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The donor newsletter of Milwaukee Rep ISSUE 20 • SUMMER 2022
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It is our hope that this message finds you enjoying the warm weather and taking advantage of all that summer has to offer. We are incredibly grateful to you and the rest of our amazing Milwaukee Rep community for your loyal support during this roller coaster of a season. During the last year, we celebrated our return to live performances with shows like Steel Magnolias and Dad’s Season Tickets exceeding ticket sales goals but have also faced a variety of COVID-related setbacks including canceled performances and a loss of $250,000 as a result of Titanic The Musical’s premature closing. Despite these ups and downs, you helped make this one of our finest seasons yet. The cast of Titanic The Musical. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Many thanks to all who helped make our Curtain Call Ball a resounding success once again. With this year’s theme of “A Grand Voyage: Celebrating Our Journey to the Future,” the event raised critical funds to support our education and engagement programming. Nearly 400 guests joined event co-chairs Melanie and Steve Booth, Cheryl and Bill Guc, and Morgan and James Phelps for a night of cocktails, bidding on silent auction items, fabulous entertainment and our inaugural Encore after-party, and helped us raise more than $626,000.
The cast of Dad’s Season Tickets. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Summers here at Milwaukee Rep are typically quiet, but this year is different. With our extraordinary 2021/22 Season ending July 1 (more than a month later than normal), our staff have been working tirelessly to end one season and simultaneously begin the next. As you read this, our production staff is hard at work re-installing the set of Titanic The Musical, which will be remounted September 20 – October 23, 2022 in the Quadracci Powerhouse. We are thrilled that Milwaukee audiences won’t “miss the boat” (sorry, we couldn’t resist!) and have the opportunity to experience this epic production.
In other news this summer, we bid a fond farewell to an incredible group of outgoing Trustees: Bladen Burns, William Guc, Phoebe Lewis, Linda Marcus, Greg Oberland, Catherine Robinson, Christopher Rowland and Nic Wahl. Thank you all for your tremendous service.
Alongside Titanic The Musical, the 2022/23 Season will feature three world premiere productions: The Nativity Variations by Catherine Trieschmann, Wife of a Salesman by Eleanor Burgess, and The Heart Sellers by Lloyd Suh. You can also look forward to the continuation of our Classics Initiative with Much Ado About Nothing. After the success of As You Like It in our inaugural year, we are excited to continue staging classical works for Milwaukee audiences.
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Cover: The cast of As You Like It. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
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At the same time, our Board of Trustees welcomed seven new members as of July 1: Julia Burns of Pathways High, KerryAnn Minton of Michael Best, Jeanette Mitchell of Cardinal Stritch University, Beth Ridley formerly of Northwestern Mutual, Ken Robertson of the Greater Milwaukee Foundation, Dominique Samari of P3 Development Group, and Clark Slipher formerly of Millman.
theater’s equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I) plan, serve as an internal expert and coach on ED&I matters, and collaborate with ED&I efforts regionwide. We look forward to continuing our important journey to center ED&I in all of our work as we carry on our proud legacy of elevating the people and stories of our community and ensuring our theater is a place that is welcoming and inspirational to all.
Finally, we are thrilled to welcome Jermaine Murry as our new Chief Diversity Officer. A Milwaukee native, Murry will work directly with executive leadership, Trustees and our vast network of community partners to continue to implement the
As always, thank you for your loyal support of Milwaukee Rep as we celebrate the end of our 2021/22 Season and look forward to seasons to come.
Mark Clements Artistic Director
Chad Bauman
Executive Director
Congratulations to our 2021/22 Sustaining Trustees of the Year: John Kordsmeier and Mark Niedfeldt, M.D. John Kordsmeier served on the Board from 2006–2012, and served as Board President from 2008–2011. During his time on the board, Kordsmeier was instrumental in hiring Rep Artistic Director Mark Clements in 2010. After his time on the board, he chaired our Mpact Committee in 2015, which focused on guiding the expansion of our education and community engagement programs and reigniting our commitment to increasing equity, diversity and inclusion in Milwaukee. Kordsmeier also serves as a member of our capital campaign cabinet, helping Milwaukee Rep forge ahead into a future of theater by Milwaukee, for Milwaukee.
Mark Niedfeldt, M.D. served on the Board of Trustees from 2012–2021. When the pandemic began in 2020, Niedfeldt went above and beyond, serving as our chief medical advisor as we navigated the continuously changing COVID-19 safety protocols. With his guidance, Milwaukee Rep was one of the first theaters in the nation able to reopen safely for live, in-person performances with First Lady of Song: Alexis J Roston Sings Ella Fitzgerald in April 2021. As we monitor the COVID-19 situation in Milwaukee, Niedfeldt’s continued guidance has allowed us to safely do what we do best—create live performances.
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INSPIRING STUDENTS to lift their voices
Milwaukee Rep’s teen programs provide exceptional opportunities for high school students to express themselves more fully and learn about career paths in the arts. Through the Next Narrative Monologue Competition™, Professional Training Institute (PTI), and Teen Council, students develop the skills they need to achieve their goals no matter where their paths may lead.
Professional Training Institute Magdalyn Rowley-Lange (pictured left), a senior at Ronald Reagan High School in Milwaukee, shares with us her experiences as one of 15 members of PTI. The class of 2021/22 consists of 15 students from 10 different high schools. She is also the current President of our Teen Council (see following page), which consists of approximately 20 students.
we formed actually turned those awful days into something I will never forget. We talked, ate, and shared stories as we chased the shade during lunch. Those rehearsals were a true test of our ability to work as an ensemble, and showed us the power of finding a community that accepts and supports you no matter what.
When did you start with PTI and why did you join? I joined in 2020, in the middle of the pandemic. I wanted to join PTI not only for the invaluable experience of learning from working actors but also for everything I could learn from other young people in the program. PTI allowed me to be part of a community of passionate, tenacious, inquisitive, and thoughtful teens from around the city. I have developed what I believe will be lifelong friendships and for that I will be forever grateful.
What excites you about the program? Definitely the summer performance opportunity, which simulates the experience of working as a professional actor. In June 2022, we rehearsed from around 9am to 5pm each day and got paid hourly for our work. In July, we are performing a full production of The Compass by Michael Rohd in the Stiemke Studio with sound, lights, costumes, and a full set, and are working with theater professionals in behind-the-scenes jobs and administrative positions. I am playing Ada, an analytical scientist, in the production, and the fact that I am getting paid to do something so incredibly fulfilling blows me away. PTI shows me that, with an open mind and discipline, it really is possible to make a career out of what I love to do.
What has been your favorite experience? Initially, my favorite experience was the worst! Last summer, we performed Ghost Bike by Laura Jacqmin at the outdoor theater in Kadish Park in the effort to keep everyone safe. The first days of outdoor rehearsal were sweltering hot, and we were irritable, tired, and practically melting. However, the close-knit ensemble
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The Professional Training Institute (PTI) presents Ghost Bike in the 2020/21 Season. Photo by Don Rebar.
What are your future plans or goals? I’m trying to decide what career path to pursue but I do know that I need theater to be a part of my life. Regardless, the skills that I have built at Milwaukee Rep will serve me wherever I go. PTI has not only helped me grow my skillset and experience as an artist but has also given me more confidence and independence as I identify my goals and pursue them!
INSPIRING STUDENTS to lift their voices
Next Narrative Monologue Competition™ (NNMC) Congratulations to the more than 150 Milwaukee high school students who participated in the NNMC workshops, residencies, and drop-in sessions during the fall of 2021 and spring of 2022. In March, nine of these students participated in the Milwaukee regional competition. The two regional winners, Alexandria Woods from Rufus King High School and Terynn Erby-Walker from Golda Meir High School, then competed at the national competition on May 2 at the Apollo Theater in New York City. Out of 17 students who competed from across the country, Woods placed third and received a $1,000 scholarship.
This new national competition, formerly the national August Wilson Monologue Competition, focuses on giving high school students and the broader public exposure to some of the country’s most notable contemporary Black playwrights, including Idris Goodwin, who is currently under commission from Milwaukee Rep. According to playwright Robert O’Hara, “this new competition will expand the canon of storytelling beyond traditional narratives and allow young people to explore language and voices that look, feel, and sound like them. Black playwrighting is vast and varied and deserves to be celebrated and witnessed.”
During workshops, residencies and drop-in sessions, Milwaukee Rep Teaching Artists helped local students deconstruct, analyze, and interpret each monologue, further honing their character analysis skills and gaining a deeper understanding of the text. They explored the historical and cultural worlds of the monologues and how they relate to the students’ own lives and communities. In addition to learning performance techniques, the NNMC helps students utilize the arts to make co-curricular connections and use their own voices to inspire action.
Terynn Erby-Walker
Alexandria Woods
Teen Council Teen Council President Magdalyn Rowley-Lange joined the Teen Council during her freshman year of high school in 2019. She explains: “I have been a member of Teen Council for all four years of high school and was elected President during my junior and senior years. Our programming hits close to home because we serve the kids I go to school with every day. I have attended Milwaukee Public Schools my entire life and before high school I never had a real theater or choral program at my school. Teen Council works to bridge the gaps between the young people in Milwaukee and the theaters that call this city home. Some of my peers have never heard of Milwaukee Rep, and others don’t see it as a place where they belong. Our main goal is to make the theater more affordable and accessible with $10 teen-night events while also creating a community that welcomes all young people to Milwaukee Rep. We are the future of theater, and I want every single individual to feel welcome in that future.” To learn more about our teen programs, visit our website at www.MilwaukeeRep.com/engage-learn/training/teens
Members of the Teen Council attend performances of Steel Magnolias in fall 2021 to raise awareness of Teen Council activities.
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Milwaukee Rep takes us on a ride with Murder on the Orient Express We spoke with the director Annika Boras (pictured left) to find out how she did it!
How did you approach directing this production? When directing an adaptation, it’s important to understand what expectations the audience might have. Our audiences might well be familiar with the 2017 blockbuster film adaptation that Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in. There’s also the original material that Agatha Christie wrote, the classic 1974 film adaptation starring the great Albert Finney, and the popular 2010 television show starring David Suchet. My process for directing is about preparation. I read Ken Ludwig’s stage adaptation line by line to understand the characters as he chose to write them and identify the clues that are slightly different from the original. We had to allow the details of our production to stay true to the adaptation while keeping in mind the origins of each detail, character and their behaviors.
production), I used small post-it notes to represent the actors on a cut-out of the train pieces as a way to test out the movements before we went into the rehearsal space with the actors. Blocking the show in this way helped Scenic Designer Luciana Stecconi and me learn about what we needed to do to make the show move smoothly. For example, we added hidden doors in one of the train carriages, so that while the set was rotating during transitions, the actors were able to swiftly move into their places for the next scene.
What inspired you to direct Murder on the Orient Express at Milwaukee Rep? Agatha Christie is the best. She has thought of everything and nothing is inconsequential. What a pleasure to spend time with a story so rich, a puzzle created by a most gifted mind. Also, I was so happy to return to Milwaukee after directing The Niceties during the 2019/20 Season. The people are the kindest folks I’ve met, and the audiences are thoughtful and engaged. It was a joy to work on a piece of theater for this community, knowing the supportive, engaged, and discerning audiences that are here.
Milwaukee Rep’s set is so delightfully complicated that preparation was about understanding how the actors would interact with the set. When I was blocking the show (planning when and where the actors would move throughout the
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Left: The “delightfully complicated” set model. Right: Steven Rattazzi as Hercule Poirot in Murder on the Orient Express. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
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Ask Artistic Director Mark Clements...
How is a designer’s vision translated to the stage? This is a tricky question because each show presents unique challenges and every designer’s style is different. From Green Bay Packers fans of the late 90’s all the way to Shakespearian characters reimagined in 1960’s British Columbia, our productions tell a wide range of stories that vary across time periods, locations and styles. Before designers begin their work, Director of Production Jared Clarkin and his team study each of the productions that will appear in the upcoming season and estimate the scope of work each production might entail, including both materials and supplies and labor costs. This allows them to anticipate what the potential needs and challenges of each production will be.
Research images used by Set Designer Collette Pollard to inspire the use of the moon imagery in Eclipsed.
After season planning is complete, the process of creating what audiences will see onstage begins with a collaboration between the director and designers. Typically, there are four main designers per show: costumes, lighting, scenic, and sound. The director will share their overarching vision for the show with the designers, and the designers use those ideas to create an initial design concept. This will likely include research images paired with sketches or renderings. When working on Milwaukee Rep’s 2019/20 production of Eclipsed, for example, set designer Collette Pollard was heavily inspired by images of the moon that were reflected in the design of the floor of the set. Once the designer is happy with the concept, the production team figures out what it would cost to build the show as designed. In a perfect world, we would execute the designer’s vision exactly as pictured. Often, however, the creative and production teams are required to make choices about which components of the design to keep and which to change based on a range of factors. If the project is too far over the production’s budget or time constraints, it’s possible the designer will have to scrap the idea and start all over! Translating a design into a full production is highly collaborative. The director, designer, and Milwaukee Rep’s production team participate in many production meetings (often starting over a year before opening night) to discuss the most effective way to make each designer’s vision a reality. Through many rounds of discussion, we are able to make the impossible possible onstage—even if we have to make a few adjustments along the way.
From left: Jacqueline Nwabueze, Matty Sangare and Sola Thompson in Eclipsed. Photo by Michael Brosilow.
Do you have a question for Mark? Submit your questions to onthemark@milwaukeerep.com and see his answers in an upcoming issue!
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A WELL-EARNED RETIREMENT! From telegraph machinery to Packers-themed Christmas ornaments to prop dishes the actors can actually consume onstage, Guy and his team have provided detailed, periodappropriate items to enhance the production and give actors the physical tools they need to bring their characters to life. For Guy, it is all about the details—from researching to experimenting with different materials to achieve the perfect look for a particular prop, he consistently perfects even the most minute detail to transport audiences and artists into the world of the story and provide the finishing touches that allow a designer’s vision to come to life. This attention to detail is just one of many qualities that has made him a true asset to Milwaukee Rep and the Milwaukee theater community at large. Milwaukee Rep donors will recognize Jim Guy (pictured above) from his many appearances during donor events such Magic in the Making or behind-the-scenes videos during our At Home digital content series, where he shared his passion for theater and the creation of props. Now, after 24 years serving as Properties Director, Guy will take his proverbial final bow at the end of the 2021/22 Season. During his time with us, he worked on over 300 productions, leading the properties team that creates and maintains all of the props seen in our productions.
In addition to his work at Milwaukee Rep, Guy currently serves as President of the Society of Properties Artisan Managers, where he shares his knowledge, techniques, and resources to help other properties managers and artisans improve their own craft. For fans of Guy’s work, no need to worry—he will continue to create props for Milwaukee productions on a freelance basis, while also enjoying some well-earned rest. Thank you, Jim Guy, for all of your hard work over your many seasons at Milwaukee Rep!
Milwaukee Repertory Theater Development Department
108 E. Wells Street • Milwaukee, WI 53202
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To make a gift in support of Milwaukee Repertory Theater, please contact the Development Department
I really do believe Milwaukee Rep is a treasure. We’ve got to preserve it.” – Melita Biese, Limelight Legacy Society member
414-290-5376 | www.MilwaukeeRep.com Image: Melita Biese photo from her testimonial at www.milwaukeerep.com/give/planned-giving
The show must go on. Thanks to you, it will. Join the Limelight Legacy Society by designating Milwaukee Rep as the beneficiary of a bequest, life insurance policy, or retirement account. Members enjoy invitations to private events with cherished Rep artists, access to the donor lounge, and much, much more.
Chuck Rozewicz
Morgen Clarey
Chief Development Officer crozewicz@milwaukeerep.com
Associate Director of Development, Events & Stewardship mclarey@milwaukeerep.com
Amy Dorman Director of Development adorman@milwaukeerep.com
Alli Engelsma-Mosser Director of Major and Planned Giving aengelsma-mosser@milwaukeerep.com
Cassidy Skorija To learn more, contact : Director of Major and Planned Giving, Alli Engelsma-Mosser
414-290-5366 • AEngelsma-Mosser@milwaukeerep.com
Major Gifts Officer cskorija@milwaukeerep.com
Amy McGuire Development Database Manager amcguire@milwaukeerep.com
Yolanda Doney Development Associate ydoney@milwaukeerep.com