CAKES & ALE A Surprise Birthday Party for William Shakespeare We're putting together a REALLY fun evening, and look forward to seeing you all there. We'll also keep you posted when we're ready to reveal the entertainment line-up. featuring: | Entertainment | | Food & Drink | | Silent Auction | | Cash Bar | April 22, 2016
7:00 p.m. at The Woman's Club of Wisconsin 813 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Milwaukee Includes valet parking Renaissance attire admired, not required Buy tickets and get additional information here
About Milwaukee High School of the Arts
Since 1984, Milwaukee High School of the Arts has offered artistic and academic training to the students of the Milwaukee metro area. Over the years, MHSA has grown from an initial class of 120 students to a current student body of nearly 1000 students. Our artistic offerings now include Creative Writing, Dance, Music, Theatre, and Visual Art. MHSA looks forward to providing another generation of students with outstanding artistic and academic opportunities. We were ECSTATIC last summer during A Midsummer Night's Dream to host John McGivern and the crew of Around the Corner as part of their "official" visit to Brewer's Hill. They filmed an interview with Todd Denning, our Oberon, as well as the general delightful environs of the show. Now, that episode is now scheduled to air! Which is beyond cool to start with. But wait, it gets better! There will be a preview party at Lakefront Brewery. And all our friends and fans are invited to turn out. In fact, we'd really love to have lots of you proudly flying your Shakespeare in the Park banners (figurative, anyway**) to show the rest of the neighborhood just how excited you all are to have us in their/your midst. Besides...brewery! John McGivern! John Gurda! Get all the details straight from John McG, then read below for more from us: What else do you need to know?
This was all arranged by the fantastic people at the Historic Brewer's Hill Association, so be sure to appreciate them, in whatever way seems appropriate, for putting this soiree together. If you'd like to come out, there's no need to RSVP -- doors open at 6:00, just show up! That said, feel free to post a comment telling us to look for you in what will surely be a crowd! **We would be aided in spotting you if you elected to sport a Shakespeare in the Park t-shirt (or mug or shower curtain...) that you could find here!! Finally, if you can't be at the preview party, you can (and should!) still catch the episode when it airs two days later on MPTV (channel 10.1), Thursday, February 25 at 7:00 pm. Shakespeare in the Park was recently notified that we will receive a grant from The Brico Fund! Once we finished jumping up and down, we asked Executive Director Anne Summers if we could chat with her about the Fund and her work there. She was gracious enough to indulge us! Read on to learn more! The Brico Fund was founded by Lynde Uihlein with the mission to build "the collective capacity of people and organizations to actively and sustainably improve the civic, cultural and natural environments." Brico's specific areas of interest are the Arts, Environment and Democracy. Anne explained that the spirit of the Brico mission is building quality of life for everyone. They are interested in building organizational capacity, including to broaden access to arts in the community. The organization intentionally works to support art with diversity of reach and location, and socially relevant missions -- especially where Brico's involvement won't overlap with traditional theater/arts funding. What struck Brico about the “fit” of Shakespeare in the Park into the Fund’s investment areas? The Brico Fund is increasingly interested in making grants at the intersection of its three interest areas: democracy, environment and the arts. Specifically, to seek out organizations that are already synthesizing those foci. As such, Shakespeare in the Park's populist ethos – reflecting the audience in the production, and intentionally anchoring everything that it does in the artistic and democratic spheres -- appeals to that larger giving philosophy. What brought you to the field of philanthropy and to Brico? I was attracted to the ability to use philanthropy as a leverage point for change. The Brico Fund has a particularly "open view" in term of funding. We are willing to innovate and experiment in ways that many foundations are not. Our charge is to help build stronger community and increase quality of life, but in doing that, we have the opportunity to create strategy. While we offer traditional core operating grants, we can also take greater risk outside of the status quo -- to make a statement in the community. Brico is willing to be a trailblazer and a maverick, make mistakes and learn from them in order to improve our grant-making, all in service of knitting the fabric of Milwaukee more tightly together. What is the greatest challenge of your work at The Brico Fund? The stereotype that it’s a cushy job – writing checks and sending money. I find it the most challenging and difficult work I've done. Part of that is because grant-making is not only role. There is a lot of sharing of relationships, and serving as a connector within the community. Another challenge, if you will, is the ability to see the importance of capacity-building in the life of an organization. Without that step up on that front end, in order to enable growth, good ideas wouldn’t get the time required to "figure it out." And, Brico is always working with our funded organizations to get honest feedback -- both so that we can be a better partner to them, by helping them "figure it out" through our own experiences, but also to make us a better grant-maker. Challenges are expected, and set-backs happen. Our ability to work with our organizations from a position of understanding that in a supportive way, in the end, helps everyone learn how to do what we do better. At the end of the day, we try to really live our values in the organizations that we fund. HOW and WITH WHOM matter as much as WHAT we do -- being practical about direction. One of the most rewarding aspects is to see the power that even small amounts of money have, especially when we are able to accompany that money with our other relationships, which can magnify effects into BIG results. Other than yourself (!), who should play you in the feature film of your life? Morgan Freeman? Gene Hackman? Robert deNiro? People who play characters who have learned a lot in their lives – through mistakes, experiences, successes, are very reflective and open and engaging about that; understated, but play a key strategic role…very real. Those actors seem to play those kinds of parts regularly, so they come to mind. What Shakespeare character do you most resemble? Equal parts Titania, Lady Macbeth and Portia? I think? Tragedy, comedy or history? Tragedy Truth or dare? Truth Guilty pleasure? Taking the time to read a book (the thicker the better)...and eating Oreo cookies. More about Anne: An Illinois native, Anne holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a Masters of Business Administration degree from Cardinal Stritch University. Prior to coming to the Brico Fund in 2004, Anne held positions as a senior leader in private nonprofit organizations and in the government sector. Her national leadership roles include the board of directors for the League of Conservation Voters, the Youth Engagement Fund and the Funders Committee for Civic Participation. She was a founder and first board chair of State Voices and helped found its Wisconsin affiliate, Wisconsin Voices. In her local community of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, she serves on the board for the (Milwaukee) Harbor District, co-hosts the Collaborative Fund to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and previously served on the board of the Donors Forum of Wisconsin. Anne’s professional and personal values intersect seamlessly, focusing on interdependence, fairness and equality. She has been a pioneer in the field of philanthropy, committed to idea testing, systematic evaluation and impact measurements that demonstrate collective action to create long-term change in communities. With her passion for innovation, combined with a focus on the next generation of leaders, Anne develops and mentors newer leaders across a variety of sectors. Under her leadership, Brico Fund has successfully modeled and led a new way of community investment that maximizes the potential for social change beyond the confines of more traditional philanthropy. She has co-authored and published an article for The Foundation Review titled “Weaving an Impactful Network” that details the Fund’s willingness to test the power dynamic of the traditional funding partnership. A state leader in capacity building of the nonprofit sector, Anne frequently presents and writes on this and other topics in Wisconsin and throughout the United States. Visit The Brico Fund's website ~ jump straight to the page with the back story of the cavalier boots logo (scroll down) Optimist Theatre is auditioning for our summer 2016 production of Julius Caesar. Auditions are on February 6, 7, and 8. If you’re interested in being considered for an audition slot, please email your headshot and resume to Shakespeare in the Park Producer and Associate Artistic Director Tom Reed. Submissions without a headshot and resume will not be considered. Previous experience required. Performances of Julius Caesar will run 12 days – August 4-7, 11-14 and 18-21, outdoors at Alice Bertschy Kadish Park. Rehearsals begin near the end of June. Shakespeare in the Park is also seeking to fill all crew roles. Interested? Please email Tom Reed and include a resume if you have one.
Society6 is running a special where you can save 10% on your first order using code 106SOCIETY. They frequently offers discounts and specials, so it's worth checking in with them, joining their mailing list or searching online for coupon codes. Remember that showing your purchase acts both as a fundraiser and as advertising for Shakespeare in the Park. So, using your mug, carrying your tote bag, wearing your t-shirt -- it benefits twice over. Besides, who wouldn't want to style as part of such a cool club?! If there's a particular design you'd like to see -- or create! -- drop us a line and let us know about it. We'll be continuing to build it out with additional designs, including the banner above and these: Want us to let you know when we add new items/designs to the store?
We've made a dedicated mailing list for that. Sign up and we'll keep you apprised. Shakespeare in the Park members enjoyed their first Members-Only Event on November 13. The Salon-style evening was hosted by Susan and Ron Scot Fry. The freewheeling discussion took in Shakespeare in general and Julius Caesar in particular, along with a range of other topics as they arose naturally. As the first foray of the format, all present agreed it was a thumping success! We are considering dates for the next such event in January, and look forward to more great company and equally stimulating conversation! To receive your invitation, and add YOUR smiling face (or that of your friends/family -- membership makes a terrific holiday gift!) to this group in 2016, visit our Membership Page.
Our friends at The Milwaukee Rep have sent us this limited-time discount code to share with all of you: buy your tickets by November 15th for just $25 each using promo code SPECIAL.
We are so happy to welcome Azeeza Islam and Greg Stanford to the Optimist Theatre Board of Directors. Read about them and the rest of our Board here!!
Shakespeare in the Park 2016: Run out and get your 2016 calendar -- it's okay, we'll wait ... <insert "Girl From Ipanema" here> ...
You back? Now, flip to August and mark #SitP16 right over those first three weeks. Now, you can't possibly miss out on this phenomenal experience! Also, we're announcing our new Membership Program!!! Check. It. Out. |
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