Stories

APT in the words of our critics and our audience:

"...but the unpretentiously inviting atmosphere of its rustic hilltop theater is something you won't find in any big city. From the smell of the pines to the sound of the crickets, APT has a festive, near-Edenic feel. When you go there, you know you're not at home…. I wish I'd stayed in town for a whole week and seen all five shows. Next time I will." – Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal

"Few theater companies fit their audiences with the snug comfort enjoyed by the American Players Theatre and its customers. The APT, with its reverence for text, clarity and precise, specific acting, taught a generation of Wisconsinites to know and love Shakespeare." – Damien Jaques, OnMilwaukee.com

"There's a sense of pilgrimage that makes APT special. You have a picnic, and walk through the woods up the hill and the theatre seems almost Parthenon-like. At the end, you again walk through beautiful woods with the play fresh in your memory. There's something very holistic about the experience. It's healing and cleansing to not only get away from your everyday life to a different physical place but a different emotional place as well." - Paul Barnes, Director 2000, 2003

"There were many memorable moments during those first years. We faced challenges everyday building a theatre in the middle of nowhere on top of a hill covered in scrub brush. Many of us left careers in the big city to devote our lives to bringing Shakespeare to life in that beautiful outdoor setting, as true to the original as possible..." - Mary Mathay, Actor 1981-1983

"We've brought our 8-year-old to every show and he's loved them all. In December, we were doing our year-end donations and asked him if he wanted to donate anything. He spotted the APT logo, ran for his piggy bank and gave you all of his money- $50. He gets $3 a week in allowance. The shows really mean a lot to him."       - Lori Neumann, Patron since 1998

"Sometimes when you work here you forget how truly magical the connection is between the audience and the play on stage, how much the audience is really a part of the experience for everyone here-until one night you stand at the back of the theatre and see it all put together- the audience listening enraptured, laughing, gasping, sighing... the actors playing off the audience... and the play itself taking on a special life because of these connections...and all of this surrounded by exquisite natural beauty. Well, it just takes my breath away. And I think to myself, 'this matters.'"- Roseann Sheridan, Associate Artistic Director 1987-2003

"Just as the final scene ended with the deaths of most of the characters, there was a sudden gust of wind, a crash of lightning and thunder, and pouring rain. I've never seen such a dramatic conclusion to a Greek tragedy. It was as though APT had staged the storm." - David J. Strang, Patron since 1980

"I cannot thank you enough for all the effort, determination, skill, and passion you bring to this haven... you are all daily inspirations and reminders of how fascinating this profession is... and how it is all about a process... growing together... using the art form as a means, not an end... the "end" is ultimately the human spirit... and this neat little thing called theatre is quite simply the best means I've found of getting there... Thank you... a million times over." - Braden Moran, Acting Intern 2002

"One memory of APT? How about 25 years of planning your calendar around APT? Favorite APT actor or play? Can you choose which of your children you love the most?" - Marjorie Lamb, Patron since 1980

"We took our then ten-year-old daughter to a magical fall evening full-moon performance of Romeo and Juliet, complete with whippoorwills calling and lovely torches in the gloaming. After listening at length to the lovers' agonized ambivalent farewells when Romeo is banished, my daughter turned to me in exasperation and said rather too loudly for good theater manners, 'Why doesn't she just go with him to Mantua?' Because, my sweet girl, then there would be no play!" - Karen Updike, Patron since 1980

"American Players Theatre is the walk up the hill. Where the magic begins. And the memories last forever. With special effects provided by Mother Nature, the star-filled nights, a gentle fog rolling over the stage in Midsummer, wind filling the sails in Tempest right on cue. It's the support of the community, actors, and the friends that have kept the dream alive and growing." - Trish Dickinson, Patron since 1980

"It was wonderful. I was usually one of the last people off the hill after each show. I never saw a fairy but it was easy to believe they were just waiting for the humans to leave so they could play among the trees in the magical wood. I still anxiously await the arrival of summer. Each time I walk up the hill, memories swirl as I remember the theatre as it was during those early seasons. I still scan the audience for cameras and babies and seating problems. And, each night as I walk down the hill after a show, I still watch for fairies." - Rose Ellen Schneider, House and Concessions Manager 1980-1981