Drama at the Depot: A Free Pop Up Performance Festival
Presented by South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center & Hosted by The Battery Factory Celebrating South Milwaukee’s Historic Rail Road Station During Heritage Days
Drama at the Depot
The Battery Factory, in collaboration with South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, will host three evenings of live performance at the historic South Milwaukee Railroad Depot located at 11th and Milwaukee Avenues in South Milwaukee during the city’s Heritage Days Festival July 24, 25 and 26. Performances are at 7:30 pm.
The depot was the heart of bustling South Milwaukee from 1893 to the mid-1950’s and the restored station provides an atmospheric backdrop for these outdoor performances. Celebrate the history of South Milwaukee while enjoying FREE performances featuring theater, music and dance from local arts groups. No tickets are needed and all are welcome to attend.
Featured Performers:
Mississippi Sawyer is a band featuring conventional and improvised acoustic instruments. To the delight of the listeners, Mississippi Sawyer brings together the sounds of the banjo, kick-drum suitcase, guitar, washtub bass, washboard, singing saw, Irish whistle, kazoos and other homemade instruments.
Cadance Collective will perform a Folk Suite of works inspired by several folk songs of the 19th century including ‘Oh My Darling, Clementine’ and ‘I’ve Been Working on the Railroad.’ The third song, ‘Wayfaring Stranger’ deals with the theme of wandering along life’s path, as so many drifters did following the birth of the U.S. railroad system. Cadance Collective uses flute, cello, ukulele, voice, and dance, to translate these old familiar songs into a modern language.
Dance Revolution Milwaukee (DRM) performance explores how we make and maintain relationships in a world filled with hustle and bustle. The work incorporates the theme of interconnectedness between people and places as well as the history of South Milwaukee and the South Milwaukee Railroad Depot. The piece, Threefold, “physicalizes” the need to keep changing and also the importance of staying connected to people and places most important to us.
Kath Vandenberg’s theatre piece about a woman in her mid-20’s remembering how she used to come and play on the platform and in the area surrounding the depot. This fictional woman grew up in the neighborhood of the depot and will act out brief encounters with the mysterious and interesting passengers that she meets on the train.
These performances are free, open to the public and appropriate for all ages. For more information, please contact The Battery Factory at (414) 944-0028 or info@thebatteryfactory.org, or South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center at (414)766-5049 or pacboxoffice@sdsm.k12.wi.us.
www.thebatteryfactory.org
southmilwaukeepac.org
www.smheritagedays.org
About SMPAC
South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center (SMPAC) provides the greater Milwaukee and southeastern Wisconsin communities with creative, innovative and diverse performing arts. Located on the South Milwaukee 6-12 campus, it serves the students of South Milwaukee and provides professional services for more than 500 shows, performances, rehearsals and other events annually.
Past Performing Arts Series artists featured Jason Moran: Fats Waller Dance Party, I’m Not A Pilot performing live with Milwaukee Youth Symphony Orchestra, ACME: Songs Still Sung, Baby Wants Candy, Milwaukee Ballet II, Calmus: Christmas A Cappella, Flamenco Vivo Carlota Santana, 500 Clown Frankenstein, GRAMMY Award-Winning hip-hop jazz pianist Robert Glasper Experiment, which also ranked a “Top 10 Concert of Milwaukee in 2012” by Journal Sentinel, Milwaukee historian John Gurda, rising country singer-songwriter Katie Armiger, the Vienna Boys Choir, physical comedian Avner Eisenberg, actor Frank Ferrante, illusionist Jason Bishop and many more.
Student matinees, workshops and talk-backs for all grade levels are provided by some season artists, Other artists and organizations that provide performing arts experiences for students include the Florentine Opera, Danceworks, Still Waters Collective and the Missoula Children’s Theatre. SMPAC serves as a rental facility for other presenters and groups. Featured artists include Lindsey Buckingham, Arlo Guthrie, Jesse Cook, Tommy Emmanuel, John Hiatt, Ian Hunter, Joe Lovano, Cantare Chorale, Knightwind Ensemble, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and the Grant Park Players, the local community theatre.
South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center is located at 901 15th Avenue in South Milwaukee between College and Rawson Avenues. It is easily accessible from I-94 and 794. Free parking is located in the northwest parking lot. Patrons should enter door #9. For tickets or directions, call 414-766-5049. For more information about South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, visit southmilwaukeepac.org.
The 10th Anniversary Performing Arts Series (2014-15) is sponsored in part by Courtyard Marriott Milwaukee Airport, Classic Cargo International Inc., Emerald City Catering, New England Foundation for the Arts’ National Dance Project, TASC Services LLC., Sheridan’s Restaurant, South Milwaukee LIONS Club and South Milwaukee Music Parents. Performances are supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the State of Wisconsin and the National Endowment for the Arts.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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