Sophia Pimsler

Sophia Pimsler
and Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater

SHRINK / we all need one, created by Sophia Pimsler, (writer, director & mental health therapist) is an original musical exploring the universal experiences that bring us to therapy. Set inside a mental health clinic, this witty and poignant exploration goes through the day in the life of a therapist while following a group of clients as they navigate the impact of everyday life with the guidance of their shrink. Funny, moving, and relatable, SHRINK confronts life’s messiness with humor, honesty, and bad coffee. Through humor, movement, Pimsler invites us to look beyond symptoms to the experiences that shape them & what it means to be understood.
Building on its successful 2024 premiere, the 2026 production of SHRINK / we all need one expands and deepens the work with newly created choreography, an enriched musical score, and refined storytelling, creating an even more immersive and emotionally resonant theatrical experience.
The musical features an original score by Twin Cities musician, songwriter, and pioneering transgender rock artist Venus de Mars, expanded with additional music and lyrics by Sophia Pimsler. Together, they create a rich theatrical soundscape that weaves storytelling, ensemble singing, and dance into an immersive experience. As the unseen voice of Intercom—the clinic’s omnipresent guide—Venus de Mars provides commentary, connection, and music that subtly shapes the world of SHRINK / we all need one from beyond the clients’ awareness.

This production is supported by the MInnesota State Arts Board through a Creative Individuals Grant and the Rimon Arts Fund.

Audience Note: SHRINK addresses topics of abuse and racial violence. We trust caretakers to make the best choice and no one will be turned away.

Unable to attend but want to still support mental health & the arts?
Are you in the field of Mental Health? Want to promote your services with our production while supporting the arts? https://givebutter.com/untitled-campaign-dzhaod

Sophia “Sophie” Pimsler (she/her) is a choreographer, playwright, performer, jeweler & shrink. Oy! She realizes thats a suspicious amount of careers. Her dance training began with Zivili (OH) and then Ballet Arts Minnesota (MN). After graduating from Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists (SPCPA), she completed her Bachelors in Dance with a Minor in Alcohol & Drug Studies from Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU). Each year of her college attendance, Sophia’s choreography was selected to represent the University’s dance program at the American College Dance Association.

Sophia has performed with Contempo Physical Dance (MN), Stuart Pimsler Dance & Theater (MN), April Sellers Dance Collective (MN), Analog Dance Works (MN), Borealis Dance (MN), GloATL (GA), Life/Art Dance (CO). Her choreography has been commissioned for Threads Dance Project, SPDT, Alternative Motion Project, Borealis Dance Theatre, Shoot The Glass Theater’s Production of Spring Awakening, PiM Arts High School, & The Phipps Center for the Arts (WI).

Sophia Pimsler has collaborated with SPDT for many years as a performer, choreographer, and project assistant. She toured nationally with Out of This World/The Life After Life Project (1997–2001), performed in SPDT’s 35th Anniversary Season at The Cowles Center (2014), and created Join Us as Guest Choreographer in 2019. She assisted Stuart Pimsler in developing a new work at the University of Sonora, Mexico, honoring 43 disappeared students, and has served as project assistant to Suzanne Costello on NEA-supported community performance projects for veterans and active military at Walter Reed (2021) and for individuals with disabilities at the University of Alabama (2025).

A practicing mental health therapist with more than a decade of clinical experience, Pimsler holds M.A. in Marriage and Family Therapy and a Graduate Certificate in Sex Therapy. Sophia provides therapy services at Therapist Cooperative Practice & continued education courses

When she’s not in a rehearsal studio or therapy office, Sophia is probably making jewelry. She is the owner of MerMade Jewelry, where her obsession with mermaids finally became socially acceptable. Follow @mermadeinmn.

Venus de Mars (she/her) is a multidisciplinary artist, musician, songwriter, and frontwoman of the pioneering Minneapolis glam-punk transgender rock band Venus de Mars & All the Pretty Horses. She is also the subject of the acclaimed documentary Venus of Mars, which chronicles her life, artistry, and journey as a transgender musician.
Venus came out as transgender in 1988, at a time when openly embracing her identity meant confronting profound societal stigma and exclusion. Rather than living in the shadows, she forged her own artistic path, creating work that celebrates individuality while challenging expectations. She is currently writing a memoir reflecting on her decades-long journey as a transgender artist and her place in today’s rapidly evolving cultural landscape, where visibility, acceptance, and backlash continue to coexist.