OUTSIDE THE DOME

Just as the politicians in Madison sometimes forget that there is an entire state outside of the capital city, the arts community and those who attend its events can tend to forget that Wisconsin is a large state with artists settled in every corner, from the artisans of Mineral Point to folk musicians in the north. Theater is also produced in small cities and towns everywhere in the state.

Granted, it sometimes seems that whether you look to Sheboygan or La Crosse, Darlington or Bailey’s Harbor, Madison or Milwaukee, you see the same plays produced repeatedly—You Can’t Take It With You, anything by Neil Simon, Jesus Christ Superstar, The Foreigner, and others—but if you dig a little there are often gems that can be missed by the ethnocentricity of the larger cities’ arts scenes.

Sometimes smaller communities around the state can surprise and delight theatergoers. For example, this spring the Monroe Theatre Guild is producing a play called The Drawer Boy. The play premiered in Toronto and examines friendship, memory, and storytelling in a rural setting, a perfect play for a small city in the southwestern corner of the state.

Attic Theatre in Appleton is premiering an original work called Hometown, a play set in Appleton during World War II that was written by retired Lawrence University professor Fred Gaines. According to the Attic Theatre website the play is not about Appleton, even though it takes place there, but about family and about war. How often can one see original theater in a city of less than 100,00 people? It runs for only one weekend at the end of March.

The Actor’s Factory in Stoughton is premiering two original one-act plays in April. Fool Me Once is by Doug Reed, and The Tank is by Rob Matsushita, both Madison playwrights. The Actor’s Factory is a youth performance group based out of the Stoughton Opera House.

Though the price of gas seems to keep climbing there are many small theater groups within a short drive that strive to create unique and interesting theater. They tend to be hard-working actors and crew members who are passionate about theater. Even those that produce the tried and true do it because they love what they are doing. It can often be worth the small price of the trip to check them out.