Milwaukee Chamber Theatre Will Release First Production Following AEA Approval In March

As the first theater company in Wisconsin approved by Actors' Equity Association (AEA) to gather actors and stage managers in person to produce plays for virtual capture and distribution, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre has released THE ISLAND by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona on March 1st, 2021 via its website, milwaukeechambertheatre.org.

The production is helmed by Chicago-based director Mikael Burke and features the talents of Milwaukee natives DiMonte Henning as Winston and Sherrick Robinson as John. The creative team includes Stage Management by Judy Martel, Composition and Sound Design by Peter Goode, Costume Design by Amy Horst, Scenic Design by Stephen Hudson-Mairet, Lighting Design by Cor Valentine-Christophe, Dialect Coaching by Nathan Crocker, and Videography by Studio Gear: Kimberlee Beggs, Derek Buckles, and Logan Allen.

Said Burke, "This protest play of apartheid South Africa is nearly 50 years old and yet speaks to our current American moment as if it were written yesterday. These two men, Winston and John, are sent to the Island to be broken, to have their spirits broken. And even under the most extreme circumstances, these men manage to hold on to their spirits and conviction, through the power of art and story. They refuse to be silenced in a world meant to crush them. Winston and John show us that we cannot let the systems of oppression win. Even when those systems are at their most insidious, the most they can take from us are our bodies. We cannot let them have our souls. This is the power of the human spirit, to continue to stand up and be heard, despite everything stacked against us. To be able to come back to a rehearsal room for the first time in nearly a year to work on this play has been a real gift, and a much needed reminder of the power of art and story to keep us alive."

While filming in person MCT has followed a comprehensive safety plan centered on exacting ventilation, sanitation, and distancing standards, frequent testing, and the personal responsibility of artists and support staff to ensure the well-being of all involved.

THE ISLAND is hailed as a mid-20th Century classic, offering a scathing indictment of racism through the lens of South African apartheid. Set in a notorious maximum-security political prison, two longtime cellmates toil at brutal hard labor by day and by night rehearse Sophocles' ANTIGONE for a prison entertainment. When one is unexpectedly granted his release, love and hate, envy and empathy, triumph and loss, and hope and despair all collide in the concentrated atmosphere of their cell as they dig into a two-thousand-year-old play that explores every human's moral obligation to defiance in the face of an unjust government.

"When we knew we had to replace A MOON FOR THE MISBEGOTTEN as we transitioned our season virtually, retaining a modern classic in the season was a top priority-as was finding one that could speak directly to our current cultural moment," said MCT Artistic Director Brent Hazelton. "The themes of THE ISLAND all resound loudly with the conversations around racial justice in America that we've been having in increasingly public ways over the past year-in particular the dehumanizing results of systemic and institutionalized racism, and its central question of what obligation we hold as citizens to protest when our government acts unjustly. And with MCT's long history of producing Athol Fugard's plays, it seemed a natural fit both for the moment and to connect the company's present to its past."

THE ISLAND premieres on the MCT streaming platform, virtual.milwaukeechambertheatre.org, on March 1st, 2021. The production will be available on-demand until March 28th, 2021. More information about MCT, its virtually reimagined 20/21 season, how to purchase subscriptions or single tickets, and how to donate can be found at www.milwaukeechambertheatre.org.

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