Category: Youth Theater

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PSA: First Stage Starts 2023 With: Carmela Full Of Wishes!

From our friends at First Stage:

Milwaukee’s First Stage, one of the nation’s leading theaters for young people and families, begins the new year with CARMELA FULL OF WISHES, adapted by First Stage Resident Playwright Alvaro Saar Rios, (ON THE WINGS OF A MARIPOSA/ LUCHADORA!), from the popular book by award-winning children’s author Matt de la Peña, with illustrations by Christian Robinson. In this beautiful adaptation, audiences will discover that it is Carmela’s birthday, and her wish has already come true – she’s finally old enough to join her big brother as he does the family errands! As they travel through the neighborhood, Carmela finds a lone dandelion growing in the pavement. Before she can blow its puffy white fluff away, her brother tells her she must make a wish. If only she can think of just the right wish to make! Delight in this moving ode to family, to dreamers and to finding hope in the most unexpected places. Sponsored by PNC. 

From Director Michelle Lopez-Rios: “In CARMELA FULL OF WISHES, we take a big journey with Carmela on her birthday. Like the book, the play delivers a world that stimulates all the senses. The imaginative set, costume, sound and lighting designs of the production will play a vital role in bringing this world to life. There are fields of bright orange marigolds, tastes of paletas (popsicles), smells of fresh laundry and the beauty of life by the sea. As she tags along to run errands with her Big Brother, we travel through the vibrant community that is their home. We watch as Carmela dreams up the perfect wish for her birthday and reveals what life is like for her family. 

Family is at the heart of this journey. Mami starts off the day with chocolate pancakes and a charge for Big Brother to take care of his sister. Carmela and her brother bicker, tease each other as they make their way through the list of things to do and complicated conversations. We learn about their undocumented father and how her Big Brother is filling his shoes. We ache with her as she longs for her dad to be home and her family to be complete. It is a story that is familiar to too many youth in Milwaukee as they carry the weight of tremendous hardships in their daily life.  

It is hard to understand a world that would separate a six-year-old from her Papi. It is a world where all the adults she knows work so hard, including her Mami. It is a world that forces her brother to grow up quickly and help her navigate tough questions. The story is necessary because it explores the difficult issue of immigration from the point of view of a child trying to understand why her father cannot be home with his family. It is a story that we all need to know and understand. As Carmela dashes along the streets on her worn green scooter taking in the world around her, we witness the deep and endless love of this family, and we feel the resilience of hope.” 

CARMELA FULL OF WISHES runs January 20 – February 12, 2023 at the Marcus Center’s Todd Wehr Theater, located at 929 N. Water Street in downtown Milwaukee. Tickets are $28 and can be purchased in person at the Marcus Center Box Office at 929 N. Water Street, by phone at (414) 273-7206 or online at firststage.org. Performance runtime is approximately 70 minutes, which includes a brief intermission. Suggested for families with young people ages 3+. 

More information and to order tickets…click here!! There are some special event days as well, like pay what you can or sign language interpretative days. So click the link above to check those out!

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First Stage’s Young Company Presents A Midsummer Night’s Dream!

The Young Company is First Stage’s troupe of advanced high school age actors. And in the performances that I have experienced and again here with A Midsummer Night’s Dream, they are playing beyond expectations for such a youthful cast.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is one of Shakespeare’s most popular and accessible and a great play to work with…because even audiences not familiar with Shakespeare in general know something of the plot and characters…and I don’t know anyone who doesn’t enjoy this play.

The Young Company is presenting the play at their Goodman Mainstage Hall in the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center on Walnut just a bit north of the Deer District.

The Company is presenting the play in the round with very minimal staging. A barely raised circular stage with a low platform along one arc to provide space for speeches, resting, sleeping, and fairies! And that minimal set and restrained space can be challenging for the action and large ensemble required for A Midsummer Night’s Dream but these young actors make the most of it! Director Molly Rhode, a First Stage alumna, deserves a lot of credit for orchestrating the comings and goings as the scenes change and of course the cast for their perfect execution as fairies make way for nobles and nobles make way for craftsmen, and town or palace make way for the forest. And the physical comedy inherent in the play are also clearly apparent and the audience reactions made clear that we were all having fun!

And costuming too isn’t rich or over the top…but you will be able to discern when a character is a fairy! Or a noble! Or a craftsman! And that is important since a number of the actors are playing multiple roles. So pay attention but you with just a little care, you’ll be able to follow the characters as they progress through the story and the dreams Shakespeare wrote into this comedy. And if you lose track for even a moment, the various bells, horns, drums, and other sound effects will clue you in as to which scene and which group of characters is about to fill the stage in front of you. Although I doubt anyone will mistake a fairy for a noble!

But the limited scenic space and simple costuming lets the language come through. And the cast has mastered the language and the story here is told via the language and the actor’s commitment to the language. Truly remarkable for such a young cast. I think we will see any number of these young actors on Milwaukee’s adult stages in a few years.

One of stand outs on Sunday, was Zachary Nowacek as Nick Bottom. Nowacek brings all the requisite humor and boastfulness required for the role…particularly as the roles for the play within the play are announced…and despite securing the lead role Pyramus, Nowacek exhibits a perfect swagger as he suggests that he can play all of the roles. And when we finally get to see the play presented for the duke’s nuptials, Nowacek presents the appropriate bit of slapstick as he brandishes his prop sword causing his onstage audience to duck on cue…and then plays the death scene to the hilt (pun intended)…to all of our amusement…including the good duke!

And then we have Angel Rivera as Helena and Alice Rivera as Hermia. Two BFFs whose affections toward one another turn as the misdirections and mishaps in the court and the forest cause their suitors to inexplicably change their affections. Both of these young actors start from the love struck young women and move to some very adult confrontations as the actual Midsummer Night’s Dreams affected their love interests. Both roles were played with the correct intensity and emotion and really brought the stories home. And of course their eventual shift to happily wed noblewomen was played with the appropriate calm and regal bearing!

And you can’t leave a discussion of A Midsummer Night’s Dream without discussing Robin Goodfellow! And on Sunday afternoon, Robin was played by Mara Holzen, who was subbing for Josie Van Slyke. And Holzen gave us the proper feeling of spunk, frivolity, and mischief that you would expect from a puck. A proper very Puck indeed!!

A Midsummer Night’s Dream is suggested for families and young people, ages 11+. And I will suggest that this a perfect production and a perfect venue to introduce young people to the language and poetry of Shakespeare! All seating is close to the stage and provides an intimate relationship with actors and the story.

It runs one more weekend, with performances on December 16th, 17th, and 18th. Tickets can be ordered here! There is ample free parking in their lot next to the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center and additional street parking.

Extra credit reading: The Playbill! and if you want to get a head start on the play or prepare those Shakespeare rookies: The Enrichment Guide

P.S. I will add photos later as they become available.

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PSA: First Stage To Present: A Midsummer Night’s Dream

I am a little bit tardy in getting this out…but here’s what you need to know!

Milwaukee, WI –November 30, 2022 – First Stage’s Young Company, the Theater Academy’s award-winning training program for advanced high school actors, will present A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, one of Shakespeare’s most popular and influential plays. The play will be performed in the recently renovated, theater-in-the round Goodman Mainstage Hall at the Milwaukee Youth Arts Center. Noted Wisconsin director/actor, Associate Artistic Director at Northern Sky Theater and First Stage alum Molly Rhode will direct this production. In A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM, audiences will follow the misadventures of fairies, nobles and craftsmen through the forests of Athens over the course of one magical evening. Love triangles, mistaken identities and alarming transformations abound in Shakespeare’s most enchanting comedy. Sponsored by the United Performing Arts Fund. 

A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM runs December 9 – 18 at Goodman Mainstage Hall, MilwaukeeYouth Arts Center, located at 325 W. Walnut Street in downtown Milwaukee. Tickets are $15. Tickets are available online at firststage.org or through the First Stage Box Office at (414) 267-2961. Performance runtime is approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes plus a brief intermission. Suggested for families and young people ages 11+.  

This is a Young Company Performance Project – an actor-driven presentation using elemental production values. By stripping down to a nearly bare stage, the connection of actor to audience is enhanced, and the words of the play come alive in exciting ways, allowing First Stage’s award-winning students to showcase their graduate level skills with full-length material, from Shakespeare to American classics to pieces commissioned specially for them. 

From Director of the Young Company Matt Daniels: “A MIDSUMMER NIGHT’S DREAM is one of Shakespeare’s most enduring and popular plays for a reason. It is full of fun, fantasy, mischief and beautiful language, making it a perfect fit for our award-winning Young Company. I first encountered this play as an actor when I was in high school, and it left an indelible mark, setting me on a path to a life rich in Shakespeare’s work. I trust it will be the same for these seasoned young artists.” 

Added Director Molly Rhode: “At 14 years old, I was an original student of the Theater Academy when First Stage opened its doors to students in the summer of 1992. I feel so lucky that my teen years intersected with the creation of the Academy. It changed my life. The teachers I met that summer remain some of my most powerful mentors today. Returning to work with the Young Company feels like reconnecting with my roots. These students are exceptional. It’s a real honor to be their guide through this production.” 

The Young Company has provided me with a number of stellar theater experiences. If you can fit one more theater piece into your holiday season, you will be rewarded.

Additional info and extra credit reading!

Digital Playbill:The digital playbill includes artistic/actor/designer and cast bios. To view the digital playbill when it gets posted closer to the show opening, please go to: firststage.org/about-us/media-center/playbills/ 

Enrichment Guide: An Enrichment Guide for the production can be found here: firststage.org/media/v3wbg3t0/midsummer_enrichmentguide.pdf 

Tickets are $15 – Tickets may be purchased at firststage.org or by phone (414) 267-2961. 

Pay What You Choose Performance: Friday, December 16, 2022 at 7:00 p.m. 

Pay What You Choose tickets are available on a first come, first served basis with a minimum suggested donation of $5 per person. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. on the day of the performance. Patrons are encouraged to arrive early. Tickets may also be reserved in advance by phone at (414) 267-2961, weekdays 9 a.m. – 4 p.m. To learn more visit: firststage.org/events-tickets/tickets-offers/pay-what-you-choose/