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 All of the Above Twin Cities, MN Shed your skin. Renew yourSelf.
as they are about people I have loved and people I only knew in my heart, places I have seen only for a moment and places I have lived all my life." Justin Hayward, British Musician, The Moody Blues
 Founder & Creative Director, AATCMN Arts Educator, Consultant Click here to read Leading Out: Henry Allen, article by Valerie Borey For current performance projects and concerts, visit www.MySpace.com/henryallen Regarding HenryHenry Allen was steeped in world culture from an early age. The son of a US diplomat, his experiences living in Europe and Latin America have had a profound impact on his life and work as an artist, educator and parent. Surviving cancer, overcoming obesity, and losing his 13 year old son to brain cancer have taught many lessons in courage, empowerment and integrity.Henry's career as a director, performer, writer and teacher has spanned more than 20 years. He is a graduate of the National Theatre Conservatory MFA program, and has served on the boards of Expressive Arts Collaborative and Outward Spiral Theatre. He was a grant recipient of Allied Arts, Inc., and has performed extensively with renowned theatre companies in Colorado and Minnesota, including two Tony Award winning regional theatres: Theatre de la Jeune Lune and the Denver Center Theatre Company. Henry was also a co-founding director of Teatro del Pueblo's annual Latin American Political Theatre Festival at Intermedia Arts in Minneapolis, and has enjoyed longtime relationships with Steppingstone Theatre for Youth Development and Wells Fargo Bank, MN, as an arts educator and director. Henry has written a collection of short plays for children to perform, based on Jewish folktales from around the world, and is also a jazz vocalist and Master of Ceremonies, performing regularly at venues throughout the Twin Cities. In addition to his theatrical career, he has worked for many years in private and public education as a teacher (Theater Arts, Life Skills, Phy Ed, Early Childhood, Spanish, and Latin American Studies), a creative education consultant, and has also served as an educator and in an administrative capacity at two private Waldorf schools in Minnesota. The creative education of children, parents and teachers is an area of deep concern and commitment in Henry's life.
The story behind All of the AboveOnce upon a time, there was a bright, eager, young actor (me) who started his career, naively auditioning for the roles that he wanted to play. His first audition went well. He thought he had nailed it. Upon finishing his monologue, he expected the director to cast him on the spot."Umm…" muttered the director, "what role were you thinking of?" "I'd like to play the part of so-and-so (the lead). I really identify with him, and I know I could do him justice." Muffled chuckles echoed from the dark house. "You couldn't play him… look at you." I looked down at myself, and realized that what he had meant, the reason that he and his assistant were chuckling, was because I was fat. I was cast as "the old man." Another actor was "type cast" into the part I coveted. This humiliating experience happened three or four more times in a row before the message finally stuck. I resigned myself to only going for parts I knew I could get, rather than the ones that moved my soul. Over the years and through graduate school, some significant poundage melted away. I moved to a new city and started auditioning right away. Soon after my first audition, I received a phone call from the director. He wanted to cast me as the dashing, romantic lead. I asked him if he was certain he had called the right person. After all, I had only ever played "big guy" roles before, and I still cast myself that way in my own mind's eye. He assured me that I was who he wanted, so I reluctantly accepted the role. I was worried that I'd hear the familiar chuckle from the dark house when the curtain arose. In opera it would be fine to have a super-sized romantic lead, but on the American stage and screen, we are too often presented with a narrow perspective of who is beautiful and worthy of romance. No chuckles or jeers. Only applause. The reviews appeared a couple of days after we opened, and they were good. And no one mentioned anything about my size, or how daring it was for the theatre to cast an overweight actor as the romantic lead. The truth was, obviously, that I was no longer obese. I simply hadn't changed my own Self-identity. After doing a couple more shows, and again playing characters that were commensurate with my ability and my desire, the thought occurred to me that there must be a whole population of skilled artists who were not working the way they should, simply by virtue of how they looked, and the societal stigmas our culture still promotes. Not just overweight people, but tall people and short people, dark-skinned and light-skinned people, people of varying physical abilities, varying ages, appearances, gender identities and sexualities… the list is as broad as our individuality. I felt compelled to create a safe and respectful venue for any artist to work out of their true passion. I believe the time has come to create that place.
The NameMy first experience with Waldorf education was as an artist-in-residence. I had two combined groups of 5th through 9th graders, and decided to teach them about the spirit of ensemble work by helping them create two mock theatre companies. Their first task was to create a company name that reflected the group as a whole. One group called themselves "All of the Above." I was impressed, and asked why and how they came up with this name. After much deliberation, the group agreed that there was no name that could describe them as a whole, as they were each unique individuals. "When you have a list of unique choices," they explained, "there is always the option at the bottom to mark all of the above, which allows you to choose the whole group, while still allowing each item to remain unique." I asked their permission to use it someday, promising to tell this story. They granted it. Therefore, I dedicate my work to the spirit, ingenuity and infinite potential of young people.The mission of All of the Above is to debut artists with integrity and passion. We awaken the creativity that exists in every human being, and teach how to apply it to one's life and work.
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