Artistic Leaders

Michael Sommers (Artist in Residence/Founder) has worked in professional theater for 30 years and is recognized as one of the country’s most versatile and ingenious theater artists. An Associate Professor in the Department of Theatre Arts and Dance at the University of Minnesota. Mr. Sommers is a two-time Bush Fellowship recipient and a 2004 McKnight Theatre Fellow. In 2008 he was awarded a Ford Fellowship and in 2009 he was recognized with the Bush Enduring Vision Award. His signature work is produced at Open Eye including A Prelude to Faust, Elijah's Wake, and The Holiday Pageant. He has traveled internationally teaching and performing in China, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, Czech Republic and Mexico.

“[Michael Sommers’] work is so visually stunning. He has such a balance between playfulness and a dark and individualistic sensibility.” – Philip Bither, Senior Curator of Performing Arts, Walker Art Center

Susan Haas (Producing Artistic Director/Founder) has worked within and outside of the arts community in the Twin Cities for 30 years. Educated in theater at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, she has steered the company since 2000. Haas is the visionary behind The Driveway Tour, Toy Theatre After Dark, the It's Women's Work series, and the showcase of artists on the Open Eye stage. She also was also the driving force for the establishment of the company’s permanent home in a beautifully restored 110-year-old historical storefront in south Minneapolis.