Entertainment: Creating A Cost-Efficient Cultural Event
PEC has been asked by several clients in the last few months to include an ethnic entertainment component into their social events, through showcasing the cultural history of Milwaukee and its rich heritage. While Milwaukee is commonly known for its brewing traditions, this is due to the long ethnic history of the area. German, Polish, Irish and French immigrants moved into the area in the mid 1800s and began to buy land for their families. There is also a strong Hispanic, African, Italian and Native American contingency that make up Milwaukee’s cultural landscape. Today, Milwaukee’s ethnic heritage carries on in many of our restaurants, neighborhoods, schools, churches and of course our many festivals.
When a client is bringing in attendees from across the nation (or world!), they want to showcase what Milwaukee is all about. One way to do that, of course, is through catering, and many local caterers can accommodate these requests. The other is through entertainment pieces. There is a wealth of ethnic performers in the Milwaukee area, and PEC has had great success in contracting local performers. However, to truly share all the prominent cultures that make up Milwaukee, you may need to hire 5 or 6 different groups. This means 5 or 6 different contracts and riders to manage. This can be cumbersome.
The Milwaukee Public Theatre (MPT) offers a great solution. With their over extensive community of performers, they can put together a single but multi-talented ensemble to span all cultures. You can get the top talent out of one ensemble of actors, which also only includes one contract! With the guidance of the producers at MPT, a group of 8-10 actors can perform traditional songs and dances across several different ethnicities. Costumes can also be customized to fit the event. The producers will make sure there is a real flow to the production. This saves the client dollars by securing just one contract for several production elements.
The talent MPT has to offer doesn’t stop at singers and dancers. Get more information at – www.milwaukeepublictheatre.org/
“Milwaukee Public Theatre creates and presents dynamic programming that celebrates and explores the rich cultural heritage of Wisconsin artists, poets, storytellers, musicians and dancers in traditional, contemporary and/or theatrical settings. MPT customized education outreach programs and client entertainment may include performers of Native American ancestry as well as European, Celtic and African descent.”
This post was written by PEC’s Manager of Event Services, Amy Dall.
