DRAMA INK | Fall 2026

DRAMA INK | FALL 2026 DONOR MAGAZINE

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LETTER FROM OUR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR As I reflect upon our first season in the state-of-the-art Associated Bank Theater Center, some of the words that come to mind include creativity, resourcefulness, artistry, enthusiasm, appreciation, and of course, loyal audiences and supporters. Yet above all, our 2025/26 Season was a resounding success primarily because of resilience. While resilience is a valuable character trait at any time, for me it took on even greater significance from March 2020 until November 8, 2025, opening night for Come From Away.

Early in 2020, when the pandemic hit, we saw everything that was happening in our lives, everything we had worked for, stop. After six months, when we were finally allowed to come back to work, I found my dried up, half-eaten bagel still sitting on my desk. That tells you just how suddenly everything shut down.

From a personal perspective this time was a turbulent one for my family. Not only were we in the middle of an adoption process, but my husband of 13 years was diagnosed with critical end-stage heart failure and nearly died. I experienced simultaneously having a young baby, which was both joyous and challenging, while having a partner in the midst of a significant health crisis. While I was already scheduled to go on paternity leave during this time, I couldn’t leave while things were so unstable, so I have distinct memories of being on various Zoom meetings with our board and staff while holding a baby in my arms.

Eventually our company successfully re-emerged, my partner recovered and our son is now five years old. After all is said and done, I can declare with great conviction that the word resilient best describes our team at Milwaukee Rep. They don’t say no. They don’t quit. They simply persevere. They’re extraordinary and that’s why we are where we are today.

Continuing with the theme of resilience, there’s no better example of that than Jared Clarkin, Milwaukee Rep’s Director of Production.

The story of his extraordinary efforts after a “100 year flood” decimated our new production facility several weeks before opening night is a remarkable one. Starting on page 6, you’ll find his recollection of the morning of August 10, when motion sensors at the facility triggered an alarm on his phone at 4 AM and what happened next.

Chad Bauman

“The fact that we were facing so many challenges at the same time, yet were able to successfully complete our fundraising campaign, open a new building and create remarkable art was, in and of itself, a great exercise in resiliency.”

Chad Bauman, Ellen and Joe Checota Executive Director

About the Cover: Footloose, September 22 - November 1, Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater Get ready to kick off your heels and feel the beat! Helmed by Olivier Award-winning artist Stephen Mear, who wowed Rep audiences with his choreography for Ragtime and Guys and Dolls, this energetic, feel-good Tony Award-nominated musical will have you laughing, cheering and jumping to your feet with joy.

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LETTER FROM OUR ARTISTIC DIRECTOR Our revitalized John (Jack) D. Lewis New Play Development Program gives us a myriad of opportunities for developing new works by current Milwaukee Rep collaborators, as well as other talented playwrights from across the United States and abroad. I, for one, will be spending my time working on what could be described as three new works, because when it comes to theater, the word “new” can be interpreted in a variety of ways.

As you look at our upcoming season, you may ask yourself how a play presented on television more than 70 years ago could be considered new. Annika Perez-Krikorian, our Literary Director, explains it perfectly, “A new play is a version of a play that you’ve never seen before.” Whether you’ve seen a play on Broadway, or even a video of the black & white TV version of a play, your experience as a member of Milwaukee Rep’s audience will always be new and compelling in ways you can’t begin to imagine.

I don’t want to give away all of the creative methods I’ll be using in this season’s Twelve Angry Men, the first of the three new works, as we immerse our audience in a jury room setting. After all, isn’t part of the enjoyment of theater encountering the unexpected? I will say this much, however. The versatility of the Herro-Franke Studio Theater will enable us to invite you into the room, so to speak, by having the seating arranged in a theater-in-the-round configuration. We want our audiences to have the perspective of a fly on the wall, see the beads of sweat on the actors’ foreheads, and sense their clammy palms as they deliberate the fate of a young man on trial for his life.

Another method for producing a new play is by adapting a book, which I’ve done with American Dervish: A Novel, written by Pulitzer Prize winner and Milwaukee Rep trustee Ayad Akhtar. This is my second new work this season and my third adaptation of a novel, but it’s so much more meaningful because of my close friendship with Ayad. His novel is set in Wisconsin, and is about an American Muslim family struggling with its faith and finding its place in America. It’s also the story of a young man falling in love for the first time. While it’s still in the early stages, I’m confident American Dervish will be a remarkable addition to an upcoming Milwaukee Rep season.

The third new work is an adaptation of a play by Australian playwright Andrew Bovell. After having its World Premier at the Melbourne Theatre Company, it will make its way to America where it will have its U.S. premiere here at Milwaukee Rep. While the play’s universal theme is about people loving someone with an addiction, it has some distinctive Australian scenarios and vocabulary. One of my tasks will be to work with Andrew in order to make it more applicable to life in America and therefore more relatable for our audience members.

Mark Clements

“I always want to do something different, not only out of professional integrity and pride, but also because of my passion for the creative process. I might think, ‘that was an interesting play’ or ‘that was just a semblance of an idea, so how do I do a riff on that?’ There’s so much flexibility when we approach each new project with a fresh perspective.”

I look forward to sharing our 2026/27 Season, as well as many future seasons, with you!

Mark Clements, Artistic Director DONOR MAGAZINE

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HOW A FLOOD CHANGED LIVES AND ENERGIZED A TEAM

Jared Clarkin

What started out as a normal Saturday evening in August of 2025—no severe weather had been forecasted—changed to anything but normal when Jared Clarkin, Milwaukee Rep’s Director of Production, was awakened by an alarm on his cell phone at 4 AM. “It meant that movement had been detected inside our production facility,” he said, “and the first thing I thought was that someone had broken in. I brought up the interior camera on my phone and all I could see were dark shadows, moving across the screen.

“I live close by, so it only took me a few minutes to get there,” he remarked, “and the whole way there I didn’t notice that anything was amiss, until I turned my car into the driveway leading to our parking lot. At the bottom of the hill, surrounding the building, was water. Everywhere. I stopped my car, kind of shocked by what I was seeing.

Scan QR code to watch the flood unfold

“Later that afternoon the flood waters started to recede, so I decided to try to get into the building. I was wearing sandals, which weren’t ideal for walking through flood water, so I went to a nearby boot store to buy a pair of waders. I wear a size 15, but the largest size boot they had was a size 13. I bought them anyway, and squeezed my feet into the too small boots, which was much easier,” he chuckled, “than it was to pull my feet out of them.”

Starting the morning of the flood, August 10, Jared contacted a flood remediation service, followed by a contractor who eventually came in to rebuild the 28,000 square foot building’s interior spaces. He also found a space that could serve as a temporary production facility and coordinated the moving and storage of anything that was salvageable.

Simultaneous to all of the things that needed to happen in Milwaukee, Jared researched scenery production companies that could accommodate the rebuilding of sets for Come From Away, scheduled to open in November, and for A Christmas Carol, which was opening a month after that. He was successful on both counts, finding one shop in Calgary, Canada and one in the San Francisco Bay Area.

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Devastation, cleanup, and restored facility preparing for The World Goes ‘Round

“In the midst of shuttling materials here, there and everywhere, I flew to Canada and California to make sure the sets would be completed in time and to our specifications for the shows’ opening nights, while also pushing forward with the completion of the Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater,” he said. “Making sure that everything was getting done here at home, the production heads had all jumped in to their specific areas, cataloging some things, salvaging others, and after that, jumping on their computers to start purchasing everything we needed.”

That sounds like more than any production team could manage, but their responsibilities didn’t end there, because there was also Milwaukee Rep’s Opening Night Gala, featuring Bernadette Peters, scheduled for mid-October.

What can Jared say about this months-long experience and the burden it placed on his team? “Any one of the things we had to deal with would have been difficult, and having the confluence of all of them at once? It was shocking,” he admitted.

“Do you know what my staff said quite a bit during that time?” he asked.

“They said it was a miracle that all of these things were accomplished on time, despite the obstacles we faced. But I made it very clear to them that this was not a miracle, this was due to their hard work. Their perseverance.

Everything happened because they made the commitment to show up and do what needed to be done. Their dedication to Milwaukee Rep, to me and to each other never wavered. For that, I’m grateful and proud.”

Scenic Studio Flood Relief Gift We would like to thank the Dorothy Inbusch Foundation for their generous donation to our flood relief fund, and we’re pleased to announce that we have named our scenic studio the Dorothy Inbusch Foundation Scenic Studio. This department encompasses the fabrication of all scenic elements, from their rough cutting and fabrication to the paint finish, resulting in the finished scenery that’s seen on the stage.

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HOW COSTUMES HELP DEFINE CHARACTERS Let’s start with a riddle: When does a character play an important role, but receive no credit, no head shot, in the program? The answer is...when the “character” is a costume.

While a costume conveys so much about a particular character, the audience may not realize all the thought that goes into every element of that costume. Alex Tecoma, costume designer and senior draper for Milwaukee Rep, recently celebrated his 30-year anniversary, and he shared some Alex Tecoma insights into his career, as well as his process for creating the costumes for the upcoming season’s production of Twelve Angry Men (February 2–28, 2027 in the Herro-Franke Studio Theater).

“I think the challenge with Twelve Angry Men is to make sure every character is clearly defined,” he commented. “I want every member of the audience to say ‘Oh, I know who that character is, I know that person,’ and that’s a challenge when it comes to differentiating the clothing for twelve jurors. My creative process involves reading the script multiple times, then delving into all walks of life in the 1950s, to see what was worn at the time.

At his recent 30th anniversary celebration, Alex was presented with a quilt designed and created by co-workers from the past 30 years. Each square represents a memory of a production during his career at Milwaukee Rep.

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“I recently watched a film from the ‘50s and there was a scene in a dance club where some of the men were wearing sport shirts without ties. While some may think a man only went out wearing a coat and tie during that era, that’s not necessarily true. There are working class people, businessmen, and people from all walks of life in this play. My challenge is to define the identity of each actor through what he wears.

Titanic The Musical – From inspiration board, to sketch, to costume, worn here by Kelley Faulkner.

Photo by Michael Brosilow.

“For instance, I love shoes,” he said. “Then there’s socks. I have to think about socks. Not everybody is wearing the same black socks. Accessories like wristwatches and wedding rings, and all those little details, especially when you’re in a smaller space, really carry a lot of weight, I think.”

After completing a graduate degree in costume design and teaching for a few years, Alex joined Milwaukee Rep in 1996 as a “third draper,” someone who works on creating costume patterns from designer renderings. As time went on, Alex began to take on more responsibility, and eventually acted as a costume designer for many Milwaukee Rep productions. “I started out thinking I would just be a technician, even though I have a degree in design, but then I started designing costumes for the Stackner, then the Stiemke (now the Herro-Franke Studio Theater), and then I was doing costume design for shows in the Powerhouse.”

Alex still has a hands-on role when it comes to the creation of costumes. “After the patterns are created and the clothes are fit, I actually sit down and sew with everybody else,” he said. “My role has evolved into being more of a teacher, as well, and that’s great because I love teaching.”

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CELEBRATING A CHAMPIONSHIP TEAM: THE WORKSHOP

Matt Zembrowski

One of the critical stages in the development of a new play is the workshop. After a script is drafted and approved, the workshop gives a playwright the opportunity to work with a director and actors in order to hear the words that bring the play to life. Matt Zembrowski, creator of the sold-out hit Dad’s Season Tickets at Milwaukee Rep and playwright of the upcoming world premiere musical comedy MKE MVP, just completed his workshop and was thrilled with the experience. “I’m still coming down from the high of our workshop last week,” he commented. “We got a lot accomplished. Lots more to do, but a lot accomplished.”

MKE MVP celebrates the unforgettable championship journey of the Milwaukee Bucks through the eyes of a close-knit group of lifelong fans. From the arrival of a franchise-changing MVP in 2013 to the final buzzer in the Summer of 2021, the play reveals how one extraordinary season, one electrifying talent, and the exceptional people around us can make a lasting impact on our lives.

The proverbial “elephant in the room” is how the latest news about the play’s MVP, Giannis Antetokounmpo, will impact the play itself. Just about everyone in Milwaukee and many sports fans beyond, are familiar with his incredible 13-year run with the Milwaukee Bucks, where he helped the team capture the 2021 NBA Championship, won two MVPs, and became arguably the greatest player in Bucks franchise history.

“As a playwright, even when you’re writing a show that has very present-day implications, it almost makes it easier to know the ending,” Matt said. “So when he was traded, my heart just sank because I knew that we don’t often see that quality of a person and in an athlete on a hometown team.

“As a playwright, even when you’re writing a show that has very present-day implications, it almost makes it easier to know the ending,” Matt said. “So when he was traded, my heart just sank because I knew that we don’t often see that quality of a person and in an athlete on a hometown team.”

– Playwright Matt Zembrowski

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“That being said, I reread the play from the beginning, because it starts with his arrival in Milwaukee through winning the NBA championship. There was always going to be an epilogue of some sort, saying where we are now, and maybe what is next. Well, we don’t need to worry about what’s next right now, because that part of the story is closed.

“I kind of had to put an emotional cap on myself, to finish the work,” he admitted. “Then we got into our workshop a couple of days after his trade was official, so feelings were very fresh for those of us who knew and loved him.

“Our director is Kyle Haden, who’s lovingly referred to as America’s sports theater director. He’s directed shows for Milwaukee Rep before and is one of the biggest NBA fans you’ll find. Because of his passion for the game, he’s the ideal person to direct this compelling story.

“At the end of the workshop,” Matt said, “everyone was hugging each other, saying that they were sad to leave and that it had been magical. I’m hopeful that Milwaukee Rep audiences will feel the same about their MKE MVP experience.”

MKE MVP runs from January 16–February 28, 2027 in the Stackner Cabaret.

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AMPLIFYING TEEN VOICE FESTIVAL TURNS TEEN VOICE INTO ACTION

By Jenny Toutant, Chief Education & Engagement Officer

Teen programming has been a cornerstone of Milwaukee Rep’s Education & Engagement work for over 30 years. We launched the Teen Council Leadership Program 15 years ago, centering teen voice in all decisions we make around teen programs. This season, we have two productions—Footloose and John Proctor is the Villain—that are all about young people pushing back against old rules and reclaiming their own stories. They stand up to the adults and say enough is enough.

Building on that foundation, this season we’re launching a yearlong Teen Festival designed to turn teen voice into teen action. Working with partner organizations across Milwaukee, we’re inviting a cohort of 12–18 teens to spend the full season identifying real challenges facing our city—and building solutions. Cohort members will meet with community and city leaders to learn what’s already being tried and where the gaps remain, then form small groups to develop their own proposals. At a culminating community Town Hall in May, teens will pitch those ideas directly to city leaders, who will vote on which project moves forward—with Milwaukee Rep providing seed money to fund the winning idea.

Alongside their project work, Teen Festival cohort members will join our existing Teen Council Leadership Program for Teen Nights, a Career Fair, and free workshops. Through the Connections Series, teen leaders will also join panel discussions and Dinner Dialogues turning post-show conversations into intergenerational dialogue where different generations can learn from one another.

Every part of this program is designed to remove barriers to participation: cohort members receive a stipend and bus transportation, free tickets to Teen Nights and events, a 20% discount to our School of Theater, and priority consideration for our summer arts internships.

We are thrilled to activate our productions in the community in such a dynamic way, building on the belief that young people don’t just deserve a future worth stepping into—they deserve a hand in building it.

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EPIC SONGS. ELECTRIC ENERGY. ONE UNFORGETTABLE SHOW. Step into a world of high-octane piano and legendary hits! JP Coletta’s Rock ‘N’ Roll Piano Man takes you on a thrilling journey through the history of rock ‘n’ roll piano—from the rebellious roots of Little Richard and Fats Domino to the soulful sounds of Ray Charles, and piano legends Elton John and Billy Joel. JP Coletta—who brought down the house as Jerry Lee Lewis in Million Dollar Quartet—and his band bring each song to life with electrifying energy, dazzling skill and irresistible charisma.

JP Coletta “What’s interesting about this show, and why I love it so much, isn’t simply because it’s

the culmination of my life’s work,” JP remarked. “It’s because it’s an expression of my love of musical history, for the piano and for music itself.

“I know that the one thing I want to do the rest of my life is to bring people joy,” he said. “When I was a kid, I liked old musicals, as well as the new stuff that was coming onto Broadway, but I also liked the classics. So now I have the opportunity to revitalize the older songs into something that hopefully makes my audiences feel today what they felt watching them performed for the first time, all those years ago.

“There’s so much great new music, but some people say things about the new music that used to be said about the old,” he commented. “I mean, they’re saying today about rap and reggaeton what they said about rock ‘n’ roll before that, and jazz before that, and what they were saying about Mozart before that.

I’ve always felt it was my calling to help people experience all music in a new way, as if for the first time.

“The real highlight of this show for me,” he said, “is that we’ll be tracking musical ideas throughout history. My hope is that, after the audience leaves the show, they’ll hear a Billy Joel song and go, ‘Huh, that kind of sounds like 1930s New Orleans jazz.’ You don’t have a Sir Elton John without Leon Russell, and you don’t have Leon Russell without Jerry Lee Lewis, and you don’t have Jerry Lee Lewis, frankly, without older musicians you’ve probably never heard of, like Moon Mullican and Pete Johnson, and the incredible performers who came before them.”

When asked why he was looking forward to coming back to perform for Milwaukee Rep audiences, he said, “I think Milwaukee Rep audiences are some of the most sophisticated audiences I’ve encountered.

Such a large percentage of Rep attendees are Subscribers, so they come to the theater a lot. As I look back on my last experience at Milwaukee Rep, it felt as if they were saying, ‘We’re allowing you to ramp up a bit, to take a moment, and once you’ve captured our interest, we’ll follow you anywhere.’”

Rock ‘N’ Roll Piano Man opens on November 6 and runs through January 3, 2027 in the Stackner Cabaret.

JP Coletta in Million Dollar Quartet. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

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MYSTERY AND MEMOIR, WITH A SPRINKLING OF MAGIC. When is a séance more than a séance? When it’s interpreted as a multi-dimensional experience by the talented playwright and actor Katie Bender. Audience members may see the play’s title, Instructions for a Séance, and not realize that they’re not only attending a séance, but also embarking on an unforgettable adventure of mystery, mischief and just a bit of messy humanity.

This spellbinding one-woman show looks at what can happen when an attempt to summon legendary magician Harry Houdini evolves into a tender examination of many of the real-world pressures that drive us to seek escape from everyday life. Audience members are invited in as guests, asked to suspend disbelief and imagine a different reality together.

Katie Bender

Lily Wolff

“I think live theater is fundamentally necessary to our humanity. It’s something ancient and profound, people gathered together and experiencing a story. That kind of world-building is exciting for what we make of our future, and for imagining different ways of being human together.”

– Playwright/Actor Katie Bender

Always fascinated with magic, it seemed only natural that Katie would explore the Harry Ransom Center’s Houdini archive at the University of Texas at Austin, where she was a student. She happened upon a two-word postcard from Harry Houdini to another magician, with the message, “Boom, you!”. Katie said this postcard sparked the inspiration for her one-woman show, “It was like getting a text message from the past. I could actually hear Houdini’s voice, or at least my version of his voice.”

Lily says she was drawn to theater and performance, as well as her role as a director, from an early age.

“I started my first theater company when I was seven,” she said. “Even then I realized that I could change the experience, blurring the boundary between theater and performance art, and deepening the audience/performer connection.”

Katie shared why magic plays an important role in this play, and theater overall, “One of the things that’s always interested me about magic and the theater is that there’s the possibility that you and the audience could be watching one thing and at the same time, seeing something that you don’t quite understand.

“I feel that there’s a lot of power in that moment when we’re confronted with the unknown,” she continued.

“Our brains, yes of course, they want to come up with answers, but they also consider possibilities. That’s a powerful space to be in with our audience.”

Katie and Lily are grateful for the collaborators who are integral to bringing Instructions for a Séance to Milwaukee Rep audiences: Milwaukee Rep’s Associate Artistic Director Laura Braza, and Literary Director Annika Perez-Krikorian, along with creators Collette Pollard (scenic design), Mieka van der Ploeg (costume design), Kathy Ruvana (sound design), and Paige Seber (lighting design).

Instructions for a Séance opens on October 6 and runs through November 8 in the Herro-Franke Studio Theater.

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Dr. Arthur R. Derse, Photo Courtesy of the Medical College of Wisconsin

Actor Jessica Ko and the cast of McNeal. Photo by Michael Brosilow.

WHERE ART MEETS SCIENCE While theater and medicine may seem worlds apart, at Milwaukee Rep they come together in ways that strengthen our entire community.

Through an innovative partnership with the Medical College of Wisconsin (MCW)’s Medical Humanities Program, future physicians discover that becoming an exceptional doctor requires more than scientific expertise. It also demands empathy, communication, curiosity, and a deep understanding of the human experience—qualities that live at the heart of every great story.

The program, created by Dr. Arthur R. Derse, Director of the Center for Bioethics and Medical Humanities and an emergency physician at MCW, along with colleague and arts supporter Julia Uihlein, MA, incorporates the arts and humanities into medical students’ curriculum, including visits to Milwaukee Rep for live performances followed by conversations with the shows’ actors.

For Dr. Derse, the partnership is deeply personal. An English major turned physician, he ushered at Milwaukee Rep while attending medical school in Madison and has remained a long-time Subscriber since his residency in Milwaukee. He has long believed that literature and theater help shape more

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compassionate physicians. That philosophy now anchors part of MCW’s Medical Humanities curriculum, as students explore ethical questions, emotional complexity, and human relationships with actors who portray those ideas.

Following a performance of McNeal, one student observed that hearing actors discuss the emotional impact of a role closely mirrored physicians’ experiences when caring for patients. The student reflected that becoming a better physician “is not only about gaining medical knowledge, but also about developing compassion, communication, and a deeper appreciation for the human experience.”

The learning extends beyond the classroom. Milwaukee Rep artists gain new insight into how their work resonates outside the theater. “Before the discussion, I might have assumed there was a broader chasm between the science-based medical profession and the artistry of theater,” shared actor Mark Ulrich (McNeal understudy).

“Dr. Derse and his students reminded me that there is actually quite a bit of overlap between these two practices that deal so heavily in human interaction.”

These conversations demonstrate something our community of staff, patrons, donors, and artists make possible every day: theater that reaches far beyond entertainment.

MILWAUKEE REPERTORY THEATER DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT Interested in making a gift to Milwaukee Repertory Theater? Contact Our Development Department!

CHIEF DEVELOPMENT AND STRATEGY OFFICER

Chuck Rozewicz crozewicz@milwaukeerep.com DIRECTOR OF MAJOR AND PLANNED GIFTS

Jenny Heyden jheyden@milwaukeerep.com DIRECTOR OF ANNUAL GIVING

Amy McGuire amcguire@milwaukeerep.com DIRECTOR OF EVENTS

Maddy Wysocky mwysocky@milwaukeerep.com SENIOR GIFT OFFICER

THE MUSIC. THE MAGIC. THE ’80S. THE PARADISE COCKTAIL. Let’s toast Footloose, the exuberant musical opening the 2026/27 Season in the Ellen & Joe Checota Powerhouse Theater!

We’re serving the Paradise Cocktail, named after “Almost Paradise,” often called the love theme from this uplifting theatrical experience.

With its blend of gin, apricot brandy and orange juice, the Paradise Cocktail is a delightful concoction that balances sophistication with refreshing citrus notes. Cheers!

Bill Walton bwalton@milwaukeerep.com DEVELOPMENT DATABASE MANAGER

Nathan Schaefer nschaefer@milwaukeerep.com INSTITUTIONAL GIVING MANAGER

Kelly Carr kcarr@milwaukeerep.com DONOR RELATIONS MANAGER

Cassidy Long clong@milwaukeerep.com

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Associated Bank Theater Center 108 E. Wells Street Milwaukee, WI 53202 www.MilwaukeeRep.com

VISIT US

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CONTACT US

Administration 414-224-1761 Ticket Office 414-224-9490 Development 414-290-5376 Education & Engagement 414-290-0707

NOVEMBER 17–DECEMBER 20 HEIST A crew with secrets. One last job that could change everything.

This is a cinematic, twist-filled crime caper brought vividly to life on stage—part Ocean’s Eleven, part mystery-whodunnit, and all heart-pounding theatrical adventure.