Peninsula Players Theatre Scholarship

Peninsula Players Theatre is pleased to announce its 2023 Peninsula Players Theatre Scholarship recipient. The theater and its Board of Directors created this annual award to foster the career path and arts education of graduating high school seniors across Door County in the performing arts.

One $500 scholarship was available to a student at each of the five Door County high schools for a total of $2,500. Eligible applicants must plan to enroll as a full-time college student with a major or minor in arts management, music (performance or education), or theater (acting, theater studies, theater technology and design).

"The arts are such a critical part of a student’s overall education as well as continued personal development,” said Peninsula Players Theatre Managing Director Brian Kelsey. “It is with great pride that we reward and encourage the development of careers in the performing arts.”

Congratulations, Hunter Malvitz!

The 2023 scholarship recipient is Hunter Malvitz from Southern Door High School. Malvitz demonstrated a high level of participation and creativity in the arts during his academic career. His performing arts credits are extensive, including lead roles in Southern Door’s musicals and participation in concert choir and forensics.

Malvitz has received several accolades for his hard work and dedication to the arts. Most recently, the Fox Cities Performing Arts Center’s 2022-2023 Center Stage High School Theater Program recognized Malvitz for his Outstanding Performance in a Lead Role for his portrayal of Gomez Addams in Southern Door’s production of “The Addams Family.” This honor earned Malvitz the opportunity to perform as a soloist at a Tony Awards-style showcase at the Fox Cities PAC.

Malvitz will attend UW-Eau Claire this fall to pursue a BMEd in Music Education with a Choral Emphasis. There were no scholarship applicants from Sturgeon Bay, Sevastopol, Gibraltar nor Washington Island high schools in 2023. For more information about the Peninsula Players Theatre Scholarship, please contact Development Director Danielle Szmanda at 920-868-3287 or visit www.peninsulaplayers.com.

PAUL COOK Production Manager

Paul is thrilled to return for his second season with Peninsula Players Theatre! A Chicago native, Paul has lived and worked in theatre all over the country and even overseas. He received his BA in theatre and English from Marquette University (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) and his MFA in directing from the University of California, Irvine. As a production manager in Chicago, he has worked with such companies as Strawdog Theatre, Pride Arts, and Windy City Playhouse. In the off-season, he lives in Chicago with his husband, Wilhelm, and Pit Bull, Agatha Trunchbull (Aggie). Paul is passionate about Equity in the Arts and looks forward to another wonderful summer season in beautiful Door County.

GARRETT CONARD Technical Director

Garrett is from DeWitt, Iowa and is excited to be joining the Peninsula Players Theatre for his first season as technical director. Garrett received his BA in theatre with emphases in design/production and drama and theatre for youth from The University of Northern Iowa. He was most recently employed in Saint Paul, Minnesota, as the assistant technical director at Park Square Theatre.

McCLAIN WOOD Box Office Manager

McClain is excited to return for his second season as the box office manager at Peninsula Players Theatre. He has worked in the box office for Virginia Repertory Theatre and several seasons for the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. He has entertained on the airwaves of KXUA 88.3FM and worked on independent films.

LARISSA ALMANZA

Costume Shop Supervisor

Larissa is a multi-medium artist and designer from Brownsville, Texas. She is a recent MFA graduate from the costume design program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her most recent credits include Fabulous Monsters (The Public Theater of San Antonio), White Christmas (Surflight Theatre), Mascchaos (Links Hall Artist Residency in Chicago), Because I am Your Queen (Illinois Theatre) and La Boheme (Illinois Lyric Theatre). She is grateful for this opportunity and delighted to join Peninsula Players Theatre for their 2023 summer season!

KATHARINE BAUMAN Assistant Box Office Manager

Katharine (they/she) recently graduated from Millikin University with a BA in theatre and performance studies, a BS in biology, and a music minor. This spring, they directed Stop Kiss and assistant directed Spring Awakening at Pipe Dreams Studio Theatre. She was the executive coordinator of the MRI branch of Shakespeare Corrected for two years, bringing undergraduate students together with adults with developmental disabilities. They worked on the patron services staff at Interlochen Arts Camp last summer and cannot wait to spend this summer with Peninsula Players Theatre!

Are you interested in The Play's the Thing, our winter play reading series?

We look forward to seeing you at Björklunden in 2024!

Free Admission General Seating Donations Accepted

JOSHUA WILLIAMS Lighting and Sound Supervisor

Joshua is delighted to join the Peninsula Players Theatre family. He received his BFA in theater technology and design from Oakland University and is finishing his first year as a graduate student at the University of Memphis, studying sound and lighting design with an extended focus on music composition and education. Previous credits include The Rocky Horror Show and Emerge Dance Concert (University of Memphis), A Christmas Carol (Central Florida Community Arts), Mame (Forestburgh Playhouse), My Fair Lady (Forestburgh Playhouse) and Sweet Charity (Oakland University). Joshua has also worked with various performance companies such as Walt Disney World Resorts, SOBO Art Gallery, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Take Root Dance and more. Joshua is a proud member of IATSE Local 69 and USITT. Thank you for coming to the show!

ROWAN DOE Prop Shop Supervisor

Rowan is thrilled to join Peninsula Players Theatre! They hold a BFA in theater technology and a minor in film production from DePaul University. They have designed for Chicago theaters such as Remy Bumppo Theatre Company, Porchlight Musical Theatre, TimeLine Theatre Company, Theo Ubique Cabaret Theatre, Rivendell Theatre Ensemble, House Theatre of Chicago and The Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival. They are the resident props designer for Niles West High School and a program instructor for K-6 students at Youth Guidance. Their passions include youth arts education, LGBTQ+ and basic human rights, and good food.

IN MEMORY OF BRUCE W. & JANICE MIELKE Company Photographer for Three Decades

When General Manager Tom Birmingham, Sr. was having a tricky time in the early 1980s finding a photographer to take publicity shots, he reached out to a fellow University of Wisconsin-Green Bay professor, Bruce W. Mielke. When Bruce became full-time faculty at UW-Green Bay in 1982, he and Jan settled in Ellison Bay. Jan was a talented designer in the Office of Marketing and University Communication at UW-Green Bay for many years. In 2001, Bruce was granted associate professor emeritus status.

They both used their skills and talents to assist many organizations in Door County, including documenting hundreds of performances at various arts venues such as Birch Creek Music Performance Center, Peninsula Players Theatre and Northern Sky Theater. They would arrive at odd hours or stay after a show to take photos, then rush home to process the film in his dark room. Often returning the next day to hand deliver the product to meet press deadlines. Bruce was an avid photographer who also taught nature photography and exhibited his images, often being cited for his work. He was selected for an exhibition at the Hardy Gallery in 1976. He was honored for his work in the classroom, too, receiving the “Teaching at its Best” award from UW-Green Bay in 1998.

Bruce and Jan were both hospitalized at the end of 2022 and died within a week of each other. Their passing deeply saddens all of us who knew them, and we are grateful their images of Peninsula Players Theatre and its artists are among the archives at the UW-Green Bay’s library.