Summit Players Announce UPAF Affiliation, Pay Certification

(November 15, 2022 – Milwaukee, WI) – Wisconsin-based traveling theatre company Summit Players Theatre is pleased to announce that it has been named a 2022 UPAF Affiliate by the United Performing Arts Fund, as well as receiving 2022 Pay Equity Certification from On Our Team. Both announcements come on the heels of the company’s successful 2022 season, where it presented Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing with accompanying educational workshops in 21 state parks across Wisconsin.

The United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF) funds 47 diverse performing arts organizations in Eastern Wisconsin. UPAF’s Affiliate program is made up of smaller arts organizations given unrestricted funding through an annual review cycle. This is the first year that Summit Players Theatre has been part of the Affiliate program.

“Receiving UPAF’s support is a gratifying step in our journey as a company,” said A.J. Magoon, Executive Director of Summit Players Theatre. “The work they do for the arts is far more than financial, and I am excited to be working with such a fierce advocate for artists in Wisconsin.”

The company’s 2022 Pay Equity Certification is granted by On Our Team, a Chicago-based nonprofit. Summit Players Theatre is part of On Our Team’s first cohort of Pay Equity Certified organizations and is the first organization in Wisconsin to receive the certification. The certification indicates that Summit Players Theatre adheres to On Our Team’s Pay Equity Standards, a checklist that lays out a path to establishing equitable pay in arts organizations.

“When artists are able to do great work without worry about where the rent will come from, everyone benefits,” said Magoon. “We all deserve to be paid a livable wage for our work, and this certification reaffirms Summit Players Theatre’s commitment to that.”

Summit Players Theatre’s annual operating budget increased 156 percent between its 2019-20 fiscal year and its 2021-22 fiscal year to accommodate wage increases for all actors, designers and crew working on its annual Shakespeare in the State Parks tour. The company now pays a living wage to all touring staff according to data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator. In accordance with the Pay Equity Standards, the company also established an Administrative Employee Wage Plan to pay its administrative staff, which is currently made up of all volunteers.

Summit Players Theatre will return to state parks around Wisconsin with its Shakespeare in the State Parks program in the summer of 2023 and anticipates announcing more details this coming winter.

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.