Programs

Educational Workshops & Arts Residencies

Artists & Performers Include:

musicians: classical, jazz, hip hop, pop, world cultures, drummers, Broadway, opera, operetta
dancers: all styles
actors: classical characters, historical impersonators, improv performers
scriptwriters
craft & workshop artists
jewelry makers
face and body painters
dollmakers
caricaturists
chalk artists
muralists
martial artists
flag & fire spinners
puppeteers
fortunetellers
magicians
storytellers
clowns and balloon clowns
mimes
ventriloquists
jugglers
stiltwalkers
designers, costumers, wigmasters

Original and Adapted Theatreworks

Milwaukee Public Theatre specializes in the creation of highly acclaimed theatreworks that celebrate our uniqueness and challenge us to reach our potential.

Touring shows present vital contemporary themes and social issues on stage and at public events and parades. A major area of programming since 1976 has been free-to-the-public musical, circus or parade productions for Milwaukee's parks and public places each summer. Most of these shows run about 60 minutes.

ON TOUR NOW! CAMP WE-KAN-TAK-IT—May-September, 2010. An original musical comedy developed by Voices Theater and Milwaukee Public Theatre. “We Can Take It” was the national slogan for the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC). Read the complete news release. The multi-media show includesThe Humdinger, a resource guide on the CCC. In 2010, the Fireside Chatter resource guide focuses on the Works (Progress) Projects Administration (WPA). The play program is available. We have photos from the 2009 and 2010 shows, and the 2010 interview on Wisconsin Public Radio.

Read more details on shows at each site.

May 29, UW-Arboretum, Madison
June 19, Devil’s Lake State Park Outdoor Theater
July 17, Wisconsin Interstate State Park, St. Croix Falls
July 17, Festival Theater, St. Croix Falls

July 22, Revisit Milwaukee! CCC/WPA Legacy Day: Washington Park Senior Center, Milwaukee. Read the Bus Tour narrative from the historic sites tour and view new performance photos and the p anel discussion

August 28, Devil’s Lake State Park Outdoor Theater
State park admission required

Yes! The shows at Old World Wisconsin are still on!

Sept. 4, Old World Wisconsin, Eagle
Sept. 5, Old World Wisconsin, Eagle
Does not include Old World Wisconsin Museum admission.

Recently Staged Shows follow this Current Touring Show list.

Current Touring Shows which can be booked for your organization:

AJULA—A highly dynamic youth drum and dance troupe presenting music, dance and stories from the African diaspora. Presentations are 20-60 minutes with a 6-15 person show. Space/technical needs: 20’-30’ x 20’-30’ clean bare floor, preferably wood; with 5- standing mics; for audiences K thru adult.

CAPAZ (“Capable” in Spanish)—presents short interactive plays about health care access for families of children with disabilities. The audience is invited by the bilingual cast to change negative outcomes in the plays. Audiences include health care professionals. Capaz was initiated from funding by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs (CYSHCN) Center.

Circus/Pageantry—Throughout Milwaukee, we celebrate community with a delightful variety of clowns, jugglers, stiltwalkers, giant puppets, colorful banners and flags and costumed characters so that every celebration takes on a unique vibrancy. Our artists can come to your site and help you create your own circus, puppets and parade.

CUENTAME UN CUENTO (Tell Me a Story) Latin American Folk Tales—A simply staged set of interactive stories with music and masks that are adapted and directed by Carolina Soza. Bilingual presentations are 20-60 minutes with a 2-4 person show. Space/technical needs: 10’ x 10’ for 2 wireless mics and 1 standing mic; for audiences K thru adult.

FAQS (Facing Adolescent Questions about Sex)—An original show with music by and for young people that deals with HIV and sexually transmitted diseases. Created in collaboration with MPS, Fighting Back and Running Rebels. Performances are 30 minutes with a 20-30 minute talk-back. Space needs: good sightlines for classrooms of 25-30; for audiences in middle & high school.

INTERACTIVE THEATRE—Empowering vignettes dealing with social issues and inviting audience participation in a “rehearsal for life” that provides tools to explore solutions for problems kids face every day. Interactive Theatre is developed in collaboration with the Center for Applied Theatre and directed by Mark Weinberg and Jenny Wanasek.

Persuading Tiffany—An interactive play exploring the social and media pressures on contemporary teenagers to engage in sexual activity.
No Good Reason To Stay?—Deals with a teenager trying to decide whether or not to drop out of school.
Amy's Addiction, Joey's Lunch Money Blues and Party Girl—All three deal with drug, alcohol and tobacco issues, bullying and violence. Presentations are 90-120 minutes with a 5-6 person show. Space/technical needs: 10’ x 10’; for audiences middle school thru adult of 30-150 people.

ONE WOMAN'S VOICE—An interactive history program about citizenship and the right to vote that recreates the character of Theodora Winton Youmans, an early Wisconsin journalist and suffragette. Created and performed by Kathleen Stacy, this presentation is a 20-30 minute performance with a 20-30 minute talk-back. Technical needs: 1 wireless mic; for audiences age 8-adult.

Storytellers—MPT presents a wonderful array of storytellers, spinning tales ranging from folklore to history, from faraway lands and distant times to the very heart of our communities today. Tell us what you’re looking for and our gifted performers will make your audience laugh, cry, gasp, sigh and beg for more through simple staging or strolling. Performances are 30-60 minutes with a 1-person show. Space/technical needs: 1 wireless mic; for audiences K thru adult.

TALES FROM THE NILE—Rose Onama’s stories about growing up on the Nile River in Uganda accompanied by music and drumming. Presentations are 20-60 minutes with a 2-5 person show; Flexible space needs requiring 1 wireless & 1 standing mic, minimum; for audiences K thru adult.

TASAWARI (“Capable” in Swahili)—presents interactive theatreworks to African American families whose children have special needs as well. It was also initiated by funding from CYSHCN and from Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. The program has expanded to help support families dealing with cancer and other health issues.

TOBACCOSAURUS REX—A humorous and educational puppet play about tobacco that is toured by two performers or taught to youth to perform themselves. Performances are 30 minutes with a 20-30 minute talk-back or a 2-hour performance/workshop. Space/technical needs: good sightlines for classroom of 25-30; for audiences in First-Fifth grade.

WHAT IS COOL?—Fabulous Feno’s one-person circus featuring juggling, magic, and music dealing with peer pressure, violence, tobacco/drug abuse. Performances are 20-60 minutes with 1-person show. Space/technical needs: 10’ x 10’ with 1 wireless mic; for audiences K thru adult.

UNCLOTHED…the naked truth: Survivors’ Stories of Sexual Abuse—A play by local playwright La’Ketta Caldwell that is based on hundreds of interviews with women who have been sexually assaulted. The true stories focus on the ways they have been able to find healing. Unclothed has been adapted for teen audiences and has been performed at Riverside University High School.

WINTER VOICES: Peaceful Warriors Dance Tribe—Thirza DeFoe, in workshops with youth from Milwaukee's Indian Community School (ICS), presents traditional stories about the change of seasons for student and public audiences. View photos of the troupe in rehearsal. In spring of 2010, they performed at Milwaukee's Midwinter Pow Wow, ICS Mini Pow WoW, MATC, Academia de Danzia, and at Turtle School and Harmony Cafe in Green Bay (Sponsored by the Oneida Nation).

Recently Staged Shows:

ONE MAN'S TRASH IS ANOTHER MAN'S TREASURE—May 6 and 7, 2010
Lincoln Center of the Arts, Milwaukee. Music, dance and puppetry brought found objects and trash to life in a story about consumer and personal values, recycling, and preserving a healthy environment. An urban youth meets "trash creatures" who teach him that his actions can help to assure a cleaner earth for coming generations. View photos of the production which featured original music by Azeeza Islam and Ernie Brusubardis. Read more about the cast and related recycled art projects.

CAMP WE-KAN-TAK-IT—Summer and Fall 2009. An original musical comedy developed by Voices Theater and Milwaukee Public Theatre about the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC), which provided jobs to three million unemployed young men, brought relief to their families, and helped conserve America's natural resources. The play toured nine statewide venues in 2009, including Whitnall Park, originally a CCC camp, in Milwaukee.

SPECTACOLO!—April 2009. This original piece charmed student audiences with clowning, tumbling, juggling and other circus arts in a colorful story about cooperation and leadership. An experienced and wildly talented cast demonstrated circus skills and comedic talents while slipping in valuable lessons about teamwork.

WINTER VOICES: Native American Stories to Warm the Heart—December 2008. Thirza DeFoe narrated four traditional stories about the change of seasons for student and large public audiences at Lincoln Center of the Arts.

People can only rain on your parade if you let them.
- Anonymous -

626 E. Kilbourn Avenue, Suite 802 / Milwaukee, WI 53202 (Administrative Office) / 414.347.1685 / fax 414.347.1690

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