Faced with the realities of COVID-19, Optimist Theatre responded by creating a web series of Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Shot starting in late summer with minimal cast and crew in outdoor locations around Milwaukee County, we were able to observe appropriate distances and other health & safety protocols on set that would have been impossible in a traditional theatrical setting.

We have since then been editing and working out the surprising number of technical details involved with the multi-platform stream that we're planning to begin on January 13th! 

Join the separate mailing list for No Holds Bard and/or visit the website to get all the details about how, where and when to catch the thrilling adventures of Prince Pericles!!

It's a Sad News/Good News Situation

Heartfelt greetings from Optimist Theatre
We have both sad (but probably not surprising) news and an update on our current programming.

We’ve decided to postpone Romeo and Juliet until 2021. This was an incredibly difficult decision to make. We have been dedicated to making Peck Pavilion performances happen. But, we reached a point when we had to decide whether to hang on and roll forward with possible live performance dates for R&J or, instead, to do something we could do well right now (well, soon, anyway). 
​

First, Why Postpone?
While it might have been possible to produce at the downtown Peck Pavilion this summer, it’s become a slimmer and slimmer chance. Some of the reasons we chose to delay Romeo and Juliet?

• It’s impossible to forecast with certainty when Milwaukee will reach phase 4 (gatherings of 100 allowed with social distancing),
• Audiences are indicating they will feel uncomfortable gathering in large groups for a while even after phase 4 is achieved,
• The Marcus Performing Arts Center cannot predict when they may re-open their performance spaces, which includes the Peck Pavilion,
• The further forward we push the dates, the less likely the weather would be pleasant outdoors in the evening, and
• Shakespeare in the Park needs a minimum of 10 weeks of lead time for designing, building, rehearsing, etc. prior to opening. It’s doubtful a green light could be given more than 2 weeks ahead.

So, we made the hard choice to postpone.
                                                                                                                       sigh...


But, there is Good News!!!
On the flip-side, this postponement is an invaluable opportunity.
We are embracing today and our current resources to focus on what we CAN do to fulfill our mission and bring some Shakespearean fun to our community. Shakespeare in the Park is our highest profile event every season but Optimist Theatre is very busy year-round.

Optimists are still hot on the heels of fulfilling our mission and goals in 2020.

We have three programs in high gear:

Zoom To Be!
Our award-winning educational outreach program, To Be! Shakespeare Here and Now! has successfully adapted to a virtual platform.

14 shows for a middle school in Maryland and one in Wisconsin taught us a lot. Thanks to this adaptation, we are no longer limited to the distance our William Shakespeare (live and in person) can drive. Er… ride. On a horse… less carriage...!

No Holds Bard!
It’s so new, we aren't quite ready to describe it to you and there’s not even a blurb yet on our website! The focus, though, is on fun with Shakespeare.

Stay tuned for all the info about this program!



(graphic credit for Will in sunglasses to the Charleston City Paper, Charleston, South Carolina.)

To All of Us Optimists
Here's to embracing all the possibilities of today, doing work we can be proud of, and looking to the future.

With all our love, gratitude and optimism,

Susan, Ron, Tom, ML, Christie, Karen and Barbara

A Special Note to Our Supporters: Members, Donors and Financial Supporters – Thank You.
Nearly every arts organization in the country have suffered steadily decreasing financial support and for understandable reasons (https://artsnc.org/covid-19-pandemic-bad-for-arts-nonprofits/). Happily, thanks to you and organizations like the Greater Milwaukee Foundation and the Milwaukee Arts Board, we have funding to help keep our doors open.

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!