Photo courtesy of Norther Sky Theater
Holly Feldman, Northern Sky Theater's Director of Development and Public Relations
Door County’s Northern Sky Theater has much to celebrate in 2020: it’s the 30th anniversary of the group as a professional theater company. And it’s also the 50th anniversary of performances in the amphitheater of the Peninsula State Park. It’s been half a century of theater in the outdoors, under a moonlit sky filled with stars.
But, like the rest of the world, the Age of Pandemic has moved everything indoors for Northern Sky. And in moving forward, “indoors” means a virtual season, using a “three-prong approach” according to Holly Feldman, Director of Development and Public Relations.
“Northern Sky’s three-prong approach really came from our fundraising event and the events leading up to it. We were certainly watching what other theaters were doing,” she explains. “But we knew that our brand of theater needed to be uniquely Northern Sky. Like everyone else, we were making it up as we went along and looking at what our own audience was responding to.”
And the Northern Sky audiences’ response was very positive to the virtual programming the company began to put in place. “It was a lot like an improvisational exercise,” Feldman says. “Every time we had an idea, as long as it was in keeping with Northern Sky’s personality, we said simply said, ‘Yes.”
Photo courtesy of Northern Sky Theater
Molly Rhode is Northern Sky's Associate Artistic Director
Feldman in particular credits Northern Sky Associate Artistic Director Molly Rhode (a veteran actor and director in Milwaukee’s theatrical community) who spearheaded the development of the three-prong virtual season which includes the following:
• Northern Sky at Home presents daily videos online featuring company artists sharing at-home moments and Northern Sky songs using Facebook, Instagram and YouTube.
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• Northern Sky LIVE features online live broadcasts such as “The Jeff & Katie Show,” featuring Artistic Director Jeff Herbst and singer-songwriter author Katie Dahl. LIVE includes the hosts’ discussions on various topics related to Northern Sky as well as a weekly bake-off, songs and special guests.
• Northern SkyLights premiered at the company’s May 2020 gala event with a special video entitled “A Decade of Delight.” The video was a compilation of musical numbers from shows performed in Peninsula State Park from 2011-2019. The company plans to add to “Northern SkyLights” with additional titles, including past productions as well as readings of works in development and new concert offerings.
Feldman says that it’s the “Northern Skylight” programming that will help to provide donations and financial support in continuing to develop new works as well as move the workshop process forward. As audiences throughout Wisconsin have experienced, new works are a hallmark of Northern Sky’s original creations such as the perennially popular Guys on Ice by that Northern Sky/American Folklore Theater linchpin, the late Fred Alley.
Silver Lining
“If we can find a silver lining in all of this, it would be that our cast and crew and artistic team are more available than ever to continue to create new work, the lifeblood of our organization,” emphasizes Feldman.
And if there is a “silver lining” in this Age of Pandemic, Associate Artistic Director Rhode finds it in Northern Sky’s continued commitment to original productions working with an available creative team during these uncertain times.
“Our mission of creating new work has been a unique advantage during this strange time because we have so much access to our authors and writing teams,” explains Rhode. “Early on in the pandemic, we held a Zoom call with over 25 of our writers and composers. We were bolstered by the groups’ energy to think creatively and brainstorm what was possible within these current parameters. That brainstorming is continuous and learning how to pivot and adjust and re-imagine is something our artists and staff have all fully embraced.”
To learn more about Northern Sky Theater and its virtual programming, visit: www.northernskytheater.com.
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