Theater is so bound to the binary of comedy vs. tragedy that its universal symbol is a pair of masks, one laughing, one crying. So if you aren’t laughing within minutes of the lights rising on a theater production, it’s understandable if you assume that something traumatic is bound to befall one of the central characters.

But I recommend that you suspend that presumption if you catch the Guthrie Theater’s inspiring production of “Primary Trust,” which opened Thursday night in the big blue box’s proscenium space. Amidst an era in which there’s plenty of tragedy to go around, Eboni Booth has written a sweet little play about a sheltered man forced to make his way in the world, and the role that trust can play in shaking off fear of the unfamiliar.

Under Marshall Jones III’s direction, the Guthrie is presenting a lovely staging of a script that won the 2024 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. After experiencing it, I can say that it’s something of a surprise winner, in that it’s so modest in its aims. But stay with it and you’ll likely find the Guthrie’s 95-minute, intermission-less production quite rewarding, the kind of tender touch you may need amid all the gut punches the news can deliver.

Bryce Michael Wood as Kenneth, left, and Nubia Monks as Corrina in the Guthrie Theater’s production of “Primary Trust,” Eboni Booth’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a sheltered man learning to find his way in the world. It runs through Nov. 16, 2025, at the Minneapolis theater. (Dan Norman / Guthrie Theatre)

Anchoring the show is a brilliant performance by Bryce Michael Wood, who acts as narrator, protagonist and both agent and recipient of the story’s central transformation. His character, Kenneth, speaks to us of his life in Cranberry, a fictional small city in upstate New York. He’s a creature of habit who has worked at a local bookstore for 20 years, concluding each work day with a trip to a local tiki bar for mai tais.

But change is afoot, as the bookstore owner is closing the store and moving to Arizona. So the probably neurodivergent and somewhat fragile Kenneth needs to find a new job, something he does with the help of an old friend, Bert, and a new one, a server at the bar named Corrina.

While that may sound light on plot, “Primary Trust” nevertheless allows you to look at the world through a different lens. It provides an opportunity to cultivate your compassion, get outside yourself and indulge your curiosity about others, perhaps making you a more patient person when encountering those experiencing difficulties in getting through the day.

And even if it doesn’t do that for you, just appreciate the outstanding performances by the four actors who spin the story on Sara Ryung Clement’s simple but effective set. Wood delivers a tour de force as Kenneth, consistently drawing us into his inner struggle between fear and seeking comfort. It’s a marvelous portrayal.

As are those of William Sturdivant as the confidence-building Bert, Pearce Bunting as two employers who value Kenneth’s work despite his eccentricities, and Nubia Monks as about 80% of the characters who populate the play, most notably unlikely ally Corrina.

It’s been quite a year for Monks, with scene-stealing performances on multiple stages, as well as having a play of her own produced at Pillsbury House Theatre. We’re fortunate to have her in the Twin Cities theater community, and to have the Guthrie offering a production as warm and life-affirming as “Primary Trust.”

‘Primary Trust’

When: Through Nov. 16

Where: Guthrie Theater, 818 Second St. S., Mpls.

Tickets: $90-$18, available at 612-377-2224 or guthrietheater.org

Capsule: Sweet, simple and touching, it’s a different kind of theatrical experience.

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With America’s global leadership in scientific innovation facing unprecedented competition, getting high-skilled immigration right should be a top priority in Washington. The first task for the White House is to get out of its own way.

The administration sparked fear and confusion last month by announcing that it would impose a $100,000 fee on H-1B visas — temporary work permits designed for college-educated foreigners.

There’s an element of bluster to the new policy: It only applies to new applicants outside the country, allows for certain exemptions and, in any case, expires in a year. Nevertheless, it threatens to discourage companies from investing in the U.S., lest they’re blindsided by other haphazard and costly changes that impact their workforce. Health care, education and religious organizations are challenging the fees in court.

The White House says it’s aiming to stamp out “large-scale abuse” of the H-1B program. The problem is real. For the past two decades, the government has issued these highly coveted visas using a lottery system. Taking advantage of weak oversight of wage rules, IT and consulting companies have flooded the pool with lower-paid applicants — submitting multiple petitions for a single worker, at times for jobs that don’t exist. Fortune 500 companies then hire these firms to provide low-cost staff for back-office work, some of whom later transfer that business overseas.

At the same time, these companies are crowding out more deserving applicants. Because visas are capped at 85,000 annually, with some exemptions, thousands of talented workers get turned away every year simply for lack of better luck. Employers say the shortage of skilled labor is slowing advancements in critical fields including artificial intelligence, robotics and biotechnology.

The answer, however, isn’t to make the H-1B program — to borrow a phrase from Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick — so “uneconomical” that it’s abandoned altogether. The White House would be wiser to scrap the new fee entirely, as the Chamber of Commerce and others have argued.

The goal of any reform should instead be to reward the highest earners, ensuring American companies can hire the world’s top talent and U.S. workers benefit from rising wages. A more recent proposal from the administration moves in this direction. Days after the fee announcement, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a rule that would end the current lottery system and instead hand out visas by wage level.

Even this system could remain susceptible to cheating — for example, if employers assign high salaries to low-paid roles. But the bigger issue is that the rule is sure to be challenged in court. The job of allocating visas — whether by wages or any number of other factors, including age and education — should be left to Congress. If potential gaming can be addressed, the program should also be expanded judiciously.

Sensible visa reform could hardly be more urgent. For decades, corporate America’s openness to foreign talent has given the U.S. a natural advantage over other countries. That gap is rapidly narrowing.

China, which just introduced a new visa for foreign professionals specializing in science and technology, has made stunning advancements in artificial intelligence and pharmaceutical innovation. European countries are offering new incentives to attract top researchers and scientists. The last thing the U.S. should be doing is making it harder for prized recruits to find their way to its shores.

— The Bloomberg Opinion Editorial Board

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Minnesota United at Los Angeles Galaxy

When: 8 p.m. CT Saturday
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park, Carson, Calif.
Stream: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV
Radio: KSTP-AM, 1500
Weather: 73 degrees, clear skies, 8 mph east wind
Betting line: MNUFC minus-160; draw plus-260; L.A. plus-160

Form: Fourth-place Minnesota (16-7-10, 58 points) beat Kansas City 3-0 on Oct. 4, then had last week off during the international window. Last-place Galaxy (8-18-9, 27 points) beat Dallas 2-1 last weekend to help its effort to avoid the Wooden Spoon, the fan-led trophy given to the team with MLS’ worst record.

Flashback: The Loons’ win over K.C. set a few milestones: the 16th victory set a new club record for regular-season wins; Joaquin Pereyra’s second-half goal was the 500th in club’s MLS history and his assist gave him a club-record 16 total assists in a season; Dayne St. Clair’s clean sheet was his 10th of the year, a personal best.

Recent matchups: The Loons are returning to the place they were bounced from the MLS Cup Playoffs last November. Galaxy rolled to a 6-2 semifinal win and went on to win MLS Cup. In regular-season action in March, MNUFC got a two goals from Kelvin Yeboah, but Christian Ramirez and Carlos Garces each scored in a 2-2 draw.

Context: Going into Decision Day, MNUFC is one point behind third-place LAFC and two behind San Diego, so the Loons can still finish as high as second. Galaxy might be down and out, but LAFC goes to Colorado, which is fighting for the ninth and final spot. San Diego travels to Portland, which is trying to hold onto the sixth spot. Jockeying for spots will have all four of those teams engaged.

Quote: “For ourselves, more than anything (and) less a reflection on who we may end up playing (Seattle is the fifth seed and most likely playoff matchup), we want to finish as high in the table as we can,” head coach Eric Ramsay said this week. “We want to do ourselves real justice in that sense.”

Update: Yeboah has been out with a hamstring injury since Sept. 17, but the striker returned to training sessions late last week. “I feel like he will be in good shape for the weekend,” Ramsay said Tuesday. “If we can push a return to play, we want him back and in good rhythm as soon as possible. We are not taking a long-term picture in that sense because there isn’t a long-term picture at play.”

Absences: Carlos Harvey (knee) is out. Ramsay said Harvey has been working out on a treadmill and is close to a return to the practice field. The center back/midfielder might be back in time for the first-round series, which start next weekend.

Scouting report: The Galaxy have allowed the second-most goals (65) in MLS this season, so this would be a great time for Yeboah to snag a goal and boost his confidence before the postseason.

Prediction: Galaxy have been decent after their dreadful start to the season, but Minnesota has much more to play for on Saturday. If Loons score early, L.A. players might start day-dreaming about their upcoming vacation destinations. MNUFC win 2-0.

By JOCELYN GECKER, AP Education Writer

SAN ANTONIO (AP) — On a scorching hot Saturday in San Antonio, dozens of teachers traded a day off for a glimpse of the future. The topic of the day’s workshop: enhancing instruction with artificial intelligence.

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After marveling as AI graded classwork instantly and turned lesson plans into podcasts or online storybooks, one high school English teacher raised a concern that was on the minds of many: “Are we going to be replaced with AI?”

That remains to be seen. But for the nation’s 4 million teachers to stay relevant and help students use the technology wisely, teachers unions have forged an unlikely partnership with the world’s largest technology companies. The two groups don’t always see eye to eye but say they share a common goal: training the future workforce of America.

Microsoft, OpenAI and Anthropic are providing millions of dollars for AI training to the American Federation of Teachers, the country’s second-largest teachers union. In exchange, the tech companies have an opportunity to make inroads into schools and win over students in the race for AI dominance.

AFT President Randi Weingarten said skepticism guided her negotiations, but the tech industry has something schools lack: deep pockets.

“There is no one else who is helping us with this. That’s why we felt we needed to work with the largest corporations in the world,” Weingarten said. “We went to them — they didn’t come to us.”

Weingarten first met with Microsoft CEO Brad Smith in 2023 to discuss a partnership. She later reached out to OpenAI to pursue an “agnostic” approach that means any company’s AI tools could be used in a training session.

Under the arrangement announced in July, Microsoft is contributing $12.5 million to AFT over five years. OpenAI is providing $8 million in funding and $2 million in technical resources, and Anthropic has offered $500,000.

Tech money will build an AI training hub for teachers

With the money, AFT is planning to build an AI training hub in New York City that will offer virtual and in-person workshops for teachers. The goal is to open at least two more hubs and train 400,000 teachers over the next five years.

The National Education Association, the country’s largest teachers union, announced its own partnership with Microsoft last month. The company has provided a $325,000 grant to help the NEA develop AI trainings in the form of “microcredentials” — online trainings open to the union’s 3 million members, said Daaiyah Bilal, NEA’s senior director of education policy. The goal is to train at least 10,000 members this school year.

“We tailored our partnership very surgically,” Bilal said. “We are very mindful of what a technology company stands to gain by spreading information about the products they develop.”

Both unions set similar terms: Educators, not the private funders, would design and lead trainings that include AI tools from multiple companies. The unions own the intellectual property for the trainings, which cover safety and privacy concerns alongside AI skills.

The Trump administration has encouraged the private investment, recently creating an AI Education Task Force as part of an effort to achieve “global dominance in artificial intelligence.” The federal government urged tech companies and other organizations to foot the bill. So far, more than 100 companies have signed up.

Tech companies see opportunities in education beyond training teachers. Microsoft unveiled a $4 billion initiative for AI training, research and the gifting of its AI tools to teachers and students. It includes the AFT grant and a program that will give all school districts and community colleges in Washington, Microsoft’s home state, free access to Microsoft CoPilot tools. Google says it will commit $1 billion for AI education and job training programs, including free access to its Gemini for Education platform for U.S. high schools.

Several recent studies have found that AI use in schools is rapidly increasing but training and guidance are lagging.

The industry offers resources that can help scale AI literacy efforts quickly. But educators should ensure any partnership focuses on what’s best for teachers and students, said Robin Lake, director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education.

“These are private initiatives, and they are run by companies that have a stake,” Lake said.

Microsoft CEO Brad Smith agrees that teachers should have a “healthy dose of skepticism” about the role of tech companies.

“While it’s easy to see the benefits right now, we should always be mindful of the potential for unintended consequences,” Smith said in an interview, pointing to concerns such as AI’s possible impact on critical thinking. “We have to be careful. It’s early days.”

Teachers see new possibilities

At the San Antonio AFT training, about 50 educators turned up for the three-hour workshop for teachers in the Northside Independent School District. It is the city’s largest, employing about 7,000 teachers.

The day started with a pep talk.

“We all know, when we talk about AI, teachers say, ‘Nah, I’m not doing that,’” trainer Kathleen Torregrossa told the room. “But we are preparing kids for the future. That is our primary job. And AI, like it or not, is part of our world.”

Attendees generated lesson plans using ChatGPT, Google’s Gemini, Microsoft CoPilot and two AI tools designed for schools, Khanmingo and Colorín Colorado.

Gabriela Aguirre, a 1st grade dual language teacher, repeatedly used the word “amazing” to describe what she saw.

“It can save you so much time,” she said, and add visual flair to lessons. She walked away with a plan to use AI tools to make illustrated flashcards in English and Spanish to teach vocabulary.

“With all the video games, the cellphones you have to compete against, the kids are always saying, ‘I’m bored.’ Everything is boring,” Aguirre said. “If you can find ways to engage them with new technology, you’ve just got to do that.”

Middle school teacher Celeste Simone said there is no turning back to how she taught before.

As a teacher for English language learners, Simone can now ask AI tools to generate pictures alongside vocabulary words and create illustrated storybooks that use students’ names as characters. She can take a difficult reading passage and ask a chatbot to translate it into Spanish, Pashto or other languages. And she can ask AI to rewrite difficult passages at any grade level to match her students’ reading levels. All in a matter of seconds.

“I can give my students access to things that never existed before,” Simone said. “As a teacher, once you’ve used it and see how helpful it is, I don’t think I could go back to the way I did things before.”

The Associated Press’ education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP’s standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org.