Welcome to Optimist Theatre's Shakespeare in the Park 2026 Cast and Crew Portal
CONFIDENTIAL - PLEASE DO NOT SHARE THIS URL
This page contains info you will need to know and things you will need to do. The URL is hidden from the main Optimist Theatre website menu. Please do not share it with anyone who is not a 2026 company member.
|
Table of Contents as of Feb 3, 2026:
The Company / 2026 Contact Sheet / 2026 Master Calendar / 2026 Show Dates / 2026 Daily Line-up |
Still to be added or updated:
Quicklinks to more easily navigate this page / Link to scripts / Set Designs / Detailed directions to show locations / Weather / 2026 Map / Associate's Handbook |
|
The Company Artistic
Director and Dramaturg - Cara Johnston Stage Manager - Melissa Wanke* Assistant Stage Manager - OPEN Cast - Libby Amato*, Alicia Rice, Rebekah Farr and Bree Beelow Costume Designer - Deb Fabian Set Designer - Cara Johnston Props Designer - Matt Norby Soundscape Designer - Ron Fry Other Artistic Early Music Now - Chuck Grosz Puppet Richard III People
Designer - Cara Johnston Designer and Builder - Adam McAleavey Builder and Skills Trainer - Nikki Kulas Production
Production Manager - Susan Fry Production Crew Lead - Katy Lane Sound Engineer - OPEN Wardrobe - Carter Bauer Production Road Crew - OPEN Production Road Crew - OPEN Production Road Crew - OPEN Production Assistant - OPEN House
House and Games Manager - Jenni Glueckstein Surveys and Guest Relations - Norma Mortimer House, Surveys and Games Team Member - OPEN House, Surveys and Games Team Member - OPEN House, Surveys and Games Team Member - OPEN Social Media and Graphic Design - Beth Lewinski
|
2026 Contact Sheet
Your first point of contact should be your supervisor if you have one. Otherwise, feel free to reach out to me. If you need me ASAP, text 262-498-5777. Don't call. I rarely answer the phone. Unless it's Melissa. Or a cast or crew member. Okay, go ahead and call, I guess.
Show days - call me. |
2026 Master Calendar
Our 2026 Master Calendar includes call times for everything - load-in, rehearsals, tech, show days, and strike. This is current and accurate as of February 3, 2026. We don't anticipate any changes but if we upload a new calendar to replace this one, I'll make note of it.
| calendar_2026_final.pdf |
Please download this calendar and take careful note of days and times you are called. If you aren't sure if a call applies to you, please ask.
Special note to our production crew members. In addition to your other calls, you are expected at all tech rehearsals. Please see the calendar and mark those dates and times.
Special note to our Sound Engineer. You will need to participate in a few rehearsals - schedule TBD. Please work that out with Melissa.
Special note to our cast. If you have a conflict that is not listed on this calendar, it is not approved. If you have a conflict arise, we expect you to try to re-schedule it so that you do not miss any rehearsals. Please bear in mind, you are a member of of a small cast, rehearsing two shows concurrently. Chances are, you're in every scene so we probably can't just rehearse around your absence.
Special note to our production crew members. In addition to your other calls, you are expected at all tech rehearsals. Please see the calendar and mark those dates and times.
Special note to our Sound Engineer. You will need to participate in a few rehearsals - schedule TBD. Please work that out with Melissa.
Special note to our cast. If you have a conflict that is not listed on this calendar, it is not approved. If you have a conflict arise, we expect you to try to re-schedule it so that you do not miss any rehearsals. Please bear in mind, you are a member of of a small cast, rehearsing two shows concurrently. Chances are, you're in every scene so we probably can't just rehearse around your absence.
|
2026 Show Dates and Parks All performances and activities are held outdoors between 1:00 pm and 6:00 pm every afternoon. Please see the Master Calendar for call times, etc.
|
2026 Line-up of shows and activities
Show and activity times are in progress and will be shared here as soon as possible. Once the schedule is set, it will be the same for every show day. This rundown does not currently include call times for set-up, scene or set changes and strike. |
This is page started as a copy of the 2025 cast and crew portal page. Everything below this line still needs to be updated for 2026.
Finding the shows for cast and crew - where to meet, where to park, where to drive on
The parks where we perform are large and you need to be able to find us. This map is a copy of the public map but is being updated to cover the info WE need. Pins in red have already been updated. More pins will be fixed as we go.
It's easiest for crew with early call since we'll all just meet there and you can follow the trucks as we drive on. Anyone else - Carter/ Wardrobe, Actors - please take a look at this and make sure it's understandable. IF you get lost, call or text Susan 262-498-5777.
It's easiest for crew with early call since we'll all just meet there and you can follow the trucks as we drive on. Anyone else - Carter/ Wardrobe, Actors - please take a look at this and make sure it's understandable. IF you get lost, call or text Susan 262-498-5777.
Navigating this page
The quicklinks below will help you skip around to whatever you need to find. If any link isn't working correctly, please use the contact form above to let me know.
Quicklinks to page contents... not necessarily in order if you simply scroll down.
Detailed location descriptions
These are the descriptions submitted to the Milwaukee County Parks for our event permits. These will also (eventually) be pinned to our map as well.
If you don't yet see a description, I simply haven't written it yet. It wasn't included on this draft because it's not a Milwaukee County Park and this was created for our permit application.
Not yet shown: Drive on instructions for crew unloading sets, etc.
If you don't yet see a description, I simply haven't written it yet. It wasn't included on this draft because it's not a Milwaukee County Park and this was created for our permit application.
Not yet shown: Drive on instructions for crew unloading sets, etc.
Saturday, July 12, 2025 ---- Wisconsin Lutheran College
Sunday, July 13, 2025 --- Washington Park
Hillside, north side of the Olmstead Way road that traverses the park, south of the Goethe-Schiller monument, west of picnic area 2, opposite side of the hill from the bandshell (not visible from our location)
Saturday, July 19, 2025 --- Humboldt Park
Slight hillside in a 'triangle' on the north side of Park Road, opposite side of the road northeast of the bandshell, north of the tennis courts
Sunday, July 20, 2025 --- Sherman Park
Large grove of trees in a large meadow north of the intersection of W Locust and N 41st, east side of the walkway that crosses the park, south of the Boys & Girls Club building
Saturday, July 26, 2025 --- Mitchell Park
Picnic area 1, east of the Domes, northwest of the Mitchell Park Pavilion and the pond, very near the parking lot east and behind the Domes
Sunday, July 27, 2025 --- Grant Park
In a grove on the west side of Grant Park Road, near the south end of the park, southeast but not visible from the tennis courts, south of the pond and north of the Grant Park/Spider Park playground
Saturday, August 2, 2025 --- Lake Park
(New location within the park) Under a grove of trees slightly north of picnic area 4, west side of Lake Park Road, near the walkway that extends north from the cul de sac / dead end at the end of N Lake Park Road, northeast of the baseball diamond
Sunday, August 3, 2025 --- Forest Home Cemetery
Saturday, August 9, 2025 --- Kern Park
(New Park) Accessible from the walkway at the corner of N Humboldt Blvd and E Keefe Ave that passes by the playground, hillside slightly southeast of the playground , west of the tennis courts, south of the parking lot and the community building
Sunday, August 10, 2025 --- Lincoln Park
Large meadow slightly southeast of the Blatz Pavilion and east of the David F Schultz Aquatic Center, north of the Hank Aaron baseball diamond, southeast of the large parking lot on Hampton Ave
Saturday, August 16, 2025 --- RAIN DATE
This date will be kept open to reschedule any location that had to be canceled due to rain or illness.
Sunday, August 17, 2025 --- Wisconsin Avenue Park
(New Park) Hillside northwest of the community center building and north of the playground, accessible via the walkway on the north side of the parking lot leading to and past the playground, northwest of the community center building, and east but not visible to the baseball diamonds
Milwaukee Weather
Weather is a fact of life when you tour a theatrical production.
Shakespeare in the Park is a rain or shine show. What that really means is our crew will drive to our show location and plan to set up regardless of the weather. If there's a downpour, we will monitor the weather and hold to set up until we see a break. If the weather website doesn't show any let up in rain, we'll still wait until the last minute to make the call to set up or not.
If we set up and the weather turns bad, there are other considerations....
- Is it bad enough to push through or do we need to pause the performance? (Generally speaking, if it goes on for more than 30 minutes, we're less and less likely to be able to re-start the show.)
- Will it pass in time to re-start the show before it's too late? (Too late may be defined a bunch of ways... too dark to continue.... won't finish in time for the next show to start... and.... )
- Will the weather damage costumes / props / sound equipment?
- Is the audience staying in hopes we'll continue? (They usually do stay!)
- And....
Melissa (our AEA Stage Manager) and I confab constantly as we are each monitoring online weather channels and radar. Melissa will make the final decision on whether or not to continue to hold or if we need to call it a day and pack up.
If you're interested in checking for yourself too, try the Accuweather channel available here. LINK TO ACCUWEATHER FOR MILWAUKEE
Shakespeare in the Park is a rain or shine show. What that really means is our crew will drive to our show location and plan to set up regardless of the weather. If there's a downpour, we will monitor the weather and hold to set up until we see a break. If the weather website doesn't show any let up in rain, we'll still wait until the last minute to make the call to set up or not.
If we set up and the weather turns bad, there are other considerations....
- Is it bad enough to push through or do we need to pause the performance? (Generally speaking, if it goes on for more than 30 minutes, we're less and less likely to be able to re-start the show.)
- Will it pass in time to re-start the show before it's too late? (Too late may be defined a bunch of ways... too dark to continue.... won't finish in time for the next show to start... and.... )
- Will the weather damage costumes / props / sound equipment?
- Is the audience staying in hopes we'll continue? (They usually do stay!)
- And....
Melissa (our AEA Stage Manager) and I confab constantly as we are each monitoring online weather channels and radar. Melissa will make the final decision on whether or not to continue to hold or if we need to call it a day and pack up.
If you're interested in checking for yourself too, try the Accuweather channel available here. LINK TO ACCUWEATHER FOR MILWAUKEE