He did what was expected, but his second act is bringing down the house
MSUM Theatre Arts Director Craig Ellingson didn’t come out as gay until he was an adult; now he champions LGBTQIA+ voices in scripts and on stage
By Tracy Briggs, The Forum
June 30, 2024
Editor’s note: This is the final story in a series of profiles featuring LGBTQIA+ artists in the community during Pride Month, celebrated each June.
MOORHEAD — Craig Ellingson sits in the first row of the Gaede Theater at Minnesota State University Moorhead, tapping away on his laptop before he can leave for the weekend.
“I just have a couple of things to get done,” he said.
Today, this makeshift office — bathed in soft stage lighting — is eerily quiet compared to what the space held just a week earlier: standing ovations and sold-out shows for “Fiddler on the Roof,” which Ellingson directed for Act Up Theatre and Straw Hat Players .
Ellingson also took on the role of the Rabbi. One might assume portraying a Jewish clergyman in 1905 Russia would be a stretch for someone raised in rural Nebraska in the late 20th century. Yet for Ellingson, it might just be part of the allure of the craft that he loves — not just entertaining audiences but using entertainment to reflect our changing, evolving society, including its role as a safe space for exploring LGBTQ+ themes.