Hartman Creek performance set for June 30
By Angie Landsverk
Summit Players Theatre will bring “Romeo and Juliet” to Hartman Creek State Park on Sunday, June 30.
Its educational workshop begins at 1 p.m., with the performance at 2:30 p.m.
Both are at the park’s amphitheater.
The traveling, nonprofit theater company is based in Wisconsin, and this is its fifth season.
Its mission is to create Shakespeare anyone can afford, attend and understand.
The company does so by providing free Shakespeare workshops and performances in some of Wisconsin’s state parks.
“The workshop is near and dear to my heart,” said Hannah Klapperich-Mueller.
She is a founding member of the theater company and its executive director.
“I’ve had a long-standing passion for Shakespeare since I was a child,” Klapperich-Mueller said.
Shakespeare in the Park is a known entity, she said.
Unique program
The company’s Shakespeare in the State Parks program is unique.
It is the only troupe in the state bringing theater into state parks in this way.
The collaboration with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources introduces audiences around the state to the work of Shakespeare and to their local parks.
Klapperich-Mueller believes there is no other state in the country with a program like this.
She was a student at Marquette University when she first thought of the concept.
“I was on a camping trip with my family,” she said.
They were at Potawatomi State Park in southern Door County when she happened to see a little amphitheater.
She thought it would be cool to see performances on such a stage.
Klapperich-Mueller took it a step further when she was a senior in college.
She talked to classmates and started calling different parks.
Program began in 2015
Klapperich-Mueller graduated from Marquette University in 2015 with a double major in theater arts and writing.
That summer was the group’s first season.
It chose “A Midsummer Night’s Dream.”
“Thinking back to the first season, we were hoping for 10 at the first show,” she said. “There were actually like 85.”
The group of theater majors figured out how to form a nonprofit, Klapperich-Mueller said.
In addition to their summer seasons, they offer educational workshops.
Throughout the year, they fundraise and write applications for grants.
Each October, they start planning for the next season.
She said they try to plan their season based on geographical areas and also look for areas where there is limited access to theater, or it is cost prohibitive for families to attend performances.
Workshops
Summit Players Theatre describes its workshops and shows as suitable for all ages and family friendly.
“Playing with Shakespeare: Get Outside with Will” is offered before every show.
Klapperich-Mueller says the 45-minute workshop is a way “to help people have the tools to understand Shakespeare and understand the show they’re about to see.”
Children and adults get comfortable with Shakespeare’s language and learn more about him and how nature played into his works.
Participants take part in Shakespeare games and exercises, culminating in performing a short scene.
“It’s very fun. It’s very interactive,” she said.
Their 75-minute performances are stripped down versions of his work.
“It’s a fun experience for people of all ages,” she said. “I firmly believe that children are completely able to understand Shakespeare.”
State park stickers required
While the workshops and performances are free, a park vehicle admission sticker is required.
The daily sticker is $8 for state residents, and the annual sticker is $28.
State residents age 65 and older pay $3 for a daily sticker and $13 for an annual one.
The acting troupe wants to support the park system and all that it does, she said.
Klapperich-Mueller noted they always have secondary locations in the parks if the weather is inclement.
If it rains, the show still goes on, she said.
Known for performing Shakespeare’s comedies, this is the first time the troupe is performing a Shakespearean tragedy.
“We wanted to do something different,” she said. “We wanted to try this play, which is arguably his most known play. The characters are so beloved.”
Summit Players Theatre started this season June 15 at Richard Bong State Recreation Area and ends it at Peninsula State Park on Aug. 4.