As The Comedy of Errors was winding up, we pinned our twins down long enough bring you a fresh "10 Questions!"

What brought you to theater and to Shakespeare?
// Connor - I saw Jack Black in School of Rock and wanted to be an actor. I auditioned for plays in high school and played Falstaff in my first Shakespeare play, Merry Wives of Windsor. During the production I fell in love with the language.

// Cole - Orientation for my freshman year of high school included improv games and some acting exercises. I had a lot of fun with them and the drama teacher, so I auditioned for the fall one-act. I've loved acting and been close friends with Mr. Ivkovich ever since. The first Shakespeare show I was in was A Midsummer Night's Dream at UW-Parkside, directed by Matt Schwader (I was Snug) and the concept was Steampunk which was a lot of fun.

// Rebekah - I was in my first play when I was six. It was a play my brother wrote and I didn’t have any lines, but I have loved being a different person on stage since then. As far as Shakespeare goes, my first favorite “book” was Twelfth Night. In middle school, I fell in love with the twin confusion and Feste the fool. How fitting that in this show, I not only got to play a clown, but also a confused twin!  

// Thorin - I grew up in rural Wisconsin, I loved books and movies (storytelling), but there wasn't much theater around me so I didn't see it growing up. When I got to University, I decided I wanted to take part in the storytelling and I started doing theater. I fell in love with Shakespeare after doing a month-long intensive in Lennox, Massachusetts with Shakespeare and Company.


What did 10-year-old you think you’d be when you “grew up?”
// Connor - I wanted to be artist and draw comic books.​

// Cole - I always wanted to be an artist because my grandparents have made their living off of their amazing art for 40 years now. If you want to see some of their work you can visit XNTrixart.com (XN-Trix, get it?!)

// Rebekah - A teacher (which I am so grateful I already get to do with First Stage). 

// Thorin - I thought I'd be an engineer because I was always good at math. My uncle was an engineer and I knew it was a good job. I changed my mind after I realized, although I did well in math, I didn't enjoy it.
​

What do you think is the greatest challenge of portraying your character?
// Connor - The greatest challenge is making Antipholus of Ephesus a sympathetic human being who doesn't just yell and hit things.

// Cole - For me it’s been the most difficult keeping Dromio positive. When I first read the show, I saw him as very resentful of his situation, and we get to laugh at his pain. However ML and Ron wanted to play his resilience and intelligence, along with his inability to not tell a joke, rather than focusing on any anger he may have towards his circumstances.

// Rebekah - I  think when you have a lot of good jokes, it can be really easy to just try to make people laugh, the challenge is to make people laugh because you are being present and honest in the moment. 

// Thorin - The greatest challenge was letting go of what he's "supposed to be," to find out who he is.

We've got a few tee shirts left and we want to free up that storage space, so take the opportunity to scoop up some bundled tee shirt deals. Shop now for shirts or other SitP logo or items!

Greetings, Friends!
 
Shakespeare in the Park: it’s not just for summer anymore.
 
So, what do we do during the "off-season?" We get together with our community for some good-old gab-fests. We have a cadre of SITP-ers at the ready to meet and greet and talk about our favorite topic.
 
We recently had the pleasure of meeting with a local community organization where we all indulged in a lively discussion about almost everything under the Shakespearean sun….
 
We talked about…
What we do, why we do it, how we do it
… Why Shakespeare is still important and relevant
…… How his stories relate to our lives in the here and now
……… Life, times, loves, hates, prejudices and vision
 
You know – all the stuff that makes this fun.
 
Interested? Why limit yourself to only summer Shakespeare encounters? We’d love to meet you and your community group. Drop me a line and let’s make it happen!
 
Optimistically,
Susan

We've wrapped The Comedy of Errors, but if you'd like to enjoy more from our amazing cast and crew, look for them here:

​The next project for Libby Amato, our Luciana, is exercising her creativity in the form of her handmade soap shop, Abbondanza Soap Co.

Set Designer and Scenic Charge Posy Knight is moving on to work on the 53212 Presents Open House during the Center Street Daze Festival, Saturday, August 10, 1-10 pm
731 E. Center Street (upstairs of Company Brewing).

​Jim Pickering, who appeared as Egeon and Balthazar, can be seen next as:

• Doc in West Side Story at the Milwaukee Rep (Sep. 17- Oct. 27)
• Mr. Fezziwig in A Christmas Carol at the Milwaukee Rep (Nov. 26-Dec. 24)
• Peter Michaels in No Wake, a new play by Erica Berman, at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre (Feb. 21-Mar. 15, 2020)

You can see Nate Press, the Messenger and part of the Ensemble, as:

• Leo in In the Next Room (or The Vibrator Play)  for Outskirts Theatre Co. (Aug. 30-Sep. 8) at Danceworks 1661 N. Water Street
• Ensemble in The Beggar's Opera for Theatre Gigante (Sep. 27-Oct. 12) at UWM Kenilworth Studio 508, 1915 E. Kenilworth Place 

Please support theater in Milwaukee by checking out these and other performances!

Given the premise of The Comedy of Errors -- not one but TWO sets of identical twins causing all manner of confusion and mistaken identity...we've set aside 10 seats for every evening performance for those who come to the show as twins!

How does that work?​

• Come up with 5 points of twinning (clothing, accessories, some other characteristic(s)). Be imaginative!
• Present yourselves at the Information Booth to have a member of SitP staff verify your "twinhood."
• If you are one of the first 5 sets of "twins," we'll give you a wristband that will allow you to sit in the Twins Section!
• What if you are ACTUALLY a twin? If you both come and prove your twinship, that will count as ONE of your twinning points -- you'll still need to come up with four other elements to express your twinship, just to keep things fair!

​​​​​

Thank you, Footlights, for your interview with Executive Director Susan Scot Fry to talk about our 10-year anniversary.


​

​Thank you, Greg Stanford. You are and will be missed.
 
If the outpouring of sentiment and sorrow is any indication, Mr. Gregory Stanford was well-loved and highly regarded by so very many people. Optimist Theatre is right there with them as we mourn his passing on April 8th.
 
Since 2015, Greg served on the Optimist Theatre board of directors, offering insight, support, and sheer good will and enthusiasm. His friendship and mentorship was warm and inspiring.
 
Executive Director Susan Scot Fry remembers meeting Greg for the first time at his art gallery in the Grand Avenue mall. "A fellow former Journal Sentinel reporter and mutual friend introduced us. As we got to know each other, it became apparent that Greg would make an excellent addition to our board of directors and he happily accepted. We had so many things in common – from his love of theater to his devotion to the community."
 
Greg was always one to step up and get involved. In his long career as a columnist, he tackled tough subjects with stories about racial segregation and took the federal justice system to task. Yet, he never lost his wry sense of humor. He saw a lot of things – experienced a lot of change – and always with that sideways smile.
 
Yes, Greg will be missed. Thank you for your service to Shakespeare in the Park and to all of Milwaukee.

You can find Greg's Journal Sentinel obituary here.