Seating for MACBETH: Details

Welcome to Macbeth

 Optimist Theatre, with the support of Alverno College, is pleased to present William Shakespeare’s Macbeth. Thank you for being a part of it.

If you have received a confirmed reservation, please review the details below:

Reservation Changes:

If you need to change your reservation, please email Susan Fry at SSFry@OptimistTheatre.org particularly if you do not plan to use all of the seats you have reserved.  People on the waiting list will greatly appreciate it.

A Cautionary Note:

The tale of Macbeth is violent and bloody, and while our production is not gratuitously so, it doesn’t pull any punches.  We suggest audience members be age 13 and over.  Young people under age 13 are welcome if accompanied by a parent or guardian.

Another Cautionary Note:

You are welcome to come early and picnic on the lovely grounds of Alverno College; however, we cannot allow any outside beer or wine to be brought onto the campus.  Alverno’s catering service has a liquor license and will be selling beer and wine.  Bringing in outside alcohol is in violation of that license.  Alverno College is an exceptionally wonderful host for Optimist Theatre and we don’t want to jeopardize our great relationship.  Your help and understanding is appreciated.

The Evening – Timing in a Nutshell

6:00 p.m.

Make your way to the clearly marked check-in tables and find your queue.  There will be friendly and helpful house staff ready for you.

• Reserved seating check-in begins.  This reservation ensures you a seat.  (You do not need to bring your own chair.)
• Walk-in seating check-in begins.  As we are notified that reserved seats will not be used, they are allocated to people on the priority walk-in seating list first.
• Lawn seating check-in begins.
• Alverno College sponsored food concessions open.  Come early and picnic or purchase a burger, brat or entrée provided by Alverno College Food Services.  Concessions are cash only.  You may bring your own picnic, but no outside alcohol is allowed on campus.  Beer and wine are available for purchase.
• Pre-show musical entertainment and tarot readings by the Tarot Sisters begin. Optimist Theatre merchandise sales will be available.  Optimist Theatre lap blankets may also be rented on chilly evenings.  Note:  The Tarot Sisters will not be appearing on June 2^4th.

Couple of other notes:

You don’t need to print or bring anything with you.  No tickets will be mailed.

7:00 p.m.  (Approximate time)

• Audience seating opens and you may select your chairs or lawn space.

7:45 p.m.

• Remaining unclaimed seats are released to walk-ins.

 8:00 p.m.

• Curtain.
• Run time is approximately 2 hours.
• There will be one 15-minute intermission.
• Macbeth is an Actor’s Equity Association production, so photography and sound recordings are prohibited.
• Bottled beverages are allowed in the audience seating area, although food is not.

Post-show

• There will be talkbacks with performers on evenings when a request has been made.  In the pre-show curtain speech, we will announce whether or not a talkback is scheduled.  If you would like to request a talkback, simply drop an email to Susan Fry at SSFry@OptimistTheatre.org.

The Evening – Details

Where

Macbeth will be performed on the campus of Alverno College in the Alumnae Courtyard.  Alverno is located at 3400 S. 43rd Street, Milwaukee, WI  53234.  Detailed driving directions are at the end of these instructions.

Note:  Alverno is a non-smoking campus.

How

These free-to-the-public performances of Macbeth are made possible by grants from the Wisconsin Arts Board and the Milwaukee Arts Board, by our generous hosts Alverno College, and by donations from people like you.

Please help support this wonderful experience and donate via the Pay Pal link on the Optimist Theatre website at http://www.optimisttheatre.org/support .

Donations will also be gratefully accepted during the evening you will be attending Macbeth.

About the Courtyard

The performance is held outdoors and there is no covering over the Courtyard area.  For your own comfort, we recommend bug spray and a blanket.   Please do not bring umbrellas for shade use in the courtyard, as they block visibility for audience members seated behind you.

To get to the Alumnae Courtyard, access the Alverno campus from the main entrance on 43rd Street.

Note:  If you have previously visited Alverno for events in the Pitman Theatre, the Alumnae Courtyard is on the opposite side of the campus from the Pitman.

Parking

From the entrance on 43rd Street, there is a multi-story parking structure on your left.  Parking is free and plentiful.

Buses may park in the Child Care Center lot.

Drop-Off

To drop people closer to the festival:

• drive past the parking structure entrance,
• veer right with the road, and
• take a left into the circular driveway and drop your passengers in front of the large rotunda and silver statue/fountain.
• Drive forward to circle back to the parking structure.

Accessibility

The festival and performance areas are both wheelchair accessible.

Bus Route

Alverno College is on the number 50 Morgan Avenue bus line. The bus stop is at Morgan and 43rd Street, the southwest corner of the Alverno College campus.

What to Do Once You Arrive

Come Early, Select Your Seats, Picnic, Enjoy Some Music and Buy and Optimist Theatre Tote Bag or Water Bottle!

Check in

There will be a table clearly marked inviting you to check in for your reservation.  You may sit anywhere you like.  When you check in, you will be offered pre-taped ticket slips so that you may go into the audience area and stake out your seats.   Access to select your seats begins around 7:00 p.m.

Picnic!

Come early and picnic on the grass or at one of the tables provided on the Alverno grounds.  Bring your own food or enjoy the options for sale at the (cash only) Alverno Food Services concessions, beginning every evening around 6:00. Food selections are of the easy picnic variety.  Please, no grilling and do not bring in any outside wine or beer.  Wine and beer will be available for sale at the concessions table.

Enjoy the pre-show entertainment

Most evenings, while you picnic and relax, there will be free musical entertainment to enjoy, and the Tarot Sisters will be on hand to provide tarot readings.

Check out the displays

There will be visual displays related to Macbeth for your perusal and enjoyment.

Browse the Optimist Theatre logo merchandise and flower garlands

Sales of Optimist Theatre logo merchandise and beautiful flower garlands help make free Shakespeare in the Park happen.  Show your support and pride with a mug or a tote bag.  New in 2012:  Beautiful, hand-made flower garlands.

Cash, check and charge are all gratefully accepted.

Chit-chat with the Cast after the Show

Post-performance talkbacks are scheduled whenever requested.  Email SSFry@OptimistTheatre.org and let me know that you’d like to participate in a talkback and we’ll make it happen.

Trouble-shooting

Rain, Rain, Go Away

In the case of rain, the show will go on.  If the weather turns truly stormy, Optimist Theatre may cancel the performance.

Evening Cool

Evening performances may begin warm, but cool off.  You may wish to bring a sweater to slip on as it gets later.  A lap blanket is also nice for cool evenings.  Optimist Theatre will have a limited supply of snuggly lap blankets for rental each evening.

Questions?

Please feel free to email us at boxoffice@optimisttheatre.org

And, thank you again for coming to see Macbeth.

Detailed Driving Directions

PLEASE NOTE:  Construction along the east-west corridor of I-94 may create delays.  Please allow more time.

From South of Milwaukee / Chicago

Take I-94 north to Milwaukee. Take Howard/Holt Avenue exit. Exit on Holt and go west (left). Holt becomes Morgan Avenue. Continue west to 43rd Street (2.5 miles). Turn right on 43rd Street.  Alverno’s main entrance will be on your right.

From North of Milwaukee / Green Bay

Take I-43 south to Milwaukee. Proceed to I-94 toward Chicago. Exit on Holt Avenue, go west. Holt becomes Morgan Ave. Continue west to 43rd Street (2.5 miles). Turn right on 43rd Street. Alverno’s main entrance will be on your right.

From West of Milwaukee / Madison

Take I-94 east to Milwaukee to Miller Park Way (south). Miller Park Way becomes 43rd Street. Continue south on 43rd Street past Oklahoma Avenue. Alverno’s main entrance will be on your left.

From Mitchell International Airport

Take the Downtown Milwaukee exit and go north on I-94. Take the Howard/Holt Avenue exit. Exit on Holt and go west (left). Holt becomes Morgan Avenue. Continue west to 43rd Street (2.5 miles). Turn right on 43rd Street. Alverno’s main entrance will be on your right.