20 Years of the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center

Professional lights, a full size stage and orchestra pit, theater seating - a generation of students have benefited from having a professional performing arts center located in their building. We meet PAC Executive Director Rachel Abraham at center stage to talk about the history, the work, and the business of a performing arts center.

Episode Transcript

(00:00):
Welcome to the SMI podcast. We are live, I guess live is the right word for a podcast

(00:15):
in the South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center, actually on stage. We're here today because
the Performing Arts Center is celebrating 20 years of its life, of its existence. And
joining me on that stage is Rachel Abraham, the executive director. Welcome.

(00:37):
Thank you, Dan. I'm glad to be here. Great. I'm so glad to have you. So describe,
if you could for me, the space that we're in. I find it hard to believe anyone in South
Milwaukee hasn't been here, but they may not fully appreciate what they're looking at when
they are here. Right. Well, it's easy for us because we're sitting right on the stage,
center stage, and we're looking out into the audience. And of course, no one's here,

(01:01):
but there's 786 empty seats right now. And this fabulous stage behind us.
It's more than a stage, right? I mean, I guess for a combined high school campus,
it is more than where you normally find in a high school. In most high schools,

(01:25):
you're absolutely correct. Yep. And it was a long time in coming, but it is a full
proscenium stage with, you know, rigging all the bells and whistles. It's 20 years old, so
it's not all of the new things, but a lot of the old things that we started with are still working
great. We've got the lights, the sound, the acoustically designed space, comfortable seating,

(01:49):
and a great, great feel to this space. Yeah. I think the acoustically, you know,
it is fantastic. I've been here during a performance, it sounds, there's not a bad seat here. And
underneath us, right, is a full pit for an orchestra. Right, an orchestra pit.

(02:12):
How did we come to have a performing arts center like this in South Milwaukee?
It's a great question. It was a long time in coming, but we were one of the first in the area
in southeastern Wisconsin to decide to actually make this happen. So in 2002, the community

(02:36):
decided to forward and pass a referendum to build a brand new sixth grade through 12th grade campus,
and within that campus, this theater was included in the proposal. And there was a push along with
the fitness center, among other things, but there was a big push for there to be a specialized

(02:58):
performance space for students who were in band, orchestra, musical theater productions,
just as there are specialized playing fields for kids who are in sports, or swimming, you know,
football fields, all those kinds of things. So there's a strong support by the community to
include this in that referendum. And there's a lot of forward thinking at that time. And we've been

(03:24):
able to be the beneficiaries of that decision now for 20 years.
You are a product of South Milwaukee schools.
Yes, I'm a product of South Milwaukee, and also a product of two high school music teachers. So my
parents were music educators. And so music was a big part of our lives growing up. And of course,

(03:50):
this place wasn't built until after I was a young mom myself. So I didn't go to school here when this
place was built. But our shows in South Milwaukee when I was growing up here were performed in what
was then called the cafeteria. So, you know, obviously cafeteria and auditorium combined,
and that's now the middle school multipurpose room. Yeah, yeah, which I haven't been there when

(04:14):
they're actually using the stage or anything, but doesn't hold a candle to the space we're in now.
And what did you do? Were you in theater? What did you do?
I was not in theater per se. I played the trumpet. I was expected to pick an instrument. And so
my dad wanted me to play the oboe because as a director, he it was hard to get oboe players.

(04:39):
Okay. Lots of trumpet players. But I didn't want anything to do with the oboe personally.
So trumpet, I was in the pit. Well, it wasn't a true pit. It was folding chairs in front of the
stage in the multipurpose room. So I played trumpet throughout my whole, you know, middle school,
high school career, and then a little bit into college. Never performed on a stage like this,

(05:06):
but really appreciated the arts and probably went to my first symphony concert when I was
12 years old. Speaking of a space like this, I don't know if folks fully appreciate the
architecture that's gone into here. Not only is it acoustically lovely, but it's attached

(05:26):
to the music wing of the school so that if the director of the orchestra or the choir wants to
have their students here, they can simply walk down a hall, grab their equipment, which are in these
full huge lockers that they can and feed right into the backstage and right on the main stage.

(05:47):
Exactly. It was a great design from that standpoint because they have access to this really any time
that they want to have a rehearsal here leading up to a concert, or if they just want to send
a couple of kids maybe before music contest time to come in and hear and rehearse.
Because the acoustics are so lovely, they get to have that special experience here in the space.

(06:10):
Also, there's a scene shop attached right behind the theater where we're sitting, and that's also
connected to our loading dock. So when we have touring artists or anything that's being delivered,
large set pieces, any construction that we're doing for our musicals, that takes place in our
scene shop and that's just directly behind us. So it's very convenient to have that.

(06:35):
Sure, and just that space alone too, it is a huge workshop. You can have very large pieces
that go high up into the sky, which I think my high school probably did it in a classroom,
right? Or if there was a work room that wasn't designed with that intention in mind, so it might

(06:56):
not have been as capable as this space is. Right, and it's great because the students get involved
not only on stage as performers, but also behind the scenes in the scene shop, for example, as
carpenters, painters, prop masters, sourcing and decorating props, creating props out of their

(07:19):
imaginations. And it's another way for students to get involved in the arts in theater and be part of
something that's, they're basically starting from scratch. Yeah, you know, when I was here doing a
podcast about the Spring Musical, I chose to talk about the Tech Crew, which was led by your full-time

(07:42):
tech person. And I got to interview students about their role in creating what was, it was Legally
Blonde last year. You know, and the level of involvement and the level of dedication, you talk
about inventing something from your mind. One student was telling me that she made a chandelier

(08:04):
out of pool noodles. Right. She said everyone said it looked like an octopus,
but on stage it was, it looked like a chandelier. Just that kind of creativity.
Every, I thought that that group would be like a niche club or a group, but it wasn't. It was
students from the theater program here really weaves in almost, well, any student who wants to, but

(08:28):
it seems to really touch almost every corner of the school. It does. We currently, the high school,
we currently don't offer a class in audio visual production per se. It's part of the
some of the music classes will offer elements of that, but we don't have a department, for example,

(08:49):
and a lot of schools don't. So while I'm not a teacher, our tech director Nick's not a teacher,
he's a mentor to students and he's a supervisor for them when they're coming together after school
to build the set. And he obviously supervises the construction and some of the older students who've

(09:11):
been with us for a few years, they in turn will help mentor some of the younger and newer students
to the program. It's a very, it's very social environment. It's a very welcoming and supportive
environment. And not everybody wants to be the star. Not everybody wants to sing the solo. Not
everybody wants to read the lines or be an actor, but they want to be a part of that event, that

(09:37):
process. So it's great that we can provide those opportunities. Yeah, I met a student last year who
was a front, I guess, front of house actor, but had always done tech and she'd kind of told me
how she was torn because she missed the all the coordination and work and deadlines of the tech

(10:01):
crew, but then was really enjoying being front of stage too. That experience of being able to do
both at such a high level is really unique to South Milwaukee, I think. Well, maybe not unique,
it's special. It's special. Yeah, right. I agree. There, I mean, more schools are proposing

(10:22):
auditoriums. Some schools are very fortunate to have them. We've been incredibly fortunate in
my opinion to have had this, to be one of the first in the area and to have had this for 20
years already. We've learned a lot over the years and we've been able to touch, you know, just that
many more lives have been impacted because we've had this special place. Not to detract from all

(10:47):
those who came before and had their productions in the cafeteria. Their experience was just as
valid and just as special in a way, but one of the things I know we're going to touch on this,
it being our 20th anniversary, one of the shows in our lineup this year is an alumni musical theater

(11:08):
cabaret. So people who are South Milwaukee graduates and have gone on and started families or moved
away, a lot of them are coming together for a very special alumni production in New York City.
Production in January. So they want to come back. They want to be a part of this because it was such

(11:29):
a big part of their lives when they were students here. They're excited about it and that's really
interesting to me because I think it's going to be a really interesting show and these people are
going to get to kind of relive some of the things that they missed about their high school years.
Yeah, yeah. I hadn't considered that. I knew that show was coming up, but that it, this isn't a,

(11:50):
you made a comparison to sports. This would be an alumni game or a flag football game of,
but maybe actually better than that because unlike athletic skills, acting and musical skills can
grow the older you get as you mature. Yeah, that's going to be really interesting.

(12:15):
It should be a lot of fun. Yeah. Maybe you could tell me what a performing arts center is and what
it has to do with being in a high school and how you, you merge those two things together.
Absolutely. We're considered, South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center is considered a school

(12:37):
affiliated performing arts center. So obviously, as you mentioned, we are part of the school
district of South Milwaukee and we are a professionally managed theater within the school
district. So we operate year round. We have our own staff. We're all school district employees,
the three of us. And we serve the school, just the school district first and foremost. So all of

(13:01):
its events from fifth grade band concerts on up to high school musicals, they get priority on our
calendar. They get priority for space here in the theater. And the other times that the theater is
available, we utilize that space for things like our performing arts series, which is a set of

(13:23):
curated shows. I get to choose those shows with input from the community and make those available
as entertainment and or educational enrichment to our community. And then thirdly, we host other
shows for renters. So renters who need a specialized performance venue, who might be presenters,

(13:48):
promoters. They might be members of other arts organizations like Night Wind Ensemble. They might,
for example, we've got a bodybuilding competition renter and we're going to have a wedding here
in November. So it just depends on what the organization is, what their needs are, and if

(14:10):
we can be a good fit for them. So we're very active from a rental standpoint, which also helps bring
in needed revenue, which offsets the burden on the school district. Sure. Yeah, and kind of about
that. So the rec department and the school district are run out of two different line items, lines of

(14:32):
budget or one's fund 10 and one's fund 80. 10 is what teachers are paid out of and the programming
of the school happens. And then fund 80 is special for the community. Right, all the recreation.
So that rec department fund covers the recreation department activities, the fitness center,

(14:52):
the before and after school program, and then the performing arts center as well. So you're actually
helping the taxpayers when you bring in renters and other things and sell tickets to events. Right.
It helps pay for those. We have a substantial amount of earned revenue from ticket sales and
other programs as well as contributed revenue from donations, fundraisers, sponsorships, grants.

(15:19):
See, so yeah, I mean, as a nonprofit, right, be still running a business and trying to give back
to the community that way. Exactly. Right. Well, let's talk a little bit about the 20th anniversary.
20 years, I know you have a special lineup this year. We're in it. Talk about how we're celebrating

(15:43):
it. Yeah, well, there's been a lot of discussion leading up to this. And
there's so many things we want to do and want to celebrate. And we have to sometimes check in with
ourselves because we're just a small staff and a small team. But we wanted to go big with our
opening show for the season. And we kicked things off this past month with the world famous Glenn

(16:06):
Miller Orchestra back in September. And we had a great audience, almost a full house and a really
enthusiastic audience and a great concert put on by the Glenn Miller Orchestra, which is one of the
most active touring big bands in the world. Yeah, it's venerable. I mean, since the passing

(16:27):
of Glenn Miller, it's been going. Right. It's been going. They've got a great story. The band has a
great story to tell. And they're remarkable performers. They're on the road all the time.
And fortunately, the timing of their tour and our schedule availability, it all worked out and we
were able to get them and present them as part of our series. Talk about the ties to South Milwaukee.

(16:50):
Right. There wasn't one specifically there. I was at that show, right. And the brand new bass
player for the band is from Sun Prairie. Right. And one of the saxophonists is a gentleman from
Chicago. Right. And yes, in a little bit of a way, they were coming home. We saw those folks were.
Yeah. I was thinking that at some point, there are a lot of ties in South Milwaukee, but that

(17:17):
at some point someone's going to hit it big. And that's because they got their start here
on your stage. That must be a remarkable. Yeah, there's a number of alumni that are
going on to do really great things, performing with orchestras, symphony orchestras,

(17:38):
as professional musicians, producers, directors, musicians with bands. And one of the other projects
that we just completed was a video to commemorate our 20th anniversary. We featured a bunch of
people, you know, from patrons to volunteers to teachers, students, alumni. And one of the alumni

(18:04):
that was not involved in the video, but who saw that called me afterwards and was just thrilled
to see it because he's in the middle of planning for his 30th high school reunion. And that's John
Sparrow, who's a drummer. And he happens to be the drummer for the Violent Femmes, which is a
Milwaukee band. A lot of folks are familiar with who the Violent Femmes are. Big deal. And when

(18:25):
they performed on our stage a number of years back, and they were part of a rental tour that
another presenter had them on like a five stop tour. We were one of those stops. And when they
were here, John Sparrow, the alumni, was just so excited to be here. He wanted to go find his

(18:46):
locker. He wanted to do a drum workshop for our students, which he did. And he had lunch in the
cafeteria and it was a little trip down memory lane for him. And I think seeing that video and
that sparked a lot of happy memories for him. And it was great to hear from him. And I appreciate
that he took the time to, you know, give it a shout. Yeah, that video was great. I mean,

(19:07):
that you showed up for, I think for the first time publicly. We did a little preview of it at our
season preview back in last spring, but we had a larger audience who saw it for the first time here
during right before Glenn Miller. Yes. Yeah. There's something about digesting your story
into three or four minutes, you know, to just kind of, they kind of just put a real period,

(19:30):
or maybe not a period, an ellipse on what, you know, has been accomplished here over 20 years.
It just really gave a sense of a place and highlighted what some may see as commonplace,
you know, the local performing arts center, but just the impact that we've had and
what has meant for some of the people that you had in the video, just what it's been.

(19:55):
Well, this place, I think when some of our students graduate and they go on to college
and they may be part of the arts program at college, some of the people that we've had
at college, some of them have come back and said, I didn't realize, you know, what I had
here in high school, our stage is far superior than what I have at my college. And so I do think

(20:21):
we've been here for 20 years. It may sometimes feel commonplace to folks, but I do hope that
none of us take this for granted because it isn't commonplace. A few high schools in the area have
a performing arts center, but most do not. And it, you know, it does require time and energy to

(20:43):
maintain and the payoff for our students, in my opinion, has been huge. You know, I'm not a teacher,
but I see the students rehearsing in here, performing in here, and how they grow and develop
and build confidence over the years. And I hear from attendees, parents, you know, you see the
pride that they have when they are leaving a concert and they're, you know, embracing their

(21:07):
kid after a show and taking pictures and grandma and grandpa are here and they have those memories
for years to come. And it's, it's really great to see that. It warms my heart. And I know that
sounds a little bit cliche, but it's really, it's been a great experience just to be a witness to
all of that. Yeah, you know, we talked about a little bit before, but the idea that, you know,

(21:34):
all our grades have concerts here, especially in the spring, and to prepare for something in
your school that you're used to, you know, one of our elementary schools, but then to come here
and see your family staring back at you and to be in this big kind of special space has to have an

(21:55):
impact beyond what might've happened in their own cafeteria had they done it there, you know, just,
and for high school students, I've seen the rehearsals and the level of expectations that
our director expects, but it's emphasized by the space they're in. Right. It's special. It's designed

(22:19):
for performance. It, you know, you're on an elevated stage, you're in an acoustically sound
hall, you have lights on you. You are the, if you're on the stage, you are the focal point for the
audience, the lights dim over the audience. So you can't necessarily see the audience when you're on
the stage. And that can be a bit, you know, unusual or uncomfortable even for some students. But you

(22:47):
know that you are in this place to give your performance and that people are watching you
and you can sort of see people transform when they're on the stage and inevitably they rise
through the occasion. And, um, it's just a great, it's a great place. So proud of it. Yeah. I mean,

(23:08):
last fall I did the podcast about the play and, um, the student that you did, they did clue
and the student that was your vet, uh, she did her accent for me on the podcast goes French,
obviously. And just, um, the way the, the energy of those students just in my little office doing

(23:29):
this podcast and then put to see them on stage after just transforming themselves and acting.
And actually, um, I don't know that you know, no disrespect to the cafeteria, but I just don't know
that they will get that experience. It'd be a little different. Yeah. Yeah. I think that having
this stage, it really, um, it's, it's a platform and it's really cool to see students who, you know,

(23:54):
maybe they're soft spoken and then they take the stage and, and you have to be big, you have to be
bold and loud. And, um, you know, like I think you mentioned, um, somebody made a chandelier out of
pool noodles, right? And how odd that is, but, um, as a prop, but because the stage is so big

(24:16):
and you're at a distance in the audience, you know, things take on a larger than life sort of aspect
when you're on the stage. So, um, it's cool to see students embody that and really own their character
and work alongside one another, whether it's, you know, building the set or assisting, uh,
tech and putting on microphones and, um, you know, belt packs and getting costumes ready or applying

(24:42):
makeup, um, doing all those things and coming together as a team under pressure. It's, um,
you know, from basically from nothing, a script and a lot of practice. Yeah. I mean, and the
community too. Um, it just made me think that the dance choreographer, um, you know, is someone that

(25:04):
just comes for the spring musical and, um, some, some employees here, but also residents come and
perform with the orchestra and the pit. Yes. That the, um, I, I've not encountered just in my time
in schools, a community that is all in on a performance like that in that way. A lot of

(25:27):
people want to be part of it. And you know, if you're, if you're a musician, if you're a dancer,
if you're a singer and you have the opportunity to give back as an adult, uh, in a way, uh, by
volunteering your time, they want to, we've got a lot of people in our community who, who are
volunteers here. Um, and we've got, for example, our ushers who attend shows and, you know, take

(25:56):
you to your seat or hand you a program. They want to be here. And, um, so it takes all levels of
involvement within the community for these shows to be successful. They take it seriously too. When
I was here for Glenn Miller, I was going to try and slip through the side door for there to get
to my office. There's a volunteer block that wasn't going to happen. They, some of them do take their,

(26:21):
their role very seriously. And it's because they love this space. And, um, you know, sometimes I
have to remind our, our volunteers that, you know, people are here and they, you know, they don't
know they're not supposed to, we prefer that they don't bring food in, for example, or, you know,
coffees without lids, that kind of thing, because we want to keep it nice. Um,

(26:45):
and I think that's another reason what makes this space special. You know, if you're at a
football game, if you're outdoors, you're used to bringing snacks in and, you know, munching along,
you know, during, during the activity here, it's, uh, I guess it's a bit more refined. It's,
it's supposed to be a bit more refined. And, um, so for those reasons too, it's, it's a different kind

(27:07):
of experience when you come to the theater. So, and our volunteers really embody that too.
Um, you'd mentioned the 20th and, um, I'd ask you what's on, on tap, but if you could talk about
calendaring and how you integrate the school schedule in with what you've planned this year
for the 20th. Sure. Calendaring is, is a lot of what I do. I spend a lot of time on the Google

(27:31):
calendar. Um, all the school events go in first. Um, we work with the music department and the
other departments within the district to make sure that those cornerstone events, concerts,
plays, musicals, those are all booked. Um, and then we also have recurring renters, which I

(27:52):
mentioned, add to the revenue that we, we have. And so those recurring renters, they also get kind
of slotted in annually where they typically like to be. And, um, and then we also have our performing
arts series of shows, which are the touring artists. And those also get scheduled and, and

(28:15):
people will often ask me, well, can you get so-and-so? I'd like to see so-and-so. Can you
bring such-and-such to the PAC? And, uh, I always look, I always track down those suggestions. I
look into them, but sometimes what I think people may not realize is that oftentimes these artists
aren't touring year round or they're just not available. You know, I can't just call them up

(28:36):
and say, can you come and perform on this day? They might be only touring for two weeks at a
time, or they might be touring just certain times of the year. And, um, what we try to do here is
get what we would call a routed feet. So rather than them flying in from say California or Europe
or, you know, somewhere else for one show, we try to get them when they're on a tour of the Midwest,

(29:02):
so that the expense is less. We only have to pay for maybe one hotel room night instead of multiple,
um, those kinds of things. So that helps us keep our, our performing artists costs low.
Yeah. My wife and I were wondering where we looked up where Glenn Miller Orchestra was going after,
because they talked in their show about where they were traveling and Rockford was going to be

(29:24):
Rockford was the night after you. And then we were wondering about hotels and how they get paid and
all that. Um, that's interesting that that's kind of on you guys to help with. Um, and then the
summary, you do the youth theater. I know it was Willy Wonka this year. Yeah, it used to be,
it used to be a recreation department program. So through the recreation department and technically

(29:47):
we're still part of them. But, um, since we have this great facility now, we, the, the performing
arts center staff took that program over years ago. And now we have all the rehearsals and
performances here in the theater. And obviously that just makes sense. But we serve, um, anywhere
between a hundred and 120 students in the summer for two full musical productions. Um, and yes,

(30:12):
we did, uh, Willy Wonka and little mermaid. So we have, uh, one, one production for six to 11
year olds and then another production for 12 to 18 year olds. And those each run about six weeks
during the summer. And, um, we also have public performances for each of those shows.

(30:35):
Let's say, uh, the community I moved here from, um, uh, close friends of ours, they, they were in
youth theater, that youth theater ran out of an old converted church. So the experience, just the
difference of that South Milwaukee is able to provide from something that a community that has
a theater program, but doesn't have the space available. Um, it's just a stark difference.

(31:00):
I, I wish his name is Parker. I wish Parker could see this kind of theater. Yeah. Luckily he got
into a high school that had a magnet program for theater. So he may have a stage now, but growing
up, if he had, he was, he was in Willy Wonka. I don't think he was, but he was in Willy Wonka
though. If he'd had this, it would have been really something for him. Yeah. But I think if you're a

(31:23):
theater kid, you're going to gravitate towards theater wherever you can find it. Right. And,
um, we wish that we could open up our program and expand it to even more students, because sometimes
we have to, you know, cut off the enrollment because we've got such a demand. Um, but we do
that because we, we don't have so many spots in a, in a show or in a production because otherwise,

(31:48):
you know, your chorus would be huge. Um, so we want to make it worthwhile for students as well.
So we, you know, and then for those youth theater programs, we also rely on some of our, our, uh,
high school students as stage managers or, um, dance captains, you know, also for tech and

(32:09):
construction, those kinds of things. But it gives them an opportunity to be leaders and mentors to
some of the younger kids too. Yeah. That is so cool. Um, you were telling me earlier that, um,
you stretch out into the community, not, not all of what South Milwaukee Performing Arts Center does
requires people to come here, right? Right. Right. Um, so we do outreach and the outreach can take

(32:34):
form in a lot of different ways. Um, over the summer, we sponsor some of the live bands that
performed down at the South Milwaukee downtown market, the farmer's market on Thursday evenings.
So I work with, uh, the folks down there and we booked the bands and, um, we pay, uh, the market

(32:56):
for the bands that we sponsor. So we, we help support the costs. So whenever I hear, you know,
free concert, I, I, in my mind, I convert that word free to complimentary because someone is paying
for that, whether it's the, the PAC or a business or, uh, somebody else, the bands get paid as they
should because they've worked long and hard for those skills to entertain the crowd. Um, but we

(33:23):
do that and we also reach out into senior living centers. So folks who may have been patrons here
for years or, um, may have come from other communities, but who are residents at living
centers in our area, we will take the performing arts to them and provide musical opportunities
for, for their pleasure where they live. So outside of these walls. Um, and we'll also do

(33:49):
things like, um, we're providing a band for the South Milwaukee fire department spaghetti dinner
later this month. And, um, actually that's tonight. Um, it's tonight. Yeah. Um, so we,
we try to support those kinds of activities that are of benefit to our immediate community. Yeah.
Um, we are partially taxpayer supported, so we feel that's important to do. And, um, yeah, a lot

(34:15):
of other outreach opportunities when they arise, we try to get involved with as many as we can.
Well, and your technical skills, I mean, we talked about, um, your technical director working with
students here, your marketing person has worked with me on logos and other, um, you know, artwork
that needs to be digitized and, and she's gotten to college meetings with me to, to work on an

(34:39):
effort we're doing for the high school. Um, and I just booking shows or, or acts would be something
that someone in the fire department might not be able to do as well. Right. Right. Well, we,
we have an incredible staff. Um, we have some part time folks who help with some of those things.

(35:00):
They do outreach. Brian Morrison is one of our part time staff members. Um, he does a lot of
the outreach along with me. And we also work with an independent organization, which is the South
Milwaukee performing arts council. They're an all volunteer, um, five Oh one C three, and they're
primarily responsible for fundraising and advocacy. Um, they don't have oversight of the theater per

(35:25):
se, but they have a voice and it's the voice of the community. So they're the ones behind the five
K. Yeah. The smart walk run. Right. And they did a golf outing recently to our first annual chip for
the arts golf outing, which was a lot of fun. Yeah, that is fun. Um, yeah. And imagine that connects
you with people that might not necessarily be theater folks that might want to give it a go.

(35:50):
Correct. And we, we had a great turnout, um, for our first year and there were a lot of, um,
former coaches, South Milwaukee coaches and other families and, um, friends who may not be regular
theater goers who know about us, but, uh, we hope to sort of cross pollinate there and bring some

(36:10):
of those folks to shows and support their events as well. So, um, just kind of conclude, I mean,
we're, we're celebrating 20 years. What is on store for the next 20 years? Where does something
like this go? That's a great question. Um, well, I plan to be here only for part of the next 20 years

(36:34):
as I approach retirement. I'm not, not ready for that yet. I love what I do. Um, but I, I really
see a bright future ahead for South Milwaukee performing arts center. And one of the things I
want to touch on today is we have a number of people in the community who are extremely generous
and, um, with the help of the council and guidance from, uh, a financial advisor and other people in

(37:01):
the community, the council is establishing an endowment fund for the performing arts center.
And, um, it is a longterm view. It's a longterm commitment, but, uh, there's a very good start
there and the endowment isn't ready. It's not at a point now where we can just stop fundraising.

(37:23):
Right. Um, but you know, and with inflation and everything, it's, it's going to be a bit, um,
because the needs are going to increase. But what we hope to do with that is to provide a sustainable
source for at least part of the funding for future programming. Um, and that should be available

(37:43):
within that next 20 year time period, hopefully, you know, closer to 10. Um, it's a longterm project,
obviously, but if we don't start planning for that now, it'll never happen.
Oh yeah. 10 years go by and you'll have nothing.
Right. But 10 years go by and we'll have something. And that's really exciting to me because I know
how hard, um, everybody has worked to get us to this point and I know how hard it is to, um, you

(38:08):
know, manage the, the fundraisers and get those contributions flowing. So having this will be a
little bit of a, um, a help down the road. So that's exciting. I think that there's some great
energy right now among our teaching staff, our music department, our theater department. Um,
there's a lot of energy there and I think that's going to continue to build. Um, I think that,

(38:34):
I think that, you know, post COVID audiences are coming back to the theater. They want the
entertainment. They want to get out and socialize. So we're a place for that as well. And I think
we'll continue to be for quite a long time and we've learned a lot. Um, and I, I really am excited
to see what, what can be happening over the next 20. Well, uh, Rachel Abraham, thank you so much

(39:01):
for being here. Thanks for being on the podcast. Um, it's a lovely conversation. Thank you, Dan.
It's been wonderful. Well, thank you too, to our listeners. Um, thanks for tuning in and hearing
about the performing arts center. Um, on October 22nd, the high school choir will be performing at

(39:22):
the art center from 7 PM to 8 30. And, uh, in November, um, the end of November before break,
um, November 15th, 16th and 17th, our, uh, thespians will be showing the high school play
little women from 7 30 to nine at the South Milwaukee performing arts center. That's on

(39:44):
Friday and Saturday. And on Sunday, there'll be a matinee at 2 PM. Um, definitely check out, um,
the South Milwaukee, uh, public, um, art center calendar. It is available through, uh, the district
website. It can be also found on the recreation department website. Um, it, uh, is South Milwaukee

(40:08):
PAC.org. There's a calendar events is supposed to buy tickets, especially for the, um, the fall play
is a ticketed event. Uh, and the next event, uh, that is not student related is October 23rd,
some enchanted evening, uh, at 7 30. You can buy tickets online. Again, thanks to Rachel Abraham

(40:33):
for being on here and thanks to you for listening and we will see you next time.