A group from Unidos with artists from Wolf at the Door in the Touchstone Theatre, 2024.
A Look Back at 2024
Odyssey x REAP x APT: A dialogue and food pairing around Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
An opportunity for community to gather together for an exploration of the themes and ideas around APT’s production of August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.
Madison community members and the cast of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom gathered at the South Madison Partnership on the evening of June 23 to enjoy a community dinner and dialogue. The Odyssey Project hosted this event and attendees enjoyed a Southern Soul Food meal created by Chef Yusuf Bin-Rella in partnership with REAP Food Group.
Following the community dinner, the cast, Director Gavin Dillon Lawrence, Voice and Text Coach Jaqueline Springfield, and Artistic Associate Alys Dickerson participated in a community dialogue to explore the themes of the play, as well as share the unique experience of preparing for this outdoor production.
Community members who attended this event also received an exclusive promo code for deeply discounted tickets to see Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
ACES
Overture's Arts Career Exploration Spotlight (ACES) program empowers Madison-area middle and high-school students of color to explore local arts organizations and career possibilities through hands-on experiences. Through workshops from local artists, performances and hands-on activities, ACES offers young people the chance to discover their artistic potential and build essential skills that extend beyond the stage.
Two cohorts of students participated in backstage tours of the production shops and the Hill and Touchtone theatres. A small group of students were able to return to attend an evening performance of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Read more on the Overture website.
Dane County Shamrock Club
Dane County Shamrock Club share their love for Ireland and maintain a supportive community for people interested in celebrating their Irish Heritage. Members of the DCSC enjoyed a picnic social and had a meet and greet with actors Colleen Madden and Nate Burger before the performance of Dancing and Lughnasa
On behalf of the DCSC, I want to thank you and the actors for your time and effort to make us feel welcome last night. We all had a great time and particularly enjoyed the chance to meet and talk with Colleen and Nate. And the play was great, though in the tradition of Irish stories, had no happy ending. Not unexpected.
Photo: Anna Gonzalez
Madison College Advance Program
Madison College Advance Program is a first-year experience course for Black and Latino men who will be starting their college education. 25 students from this program heard a pre-show play talk with Director Gavin Dillon Lawrence, enjoyed the Meal Made for Ma Rainey Food Truck event, and saw a performance of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
All of us had a great time and are really grateful to APT for helping us give this experience to our students. The feedback we’ve received from them has been overwhelmingly positive. We look forward to the opportunity to work with you again in the future!
Photo: Hannah Jo Anderson
Reap Food Group & TradeRoots
REAP Food Group, Inc. is a nonprofit community service organization with a mission to transform communities, economies and lives through the power of good food. We are committed to efforts that strengthen food security and rebuild local supply chains, support sustainable small and mid-sized Wisconsin farms, connect rural and urban communities, and ensure that equitable power and inclusive voices shape access to good food in Dane County and statewide.
TradeRoots is a Madison-based group of farmers and chefs with roots in Wisconsin and West Africa. TradeRoots grows and cooks with crops of cultural relevance to the African diaspora in the Madison area. TradeRoots grows and cooks with crops of cultural relevance to the African diaspora in the Madison area.The Meal for Ma Rainey Food Truck event provided a picnic meal by Chef Yusuf Bin-Rella inspired by August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
The UW-Odyssey Project
The UW-Odyssey Project offers University of Wisconsin-Madison humanities classes for adult students facing economic barriers to college. Odyssey students report transformative outcomes, and some have even moved from homelessness to bachelor’s and master’s degrees.
Odyssey Project students make a yearly trip to see APT productions and enjoyed a pre-show discussion with Director Gavin Dillion Lawrence before the performance of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
I am thankful for the experience of attending Ma Rainey's Black Bottom play at American Players Theatre. The storyline was thought provoking. The acting was phenomenal. Great job.
UW-Odyssey Project in the Fall
Odyssey students and staff returned in the autumn of 2024 to see Nathan Alan Davis' Nat Turner in Jerusalem in the Touchstone Theatre.
Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity of attending this wonderful play. You are making a difference in our family’s lives!
This was my first time being able to attend a play… I am thankful for the experience and would love to attend more in the future.
REAP Food Group and Trade Roots
REAP Food Group, Inc. is a nonprofit community service organization with a mission to transform communities, economies and lives through the power of good food. We are committed to efforts that strengthen food security and rebuild local supply chains, support sustainable small and mid-sized Wisconsin farms, connect rural and urban communities, and ensure that equitable power and inclusive voices shape access to good food in Dane County and statewide.
TradeRoots is a Madison-based group of farmers and chefs with roots in Wisconsin and West Africa. TradeRoots grows and cooks with crops of cultural relevance to the African diaspora in the Madison area.
The Meal for Ma Rainey Food Truck event provided a picnic meal by Chef Yusuf Bin-Rella inspired by August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Photo: Patty Heaston
I wanted to say how much I enjoyed being part of the event at APT. The atmosphere was incredible, and I managed to catch some of Ma Rainey, and it was revelatory—amazing to experience live. As we all know Wisconsin ranks last in arts investment, so bringing food and art together with a cultural dynamic, and Food Truck, yeah, I think it makes a bold statement.! I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my experience and interpretation, bringing together the tastes, aromas of the diaspora with sights, and sounds of Ma Rainey!
Seeding Equity
Seeding Equity provides students from historically marginalized communities access to performing arts events and theatre technology training.
Seeding Equity participants enjoyed a backstage tour of the production shops and the Hill and Touchstone theatres. They were able to enjoy a meet and greet with Colleen Madden and David Daniel before a performance of Much Ado About Nothing. Read the feature story in The Capital Times.
Simpson Street Free Press
Simpson Street Free Press focuses on providing academic reading and writing instruction to middle and high school students in the Madison area with a focus on writing for publication. SSFP students write about science, geography, books, history, and the arts. The organization’s mission is to spark student success and bridge achievement gaps.
SSFP students attended performances of Wolf at the Door and August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. They attended a Q&A with Director Gavin Dillon Lawrence and 13 year old Elim Eyobed wrote the following article for SSFP. Read the feature written by one of the student attendees here.
Unidos
Before the beginning of rehearsals of Wolf at the Door APT partnered with UNIDOS- one of the most important statewide service providers for the Latine community on matters that pertain to domestic violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking- to provide information and resources about domestic violence to share with the director, cast, and audience. During this process director Melisa Pereyra invited UNIDOS to join the cast in the early stages of rehearsal to answer questions and provide information about the cycle of domestic violence and they graciously agreed.
We are very grateful and express a heartfelt thank-you to the following:
Virginia Gitten Escudero (UNIDOS Executive Director)
Ireri Andrea Muniz Ortega (UNIDOS Bilingual Communications and Engagement)
Lucia Ledesma (UNIDOS Associate Director)
Photo: Hannah Jo Anderson
Urban League of Greater Madison and MTZ Charitable Organization
The mission of the Urban League of Greater Madison is to ensure that African Americans and other community members are educated, employed and empowered to live well, advance professionally and contribute to the common good in the 21st Century.
MTZ Charitable Organization, Inc. promotes academic enrichment for school-age youth, improves community access to healthy food, provides mental health wellness and counseling services, and offers programs and activities for older adults.
Urban League of Greater Madison and MTZ Charitable Organization partnered with APT to bring a group of 100 adults to picnic, have a meet and greet with Director Gavin Dillion Lawrence, before the performance of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
Thank you for going above and beyond by providing tickets, transportation, large-print playbills, ice packs, stair-free accessible and shaded seating, water, and, most importantly, a kind and welcoming environment. Meeting the play's director, Gavin, was certainly a bonus for the group.
It has been a true joy over the years to collaborate with ULGM and APT to ensure that older adults, particularly those who are disenfranchised and underrepresented, have an opportunity to experience the theater arts.
I wanted to send a huge thank you to you and your team for your help yesterday. You all were wonderful. Our group despite the heat had such a great time. You all did an excellent job with everything from helping to get folks off the bus, assisting with passing out food, coordinating transportation and most importantly ensuring that our most vulnerable members were seated in more of the shaded areas. We so appreciate this partnership and am looking forward to our next performance. Again thank you all.
I wanted to extend my sincere thanks to you and the entire team for all the hard work in assisting us with identifying and accommodating each adult with accessibility needs.
Urban League of Greater Madison Young Professionals
The Urban League Young Professionals is a volunteer auxiliary of community leaders ages 21-40 who work to empower communities and change lives through the Urban League Movement. Members of ULYP attended a performance of August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.
I just wanted to say thank you so much for partnering with us on this visit! Everyone had a great time and the play was amazing! I hope to be able to visit the APT again soon!
UW-Madison Career Trek
Career Treks are site visits to companies in and around Madison. These are unique opportunities for undergraduate students to learn about career options in their field of study.
We are so appreciative of your time and effort to provide us an incredible tour, and also your willingness to share your insights and knowledge with our students. Your passion and commitment to your work was so evident in our time together.