News

Hear from the person/force of nature who made the "Out of the Woods" readings happen - Stage Manager Jacqueline Singleton, who learned the Zoom technology, acted as stage manager, technical director, camera operator and IT support through the entire process. Or as Core Company Actor Gavin Lawrence put it "She is a boss."

Since the 'Out of the Woods' play-reading series has been extended, we wanted to revisit some of the work that went on behind-the-scenes while we were exploring this new storytelling format. Artistic Associate Jake Penner, who was intimately involved with the series, talks about how it started, and how it grew over time in this interview.

Over the course of the last few months, we talked to a number of APT actors and artists about the play-reading series, the pandemic and working on a Zoom stage. And since there's never enough space to include everything, we decided we could at least share more of what we've got. So enjoy this little peek behind the Zoom curtain with tidbits on each of the six play readings from the amazing folks who worked on them. 

By Nancy Coleman, Laura Collins-Hughes, Scott Heller and Alexis Soloski, The New York Times.

Not only is An Improbable Fiction a world-premiere by APT company member James DeVita, it is a celebration of all things Shakespeare, featuring some of your favorite characters in a brand new set of circumstances. It is charming and poignant, and not to be missed. We chatted with playwright Jim DeVita and actor Brian Mani who plays Falstaff, about this brand new play and the conclusion of the Out of the Woods play-reading series. 

Are You Now, Or Have You Ever Been... posts this Friday on the PBS Wisconsin website. It details the night before, and the day of, poet Langston Hughes' interrogation by the House UnAmerican Activities Committee. We talked to Actor Gavin Lawrence (Langston Hughes), Director David Daniel and Stage Manager Jacki Singleton about the reading. 

A JC Q&A featuring: Stephen Brown-Fried, Director James Ridge, Core Company Actor (Cicero/Ligarius/Lepidus) Jake Penner, Artistic Associate

George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man joins the other classics that have already made their debut in APT's "Words from the Woods" play-reading series. Keeping with the spirit of the new virtual world, we remotely chatted with three of the actors that worked on this reading - Sarah Day (Catherine), Kelsey Brennan (Louka) and Tim Gittings (Nicola) - about their thoughts on the play, their characters and sharing Shaw's writing on Zoom. 

This coming Friday, June 19, we make our first foray into Zoom Shakespeare with As You Like It, one of the Bard's most beloved comedies. Actors Melisa Pereyra and Nate Burger (seen above), and Voice and Text Coach Eva Breneman took some time from their busy schedules to chat with us about the process and the payoff.