When I graduated from UW-Milwaukee with a BFA in acting, my cohort and I were confronted with a lack of opportunities for young actors in Milwaukee. Though it didn’t feel lucky at the time, it led to a group of us co-founding our own theater company, Youngblood, which remains one of the most formative periods of my life.
We did shows in warehouses and other found spaces partially because we didn’t know we probably shouldn’t and mostly because it was way cheaper than renting a theater space. Doing shows in found spaces soon became a hallmark of Youngblood. Staging our plays everywhere but in the theater seemed to inject a little mystery into people’s lives. If this strange production is popping up in this forgotten and dilapidated corner of Milwaukee, what kind of infinite possibilities exists in the places we pass by every day, just waiting for someone to come along and activate them in a way that cracks open our capacity for wonder?
Fast forward over a decade since Youngblood to World Premiere Wisconsin, an inaugural statewide festival of new plays and musicals that I’m the festival producer of, and nearly 50 theater companies are participating in. I see the same opportunity to crack open our capacity for wonder, now for the entire state. This first-of-its-kind festival is a big, bold idea not just for Wisconsin but for all theaters. By taking such a big swing with this festival, we hope to set an example of what’s possible in the spirit of collaboration and inspire others with the work we’ve done to rally theaters together in their state.
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More than 130 theater makers attended our kick-off celebration in February. Many remarked that they’d never seen Wisconsin theater so well represented. It didn’t matter if you worked for a regional giant in Milwaukee or an academic theater up north or if you were an old blood or a young blood; it felt like everyone was on the same level by coming together under this initiative. The completeness of Wisconsin’s theater ecosystem was on full display, and the event sparked many thoughts and conversations about what would happen if we were to simply gather more often like this.
That’s the benefit of acting on bold ideas: they beget the next batch of bold ideas. As we endeavor to show that all Wisconsin’s a stage through World Premiere Wisconsin, I eagerly await the next bold idea this festival will spark.
Visit: worldpremierewisconsin.com
Photo Credit: Erol Reyal
