The Green Room

The Seldoms are coming back to the Wisconsin Union Theater with their newest production, and I couldn’t be more excited! Their new show, titled FLOE, is a dance performance that discusses climate change and the tumultuous social discourse that surrounds it in the modern political landscape.

Sam Wood harvesting sweet potatoes with the CALS research plots in the Eagle Heights Community Garden

Artistic Director of The Greatest War: World War One, Wisconsin, and Why It Still Matters, Ken Fitzsimmons wrote most of the original music and created video content for the show. In the following interview, he gives us a behind-the-scenes look at The Greatest War.

UW-Madison’s College of Letters & Science offers students a little bit of everything. From the natural and social sciences, tech, arts & humanities, Badgers at UW-Madison’s largest college experience an exciting range of course subjects, academic disciplines and professional opportunities.

Students meet with alumni mentors at a SuccessWorks networking event.

Getting to know Elizabeth Snodgrass

Wisconsin Union Theater Director

When I received the email from Chanticleer saying they were interested in hearing me for a spot in the ensemble, I thought someone was pranking me. I had never submitted audition materials to them, and I had no idea how they even got my name and information! I was pursuing a career as a freelance singer in Boston, focusing primarily on early music; what on earth would Chanticleer want with me?! When I received a follow-up email a few days later, I decided I needed to set them straight: this is not the countertenor you’re looking for…

As a young musician, I was told by every teacher to never go near a piano with a permanent marker, so you can imagine my surprise when I first discovered the wealth of signatures on the pianos backstage of the theater. The historical moments captured by the swift mark of a pen inspire an observer to imagine what that moment must have been like.

She was known as “The Witch of Fox Point.” She turned her house and surrounding yard into an art environment. She was labeled as an “outsider” by her community. I’m talking about former Milwaukee native, teacher, and business owner Mary Nohl. Her intriguing life story is the subject of the upcoming performance by Marielle Allschwang and The Visitations, Precession of a Day: The World of Mary Nohl. 

The one thing I have always enjoyed about music is that you don’t always need language to communicate a feeling or an occasion. You don’t need language to make someone dance, forget their woes and clap along to a song they’ve never heard before. It’s my personal challenge to listen to music from as many different cultures and places as possible and I want to share it with you. I guarantee you will walk, or dance, away from the Madison World Music Festival a fan of something new.

As a recent high school graduate, I am fairly new to the world of professional theatre, but I was so excited to become a part of HEPHAESTUS at Music Theatre of Madison. I had the privilege of sitting in on the very first HEPHAESTUS rehearsal and was blown away by the starting point of this cast and crew. Some of this may be the difference between what I know as a performer in community and high school theater in comparison to the professionals in the room, but the talent and dedication of the members in that rehearsal hall really proved itself to me.

For the past 100 years, the Concert Series has presented the most notable classical concert and chamber music performers with the goal of making a lasting impact on the university and community. College campuses are traditionally a place for growth and new experiences, and the Concert Series provides both students and community members alike with opportunity to witness classical music’s finest performers, including Wu Han and David Finckel, and Renee Fleming, a National Medal of Arts recipient and one of the most versatile singers alive.