Peter Reeves has been an actor in Milwaukee since the days when theaters here were few. In 2001, he was recruited to teach an acting class at Pius XI High School and then to join its faculty. This year he become the school’s first director of communication. We toured the several floors of Pius’ visual and performing arts departments.
This is a Catholic High School, right? It feels like a college conservatory.
About 65% of our kids are Catholic. We pull from over 100 middle schools and 72% get some form of scholarship. The whole ethos of the Pallottine Fathers and the School Sisters of St. Francis who founded Pius 86 years ago is Renaissance education. It’s about embracing different thoughts, even different religions. We teach world religion classes, it’s not all Catholicism even though we’re steeped in Catholic values. I’m non-Catholic; we have Jewish staff members, Buddhist members. It’s a different culture than what people imagine. It’s not rulers being slapped across your knuckles. It’s a much more progressive and innovative place.
Your brochure says that “access to the arts is what distinguishes Pius XI from most other high schools.”
No question about it. For example, 95% of our visual art students achieve the highest grade in the art AP course, which is college level work. Every October, 25 of the top colleges in the country come here to offer our students scholarships. Parsons School of Design in Paris, Parsons in New York, CalArts, Rhode Island School of Design, MICA, the Art Institute of Chicago, Kansas City Art Institute, all descend here for two days of auditions and seeing our students’ portfolios. Major offers are made. Two students were just given full rides in Paris. Murray McKay, the director of Parsons Paris, said to me: “Peter, Pius is one of the top 10 art schools in the world—not the country, the world!” The arts are considered core curriculum here. You’re asked to make a decision somewhere along the line: take a dance course, an acting course, an arts course or singing. But they’re all four-year programs. That’s totally unique to this school. They’re structured in consecutive curriculums that build on each other like a college major.
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And this Wizard of Oz you’re presenting at the Pabst?
We’ve got 26 kids from 18 different elementary schools playing Munchkins. They’re mentored by our high school students who’ll play the majority of roles. Michael Wright, the artistic director of Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, is playing the Wizard and he’s helping our kids, so it’s each group helping the other and that’s a lot of what we do here. Kevin Schwartz, the director, is to me one of the most innovative directors in town. He isn’t given credit because he’s teaching in a high school but he’s always doing something different with the children, letting them bring out truths, through their very guilelessness, that maybe you and I couldn’t bring. He puts them in positions where they can do really good work. For Wizard, he’s integrating beautiful handmade life-size puppets by Lisa Schlenker. Our performing arts chairperson, Bonnie Scholz, is conducting the orchestra, which is a mix of professionals and students. Again, our students are with people who do it for a living and nobody’s treated any differently.
Are you still acting?
I’m doing one play this winter at Milwaukee Chamber Theatre. It’s called Slowgirl. It’s about a young girl who gets into trouble in high school. It’s funny and poignant and it really speaks to me now as a dad and a teacher. What’s cool is that the school allows me to do it. They know I’m going to miss some school time and that’s fine. We have painting teachers who really paint, writing teachers who publish. I think that’s how it should be. And if they have to be out, somebody equally reputable takes their place. I’d never really had a job before. I was always just kind of an actor. Now, to come in every day and really like the job—it’s fantastic! I don’t take it lightly.
The Wizard of Oz runs Jan. 22-24 at the Pabst Theater, 144 E Wells St. For tickets, call 414-286-3663 or visit pabsttheater.org.
