Summer Staged Reading Series
Four Original Works
made possible by a generous grant from the Ruth Arts Foundation for the Arts Fund.
Join Pink Umbrella throughout the summer for one show, or all of them!
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Continue below for general information about each new work, performance information, and how to purchase tickets.
One Acts
Suggested age 15+
Heard Mentality by Allison Fradkin
​Ada may be hard-of-hearing, but she certainly isn’t hard-of-fearing how her first date will go. Will Ada’s new hearing aids aid and abet her insecurities? Or will they turn hearing impairment on its ear?
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Our Mothers Are Not Refrigerators by Chris Chan**
Follow a support group meeting for people with autism, and learn about the theory of the “refrigerator mother” misdiagnosis cause of autism. Immerse yourself in the stories of the group participants, the injustice of the theory and its consequences, and how the characters will move forward in the world outside the group.
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**Trigger Warning: This play includes strong language, mentions and depictions of autistic meltdowns, and discussions of events that may be upsetting to some viewers. Please use the quiet room available or step out as needed.
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Click here to explore the full world of our One Acts - cast, crew, performance resources, and more!
All performances take place at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
- 3722 S 58th St, Milwaukee, WI 53220
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Shows are capped at 50 people.
Purchase Tickets:
Click on the link associated with the show you wish to see to purchase tickets.
- ​Friday, July 18th at 7 PM
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We use a pricing tier model to ensure finances are never a barrier to our shows.
- Barrier Free: $0
- One for Me: $10
- Pay it Forward: $20
Shimmer
appropriate for all ages
Shimmer by Anita Prestidge
with music by Mike von der Nahmer
​Shimmer is a fantasy story centered around the tree child Lauren who is different but wants to belong. She is accidentally hurt, and then destroyed by these differences but ultimately saved by those around her when they harness the power of what makes them different.
It is a story about the difference of the 8 senses (taste, touch, sight, sound, smell, proprioception, vestibular, and interoception, and focuses on some of the individual ways we sense and process the world. Any two people can experience the same event with wildly different meanings. Shimmer hopes to bring self-awareness and empathy to that reality.
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Click here to explore the full world of Shimmer - cast, crew, performance resources, and more!
All performances take place at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
- 3722 S 58th St, Milwaukee, WI 53220
​
Shows are capped at 50 people.
Purchase Tickets:
Click on the link associated with the show you wish to see to purchase tickets.
- ​Friday, August 1st at 7 PM
- Saturday, August 2nd at 1 PM
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We use a pricing tier model to ensure finances are never a barrier to our shows.
- Barrier Free: $0
- One for Me: $10
- Pay it Forward: $20
It's About Time
appropriate for ages 15+
It's About Time by Abbie Goldberg
- Sponsor: For Jack and Ajay from Amie Losi.
It’s About Time is a kind of play/musical/variety show/all around general spectacle about, well, time! It explores questions such as, what is time? How do we experience it? How do rocks experience it? Join us as we disrupt notions of linear time with alternatives like crip time and queer time.
Will this play shake our conception of time to the very core leaving us with no choice but to discover new realms of possibility, paths to liberation, and conceptions of reality? Only time will tell!!
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All performances take place at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church.
- 3722 S 58th St, Milwaukee, WI 53220
​
Shows are capped at 50 people.
Purchase Tickets:
Click on the link associated with the show you wish to see to purchase tickets.
- ​Friday, August 15th at 7 PM
- Saturday, August 16th at 1 PM
​​
We use a pricing tier model to ensure finances are never a barrier to our shows.
- Barrier Free: $0
- One for Me: $10
- Pay it Forward: $20