MILWAUKEE _\u00a0The Mainstage Theatre at UWM\u2019s Peck School of the Arts will re-open to the public on Wednesday, March 7, 11 months after a fire ripped through the theater\u2019s scene shop, causing nearly $6 million in damages to an aging building that has been a hub of activity and art for UWM theater and dance students since 1967.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, March 6, from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m., media are invited to interview Peck School Dean Scott Emmons; Tony Horne, associate professor of musical theatre; and Maureen O\u2019Hara, a UWM senior and lead performer in next month\u2019s musical, \u201c9 to 5.\u201d Cameras can enter the renovated theater for b-roll and photography starting at 7 p.m. Interested media can begin their interviews at 6:30 p.m. in the lobby of the Mainstage Theatre at 2400 E. Kenwood Blvd. Please note that a dress rehearsal will be underway inside the theater at that time.<\/p>\n
The fire<\/strong><\/u><\/p>\n No one was injured in the fire on April 8, 2017, but nearly 200 classes, performances, exhibitions and the final performance of the 2016-17 Mainstage Theatre season were rescheduled and relocated in the immediate aftermath. Smoke and water from the building\u2019s fire suppression system destroyed the theater\u2019s 488 seats, scene shop and lighting system, in addition to significant damage to backstage and below-stage areas and the adjoining Art and Music buildings.<\/p>\n Priority No. 1, Emmons said, was serving the nearly 1,600 theater, art, dance, music and film majors trying to complete their spring semester.<\/p>\n \u201cIn the days after the fire, we would see students walking by the theater building start crying: \u2018My project is on the third floor of the art building,\u2019 or \u2018How can we perform our final show in a few days?\u2019\u201d Emmons said. \u201cThere was a lot of emotional trauma in those early days, and then students figured out that the UWM campus community and local arts community were coming together to make their experience complete. It bonded them as students and artists.\u201d<\/p>\n The renovation<\/strong><\/u> Once the building was cleared for renovations, and spring performances and graduation had concluded, Peck faculty and staff pursued a renovation plan that Emmons said was affordable but also responsive to the changing needs of students and audience members. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cCreative problem-solving and teamwork are hallmarks of an arts education,\u201d said Emmons. \u201cPeople in the school worked many many hours to define what the renovated facility should look like, maximize replacement dollars for new lighting and improved sound and fix other problems of the building that pre-dated the fire.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Improvements and accommodations<\/strong><\/u> ** Improved Mainstage Theatre acoustics<\/span><\/p>\n ** New ceilings in the art and theatre buildings<\/span><\/p>\n ** Rebuilt and exposed catwalks so that audiences can see technicians and stagehands at work during performances\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n ** Energy-efficient lighting equipment to replace a system in use since the building opened in 1967<\/span><\/p>\n ** A new CNC router (computer-controlled cutting machine) with safety enhancements so that aspiring and experienced stagehands can design and build sets.<\/span><\/p>\n Appearances matter, too. The original theater\u2019s oak paneling, 90-degree angles, yellow d\u00e9cor and blue seats reflected sound back to the stage and were the height of interior design \u2013 circa 1967. While charming, the old seats were noisy, too small for modern bodies and not in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was a moral imperative that we make this space available to patrons and students who use wheelchairs and other adaptive equipment,\u201d said Emmons, who noted that the school\u2019s administration agreed to pay for the ADA accommodations out of the school\u2019s budget. <\/span><\/p>\n \u201cSometimes, it takes a catastrophe for advancement to occur,\u201d added LeRoy Stoner, the chair and longest serving member of the Theatre Department. \u201cOur students are getting a whole new level of tools and technology to work with, and our building is now wheelchair accessible and more comfortable for all patrons.\u201d \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The reopening of the Mainstage Theatre coincides with the March 7 to 11 run of \u201c12 Ophelias.\u201d The next scheduled performance is the musical \u201c9 to 5,\u201d running May 2-6. For tickets to \u201c12 Ophelias,\u201d \u201c9 to 5,\u201d or updates about Mainstage’s grand-reopening production, “The Tempest,” Nov. 14-18, go to the Peck School of the Arts box office online<\/a> or call 414-229-4308.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n For more information, contact Angela McManaman, (414) 229-5703, alm5<\/a>@uwm.edu.<\/a><\/p>\n About UWM<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Recognized as one of the nation\u2019s 115 top research universities, UW-Milwaukee provides a world-class education to 25,000 students from 91 countries on a budget of $653 million. Its 14 schools and colleges include Wisconsin\u2019s only schools of architecture, freshwater sciences and public health, and it is a leading educator of nurses and teachers. UW-Milwaukee partners with leading companies to conduct joint research, offer student internships and serve as an economic engine for southeastern Wisconsin. The Princeton Review named UW-Milwaukee a 2018 \u201cBest Midwestern\u201d university based on overall academic excellence and student reviews, and the Sierra Club has recognized it as Wisconsin\u2019s leading sustainable university.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MILWAUKEE _\u00a0The Mainstage Theatre at UWM\u2019s Peck School of the Arts will re-open to the public on Wednesday, March 7, 11 months after a fire ripped through the theater\u2019s scene shop, causing nearly $6 million in damages to an aging building that has been a hub of activity and art for UWM theater and dance […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":487,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[202],"tags":[],"section":[],"display_categories":[],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[],"class_list":["post-56978","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-releases"],"yoast_head":"\n
\nIn the week after the fire, 180 professionals from Paul Davis Restoration moved through the buildings to discard destroyed items and triage costumes and other equipment badly damaged by smoke. The Milwaukee Repertory Theater hosted the final production of the season, \u201cArcadia.\u201d Shorewood High School welcomed the department\u2019s stagecraft professors and students who needed a place to build sets before the show opened.<\/p>\n
\nThe $6 million insurance-funded renovations and theater upgrades include:<\/p>\n