Someperformances are done in the traditional way, but some allow for interactionwith the audience. “They’re scenarios where things don’t turn out well andthe audience can step in and become the characters,” says Barbara Leigh,co-founder and artistic and producing director. “It’s a really great wayto give people a chance to rehearse for life. Especially with kidsdealing with things like drug abuse and peer pressure, being able to get out ofit and not take drugs can be really tough. So we present scenariosdealing with those things,” she continues.
Toaccomplish this, MPT employs clowns, stiltwalkers, balloon artists, puppeteers,craft artists, fire spinners, storytellers, ventriloquists, and a host of othertypes of entertainers.
Focusingon multi-cultural performances and workshops, MPT has put on shows such as“Latin American Folktales,” which incorporates music and masks fromSpanish-speaking cultures and “Tales from the Nile,”which includes workshops in African dance, drumming, crafts and music. Dealing with more than cultural differences, “Capaz” is “a piecegeared to work with Latino families who have children with specialneeds,” according to Azeeza Islam, associate artistic director, “‘Tasawari’ is the sister component to that, dealing with African Americanfamilies with special needs.”
MPT alsotries to address social causes in its work. “We tend to try to keep ourear to the ground with regard to what sorts of things are going on, and dealwith those issues,” says Leigh. One example of this, “Unclothed…the NakedTruth,” presents stories from survivors of sexual abuse. Another, “FAQS” (Facing Adolescents’ Questions about Sex), “is younger adultsand/or teenagers who take adolescents’ questions about sex and sends a messagethrough both rap music and acting about how kids can better protectthemselves,” says Islam.
Afterprograms such as this one, they have brochures available for studentsinterested in getting help or further information. For shows dealing withdelicate subjects, counselors from both the school and the mental healthfacility are available. Another program, “Tobaccosaurus Rex,” is a puppetplay about tobacco and its effects.
Anotherbig component of MPT is their arts residency programs, with which they workwith a number of agencies and schools. “Our arts residencies cover allkinds of different things,” says Leigh. “We also do circus residencies calledRainbow Circus,” she continues. “They learn things like acrobatic skills,juggling, balancing, and plate spinning.”
“We’vegot both summer programs and ones that run from September to December,” Islamadds. “Most of them are after school, but some are during the day.” One of the two residencies Islam herself is involved with is at StuartElementary and is done in cooperation with Arts-at-Large. “We’re dancingto the Michael Jackson tune ‘Man in the Mirror’ and some of the 3rd and 4thgraders come up in a line asking ‘what life means to me’ and then they dance tothe song,” says Islam with a smile.
It’snot only inner- city residents that benefit from MPT. “We’ve gone intosome of these communities that are totally Caucasian and, being that we workwith a multi-cultural group, we’ve had a black ‘Uncle Sam,’ for example, wewere able to, I think, give the message ‘we’re all in this together’ withoutbeating people over their heads with it,” says Islam.
Workingin conjunction with other groups is another important goal of MPT. One isthe Ajula Performance Troupe, a project that focuses on African culture and iscomposed of performers aged 13 and up who are from central Milwaukee. Another, the EsperanzaPlayers, focuses its bilingualperformances on health issues specific to Latinos.
“Myco-founder, Mike Moynihan, and I were trying to figure out how to really reachpeople. We decided it’s not just through lecturing them, it’s throughhands-on experience,” says Leigh. “Theatre can reach people in ways thatother forms don’t.”
“We haveworked with so many people, and that’s really what makes us, gives us thatenergy that people brought to the theatre and that’s really what we’reabout. We’re really trying to collaborate (with other groups) and not beterritorial. We’re all struggling for the same money pot, but,ultimately, we’re all working for the same goals,” says Leigh.
