The mission of the Actors Theater of Minnesota is to bring new professional theater, through production or promotion, to Minnesota communities that do not otherwise have access to a given style of theater and at a cost that is competitive within a given community.

Recently the Actors Theater ended a successful 3 year run of “We Gotta Bingo”, the longest running show in St. Paul History, and the critically acclaimed “Song of Singapore”.

The Actors Theater of Minnesota (ATM) was started by a group of commercial actors as Minneapolis Actors Theater in 1998. Actors Theater of Minnesota initially produced a local staging of Fairy Tales, a successful off-Broadway musical review, in the Minneapolis Theater Garage in 1998. The initial five-week run of the show was so successful that two weeks were added to the run.

In 1999, Fairy Tales was reprised at the Minneapolis Theater Garage. In addition, ATM produced a 12-week staging of London's longest-running comedy The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) in Minneapolis. The production went on to tour in St. Cloud, Minnesota. Also in 1999, ATM produced a staging of London's second longest- running show, Woman in Black and the musical comedy I Do! I Do! in St. Cloud.

In 2000, Woman in Black was moved to St. Paul, Minnesota and played at Pioneer Place on Fifth for five weeks. Also during the summer 2000, ATM sent productions of I Do! I Do!, The Compleat Works of Wllm Shkspr (abridged) and An Evening with the Marx Brothers to St. Peter, Minnesota. In the fall, ATM presented the world tour of Unforgettable, The Nat King Cole Story at the Fitzgerald. In addition, ATM brought the national tour of Forbidden Broadway to Pioneer Place on Fifth in November 2000 and to St. Cloud in December 2000.

Also in December 2000, a great tradition was established.

Actors Theater of Minnesota presented its first annual out-state tour of A Christmas Carol in St. Cloud, St. Peter and Duluth. This first class production included a cast of New York and Minneapolis actors as well as a Celtic ensemble.

Over the next two years, Actors Theater presented two full seasons at the 1000-seat Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul and continued to send productions to out state venues.  In December 2002, the Christmas Carol Feast moved to its new, permanent home in Wigington Hall on Harriet Island. 

In 2003, Actors Theater left the Fitzgerald Theater and announced a partnership with the University of Minnesota to launch a five-show series aboard the Minnesota Centennial Showboat, moored off Harriet Island in Saint Paul. 

In addition to the Showboat series, we collaborated with Marshall Field’s to present "A Christmas Carol" in the Harriet Island Pavilion. ATM also staged "The Foreigner" at the Pantages Theater in Minneapolis , and presented "The Cocoanuts" at the Zabee Theater in Elk River, and "The Weir" and "Tuna Christmas" at Pioneer Place on Fifth in St. Cloud .

Through our University of Minnesota partnership, we have also developed an internship for University students that focuses on design, technical operation and performance. This program allows theater students to gain career-building experiences, especially in the technical aspects of theater. ATM received permission to award Actors Equity Membership points to students interning in acting and stage management.

We are also a partner with Project SUCCESS, which uses theater, and school-based workshops to inspire young people to imagine, believe in, and act upon the possibilities in their own lives.  In our current fiscal year we will provide over 1,200 free tickets to financially challenged students.

During its history, Actors Theater of Minnesota has established a tradition of artistic excellence, critical acclaim, and audience popularity. The caliber of our productions is very high and our artists include such notables as Star Tribune Artist of the Year, Casey Stangl; McKnight Fellow and Guthrie Hall of Fame Actor Stephen Pelinski; City Pages Artist of the Year and Star Tribune Outstanding Actor in Play, James Williams; Star Tribune Outstanding Actor in a Musical, Steven Hendrickson.  Other well-respected artists who worked with ATM in 2003 include Bob Davis, Zach Curtis, Michael Egan, Nancy Gormley, Matt Guidry, Terry Hempleman, Clyde Lund, Peter Moore and Michael Tezla.  

Our commitment to Minnesota artists is demonstrated by our policy to use only Minnesota-based artist in our productions and to pay them a living wage.  On average our actors are paid 175 percent over union scale.