Hello friends of Summit Players Theatre,
Following Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers's closure of 40 Wisconsin state parks and the extension of Wisconsin's Safer at Home order, Summit Players Theatre has had some thinking to do. We want to be able to offer our typical Shakespeare in the State Parks program while keeping our audience members and our artists as safe and healthy as possible.
In light of these measures, therefore, Summit Players Theatre still plans to perform its summer production of THE WINTER'S TALE, but will remove parks from our season and push back our opening to July 10, 2020. Our 45-minute educational workshop and 75-minute, six-actor show will travel to 14 Wisconsin state parks, running until August 23, 2020. You can find our entire revised schedule here.
While we're disappointed that we won't be able to offer our program in all of the areas originally planned, we understand the need to keep Wisconsin residents safe and healthy. We can't wait to return to favorite parks across Southern Wisconsin in future years, and we'll look forward to seeing our good friends from those areas as well.
We understand, too, that the public health situation continues to change rapidly, and are monitoring changes and recommendations at the state and federal level to ensure we're making the safest choices for our actors and our audience. Should anything else need to change, we'll let you know as soon as we can.
As before, there are a few things you can do to ensure the success of our revised 2020 season:
Stay healthy and stay at home. The Governor's Badger Bounce Back plan makes it clear what we all need to do to start reopening Wisconsin, gathering in groups and feeling safe together again. Following public health recommendations and preventing the spread of disease helps move the timetable up on this plan and helps get us back into the parks as fast as possible.
Be well, mentally and physically. We know that being away from friends, family and live theatre can take a big toll on our close friends, and we miss seeing you too. Stay in contact and do the things you need to do to make quarantine tolerable until we can all get together again!
If you are able, donate to our 2020 tour. More than ever, it's your support that helps bring us back to the parks, and the success of our revised tour depends on the help of our close friends.
We chose THE WINTER'S TALE as our production this year for many reasons, but more than ever, its message of hope and resilience in the face of dire circumstances rings true. Through this play, Shakespeare shows us that hope and redemption can arise even in the worst times.
I can't wait for you to see this play, and I can't wait to see you in the parks. Be healthy, be well and be hopeful: we'll see you soon.
A.J. Magoon
Executive Director