A TV star's secret Twin Cities project

Breakout stars on television often take advantage of their newfound fame by quickly signing up for Broadway productions or big-budget films. St. Paul-raised Rachel Keller headed home. The co-star of FX's "Legion," which returned for its second season Tuesday, came back to the Twin Cities after filming wrapped in February to visit family — and also start work on a stage project with two pals, actor Charlotte Calvert and Jon Ferguson, artistic director for Wldrnss, a Minnesota-based experimental theater company. Keller said she needed to regroup: "L.A. is unfamiliar land to me and I need to keep reeling myself back. Just being home reminds me of my roots and what I'm really interested in in my own time." Ferguson said the trio tinkered with a clown melodrama during rehearsals Feb. 28-March 2 at the A-Mill Artist Lofts and the Guthrie Theater. "We're letting it rest a bit to see what sticks," he said, while looking at funding opportunities in L.A., Minneapolis, New York and Britain. Keller, 25, who got raves for her work in Season 2 of "Fargo," also appears in the new indie film "Write When You Get Work," screened recently at South by Southwest. "I've been in talks with the Guthrie and other theaters, just raising my hand, letting them know I'm ready to audition," she said.NEAL JUSTIN

"The Wolves" is one of the hottest titles in American theater. So how did the 150-seat Jungle Theater snag the rights to the drama about a high school soccer team? In an emotional curtain speech before the March 30 performance, artistic director Sarah Rasmussen said she had been tracking the 2017 Pulitzer Prize nominee since encountering it four years ago, when she was head of the MFA directing program at the University of Texas. Playwright Sarah DeLappe "applied to grad school at UT with it, and I read it as part of a selection committee," she said. "She ended up going to Brooklyn College but we all thought, 'Whoa. This woman can write.' " When publishing company Samuel French gave the Jungle the go-ahead to produce the play, Rasmussen said, she screamed.

CHRIS HEWITT

Academics, journalists, community leaders and former Paisley Park associates will be featured at "Prince From Minneapolis," a symposium April 16-18 at the University of Minnesota. Organized by Prince fan Arun Saldanha, an associate professor of geography, it will feature seminars, panel discussions, a performance by Shelby J, a keynote by hip-hop writer Jeff Chang and even academic papers ("She's always in my hair: What Prince learned about color and sound from Joni Mitchell"). It's all part of Prince Week, commemorating the second anniversary of his death. The second annual Celebration at Paisley Park features Sheila E and fDeluxe, and culminates April 21 with a concert at Target Center with Prince himself on video. The Guthrie will stage "A Purple Celebration" April 16 with JD Steele and DJ Jake Rudh. The Dakota will feature 3rdEyeGirl guitarist Donna Grantis April 18 and singer Liv Warfield April 20. And on April 21, Julius Collins will join Michael Bland and Tommy Barbarella at Crooners to play Purple music.

JON BREAM

Robert De Niro's Tribeca Film Festival will have more than a touch of Minnesota this year. Two projects shot largely in the state will be part of the event that runs April 18-29 in New York City. "Time for Ilhan," by documentary filmmaker Norah Shapiro, chronicles Ilhan Omar's successful bid to win election to the Minnesota House of Representatives, making her the first Somali-American, Muslim woman to hold state office in the United States. In addition, Rosemount native Naomi Ko will be shopping a pilot for a potential series. "Nice" stars Ko as a young Korean-American woman who faces a crisis when she's diagnosed with cancer. Ko, who appeared in the 2014 indie hit "Dear White People," is hoping screenings at the festival will attract a streaming service or network that will green-light an entire season.

N.J.