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MPT MONTHLY DEC ISSUE | Dec 13, 2011

Milwaukee Public Theatre (MPT)

embraces this holiday season with a full

calendar of events catered to anyone and

everyone who loves the arts! In the spirit

of Christmas, MPT will be hosting a

weekend workshops that will be open to

the public as well as host numerous

performances throughout the month of

December.

Happy Holiday Helpers

MPT’s elves lead holiday themed

workshops on Saturdays and Sundays, 12

p.m. to 5 p.m. at the Grand Venue Artivity

Place. Participants will be making

handcrafted gifts, cards and even

ornaments.

Jingle All The Way…

Creativity Works Here Launches!

Quote of the Month

The aim of every artist is to arrest motion, which is

life, by artificial means and hold it fixed so that a

hundred years later, when a stranger looks at it, it moves again since it

is life.

~William Faulkner

MPT’s new Grand Venue

Artivity Place becomes home to

Creative Alliance Milwaukee’s new project.

Tis the season to be jolly…

The Jingle Bus is back for the Milwaukee Holiday Lights Festival! (pg 4)

Jingle Bus

Find out what you may have missed last month with our recap of November events, pg.4

Nov ‘11

What’s in store for this holiday season? MPT’s got a holiday lineup to remember! (pg 1 & 2)

Dec ‘11

Want to know what we have planned for the New Year? Sneak peeks on pg 4!

Jan ‘12

pg 2

more on 2

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MPT Monthly DEC ISSUE | Dec 13, 2011

Creative Alliance Milwaukee has partnered up with the Shops of Grand Avenue to develop the Creativity Works Here program based at MPT’s newly acquired space, Grand Venue Artivity Place (located in the Plankinton building of the Shops of Grand Avenue).

The accepted definition of creativity is production of something original and useful, and that’s what’s reflected in the tests. There is never one right answer. To be creative requires divergent thinking, generating many unique ideas, and

then convergent thinking, combining those ideas into the best result. With the increasing importance of creativity, particularly in the corporate sector, Milwaukee Public Theatre (MPT) is expanding its initiatives to businesses throughout Milwaukee.

Since it first began in 1974, Milwaukee Public Theatre’s main goal is to bring the arts to everyone. “We want to make the arts accessible to everybody, regardless of age, income, education and cultural background. To make and use the

arts in a very healing, positive, life affirming way…any kind of issue can be addressed through the arts,” said Kathleen Stacy, Milwaukee Public Theatre’s producer and director.

The move to The Shops of

Grand Avenue has opened a new window of opportunity for MPT’s initiatives. The new space, called Grand Venue Artivity Place, is the perfect location to develop the Creativity Works Here program, a program designed to foster growth and development (cont. pg3)

(cont. from front)

Holiday Storytheatre

Children ages 6 and up get to dress

up in costumes and perform as

characters in an imaginative play.

These sessions will go on during the

workshops with Grandma Glitter!

Holiday Circus Workshop

Ever wondered what it would be like

to be in the circus? Wonder no more!

MPT is offering a circus workshop

this holiday season on Dec 27-30.

These workshops allow you the

chance to learn fun circus skills like

juggling and tumbling!

Creativity Works Here Finds a Home at MPT’s Grand Venue Artivity Place

Creative Alliance Milwaukee and MPT join creative forces for a brand new business venture: Creativity Works Here. (Clockwise from left: Jeremy Fojut of ART Milwaukee and Laurel Osman of Creative Alliance, new VETransfer space, Grand Avenue Atrium, Tracy Korpela of Grand Avenue)

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MPT Monthly DEC ISSUE | Dec 13, 2011

+ (cont. from pg 2) in Milwaukee’s creative industry, as well as spur retail growth in The Shops of Grand Avenue. “We’re looking at this as not only our creative services applied in a business way but as an entrepreneurial opportunity for us to increase earned revenue and be more self supporting,” said Stacy.

Along with the Creativity Works Here program, MPT introduces ARTCORPS CREATIVE: a series of arts-based learning programs, services and events for employers to address critical creativity skills deficits in the workplace. Programs work directly with management and/or human resources staff to develop and present customized creativity training to achieve company-directed goals. Fees for the programs are determined by the range, scope and duration of the services required.

MPT’s efforts to further expand its outreach to the corporate world is supported by findings featured in a 2010 Newsweek story about “The Creativity Crisis” that indicated an IBM poll of 1,500 CEO’s nationwide identified creativity as the leadership competency of the future, while scientists at major universities found American creativity declining.

“The arts are what make us human, the arts help us communicate our desires, our needs, our thoughts and ideas in ways that are wholesome and healthy, so we feel that it’s absolutely critical for an individual as part of their education,” said Stacy.

Stacy reassures the public that MPT will continue with its outreach to the entire public rather than focus on its corporate outreach. With an array of programs and workshops lined up for the holiday season, MPT is off on a great start to opening its new space with a bang!

Visit www.creativealliancemilwaukee.org for more information.

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MPT Monthly DEC ISSUE | Dec 13, 2011

What you missed in November ‘11

2012: WHAT TO LOOK OUT FOR

Jan - Feb, 2012: Pieces--In My Own Words Presented for high school students with NAMI February 17-21, 2012: Mardi Gras Grand Venue

See the Lights Aboard the G4S Jingle Bus!

From November 17 – December 30, 2011, hop onboard the Jingle Bus to tour the city of Milwaukee in all its festive glory!

For just $1 per person, this 40-minute narrated tour acquaints riders with key downtown landmarks and all the festive scenes. Visitors will board the Jingle Bus at the Festival’s Warming House, Plankinton Arcade in the Shops of Grand Avenue. Tours operate Thursdays through Sundays from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The last bus leaves at 8.20 p.m. and tickets are distributed on a first come first serve basis!

Hot cocoa and cookies will be served at the Festival’s Warming House, compliments of Culvers and Potbelly Sandwich Shop. Kids will also receive a holiday coloring book. Milwaukee Public Theatre’s Happy Holiday Elves will also delight and entertain awaiting riders with some holiday activities. Riders who donate two nonperishable food items for Hunger Task Force will receive a free gift from Stone Creek Coffee!

For additional info on the G4S Jingle Bus, contact Milwaukee Downtown, BID #21 at (414) 220-4700.

*Please note that the Jingle Bus will not operate on Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day.

MINO AYAA – BEING WELL

An innovative intergenerational project to encourage healthy lifestyles among Indian families. The Mino Ayaa Cookbook is available at the Gerald L. Ignace Indian Health Center. Contact Jennifer Casey, 414-383-9526. An e-book version is available for free download at www.gliihc.net.

FLOW: THE TRAVELING WATER CIRCUS

Performed for agency youth audiences at the following Boys and Girls Clubs: Daniels-Mardak, Fitzsimonds, North Division, Audubon and Lincoln Avenue; and at Children's Outing Association Goldin Center