Tag: Arts & Culture

APT’s The Road Back : Spring Green is back in business

The announcement of APT’s 2021 in-person Summer Season was an emotional event here in Spring Green. And, from what we’ve heard, it was for you as well. So to start, we want to thank you for the support, the excitement and even the tears you’ve shared with us since then. Your emails, notes and social media comments make us so happy, and keep us going when challenges come our way (and they do keep coming). But today is for accentuating the positive, so thanks once again for being the best audience we could hope for.

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Art from around the Valley: Oil painting of LWR off Highway 60

I’ve had a love affair with the Wisconsin River since I can remember. The river’s source begins at Lac Vieux Desert in the Lake District of Northeastern Wisconsin and travels 430 miles to meet the confluence of the Mississippi River, near Prairie du Chien. A while back I’d heard rumors of a re construction project on my favorite stretch of river road, Highway Sixty West along the Wisconsin from Gotham to Muscoda. This eleven-mile Scenic Highway is to me, the most magical section of the road with its curves and rock outcroppings which never lose sight of the river. A trip back in time to relax and leave the world behind for a while.

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American Players Theatre announces six-play 2021 season

American Players Theatre (APT) is thrilled to announce its projected 2021 Summer Season. The schedule is set to include six plays, with one production playing at a time in the Hill and Touchstone Theatres. The first two plays will be the world-premiere staging of James DeVita’s An Improbable Fiction in the Hill Theatre, and Katori Hall’s The Mountaintop in the Touchstone Theatre. Next up will be Tom Stoppard’s Rough Crossing (Hill) and a remount of An Iliad (Touchstone), Lisa Peterson and Denis O’Hare’s adaptation of Homer’s The Iliad. The third pair will be an adaption of William Shakespeare’s Cymbeline by Henry Woronicz (Hill) and Christopher Fry’s A Phoenix Too Frequent (Touchstone), which was originally slated for the 2020 season. APT also expects to announce three more productions in the coming months that will play in fall and winter.

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REVIEW: No fault in APT’s reading of ‘Dear Brutus’

“Dear Brutus” by J.M. Barrie (directed by Kelsey Brennan) the second in American Players Theatre 2021 Winter Words series of virtual play readings, is centered around a walk in an enchanted woods on a beautiful night. Even without the stage set, it was easy to imagine a performance of “Dear Brutus” “up the hill” at APT on a starry midsummer night. After experiencing how the actors breathed life into all the characters, I’d love to see them bring this to the stage.

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Art from around the Valley: ‘The last drop of frozen sunshine’

One late afternoon in February, as the sun was about to disappear behind the distant treeline, I noticed a bright “spark” outside of my painting desk window on the patio. There, a once-snow covered branch that morning grew icicles as the temperatures warmed considerably during the afternoon sunlight. The setting sun had ignited the spark of brilliant light that fractured and became prism-like within the icicles.

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APT The Road Back – Chapter 8: All about the tickets

So, this is the week. In normal times, you may be texting your friends right now. Plotting your shows, maybe making reservations or planning picnics, and watching your mailbox for your Book of Summer to proclaim that the APT season is on its way. And, finally, waking up early to be at your computer, like runners at the gate, prepped and ready to get your tickets. Instead, here we are.

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APT The Road Back – Chapter 6: On The Grounds

We’re all excited to get back on the APT campus this summer, and from the notes we’ve received from you all, it’s pretty clear that you’re excited, too. There is, after all, so much to miss, and the plays are just the beginning. And while many of the best parts of visiting APT will remain, the experience is, simply, going to be different this year. So prepare yourself for a little time travel, as this week’s TRB takes you on an as-yet hypothetical tour of what we expect it will be like this summer. Some details will surely change before we get to the season – or even during the season – but here’s a snapshot as it stands today.

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APT The Road Back: Chapter 5—Testing, podding, housing

Nicole Tilford’s spreadsheets are not working. Since she became APT’s Company Manager in 2015, she has relied on her trusty Excel template to map out housing for the season. Though no two seasons are alike when charged with the care and housing of 140 theater artists, at least the season has always had the same shape. She had come to rely on the pattern of two parts – the first rep of 5 plays, followed by the second rep of 3. The leases always started on March 1 for a move-in date of April 15. Every detail was there in her spreadsheet – which apartments allowed pets, which were accessible, which had shaky internet. Her job is never easy, but it’s familiar. She could depend on a modicum of consistency. Until now.

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Tickets available for American Players Theatre ‘Winter Words’ series

Winter Words is a public play-reading series where APT artists explore new-to-APT plays, some of which may someday make their way to our stages. This popular series is, of course, typically held in the Touchstone Theatre. But this year, Zoom is where it’s at. So while the format may be different, these readings still teem with the raw energy of an early table read, produced for you with just one day of rehearsal.

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