MadStage

For those readers in southern Wisconsin interested in theater and the performing arts there is one vital source of information on all things theatrical—MadStage. Founded in 1997 by Eric Houghton, MadStage is a website (www.madstage.com) devoted entirely to Wisconsin’s theater and performing arts community. Theatergoers who know about MadStage regularly go to the site to decide what play to see on any given weekend. Actors who have the bug to act go to MadStage to search the audition notices. Directors looking for work search the job listings. It is a complete listing of all plays, auditions, job notices, and listings of theater groups, with links to their own sites where available. In addition there are links to local playwrights, an e-mail list, a page on radio theater, one on dance, a section for free tickets, and more.

Though it started with a heavier focus on Madison theater the site incorporates the surrounding area as well, and there are listings for Milwaukee and farther afield, too. For example, in early August there were listings for seven plays opening the first week of the month. They covered theater groups in Stoughton, Milwaukee, Monroe, Middleton, Spring Green, Oregon, and Mineral Point.

Theater groups are never charged for their listings. Other than a few sponsors, most of which are the theater groups that benefit from the listings, the site depends entirely on donations. There are links to over 200 theater groups throughout Wisconsin and even northern Illinois, and they aren’t all from the large cities. While there are a good number of listings for Madison and Milwaukee there are also links to groups in Manitowoc, Oshkosh, Bailey’s Harbor, Darlington, and Janesville, and schools from several communities. There are also listings for several dozen dance groups and academies.

Another interesting section of the site is the listing of classes and workshops. It is a large page devoted to connecting students with teachers. Recently there were notices for everything from improvisation classes (which always seem to be running) to the fundamentals of salsa dancing to West African drumming to a makeup workshop. While many of these are geared toward performance artists, there are also many that could be fun and useful for the general public as well. There are generally several dozen listings at a time.

While there is a great deal of information available on MadStage the site is generally very user-friendly. Everything is clearly marked and the main banner appears on every page, allowing for ease of maneuvering from one part of the site to another.