Photo courtesy of First Stage
Mask prep workstation set up by Jessica Noones, First Stage's production manager
The Milwaukee Rep, First Stage and Milwaukee Ballet are pooling resources to make masks and face shields for frontline workers at Children’s Hospital, Froedert and the Medical College of Wisconsin.
Photo courtesy of Milwaukee Rep
Milwaukee Rep's John Houtler-McCoy and wife Calissa with over 700 paper masks
So far, the organizations have donated over 10,000 pieces of PPE. Weekly deliveries are ongoing thanks in part to funding from the Northwestern Mutual Foundation.
This is a cumulative effort of dozens of employees from the three organizations.
Some 200 face shields are going to be constructed in the coming weeks with materials found onsite at Milwaukee Rep.
“Jared Clarkin, our director of production at Milwaukee Rep is used to coordinating hundreds of talented people to bring a vision to life on stage,” said Mark Clements, artist director at Milwaukee Rep. “That is why it is of no surprise to me that he proposed this effort and has worked tirelessly to utilize our resources and the resources of other performing arts groups for a common goal of protecting our frontline workers. As theater makers we are not used to sitting idle and while this may only be a small effort in the grand scheme of things, I’m glad our talented employees are stepping in to lend a hand.”
