OLLI 0013 - Monday Morning Mixer III
Course Description
Fall Session
November 2 — From Script to Rehearsal: Next Act Theatre, Cody Estle & Elyse Edelman — This talk offers a behind-the-scenes look at how a professional play comes to life long before opening night. Artistic Director Cody Estle and Artistic Associate Elyse Edelman of Next Act Theatre will focus on everything that happens before first rehearsal, using our upcoming productions, Trayf and the world premiere of The Boys from Baraboo, as examples. We’ll explore how plays are chosen, how directors collaborate with designers, and how casting and production meetings create the world of the play. Rooted in contemporary American theater practice, this session reveals the nine-month process that sets the stage for rehearsal.
November 9 — Mark Baden Channel 12 Chief Meteorologist, Mark Baden — Join us as we welcome Channel 12 Chief Meteorologist Mark Baden and learn about his incredible background along with the science of meteorology. Baden joined WISN 12 as chief meteorologist in 1997. His love of weather started at a young age and continues today. Wisconsin's ever-changing weather continues his weather passion. Mark's numerous weather awards include a local and regional Emmy for flood coverage in 2008 and a Wisconsin Broadcaster's Association’s best weathercast award in 2009.
November 16 — Milwaukee's Rivers: 25 Years of Restoration and Improvements, Eddee Daniel — Milwaukee has been called a "city built on water." But history has not been kind to our rivers. They have been dammed, polluted, and lined with concrete. However, the past 25 years have seen enormous efforts to correct these historical degradations on all three of Milwaukee's main rivers. Restoration efforts have removed dams and concrete channels, which have led to improved river systems, decreased flooding, and healthier wildlife habitats. Illustrated with his award-winning photography, presenter Eddee Daniel will guide us through highlights of these successful efforts. Daniel has over 30 years of experience as a teacher and public speaker and is the author of "Urban Wilderness: Exploring a Metropolitan Watershed" and "The Milwaukee River Greenway: A Wealth of Nature in the Heart of the City."
Presenter(s)
Cody Estle became the Artistic Director in December 2022, following his tenure as Artistic Director at Raven Theatre in Chicago. Estle's directing credits include Circle Mirror Transformation and The Treasurer at Next Act Theatre; Every Brilliant Thing at The Weidner; and numerous productions in Chicago, including The Luckiest (Jeff Award nominee for Best Production and Director), How I Learned to Drive, The Gentleman Caller (Jeff Award–winning new play), and Vieux Carré. He has been named a “Person to Watch” by American Theatre Magazine and a “Notable Leader in Arts and Entertainment” by BizTimes Milwaukee.
Elyse Edelman is an actor and director who has worked extensively across the country in the regional theater market. In Wisconsin, she has worked with Forward Theater, Renaissance Theaterworks, Chamber Theatre, First Stage, Third Avenue PlayWorks, In Tandem, Children’s Theater of Madison, American Players Theatre, Milwaukee Rep, Skylight Music Theatre, and Door Shakespeare. Regionally, she has worked with The Guthrie, Park Square, People’s Center, Minnesota Shakespeare, Utah Shakespeare Festival, and Riverside Theatre, among others, before ultimately returning home to Wisconsin.
Mark Baden joined WISN 12 as chief meteorologist in 1997. His love of weather started at a young age and continues today. Wisconsin's ever-changing weather continues his weather passion. Mark's numerous weather awards include a local and regional Emmy for flood coverage in 2008 and a Wisconsin Broadcaster's Association’s best weathercast award in 2009. The WeatherWatch 12 team has also been voted the most accurate local forecast by Milwaukee Magazine. Mark has had a chance to cover weather across our area and around the country. He had a first hand account reporting live for the July 22nd floods. He was there to be the first to report Interstate 43 closed due to four feet of water covering I-43 in Glendale and seeing a police officer rescue a pregnant mother and her child from a flooded car. That same storm washed a mattress across Port Washington road right in front of his location. Mark has covered two hurricanes for WISN. He watched the destruction first-hand of Hurricane Frances in 2004, from Cocoa Beach, Florida and Hurricane Rita in Beaumont, Texas in 2005. He has also witnessed the destructive tornadoes in Hartford, Utica, Ill., and Kansas City, Mo.
Eddee Daniel is a Milwaukee-based photographer, writer and curator of The Natural Realm, a blog about nearby nature. He has over 30 years of experience as a teacher and public speaker and is the author of "Urban Wilderness: Exploring a Metropolitan Watershed" and "The Milwaukee River Greenway: A Wealth of Nature in the Heart of the City." Eddee is on the board of Preserve Our Parks and he curates the Preserve Our Parks website and blog, A Wealth of Nature.
Summer Session
August 3 — Milwaukee's Own Settlement Cookbook: 125 Years of Influence, Ellyn Lem — With the United States Semiquincentennial upon us, many will look at all kinds of historical documents to learn about our country's past. One storehouse of cultural and historical knowledge that easily could be overlooked are cookbooks. One of the most influential ones had its origins in Milwaukee, The Settlement Cookbook, with over 40 editions published and 2 million copies sold. This talk will look at the origins of the cookbooks as a fundraiser for Settlement Houses to help new immigrants, but how it became more of a guidebook to Americanization for many who emigrated from other countries, wanting both to assimilate and hold onto their ethnic foodways. We will look at changes in the cookbook over the years and sample some foods based on the recipes.
August 10 — Women in Business, Kirsten Hildebrand — This talk will focus on how Kirsten has been so successful as a women in a male dominated field. Her personal story with some inspiration and lessons learned.
August 17 — Mary Nohl Preservation Project, Alex Gartelmann — This presentation will discuss the history and development of the Mary Nohl Art Environment in Fox Point. Members will learn about Mary Nohl's life and work as well as the preservation of the site by the John Kohler Art Center.
Presenter(s)
Ellyn Lem is an Osher staff member who works on programming and outreach. She was a professor for over two decades and taught a variety of courses in food studies. She has published several scholarly articles based on examining cookbooks (and menus), including some belonging from her grandmothers, one who saved typed cooking notes from the Antoinnette Pope Cooking School she attended in Chicago as a young bride.
Kirsten Hildebrand is the founder, owner and lead attorney of Hildebrand Law Firm, LLC. Since 2001, she has provided compassionate legal service to her clients in a resourceful, efficient and fair manner. She is particularly passionate about educating and supporting people with their legal needs related to life’s transitions.“I founded my own law firm because I could take all the energy otherwise spent on politics and firm management and channel it to excellent client service… [and] hire and retain the best, competent and hard-working colleagues and staff, allowing each of us to work as a cohesive team to serve clients effectively and efficiently. A final founding principle was to design our practice so that the Hildebrand team members have strong home lives. This allows us to flourish, be happy and bring our greatest strengths to our clients.”
Alex Gartelmann is a visual artist who lives and works in Milwaukee. He is the Program Director and Site Steward of the Mary Nohl Art Environment for the John Michael Kohler Arts Center. He received his BFA from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia and his MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.