") by Eric Coble, On The Exhale (Minnesota Fringe Festival - Top Fringe Production), the world premiere of Public Exposure by Keith Hovis (Broadway World Nomination "Best Director"), Three Days of Rain as part of The Fledging Project with Arts Nest, a staged reading of Ghosts & Zombies, and Gray Duck with the Minnesota Fringe Festival. Lucas also founded and curates the Fresh Roots Series, where he directs and develops three locally-sourced playwrights. He has also directed workshops, showcases, and short plays with Little Life Boats/T.E.A.S.E, The Chameleon Theatre Circle, Pillsbury House’s Chicago Avenue Arts Project, One Minute Play Festival, Box Wine Theatre, and more. He recently directed Goodnight Desdemona, Good Morning Juliet at Lakeshore Players. As an assistant director he worked on: Secret Garden (dir. Lisa Channer, Artistry), Snow Queen (dir. Doug Scholz-Carlson, Park Square Theatre), La Cage Aux Folles (dir. Joe Chvala, Artistry), River Road Boogie (dir. Raúl Ramos, History Theatre), Behind the Eye (dir. Leah Cooper, Park Square Theatre), and Gabriel (dir. Amy Rummenie, Walking Shadow - Ivey Award: Best Production). Lucas also freelances as a costume designer. Favorite costume designs have been: Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson (Minneapolis Musical Theatre), Don’t Dress for Dinner (Theatre in the Round), Independence (The Chameleon Theatre Circle), The Reagan Years (Workhaus Collective), God of Carnage (Lyric Arts), The Shape of Things (DalekoArts), Superior Donuts (Lyric Arts) and Pioneer Suite (Freshwater Theatre - Broadway.com Best Design Nomination). He has also been a teaching artist at Jefferson High School, The Children’s Theatre Company, Young Artist Initiative, and SteppingStone Theater for Youth Development, as well as a guest dramaturg on Hedda Gabler at Normandale Community College. Lucas is a proud associate member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society as well as part of the Literary Managers and Dramaturgs of North America. He has a penchant for musicals, developing new scripts, reimagining classics, and immersive theatrical experiences. |
Three Days of Rain by Richard Greenberg | Photo by Scott Pakudaitis
On the Exhale by Martín Zimmerman | Photo by Brittany Ottum
Public Exposure by Keith Hovis | Photo by Scott Pakudaitis
My Barking Dog by Eric Coble | Photo by Kaitlin Randolph
(Home Page) My Barking Dog | Photo by Kaitlin Randolph
On the Exhale by Martín Zimmerman | Photo by Brittany Ottum
Public Exposure by Keith Hovis | Photo by Scott Pakudaitis
My Barking Dog by Eric Coble | Photo by Kaitlin Randolph
(Home Page) My Barking Dog | Photo by Kaitlin Randolph