Blog Archives
The Waukesha State Bank Art Gallery Presents: Pat Toicen-Dycee
Biography:
Patricia was born and raised in Waukesha, Wisconsin and has lived in the area all her life. Her interest in photography started in 1982 and continues today. Trained through classes at WCTC, UWW, and workshops from Santa Fe School of Photography, Rocky Mountain School of Photography including many photographers such as John Gerlach, Barb Gerlach, Brenda Tharp, Doug Beasley, Mike Moats and many others. Patricia worked for Walgreens for 45 years and after retiring in 2015 she has become an avid photographer joining several workshops a year around the US, melding her love of travel and passion for photography. She is a past president and member of The Unlimited Vision Photo Club based in Waukesha. Her images have been used by Prohealth in the yearly Breast Cancer River Walk Brochure and she volunteers for the City Of Waukesha Parks, Recreation, & Forestry Department to photograph yearly events.
Artist’s Statement:
While staying at Akiko’s Bed and Breakfast outside Hilo, Hawaii, I traveled with a group of photographers to produce images of the non-traditional local beauty of the Island. Encouraged by the instructor, photographer Douglas Beasley, the assignment was to look for gratitude and serenity in the backroads of Hilo. The beauty of Volcano National Park, driving along the Hamakua Coast, the very small village of Wailea, the lush greenery of the Red Road Scenic Drive, dramatic rocks at Lapahoehoe and downtown Hilo are my memories of Hawaii. The images that you see in the exhibit are my personal artistic expression showing the peaceful beauty that is Hawaii.
Patricia Toicen-Dycee
ptoicendyc@aol.com
Spotlight On The Board Of Directors: The Drowsy Chaperone
In many ways, I am The Man In The Chair. As a child and young girl, I spent hours in our living room, ears glued to the speakers, listening to my mom and dad’s LPs, imaging the likes of Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman, and Mary Martin as they gallivanted across the streets of London in My Fair Lady, rode the vaudeville circuit in Gypsy, and sang and danced on sugar sands in South Pacific! I could see them so clearly in my mind’s eye that it was as if they were right there with me in the room, performing just for me, thrilling me and making me laugh and cry, dance and sing! How can you NOT love a classic musical?!?!?
Welcome to The Drowsy Chaperone, where we all get to be The Man In The Chair! As a WCT board director and performer, I am constantly amazed and thrilled by the variety of theatre options the WCT brings to our community every season. From cutting edge drama like 33 Variations to the innumerable learning opportunities through ACAP, STEM Academy, and A.C.T. to family friendly classic movies with PIX Flix and more, WCT is truly a gem. But I confess, deep down in my heart, my absolute favorites are the WCT musicals. No one does them better than WCT!
Our historic 60th season ends next month with Neil Simon’s Barefoot In The Park, as we look forward to our 61st season and your continued support. Without the generous support of our guests, we could not continue to provide these great services to the Waukesha community. Please consider a donation today to support our mission to provide quality live theatre performances and educational opportunities that will enrich, challenge, and entertain both participants and audience members for years to come.
Enjoy the Show!
Jane G. Klett
Board of Directors
MAD Corner: The Drowsy Chaperone
I had the pleasure of seeing The Drowsy Chaperone on Broadway when it was brand new, and absolutely fell in love with it. It has all the elements that make musical theatre the favorite genre of most theatre lovers. The show incorporates everything except the kitchen sink – mistaken identities, dream sequences, spit takes, a deus ex machina, an unflappable English butler, an absent-minded dowager, a Broadway impresario and his Follies production, comic gangsters, a ditzy chorine, a harried best man, and a “Drowsy” (i.e. “tipsy”) Chaperone, played in the show-within-a-show by a blowzy Grande Dame of the Stage, specializing in “rousing anthems” and not above upstaging the occasional co-star. As The Man In The Chair states in his opening monologue “that’s what the show is – fun!” I hope you think so too!
Thank you to everyone that supports WCT! All of our volunteers help us out in any number of ways by acting, ushering, serving on the board of directors, providing maintenance or office support, or working on sets, costumes, props. Our patrons come to WCT see quality live entertainment, the fruits of our volunteers’ labor. Our donors help keep us financially sound by their gifts to the Annual Operating Fund, the Endowment Fund, or by including us in their planned giving.
The generosity of the Waukesha community astounds me, and I truly appreciate all the time, talent, and money that you give to WCT.
One way, and arguably the best way, to support WCT is to spread the word about Waukesha’s best kept secret. It always amazes me when I meet someone in Waukesha who has no idea what a fantastic organization we have right here in the heart of the community. Tell people about what we do and all we offer.
Enrich. Challenge. Entertain. That says it all, so keep watching, keep participating with, and keep supporting this cultural cornerstone. We couldn’t do it without you.
John Cramer
Managing Artistic Director
PIX Flix Spotlight On The Board: Citizen Kane
What would possess a left-leaning 24 year old from Kenosha, WI to co-write, direct, produce and star in a motion picture intended to skewer the oligarchs who controlled the American media in the 1930’s? In Orson Welles’ own words, “Ignorance.” Having already achieved critical acclaim as a theater actor, playwright and director, perhaps it is this audacity of scope combined with the fresh technological innovations of the silver screen that led Welles to create what is now almost universally agreed to be one of the greatest films ever made.
Citizen Kane, a fictional biopic of the newspaper magnate Charles Kane, is Welles’ first film and employs numerous experimental techniques developed for this movie. Many of these contributions to style and cinematography have entered the movie making lexicon. Today these remain as fresh and important to the story as when Citizen Kane was released in 1941.
Charles Kane, played by the young Orson Welles, is transparent in life and mysterious in death. Welles and his co-writer, Herman Mankiewicz, ask the viewer to share in the detective work of newsreel reporter Jerry Thompson, played by William Alland, to discover Kane’s deepest secrets by investigating the mundane meaning of the final utterance on his deathbed: “Rosebud.” This thinly veiled misdirection provides the audience the opportunity to approach and receive the film on numerous levels. Today, the parallels to our culture remain as strong as they did 76 years ago with just as much opportunity to be challenged and entertained.
With a handpicked cast, many of whom such as Agnes Moorehead and Joseph Cotten would go on to storied careers, Citizen Kane represents a high watermark in cinematic storytelling. Whether you are a fan of film, student of history, have interest in the media’s role in modern politics or simply want to share this experience with friends and family, the Waukesha Civic Theatre invites you to join us at 6:30 pm on Monday, June 5th to watch and celebrate this Hollywood masterwork.
Brian Goeller
Board Director
Director’s Note: The Drowsy Chaperone
Just after I finished college, my aunt and uncle paid for a trip to New York as a present. They had arrived earlier than I did, and when I landed, they told me they had bought show tickets for that evening but didn’t tell me what show. I had a list of a half dozen shows I REALLY wanted to see, and so I was very excited when I met up with them. They informed me that they had gotten tickets to see The Drowsy Chaperone, and I had a hard time concealing my disappointment. (I must have mentioned the show to them at some point.) I had been interested in the show, but it was maybe 7th on my list of 6 shows I wanted to see on that trip. But it was too late, and it was a gift. So we went to the show, and it was an utter delight from start to finish. Great characters, catchy songs, tongue in cheek humor. It was a total joy. A truly PLEASANT SURPRISE and one of the highlights of that trip.
Fast forward this past fall. I get an email from John Cramer asking if I’d be interested in directing the production at Civic. I was under the assumption that a director was already in place, so it was a very PLEASANT SURPRISE to have been given this opportunity.
This cast has been a joy to work with. The Civic has been very welcoming to me and I have enjoyed this experience immensely. When I direct, I tend to be on my feet a lot, playing around right along with the actors. I am fairly certain they’ve had as much fun as I have putting this show together, and today’s performance is proof of that. If you have never seen the show before, I hope you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was when I first experienced it.
Matt Zembrowski
Director
The Movie: Bane vs Superman
Kevin Staley, actorPIX Flix Spotlight On The Board: Vertigo
Vertigo is a classic Alfred Hitchcock film. It will make its Waukesha Civic Theatre debut on the big screen at 6:30 pm on May 1, 2017.
John “Scottie” Ferguson, played by James Stewart, is a retired San Francisco police detective with a case of acrophobia. Madelaine, played by Kim Novak, is the lady who leads him to high places.
Vertigo is a 1958 American crime film. It is a romantic story of obsession, manipulation, fear, suspense and mystery all wrapped around twisted human psychology. The versatility and genre befuddled audiences of 1958. “Dolly zoom,” zooming a zoom lens to adjust the angle of the view toward or away from the subject created a continuous perspective of distortion. It was a technique used to increase the drama in a scene.
Hitchcock actually pulled Vertigo out of circulation in 1973. It wasn’t until 1980 that audiences saw it again and grew to appreciate it more. A digital restoration of the film in 1996 further returned it to its original glory.
The film was shot on location in San Francisco, California and Paramount Studios in Hollywood. Scottie’s apartment is one block downhill from the “crookedest street in the world”. The Mission San Juan Bastista is a real place. Madelaine jumps into the sea at Fort Point, underneath the Golden Gate Bridge. The views of San Francisco and surrounding area are beautiful. The step back in time with the classic automobiles of the 1950’s is dramatic.
In 1989 Vertigo was recognized as a “culturally, historically and aesthetically significant” film by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in the first year of the registry voting. As of 2016, on Rotten Tomatoes the film has a “certified fresh” rating of 97%.
What better place to watch this film, considered to be one of Hitchcock’s best, if not THE best, than the big screen at the Waukesha Civic Theatre?
Take a look for yourself and decide whether or not Vertigo is the greatest Hitchcock film of all time. Don’t leave yourself hanging in suspense (like poor Scottie).
Also, don’t forget, Hitchcock appears somewhere in all of his films. Will you spot him?
Hope to see you May 1st!
Mary Dembinski
Board Director
The Waukesha State Bank Art Gallery Presents: Thomas Buchs
Artist’s Statement
I attended Layton School of Art and became an Illustrator, creating artwork for advertising by many national and local companies during the last 46 years. During summers I exhibited at Art Fairs and also did Pastel Portraits. Much of my current work is Plein Air Painting ( painting from life outdoors). I try to capture the light and atmosphere of a scene within a few hours. I believe that a painting is not just a two dimensional illusion, but also that of a moment in life, captured by an artist on canvas. I have found that while doing a painting outdoors I am immersed in the moment , what I mean is that later when I look at the painting I can remember all the things that went on as I painted, the weather, the birds singing, a small animal moving through the scene, people who have stopped to talk to me. The memories are all part of the painting.
Biography
My recent accomplishments in Plein Air Painting events include:
Best of Show and People’s Choice at Paint the Point Plein Air Event Mineral Point
1st place at 2014 New Berlin Plein Air Event Shorewood Historical Society Award
People’s Choice at 2014 Shorewood Plein Air Event
2nd place-2014-Theodore Robinson Plain Air Event- Evansville WI
3rd Place 2015 Paint the Point Winter Edition Plein Air Event – Mineral Point
Beloit College Patron of the Arts Award-2015 Beloit Friends of the Riverfront Plein Air Event
Honorable Mention – 2015-2016 Historic Third Ward Plein Air Event
2nd Place Nocturne at 2015 Paint the Point Plein Air Event – Mineral Point
Merit Award 2015 Between the Bluffs Plein Air Event- LaCrosse
1st Place Historical Evansville category at 2016 Theodore Robinson Plain Air Event
1st place 2016 Pewaukee Waterfront Art Fair Plein Air Event
People’s Choice at 2016 New Berlin Plein Air Event
Juried Art Exhibitions
Waukesha Art Fair – 2008 -2009-2011
Firefly Art Festival – 2008-2009-2012-2013-2014-2015
Milwaukee Domes Art Festival – 2010-2011-2012-2013
Hidden River Art Festival -2010-2011-2012-2013-2014
Plymouth Art Fair -2010-2011
The Little Show-Cedarburg -2011
Stevens Point Art Festival-2012-2013
Richfield Historical Society Art at the Mill- 2013 2014
National Oil and Acrylic Painters “Best of America” Show
Richeson 75 2013 Still Life and Floral Show 2 Finalist- 4 Meritorious
Richeson 75 2015 Small Works Show Finalist
Art Exhibitions and Awards:
Best of Show – 2013 Kenosha Art Fair
6 Time – Favorite 15% BoldBrush Online Competition
First Place -“Point of Color: The Wisconsin Plein Air Painters Association Juried Show,” at the Monroe Arts Center
2nd Place- 2015 “En Plein Air” Exhibit, The Lighthouse Art Center, Tequesta, FL
October 2015 Month long One Man Show at The Beloit Fine Arts Incubator
May -June 2016 One Man Show at The Schauer Center in Hartford, WI
Best of Show-Bauhaus Prairie Art Gallery January 2017 Online Show
Cramer’s Corner: Spring Is In The Air!
As the days get longer and the temperature gets warmer, the smile that’s already on your face can just keep growing when you join us for our April offerings!
Our next ACAP PlayMakers show, Snow White And The Magnificent Seven, opens tomorrow and has seven performances through Sunday afternoon.
Our next PIX Flix movie of the season will be E.T. – The Extraterrestrial on April 10 at 6:30 pm. The cast of the movie includes Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, and more. All tickets are $5.00, and we have concessions available, including soda, water, beer, wine, cookies, beef sticks, and … wait for it … POPCORN!
If you would like to help us select the movies we present in our PIX Flix movie series next season, click here to complete our survey.
Our next A.C.T. production is Broadway Bound on Saturday, April 15, at 10:00 am.
We open our next Mainstage show, The Drowsy Chaperone, April 28 and continues through May 14. The show has three Pay What You Can performances on April 29 at 7:30 pm, May 7 at 7:30 pm, and May 13 at 2:00 pm.
Our current featured artist in the Waukesha State Bank Art Gallery in our lobby through April 9 is a group of students from Waukesha South High School. They were challenged to create art inspired by 33 Variations in only 33 days, and it is amazing! Our next artist will be Tom Buchs.
If you are looking for a theatre experience outside of Wisconsin, consider joining us for our NYC Theatre Adventure October 12-15, 2017, or for our trip to Chicago to see Hamilton January 3, 2018. Contact John Cramer by email or phone (262-547-4911 ext. 13) if you would like more information about either trip.
Our 60th Season is on sale now. Subscription packages for the Mainstage shows, and individual tickets for everything can be purchased now. Please join us for the second half of our current great season of entertainment!
Registration is open for our A.C.T. spring and summer sessions, including our summer ACT production The Lion King JR.
Just in case you missed it last month, our 61st season will include:
Sex Please We’re Sixty
(directed by Peter Kao)
The Hunchback Of Notre Dame
(an area premier directed by Mark E. Schuster!)
The House Without A Christmas Tree
(an original adaptation by our own Doug Jarecki directed by moi)
The Complete Works Of William Shakespeare (abridged)
(directed by Dustin J. Martin)
Clue: The Musical
(directed by Ken Williams)
Wait Until Dark
(directed by Kelly Goeller)
Father Knows Best
(directed by Rhonda Schmidt)
Season Tickets will go on sale in May 2017.
Thank you to all of the generous donors that have supported us so far this season. If you would like to donate, you can choose from any number of ways you could help us not only maintain, but thrive, as Waukesha’s Cultural Cornerstone.
Please Consider Giving …
* A gift to our Operating Fund
* A gift to our Spotlight On The Future Capital Campaign
* A matching gift through local sponsoring business employers
* A gift that will last a lifetime through your Will or Estate Planning
* A gift by donation to CARS
* A gift by shopping through Amazon Smile
* A gift by purchasing something on our Amazon Wish List
* Choose WCT as your Thrivent Choice charitable organization
* Become a Sponsor of outstanding performances and educational programs
Happy Easter! I’ll see you at the Theatre!
John Cramer
Managing Artistic Director
jcramer@waukeshacivictheatre.org
262-547-4911 ext. 13
PIX Flix Spotlight On The Board: E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
No movie may be more nostalgic of the 80’s than E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial. I’d like to welcome you to enjoy our presentation of the April PIX Flix feature on Monday, April 10th. This was one of my favorite movies growing up. What could be more intriguing to kids both young and old than the mystery of a young boy befriending an alien from another planet?
From the moment this movie starts, it captures your imagination and relates it all to a young boy with an older know-it-all brother and talkative younger sister. This younger sister was the breakout performance to none other than Drew Barrymore.
A set around the fall season and Halloween adds to this timeless adventure. The whole story is pulled together by the continued breathtaking music compilations by John Williams. John Williams has been nominated for 50 academy awards and won 5 for iconic movies like Star Wars and Jaws, including one for this very movie.
This movie has everything a good family movie should have. There are emotional ups and downs along the way, but it remains one of the most touching family friendly movies of all time. So please join us with your whole family for E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial on Monday, April 10th, and don’t forget the popcorn!
Rich Johnson
Treasurer
