MILWAUKEE — Inside a Milwaukee theater, the scene is set and actors are ready to transport you to a Parisian apartment in the comedy L'Appartement by Joanna Murray-Smith.
“I love bringing stories to life," actor Cara Johnston, who plays the role of the stylish French woman Lea, said.
Renaissance Theaterworks (RTW) in the city's Walker's Point neighborhood is putting on its final show of the season. The show L'Appartement is funny and captivating. But it's the story of this theater company that's taking the limelight.
Since 1993 Renaissance Theaterworks has been uplifting the voices of women. Both on and off stage, they're empowering women to make theater more equitable.
“It’s really important that every voice is represented," Suzan Fete, the artistic director and co-founder, said.
Watch the story on Renaissance Theaterworks above...
RTW's tagline is 'Theater by Women for Everyone.' Fete co-founded the theater company to promote women in the industry. RTW is owned and operated by women, it produces plays written by women, hires women directors, and incorporates as many women in the production as possible.
“When I was a young girl, I didn't know any women directors. I didn’t know any women set designers, so it's been wonderful to help people believe that they can do it," Fete said.
Since 1993, RTW has hired more than 700 people and roughly 75 percent of them have been women. About 90 percent of the plays RTW has produced have been written and directed by women. L'Appartement is directed by Mallory Metoxen.
“You get to be about 45, 50 suddenly theres no roles," Fete said. "But if you can transition into being a director at least part of the time, you can still make a living in theater.”
That’s similar to Lisa Rasumussens's theater career. She is the managing director at RTW but initially was an actor. In general, she noticed a lack of opportunity for women which is why she likes working at this company.
“We’ve been able to provide a lot of local actors that are very talented that next step up to directing," Rasmussen said.
Along with other off-stage roles. According to the University of Central Florida and New York University, men outnumber women in almost all theater-related jobs. Furthermore, Production Pro, an entertainment technology company, released data from 2018 and 2019 that backed up those claims. Men outnumbered women in roles including set designers, lighting, sound, hair, stage managers, music directors, carpenters, props, and electricians.
Renaissance Thaterworks wants to reverse those trends.
“If you don’t see anyone doing something that looks like you, it’s hard to be encouraged to pursue it," Rasmussen said.
That's why actor Cara Johnston likes working here.
“I want to see women on stage. I want to see women playwrights. I want to see women directors, and they give a platform for women," Johnston said.
Audiences see a woman-written, directed, and produced show - L'Appartement - through April 14th. You can purchase tickets by going to the RTW website.
It’s the final production of the season, but the curtain isn’t closing on their mission. They’ve got many more stories to tell.
RTW'S website describes the show as: "Rooster and Meg are on their dream vacation – a decadent Paris getaway in a swanky airbnb with no twin toddlers in sight. All is well until they pick up the keys from their French hosts. Serge and Lea are achingly cool and superbly chic. Their apartment is perfect. Their lives are perfect. This brief encounter with their departing hosts sparks a week-long series of hilarious, wine-fueled arguments as Meg and Rooster examine their middle class lives against the too-good-to-be-true backdrop of Serge & Lea’s L’APPARTEMENT. A Side-Splitting Comedy, In The Spirit Of White Lotus, L’APPARTEMENT is fast, clever and too real to be comfortable."
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