Dawn Bentley, Executive Director Of Minnesota Fringe, On Virtual Theater, Organizational Theory, Epidemiology, And Her New Puppy
What have you seen lately that’s been inspiring?
I've been 'attending' the Minnesota Fringe Virtual Festival this week (July 30-August 9) and I'm deeply inspired by the creativity I've seen as performing artists have transitioned to creating work for digital platforms. Some have been able to incorporate the medium into their act. Others are interacting directly with audiences to create intimate performances. There's circus, improv, dance, musicals, drama, meta . . . everything you would expect at a Fringe Festival. The comments sections are filled with audience members chatting as if they were in the theaters they miss. "Excuse me, those three seats are ours, but we won't make you get up again." "Thank goodness for late seating in this venue, I was having technical issues!" I've watched shows while working out, eating lunch, playing at the dog park, doing dishes—all without having to worry about traffic, parking, or lines at the box office.
What website other than the major social, search, and news sites, do you have bookmarked?
Well, this is a little weird because I don't think the site is really 'active' anymore, but I've had a Tumblr blog bookmarked for almost a decade called Song Lyrics in Chart Form. Whenever I need to take a mental break, I browse through a few pages. As a lover of music and someone who has written scientific / academic papers that require data displayed in charts as well as source citations, this site always makes me smile. (Page 4 is for Prince lovers)
What would you do (or pursue) if money were no object?
I would immerse myself in academia. I love to learn and there are several topics I would like to know in greater depth without having to consider the amount of debt that would need to be repaid. I'm still paying off the last two Master Degrees. :-(
I would start with pursuing a PhD in Organizational Theory. I've worked in family-owned businesses, as an independent contractor, for the Federal and State governments, and now in nonprofits. Each sector and sub-sector has its own set of challenges. The manner in which we manage our work interactions is fascinating and sometimes toxic. With the amount of time we spend in a work environment, it only makes sense that we would want to have all the tools at our disposal to make those relationships function to the best of our ability. I would use in-depth study on organizational relationships and management techniques not to get a better job, but to help others do a better job. People don't quit their work, they quit their managers.
I think the great COVID-work-from-home experiment is going to reveal a whole new theory and I'd love to be on the cutting edge of research in how we can make our jobs work for us in new ways. In the meantime, I'll continue to consume all the things Malcom Gladwell conjures.
I would next seek a PhD in Epidemiology. I know it's has attention on it right now, but it's fascinated me since the early 90's when I worked for the Food & Drug Administration. Part of my job was to analyze where foodborne pathogens were causing outbreaks and trace them back to their sources to mitigate widespread illness. I later worked at the University of Minnesota Veterinary Diagnostics Laboratory examining the prevalence of Mycobacterium avium subspecies paratuberculosis (MAP) in cattle and studying the transmission vectors between herds. Epidemiology is one of the most important branches of medicine. If you understand where a disease started and can control how it proliferates, you can put your energy into preventing the suffering of many rather than providing the treatment to one. In the meantime, I'll listen to Michael Osterholm's podcast religiously.
Do you have a pet?
Last year, I had 3 pets. Gunner was a 13-year-old English Pointer rescued from the woods in Southern Minnesota. PangPang was a 10-year-old Blue Nose Pitbull given to us by a friend who moved out of the country. Eddie was a 19-year-old barn cat that I took off an exasperated single mom's hands in 2001. All three of them passed in November, December, and January, respectively. It was devastating. And it is the first time in my life that I didn't own a pet.
Just before my birthday in June, my partner told me he would like to give me a puppy as a gift, but wanted to be sure I was ready. We started searching rescue organizations and found plenty of interesting pups, but they were being adopted faster than we could fill out applications. After sharing our plight with a friend, we were put in touch with a foster family for Second Hand Hounds where we found an 8-week-old Australian Cattle Dog mix that stole our hearts. Regalo (Italian for 'gift') came home on my birthday and has been a delightful addition to the family. I haven't had a puppy in almost 40 years! Watching him grow, learn, and mature has filled my heart with joy. I still miss the others, but little Reggie seems to have the best of all their personalities wrapped up in the cutest spotted package.
What do you know now that you wish you’d known when you were 22?
I wish that I had believed at 22 that I didn't have to have it all figured out. With a newly minted biology degree in hand, I was certain that my next steps HAD to be working as a scientist and advancing that degree. My own free will intervened and my next steps actually were becoming a mother, buying a home, and working a 9-5 office gig that had nothing to do with that degree.
I spent a couple years swirling around my own mind wondering what, exactly, had I done and why I spent all that energy on knowledge I wasn't using. Rather than continue to wallow in the 'coulda, should, woulda', I found gratitude in the here and now thanks to a group of once-strangers who shared their experience, strength, and hope with me.
When I matured enough, I was able to see the 'red thread of fate' that connected each encounter, adventure, incident, and ordeal to make me who I am today. The constant taking in of information and evolution of self helps give my life meaning. It's OK I didn't have it all figured out at 22. If I had, then I don't know that I would have had the gumption in my 30's and 40's to go to graduate school, drastically change careers, become a bodybuilder, travel to foreign lands (sometimes on a whim), and fall deeper in love than I ever thought possible.
Two of my three children hover around twenty two now. They've watched me try new things, explore new places, make new friends, lose relationships, figure things out, and dust myself off so I can stay on the winding path to being me. I see them trying to figure it out. I'm so grateful that I get to tell them they don't have to right now.
Minnesota Fringe performance of "Hodge Podge" by Benjamin Domask. Photo by Dan Norman
