New role will help expand First Stage’s Equity, Inclusion, Diversity and Justice efforts By First Stage - Jul 13th, 2021 04:47 pm
Samantha Montgomery. Photo courtesy of First Stage.
Milwaukee, WI – July 13, 2021 –First Stage is pleased to announce that
has been promoted to the newly created position of Artistic Inclusion and Community Engagement Director. Montgomery has held a long tenure with First Stage, working in many capacities including resident teaching artist, director and actor. She assumed her new role as of July 1, 2021.
In her new capacity, Samantha will work collaboratively with Artistic Director
Julia Magnasco. She will lead First Stage’s cross-departmental Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Justice (EDIJ) team while acting as a resource, guide and strategic planner. She will also help First Stage continue its journey to become a fully inclusive, equitable and just community, one that values a diversity of perspectives, traditi
Deborah Wicks La Puma and directed by Anna Skidis Vargas, Producing Artistic Director for Theatre Nuevo in St. Louis. This Amplify production explores the question: what happens when the substitute gym teacher is kicked out of the Zoom Room of a virtual gym class and the students take over? Performed in English with some Spanish lyrics, audiences will want to unmute their streaming devices to enjoy this fun and timely virtual play, to which we all can relate.
Recommended for families with young people ages 10+.
Approximate running time is 15 minutes.
First Stage developed this new series to offer virtual short plays created by Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) playwrights that center on the young person’s point or view, amplifying the voices of these artists and young people throughout the Milwaukee community. The organization has had a long history of age-appropriate casting and of centering its work on the young person’s point of view. Understanding the power
Up next in First Stage s Virtual Season of Plays is ESCAPE FROM PELIGRO ISLAND - A CREATE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE PLAY, written by award-winning, internationally renowned children s playwright Finegan Kruckemeyer (THE SNOW, 2015 and ANTARCTICA, WI, 2018) and directed by First Stage Artistic Director Jeff Frank.
Artistic Director Jeff Frank shares how the show came about and previews their next offering coming in January. An interactive show where the audience can vote to determine what happens next!
Listen in the player above.