The year 2023

We are so grateful to be in our 36^th Season!

We couldn’t have this long history without you, and we look forward to continuing to serve you with the creative, innovative, and unique productions Gigante has become known for!

As we approach 2024, we fondly look back at 2023, which has allowed us to return to live theater and operational and artistic normalcy!

Our 2022/23 season was our 35^th Anniversary Season, and after a busy Fall, in which we presented the rarely screened Japanese movie, A Page of Madness, with live music by Frank Pahl’s Little Bang Theory and the narration of beautiful benshi, Nanako Yamauchi; Will Eno’s one-man play, Title and Deed, featuring talented actor, Michael Stebbins; and a delightful wine tasting event at Waterford Wines, we glided on into the year 2023!

The year 2023 brought more artistic shenanigans! We started off in March, performing in schools throughout Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties, through the awarded Milwaukee Symphony ACE program. We performed Gigante’s Peter & the Wolf & the One-Man Band for 1^st grades, and Building Theater the Gigante Way for 3^rd grades! The shows were seen by over 1500 engaged students, and the fun the performers and children had with each other was a delight to see!

In April, more fun was in store when we held our 35^th Anniversary Bash, which took place at Matt Kemple’s Laughing Tap. Frank Pahl and Leslie Fitzwater entertained the guests with their musical talents, performing music from past Gigante shows, and Michael Stebbins, auctioneer extraordinaire, entertained us with his live auctioneering of many lovely donated items. A great time was had by all!

Moving on to May, Gigante presented one of our absolutely most favorite shows to full houses: Spalding Gray: Stories Left To Tell. The wonderful cast was joined by Milwaukee’s star, Jane Kaczmarek, and Spalding’s stories once again came to full-fledged life. What a brilliant monologist he was! We are so very grateful to Kathleen Russo, his widow, for this inspirational piece of theatre! Also In May, we were brought on board at St. John’s on the Lake, a senior living community, to prepare and present a play reading, performed by the fabulous St. John’s Players. Under the direction of Isabelle and the superb assistance of Mark Anderson, William Saroyan’s The Dogs, or The Paris Comedy was presented to a full house, and a wonderful new friendship was established between the St. John’s Players and Isabelle & Mark!

In July, the collaboration between Gigante and Teatro delle Albe was brought back to life, as Alessandro Renda, Isabelle and Mark, and awarded Slovenian author Rok Vilčnik, worked on a new script. After Covid, and the initial postponement of the project, we started with a brand-new idea for this piece. The title changed from In the Belly of the Beast to Where From, and we are currently preparing to do more work on the script and to begin rehearsals!

In September, we began our 36^th Season with a bang, performing Three Other Sisters in Cleveland, where the Slovenian Consul General, Alenka Jerak, the Slovenian Ambassador from Washington D.C., Iztok Mirošič, and the Slovenian Cabinet Minister, Matej Arčon, were all in attendance, along with the French Consul Cedric Le Rouge. We traveled there with our terrific cast and crew, and had an absolutely wonderful experience! We then moved the production back to Milwaukee and into the 508 Theatre, where we performed to lovely and receptive full houses! What a treat! We couldn’t be more grateful!

November was very busy! We once again performed our two delightful school shows, Peter & the Wolf & the One-Man Band and Building Theater the Gigante Way to 1st and 3rd graders throughout our communities. And, we again worked with the St. John’s Players, presenting Isabelle & Mark’s adaptation of It’s A Wonderful Life, to a full house – kicking off this 2023 Holiday Season!

Whew … what a wonderful year it has been … Now, on to the further development of Where From!!!

As you can see, Theatre Gigante continues creating and presenting distinct thought-provoking work: work that might otherwise not be seen in Milwaukee.

Again, we say, WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!

We at Gigante thank you for 35+ years of friendship and support, and we enthusiastically and passionately look to the future and vow to – together with your help – continue serving and surprising the community with Gigante’s special brand of original, unique, boutique theater! Amidst the magic of December and the holiday season, may you enjoy a gigantic bounty of happiness, success, health, peace, and love, and may it continue into the new year … and beyond…

Happy Holidays! Happy 2024!

To make a tax-deductible donation, please click on this link —
or mail a check made out to

Theatre Gigante, P.O.Box 1999, Milwaukee WI 53201-1999

The year 2022

We are so thrilled, excited, and grateful to be celebrating our 35^th Anniversary Season!

We couldn’t have achieved this milestone without you, and we look forward to continuing to serve you with the creative, innovative, and unique productions Gigante has become known for!

As we approach 2023, we fondly look back at 2022, which has slowly allowed us to get back to live theater and some type of operational and artistic normalcy.  In February we presented the thought-provoking, deeply moving Rumore di acque (Noise in the Waters) written by Marco Martinelli and masterfully performed by Teatro delle Albe’s Alessandro Renda, with the soulful and beautiful accompaniment of the Sicilian Mancuso Brothers. To reach a wider audience, this production was virtual, and we turned it into aid for an urgent global crisis. Rumore di acque, about refugees attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea, was tragically timely as the world watched in shock and horror as the Ukraine refugee crisis developed. Theatre Gigante was gratified to be able to send 100% of the proceeds from this production to UNHCF to aid the refugees. Again, we couldn’t have done it without you! Your donations toward the presentation made it possible.

In July and August, we were elated to resuscitate a collaboration with Teatro delle Albe to build a new theater piece, which we originally began developing in 2019.  This brand-new work, titled, In The Belly Of The Beast, was to premiere in Milwaukee in May, 2020, then move on to Ravenna and Milan, Italy. However, in 2020 COVID hit the global stage, and early on in its development, In The Belly Of The Beast was cut short by the pandemic, which shattered the initial ideas and premises, along with the authors’ creative calm. While the pandemic shook the very principles of human activity, including artistic creativity, to their foundations, it also opened up new, uncharted horizons and an opportunity for new considerations. We will be working with a new premise this winter. Isabelle, Mark, and Alessandro Renda will begin creating In The Belly Of The Beast from scratch with one addition to the creative team: awarded Slovenian writer Rok Vilčnik (Tarzan, A Cosmic Fairy Tale A Day Keeps The Doctor Away). Now, this original theatrical work, exploring the travails of modern-day life, is being cooked up in three different countries (USA, Italy, Slovenia); will be performed by Isabelle, Mark, and Alessandro; and is scheduled to premiere in Milwaukee in May, 2023, then travel on to Italy, as originally planned … and we can’t wait!

In October, Gigante did it again – it presented something wildly unique to Milwaukee: A Page of Madness, one of the greatest avant-garde silent films in history, directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa. This rare, exquisite live production, partially sponsored by the U of Michigan’s Center for Asian Studies, included a Japanese benshi, Nanako Yamauchi, from Tokyo, who narrated the film live in the Japanese tradition of benshi actors. A dazzling, original musical score by Frank Pahl accompanied the film and Nanako’s beautiful narration. Little Bang Theory

(Frank Pahl, Terri Sarris, Doug Shimmin) skillfully performed it live on toy and hand-made instruments, adding to the emotionally expressive experience. As Jim Higgins of the Journal Sentinel stated, Frank Pahl is Gigante’s BFF, and we plan on more gratifying collaborations such as this one.

Also in October, Gigante performed two readings of Rok’s Tarzan: the first, hosted by the highly accomplished theater theorist, writer, and professor Todd London, took place at the Dramatist’s Guild Foundation, with various performers, writers, critics, and musicians in attendance; the second, hosted by the Slovenian Representative to the United Nations, Mr. Boštjan Malovrh and Mrs. Petra Žerovnik Malovrh, took place at their residence, with invited guests in attendance. The readings were performed by Isabelle, Mark, Don Russell, and Michael Stebbins setting the scene with stage directions. Great talkbacks followed, with the playwright Rok joining the cast. Partially sponsored by the Slovenian Ministry for Slovenians Abroad, it was a wonderful opportunity for all involved.

In early November, Gigante’s fabulous Board of Directors hosted a wine tasting benefit, spearheaded by Anne Landre, at Waterford Wine & Spirits, celebrating Gigante’s 35 years. The tasting was led by Alan Anderson pouring exquisite wines. The result: great fun was had by all!

November and December brought Gigante back to the stage, presenting the Milwaukee premiere of Will Eno’s Title and Deed, an enigmatic monodrama with surprises at every turn. At times funny, at times sad, but always thought-provoking, this intriguing piece was “breathtakingly” performed by Gigante’s Michael Stebbins, with direction by Isabelle and lighting by Colin Gawronski.

As you can see, Theatre Gigante continues creating and presenting distinct, thought-provoking work – work that might otherwise not be seen in Milwaukee.

AND, WE CAN’T DO IT WITHOUT YOU!

We at Gigante thank you for 35 years of friendship and support, and we enthusiastically and passionately look to the future, and vow to – together with your help – continue serving and surprising the community with Gigante’s special brand of original, unique, boutique theater!

Amidst the magic of December and the holiday season, may you enjoy a gigantic bounty of happiness, success, health, peace, and love, and may it continue into the new year … and beyond…

Happy Holidays! Happy 2023!

To make a tax-deductible donation, please click on this link —
or mail a check made out to

Theatre Gigante, P.O.Box 1999, Milwaukee WI 53201-1999

2021

Another year we will all remember for a long time to come!

During this COVID-19 pandemic, we hope you are staying safe and healthy.  It has been – and still is – a bumpy ride, but we have our safety belts on and are determined to get through this, intact and stronger than ever!  And we know so very well that we can’t do it without you!

Due to COVID, we’ve had to change our plans for both the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. We decided that we would take it one project at a time, not knowing what the future will bring regarding live theatre.

So, let’s take a look at Gigante’s projects in 2021:

In January and February, we worked on a virtual production, A Cosmic Fairy Tale A Day Keeps The Doctor Away: 31 wildly imaginative and curious fairy tales written by Rok Vilčnik, conceived and directed by Isabelle Kralj, visually and graphically designed by Justin Thomas, with music and sound created by Frank Pahl (with additional music by Jason Powell, Peter Mulvey, Kathryn Cesarz, and Christine Zufferey), and told by 31 storytellers from around the world, through 31 videos! This delightful array of tales was available from March through May.  We held several lively Zoom talkbacks and had participants from around the world at the discussions.

In February, we presented our virtual production A PRISON MADE OF LIGHT to St. John’s on the Lake. Theatre Gigante was proud to be on their 2021 Fine Arts series.  The stream was followed by a talkback. St. John’s on the Lake is one of our favorite gigs!

In August, Gigante returned to the annual Milwaukee Fringe Festival with a condensed virtual version of A Cosmic Fairy Tale A Day Keeps The Doctor Away!

October brought Gigante back to the theatre and we were so very excited to perform for a live audience! It felt like we were with family, once again. To celebrate, we programmed our fall productions around the holidays: Halloween, Thanksgiving, and the December Holidays.

For Halloween, Gigante presented NOSFERATU w/LITTLE BANG THEORY – the classic German vampire movie NOSFERATU with live accompaniment by the fabulous toy band Little Bang Theory.  We heard from many audience members that this was the first opportunity they’d ever had to see this film classic in its entirety – and how better to see it than with music played by a toy band!

In November, For Thanksgiving Day, we recorded a brand new monologue, THANKS A LOT!, written and performed by Mark Anderson, adapted and directed by Isabelle, with music written and performed by Frank Pahl, lighting design by Alan Piotrowicz, and videography by Dena Aronson.  This was presented virtually, for all those who do not yet feel comfortable attending live performances, and is still available to those who contact us at gigante@theatregigante.org.  We then presented THANKS A LOT! live at Kenilworth 508 Theatre and had an amazing time with a very responsive audience!

November also saw Gigante record our children’s production PETER & THE WOLF & THE ONE-MAN-BAND for the Milwaukee Symphony ACE Program.  Live in-school performances were cancelled for fall of 2021 and, with this recording, the Symphony ensured that Gigante will nevertheless be able to present its popular show to 1^st graders in schools throughout Milwaukee and surrounding areas.  This was also the first time we were back working with a larger cast … and what a heartwarming treat that was! Thank you to Aaron Gardner, Leslie Fitzwater, Joe Fransee, Ron Scot Fry, A.J. Magoon, and newcomers to Gigante, Allison Larson and Kalista Roling!

Special offer:

Now, in the month of December, during our end-of-the-year fundraising campaign, we will live stream stories from David Sedaris’ HOLIDAYS ON ICE* read by Gigante’s long-time friend, collaborator, and Board President, Michael Stebbins.  You will be able to stream these hilarious stories into the warmth and comfort of your own home on December 20^th & December 27^th at 7pm.

For a donation, in any amount, made online by December 17^th, we will send you complimentary Zoom links to both dates so you can watch and listen to the entertaining stories — once or both times!

The links will be sent to you on December 18^th.

To receive this live-streamed event, please make your contribution at www.theatregigante.org/support.

You can also mail your donation to: Theatre Gigante, P.O. Box 1999, Milwaukee, WI, 53201-1999. 

HOWEVER, we cannot guarantee that we will receive your mail in time to send you the HOLIDAYS ON ICE links.  To ensure that you receive the complimentary live-streamed event, please donate online – or contact us by email (gigante@theatregigante.org ) to let us know that your check is in the mail.  

Please know that none of Theatre Gigante’s productions and events would be possible without support … your support … therefore we are immensely grateful to you and to all the many other wonderful Gigante Friends!

We wish you a very happy, merry, cheery, jovial and glowing Holiday Season!

Stay safe and healthy! CHEERS!!!

Isabelle Kralj & Mark Anderson

 *Read with the permission of Don Congdon Associates, Inc. From HOLIDAYS ON ICE by David Sedaris.

Theatre Gigante presents …

Written by Rok Vilčnik

Conceived and Directed by Isabelle Kralj

Visual Art and Production Design by Justin Thomas

Music by Frank Pahl

Production Manager Mark Anderson

Technical Assistants Caulden Parkel and Anna Bundy

Translations by Students of Translation Studies at the Faculty of Arts, University of Maribor, primarily Ana Arnejčič and Nejc Golob, under the mentorship of Professor Melita Koletnik.

Translations revised and edited by Isabelle Kralj

Stories told by

Frank Pahl, Ron Scot Fry, Sadé Ayodele, Craig Quintero, Jason Powell, Nathan Danzer, Rose Grizzell, Peter Mulvey, Christine Zufferey

(excerpt from original 31 Cosmic Fairy Tales)

About the Project

A COSMIC FAIRY TALE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY

Inspired by the quest for staying healthy through the COVID-19 crisis, and the idea of Giovanni Boccaccio’s Decameron (tales told by a group of women and men as they sheltered in a secluded villa in order to escape the plague), Theatre Gigante created the virtual project A COSMIC FAIRY TALE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY.  A collection of sparkling fairy tales written by Slovenian playwright Rok Vilčnik, visual artistry and production design by Justin Thomas, with music by Frank Pahl, direction by Isabelle Kralj, and performances by nine luminous storytellers from Milwaukee to California, from Boston to Chicago, to Taiwan and France.  Nine winking, blinking, curious Fairy Tales in the cosmos, offering uniquely bizarre adventures in search of the earthling heart in all of us.

The Cosmic Fairy Tales invoke and address humanity’s dreams and aspirations, and some of life’s bigger questions.  With cleverness and a sense of humor they look to the cosmos to portray our world – what it was, is, and could be.  Orbs of various sorts, creatures, ghosts, beginnings, endings, questions, answers, are all brought to life in delightful, witty ways with a deep understanding by the author of what it means to be human.

In the last tale, a poet writes a poem in which we all come together. 

A COSMIC FAIRY TALE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY is just such a poem in a larger sense.  In this difficult time of a raging pandemic, through a clever author, an innovative creative team, delightful storytellers, and you, the audience – it is just the right time, and just the right production, for all of us to come together!

About the Author

ROK VILČNIK

ROK VILČNIK also known as rokgre, is a Slovenian writer, playwright, poet, songwriter and screenwriter, living in Maribor, Slovenia.  He started his career as a painter and earned a BEd in fine arts. Due to a hand injury his career took a turn.  He started writing and has been a freelance writer ever since.  Over thirty productions of his plays have been produced internationally in over six countries. In addition, he has penned three radio dramas, four television series, three books of poetry, three novels, and three children’s plays.  Rok is also a founding member of the popular Slovenian bands Patetico, Papir, and Pliš, and a songwriter for various Slovenian singers.  He was recognized by the city of Maribor for his cultural achievements, particularly for his book of plays, titled American Trilogy, with the Glazer Charter award.  Vilčnik is also a three-time recipient of the Grum Award for Best New Slovenian Play, and a recipient of the Slovenian Noble Comediographer award, and twice a recipient for Best Comedy.  Rok Vilčnik’s TARZAN is in Theatre Gigante’s repertory and was performed by Gigante in Milwaukee during the 2017-18 Season, and in Slovenia in 2019 at the International Slovenian Auteurs Theatre Festival.

About the Director

ISABELLE KRALJ

ISABELLE KRALJ, founder co-Artistic Director of Theatre Gigante, works as an auteur, director, choreographer, and performer.  Besides Gigante, she has directed and/or choreographed for, among others, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, Milwaukee Repertory Theatre, First Stage, DBUS (Ballet Assn. of Slovenia), Florentine Opera, and Door Shakespeare.  Abroad, she has performed in Slovenia, Italy, Croatia, Austria, and Germany.  She has written/created over seventy works, many of them in collaboration with Mark Anderson. Isabelle has an MFA and has received a New Choreography Award from the Wisconsin Arts Board, the award of High Artistic Achievement from UWM’s Slovenian Arts Council, and grants from the US State Department, U.S. Embassy in Slovenia, and the Slovenian Ministry of Culture. 

About the Visual Artist and Production Designer

JUSTIN THOMAS

JUSTIN THOMAS is associate professor of theatre and design and chair of the theatre and dance department at Grinnell College. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in theatrical design from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Arts in theatre and communication from Kalamazoo College.  At Grinnell, Thomas has been able to pursue two of his greatest passions: teaching and making theatre.  Thomas’ courses run the gamut of theatrical design and technology, theatre history, dramatic literature, and disability, accessibility, and inclusive arts practices. As a professional designer, his work includes lighting, scenery, and projections, which have been produced by the Lincoln Center, Studio Theatre, Arden Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Round House Theatre, Olney Theatre Center for the Arts, Farmers’ Alley Theatre, Theatre Gigante, Happenstance Theatre, the 21st Century Consort, the Washington National Cathedral, Daniel Phoenix Singh/Dakshina Dance Company, Liz Lerman Dance Exchange, and John Britto Dance Company.  Internationally, Thomas’ work has been presented throughout India, Bangladesh, France, and Russia.

About the music

FRANK PAHL

FRANK PAHL is a Michigan-based musician/composer, working in several styles including “toy pop,” or music made with toys. Frank chose to learn the euphonium (a smaller version of the tuba) in high school. This would be the first of many unusual instruments he would later add to his arsenal, including the harmonium (a pump organ), the ukulele, and the banjo, along with the clarinet, guitar, and piano.  He works primarily in Wyandotte and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and has exhibited his work in Canada, Europe and Japan, as well as the United States.   He has worked in several groups, including Only a Mother, Sublime Wedge, Immigrant Suns, Scavenger Quartet, a freeform musical group.  “Sonic artist” is often the term used to classify Frank Pahl.  Within his stockpile is a collection of toy instruments, a fascination that has developed into the toy-pop chamber trio Little Bang Theory, a “toy” music trio.  The clever, innovative, and unique group is made up of three gifted artists: Frank, Terri Sarris, and Doug Shimmin. Frank is a frequent collaborator with Isabelle, Mark and Theatre Gigante, as is Little Bang Theory — definitely part of the Gigante family!

About the Production Manager

MARK ANDERSON

MARK ANDERSON, co-Artistic Director of Theatre Gigante, is an artist whose work as a monologist and playwright has been seen in over thirty cities around the country, including three years touring with New York’s PS122 Field Trips.  In 1996, Mark began working with Isabelle, and since then they have written and/or co-created over seventy original productions.  He has worked with Theatre X, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Present Music, Grinnell College, and the Pabst Theater, among others.  He has received numerous grants and commissions, including two Wisconsin Arts Board Interdisciplinary Arts Fellowships.

About Theatre Gigante

Founded by Isabelle Kralj and now in its 33rd year, Theatre Gigante enlivens the local performance scene with its unique style of theatre.  Under the artistic direction of Kralj and Mark Anderson, Gigante brings original theatre to the stage and has a strong history of dynamic collaborations with locally, nationally, and internationally known musicians, visual artists, composers, and performers.  The company has been in residence at institutions such as Suffolk University (MA), University of North Carolina–Greensboro, Grinnell College (IA), and the John Michael Kohler Arts Center; and besides Milwaukee, it has appeared in Chicago, NYC, and Boston, among other American cities; and in Slovenia, EU and in the 2019-20 Season, Gigante’s escapades took the company to Ravenna and Milan, Italy for a two-month residency to work on a collaboration with Teatro delle Albe.  Gigante is now surviving the pandemic with virtual presentations such as A PRISON MADE OF LIGHT, YOUR STORY, and A COSMIC FAIRY TALE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY.

The best thing I’ve seen all year!

A unique offering like no other out there in the cosmos …
as is usually the case when it comes to
the wow work of Theatre Gigante!

The most unique offering I have found/seen this year –

profound, poetic, humorous, heartfelt, and world-wise!

Brilliant!

Thank you for steadfastly making work for the World!

Congratulations on Cosmic Fairy Tales!  The whole idea of

a tale a day is so unique and delightfully odd – very Theatre Gigante!

Each video is roughly 10 minutes or less…a nice, little opportunity

to casually check-in with infinity once a day
over the course of the rest of the month.

I have watched – once again – Theatre Gigante’s amazing
A COSMIC FAIRY TALE KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY.
It is primo Gigante!Such a much-needed enjoyable journey!

Very Cool and fun!

The list of talent involved is mighty!

We’ve started watching a few each night. So wonderful!

Beautiful art work…..lovely thoughts……….! very creative!

Great Project!

Rok Vilčnik’s “Cosmic Fairy Tales” invoke and address humanity’s dreams and aspirations, and some of life’s bigger questions. With cleverness and a sense of humor they look to the cosmos to portray our world – what it was, is, and could be. Orbs of various sorts, creatures, ghosts, buildings, beginnings, endings, questions, answers – and then some – are all anthropomorphized in delightful, witty, ways with a deep understanding by the author of what it means to be human. In one tale, “The flock of questions was circling around looking for any kind of answers. Lately, the questions have multiplied a lot, yet there were only a small handful of answers available.”

In another, the largest train in the world takes a man on a journey of his past and into his future. And, in yet another, a poet writes a poem in which we all come together.

A COSMIC FAIRY TALE A DAY KEEPS THE DOCTOR AWAY is just such a poem in a larger sense. In this difficult time of a raging pandemic, through a clever author, an innovative creative team, delightful storytellers, and you, the audience – it is just the right time, and just the right production, for all of us to come together!

for tickets: gigantefairytales.eventbrite.com