The Tempest set to open this coming April will be Cooperative Performance Milwaukee’s largest to date. There’s a working waterfall. There’s sand onstage. Sounds impressive. Earlier this season, they announced that it was going to be staged in the Mitchell Park Domes. It’s a really novel venue for live theater. At present, it’s also a very unlikely venue for theater. Falling debris and a subsequent closing of the domes has complicated things. While it’s somewhat reassuring that Gregory High, Director of Architecture, Engineering and Environmental Services has been quoted as saying that the domes, “ are not ready to fall down or anything,” the show is going to need to relocate. CPM is looking for a new venue. "I completely understand that the administration at the Domes is doing everything it can with a very unfortunate situation," says show's director Neal Easterling, "but the well being of our company requires that we move quickly."
There’s no telling how long the domes will be closed, which complicates things considerably for CPM. Says Easterling: “I believe it likely that we will not get the full time and resources we need to produce this show in that space, so we have begun looking for other options.” It’s not going to be easy finding the right home for the show. “This particular show has a circle of sand as a deck and a working waterfall,” says Easterling. “It works great in a greenhouse, but now we need to find another space that can accommodate us. We were scheduled to open on April 22 and run through May 7 on Thursday - Saturday.”
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The show is moving ahead. Auditions were wrapped-up just last night. Easterling is finalizing the casting. The show begins rehearsals on Mar. 9, which makes it all the more important to find a venue. “We need a 15' x 15' to 20' x 20' foot space for playing area, and we had budgeted for up to 200 house seats.”
Anyone who has a lead on a performance space or would like to assist financially to help CPM accommodate the move can contact Easterling at neasterling@cooperformke.com.
