
Join us on March 16, 2025 for the fifth annual Em's Ensemble Poetry Slam Fundraiser!
The 2025 Poetry Slam Event
Join us as we celebrate 5 years of Em's Poetry Slam Fundraiser with the theme "Little Moments Still Remain" to remind ourselves of all the memories we have of those we love and hold dear.
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"Little Moments Still Remain"
Sunday, March 16th, 2025
Danceworks, Inc.​ (1661 N Water St, Milwaukee, WI 53202)
2 PM - 4 PM
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Every single dollar raised goes to Em's Ensemble Scholarship Fund, which ensures that finances are never a barrier to participating in Pink Umbrella programming.​
Can't attend, but still want to support Em's Ensemble Scholarship Fund?
2025 Poets & Performers
Learn all about them below!

Adeline Tavela
Performer
My name is Adeline Tavela. I am a Junior at Oak Creek High School. I love performing in plays, singing, and dancing. Pink Umbrella has brought so many great things to me. In my spare time, I like to bowl, swim, and play with my dog.

Ali Meisinger
Performer
This is Ali’s third time performing in Ems Ensemble, but her first time hosting the event itself!!! She’s very eager and excited to be part of this again! You might have seen her in Kaleidoscope (2023) as Yara or Portraits (2024) as Pen. Outside of Theater, Ali likes to sing or hang out with her friends!!! Ali would like to thank her fabulous leader Katie Cummings, for always pushing her to do her best!!! And she can’t wait to share that she is part of the Disability Cohort with Pink Umbrella to change the narrative of theater! She can’t wait for fabulous opportunities at Pink! And she hopes she can create accessible theater for all people!

Amanda Lojeski
Poet
Hi my name is Amanda. I have been acting for 15 years. When I am not acting I enjoy skiing and making art work. I have been a part of Pink Umbrella since 2020.

Ash Mulholland
Poet & Host
Ash Mulholland (she/her) is ecstatic to be participating and representing as an Emcee for Em’s Ensemble 2025 “Little Moments Still Remain.” She was
previously spotted as a cameo/costume designer for Pink Umbrella Theater’s A Christmas Carol starring Clayton Mortl (2024) and Portraits the Musical (2024)
as Ellen Rosenbaum. She is thankful to have Katie and her friends under the umbrella for their guidance to help channel her exceptional creativity for the
company of wonderful artists who identifies with a disability.

Barry Slavis
Poet
I am a retired social worker. I now spend my time reading, meditating, writing the occasional poem, and walking on the Oak Leaf Trail. I am always amazed at how ordinary events can be extraordinary. For example, one day I saw a father jogging slowly with his very young daughter. They were holding hands and smiling. Clearly they were enchanted with each other. Still in awe I excitedly mentioned this event to a young woman I had never met on the elevator in my building. This is how I met Katie. This is how we connect with each other.

Drea McAlister
Poet
Drea McAlister is an Artist and Poet based in Milwaukee, WI. Influenced by her experiences as a young black woman, she creates pieces that tell the story of her life and those around her. She currently attends Alverno College as a Thea Bowman Scholar pursuing a degree in Art Therapy with a Minor in Community Engagement and Activism.

Eugene Strei
Performer
Eugene Strei is so grateful to be back performing with Pink Umbrella! Previously, Eugene played the role of Danny O'Brian in Portraits and has taught musical theater classes with Pink. Eugene received his BFA in Musical Theater and minor in Dance from the University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Favourite past roles include David in Torch Song (Theatrical Tendencies), Arpad in She Loves Me (Forte Theater) and Theo/Dance Captain in American Idiot. When not performing onstage, Eugene works as a Teaching Artist with Skylight Music Theater and is also an emerging playwright. Keep up with his latest shows on his Instagram @eugene.strei

Hannah Rahmanpanah
Poet
My name is Hannah and I am 27 years old with Down syndrome. I live near friends and I love having my own space. My favorite things to do are crafting, and my favorite craft has to be beading jewelry. I do diamond dots and I also knit baby hats and donate them to new babies. I have 3 jobs. I work at a florist, I also work at Pick n Save as a bagger, and I work at a consignment store called Clothes Mentor. Every month, I have an apartment potluck in my apartment community room for me and my friends who live in our own apartments. I also belong to a lot of social groups like a dinner club and a group called Chicks Night Out.

Jack Henry Allen
Performer
Jack is a Milwaukee based actor with Down syndrome who has performed in Pink Umbrella Theater Company’s original 2024 musical Portraits as SPENCER, as GREYSON in the musical Kaleidoscope, HONK in Bigger Top, and SUNSHINE in SHINE!. Jack has also performed as an actor with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra. Jack is a member of Pink Umbrella's 2025 Disability Theater Cohort funded by The Ruth Arts Foundation to create new theater works by and for people with disabilities. Jack is a Clinic Aide at Children’s Hospital Wisconsin and is a member of the Milwaukee Bucks 414 Crew. He is a ‘23 graduate of Nicolet High School, where he performed in multiple theater and musical productions.

Kavon Cortez Jones
Poet
Kavon Cortez Jones (Kj) was born on September 26th, 1994, the same year as Bucks forward Giannis, in a city he calls, Paris of the Midwest. He is a Milwaukee homegrown poet, avid biker, and storyteller who was born and grew up in Milwaukee. Young Kj was inspired to write poetry in 7th grade while attending Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. K-8 School thanks to local mentors Kwabena Nixon and Muhibb Dyer. Kwabena & Muhibb visited his school when he was 13-years-old, and wowed a gymnasium full of angsty-teenagers with poetic storytelling. Their stories talked about everything from losing loved ones to gun violence, to how jump rope, particularly Double-Dutch, is a lost art form. Muhibb wore an orange jumpsuit and Kwabena brought a jump rope which made the visual performance more intense and tear-jerking. Lupe Fiasco's Superstar, a 2007 hit song around the time was another catalyst to indulge him into the scribe culture.

Nina Ceccato
Poet
Nina Ceccato is an aspiring actress. She's been with Pink Umbrella almost from the very start. She was in the staged reading of BITh and was an Understudy for Kaleidescope. She has chosen to lend her writing talents to Em's Ensemble for the first time this year and is of course excited and beyond grateful to be chosen as an actress in the first ever Disability Cohort!!

Peregrine Shannon Buffington
Poet
Pip (they/them) is an autistic, asexual, queer, actor, singer and writer. Apart from raising an incredible tiny human, Pip’s biggest accomplishment this year was performing as Ollie in Kaleidoscope with Pink Umbrella. As much as Pip loves performing, they also love to write their own little narratives both on the page and through imaginative play with their kiddo. However, as a person, Pip’s first love has always been poetry. Pip sees poetry as the place where their love for storytelling meets making music. In other words, to Pip, poetry is the perfect art form to express the complex emotions of the human experience.

Ryan Schaufler
Poet & Performer
Ryan Schaufler lives in Milwaukee and received a BFA from California Institute of the Arts in Acting. He has worked as a special education teacher for 15 years and continues to teach theater. He is a professional actor, theater teacher, playwright, director, photographer, artist, husband and a father. His plays, poetry and photography have been published in such journals as Southern Indiana Review, Bramble Literary Magazine, Rise Up Review, Clockhouse, Rattle, and Cream City Review among others. Proverbs 3:5-6
Event Resources
Social Story
Coming soon! You'll be able to read through an event overview to prepare for what to expect!
Visual Agenda
Coming soon! Check out this snapshot look at the event.
Em's Impact
Since 2021, Em's Poetry Slam has raised over $13,540 for Em's Ensemble Scholarship Fund and showcased the work of 34 poets and performers.
We've had over 150 people join us for Em's Poetry Slam across the years, and we are so grateful to each and every person for showing up.
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We've provided financial assistance to 22 students and artists, ensuring that they're able to experience the transformative power of theater and find their home.
Em's Poetry Slam Through the Years









