A Manitowoc youth theater group continues its dominance at a national theater festival, plus more news in weekly dose
MANITOWOC - Students representing Treehouse Theater in Manitowoc won a Freddie G Excellence in Music Award and earned other recognition at the 2023 Junior Theater Festival Atlanta.
The weekend dedicated to rewarding and celebrating excellent student-driven musical theater programs happened Jan. 13-15 at the Cobb Convention Center in Atlanta.
Students Ethan Stokes and Leyah Van Ells were named Junior Theater Festival All-Stars, a select group of outstanding performers.
At the festival, each group performed 15 minutes of a Broadway Junior musical for adjudicators.
Treehouse Theater presented “Once On This Island JR.” to Broadway actor Jacob Brent (Cats, Broadway) who is the University of the Arts Musical Theatre program director; director and choreographer Kikau Alvaro (UArts); and retired Alliance Artistic Director of Theatre for Youth & Families Rosemary Newcott.
Brent said about Treehouse Theater: “Every single one of these kids had an outstanding voice. You can tell this is a positive studio. The students all worked as one and presented a beautiful story full of heart.”
Alvaro added about Treehouse Theater: “This group did an excellent job making individual acting choices, while still maintaining the importance of the ensemble. They had a wonderful understanding of the storytelling and a willingness to go moment by moment.”
Newcott said: “Treehouse Theater performed a lovely storyteller-led piece featuring a dynamic ensemble and strong leads. The students had excellent focus from beginning to end. It’s clear this program is not afraid to tackle challenging subject matter and perform it with integrity.”
Treehouse Theater has been supporting youth education and development through quality performing arts programming since 2012. The organization has enjoyed considerable success at the Junior Theater Festival.
At the 2022, 2016 and 2014 JTF Atlanta, Treehouse Theater received a Freddie G Excellence in Acting award. They have also been awarded a Freddie G Excellence in Ensemble Work award (2020 JTF Atlanta), Freddie G awards for Excellence in Music (2019 and 2013 JTF Atlanta), and Freddie G awards for Excellence in Dance (2018 and 2015 JTF Atlanta).
Its students have had success as well. Chloe Johanek (2022 JTF Atlanta) won a Freddie G award for Outstanding Performance by an Individual. Julie Rohrer (2018 and 2013 JTF Atlanta) won a Freddie G award for Outstanding Student Direction and Choreography. AJ Lisowell (2015 JTF Atlanta) received the Sharidan Giles Technical Theater Scholarship.
At the 2017 Junior Theater Festival, four Treehouse Theater students won the festival’s annual “Tech Olympics” competition.
Students Julie Rohrer and Alice Ehle (2017 JTF Atlanta), Sam Schoepp (2016 and 2013 JTF Atlanta) and Dallas Laurin (2016 JTF Atlanta) advanced to the call-back for future choreography video shoots. Dallas Laurin was ultimately selected and attended the iTheatrics choreography video session in New York City during the summer of 2016.
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▶ Maritime Museum plans presentation on ‘Insignia that Defined the Silent Service’: Artistic representations of sea creatures have long been a tradition of the United States Submarine Service, from the dolphin pin that represents a submariner’s qualifications to the ship insignia that adorn battle flags, letterheads and plaques.
This tradition was carried on by The Walt Disney Studios in 1940 when it began designing insignia using animal caricatures.
In all, Walt Disney designed more than 30 fish insignia for submarines, including the first 18 submarines launched by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company.
A Manitowoc native also left his impact on the silent service insignias. Ray Young was hired by the Manitowoc Shipbuilding Company to create the insignias for the last 10 Manitowoc-built submarines.
RELATED: Walt Disney designs, mermaids riding torpedoes among US Navy submarine battle insignia
Beginning at 6:30 p.m. Feb. 2, Wisconsin Maritime Museum will host “Disney & Dolphins — Insignia that Defined the Silent Service” with USS Cobia Curator Karen Duvalle.
Duvalle will take participants on a deep dive into the history of submarine insignias, Walt Disney’s influence and Young’s impact on insignia design.
A limited bar of alcoholic and nonalcoholic drinks will be available for purchase. The featured drink of the night will be Torpedo Juice, a tropical rum-flavored drink.
Doors and bar open at 6 p.m. The talk and livestream begin at 6:30 p.m. To access the livestream, register at https://forms.gle/kBWH2znNxHeYmepG8. Admission is free both in person and virtually.
The museum notes: “This program will be showing and discussing historical artwork that includes negative depictions and/or mistreatment of people and cultures. These depictions were and still are wrong but represent an important part of submarine insignia history.”
The museum is at 75 Maritime Drive, Manitowoc, and can be reached at 920-684-0218.
▶ Manitowoc Symphony to present candlelit show featuring Mozart and Haydn Feb. 4: Feb. 4, Manitowoc Symphony Orchestra will offer the greatest and most brilliant hits of Mozart and Haydn, two of the most popular musicians of all time, in a 7:30 p.m. concert at the Capitol Civic Centre, 913 S. Eighth St., Manitowoc.
The Classical Era POPS! Performance, under the direction of MSO Music Director Dylan Chmura-Moore, will provide a uniquely romantic Valentine’s Day vibe that evokes the original symphonic experience featuring a candlelit stage illuminated by 350-plus candles.
“We will journey through the beginnings of the symphony (through the eyes of Mozart and Haydn),” Chmura-Moore said in a news release. “Symphonies were newfangled things in the early 1700s. Advancing the symphony and turning the medium into the highest form of art is perhaps Mozart and Haydn’s greatest gift.”
Tickets to the show range from $28 to $35 and can be purchased at cccshows.org or by calling the Capitol Civic Centre box office at 920-683-2184.
Join the MSO immediately after the performance for an AfterGlow reception at the Stage Door Pub, 701 Franklin St., with complimentary hors d’oeuvres prepared and served by Brian’s Smokehouse. MSO will be raffling off a bottle of Mozart’s favorite wine, Tokaji. Raffle tickets are $5 each. In addition, three drink specials — Classical Cosmo, Haydn Highball and Mozart Merlot (or any wine) — will be offered at the cash bar with $1 of each specialty drink donated to the MSO.
Manitowoc is one of the smallest cities to have its own symphony orchestra. The MSO is celebrating its 72nd season.
▶ Visit Manitowoc, EXPLORE Two Rivers release first joint visitor guide: Visit Manitowoc and EXPLORE Two Rivers have announced the launch of the 2023 Manitowoc Two Rivers joint visitor guide.
The visitor guide is one of the largest marketing pieces created and distributed by destination marketing organizations annually to showcase points of interest and information about a particular destination for visitors.
The guide is available both in print and digitally online.
Print guides can be picked up at Manitowoc’s visitor center, 824 S. Eighth St., and at the Two Rivers visitor center, 1608 Washington St.
Throughout the coming weeks, print guides will be distributed statewide and beyond at visitor information centers, key attractions and businesses, a news release said.
People can request visitor guides by contacting Visit Manitowoc at tourism@manitowoc.org or 920-686-3508.
▶ Nurse recognized as Aurora Medical Center – Manitowoc County Nurse of the Year: Nicole Wagner, a registered nurse at Aurora Medical Center – Manitowoc County, was selected as a 2022 Nurse of the Year for “her exemplary demonstration of Aurora Health Care’s core nursing values and unwavering delivery of exceptional nursing care,” a news release said.
Wagner is recognized across departments for her time management, perceptiveness, high team engagement skills, level of respect and excellent communication skills, the news release added. She has earned multiple high-quality care-related awards at the hospital as well.
“Nicole is committed to providing compassionate, safe care to patients,” said Cheryl Stoeckigt-Parra, chief nursing officer at Aurora Medical Center – Manitowoc County. “She is an engaged team member, actively participating in various hospital committees and serving as a primary preceptor to teach new team members, she is deserving of this great recognition.”
More than 750 nominations for this award were received on behalf of nurses from a variety of specialties across the patient care continuum. The front-line nurses represent diversity in their backgrounds and experiences, including honorees with decades of experience and others new to the profession yet already making an impact on their patients, colleagues and communities.
Nominations were submitted by clinicians and team members and reviewed by peer committees for blinded judging according to each nominee’s passion for patient care, commitment to service, solution-oriented abilities and evidence-based practice.
What to expect in 2023
Streetwise reporter Patti Zarling shares the big developments to expect in Manitowoc County in 2023 in her look ahead. Click here for the full article.
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This article originally appeared on Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter: Manitowoc's Treehouse Theater wins national awards at Atlanta festival
