Production Postponed

The summer production of WORKING has been postponed.  We will be doing this show the SUMMER OF 2020.  If you had won tickets to this show please mail the tickets to:

Wabeno Area Players

PO Box 325

Wabeno, WI 54566

Include your name and mailing address with the tickets.  We will issue and send tickets for our fall show FARCE OF HABIT to replace the tickets that had been won for WORKING. 

We apologize for the inconvenience to our patrons.  We will be doing other productions and concerts the next few months.  If you have any questions please call (715) 889-1606.

Look what’s coming up!!!!!

AN EVENING AT THE PIANO WITH FRIENDS

JULY 26 & 27

7:00 p.m.

TOWNSEND TOWN HALL $10 TICKETS

We are transforming this venue into an intimate setting everyone will enjoy!  The music Sinatra, Broadway and so much more.  Tickets can only be purchased at the door.  Doors will open at 6:00 p.m. so you can choose your table and enjoy a beverage or two before the show. 

For more information please call (715) 889-1606.

Rebel Drama Technical Crew

In the few months before the lights come up and the Rebel Drama shows begin, there are hundreds of hours of preparation that go into the sets, props, lighting, computer, and sound systems. There is a special group of young artists, builders, and technical specialists that step up to make sure that our Rebel Drama productions provide the level of high-quality entertainment that our audiences have enjoyed for many years.

This year’s production, ​We Will Rock You, ​provided some special challenges. The vision of the production was to provide a futuristic scenario of society underscored by the classic rock and roll music of the band Queen. Much of the set used the shades of red, blue, green, and yellow described as “Google Colors”, along with some scenes that were more drab hues that depicted the wasteland and ruins of iconic settings like the Las Vegas Hard Rock Cafe and the gates at the entrance of Graceland, in Memphis.

(Back row L-R) Seth Riebe, Kelly Boor, Evan Thomas, Logan Riebe, Ted Gust, Kierra O’Keefe (Front Row L-R) Mr. Pat Lowery, Annalise Sommers, Morgan Mattern, Myla Volk, Jordan Calhoun, Kelsey Beaber (Not pictured) Alexis Childress, Riley Godin

Some of the tasks that the crew had were to construct platforms, steps, and walls that span almost forty feet across the stage and include an eight-foot rear projection screen, as the base set. Other challenges this year included building an eight by twenty-foot replica of the Graceland gates (on wheels so that it could be moved in a matter of seconds), programming and operating over a hundred stage lights, wireless microphone sound checks for every member of the cast, fog and bubble machines, and building the space on stage for a live rock band.

During the run of the show, scene changes have to be quick and precise to keep the rhythm and flow of the performance moving. Set changes are made while the stage is dark, and the running crew has to work together much like a NASCAR pit crew. These changes are practiced, timed, and evaluated to become as efficient as possible while still remaining safe for the crew and cast members.

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OPEN AUDITIONS for the Musical WORKING!

On April 22nd and 23rd at 6:00 pm, the Players will be holding open auditions for the musical WORKING.  The audition will be held at Madonna Hall (1793 elm Ave., Wabeno, WI 54566).  You will be doing a cold reading and will be required to sing a short song that will be taught to you at the audition.  If you would like more information please contact the Players at (715) 889-1606 or email wabenoareaplayers@gmail.com. This production will be performed July 18, 19, 20, 25, 26 & 27 at 7:00pm and 21 at 1:00pm in the Nancy Volk Auditorium (Wabeno High School, 4325 Branch St., Wabeno, WI 54566).

Working is the extraordinary genre-defining musical from Grammy and Academy Award-winner Stephen Schwartz (Wicked, Godspell) based on Studs Terkel’s best-selling book of interviews with the American workforce: Working: People Talk About What They Do All Day and How They Feel About What They Do.  This highly original and universal portrait of the American workday is told from the perspective of those that the world so often overlooks – the schoolteacher, the millworker, the mason, the housewife, the fireman and the waitress amongst many – whose daily grind and aspirations reflect the truths of the people that make up a nation. Working employs a range of musical styles and genres from contributing composers, including five-time Grammy Award-winner James Taylor.  Nominated for six Tony Awards, this classic has been updated for a modern age, featuring new songs by Tony Award-winning and Pulitzer Prize-winner Lin-Manuel Miranda.

Wabeno Area Players, Pride Ride and WHS Join Forces to Improve Nancy Volk Auditorium Technology

“When schools and community groups work together, everyone wins,” says Rebel Drama Director Nick J. Lowery. “We’ve gotten a recent donation from The Pride Ride to help with the Spring Musical, and the continued help we receive from the Players is greatly improving the facility in which both our groups perform and many residents of the area can enjoy high quality theatre.” 

Wabeno Area Players and Wabeno High School are continuing their community and school partnership to improve the Nancy Volk Auditorium at WHS. With additions, tweaks and maintenance of the lighting and sound systems, they are working on turning the space into a state-of-the-art theatre. It is coming just in time as Rebel Drama’s March 15-17 run of Queen’s We Will Rock You is going to need to utilize every bit of tech the high school tech crew can get their hands on.


Students, Community and Professionals come together to make the Nancy Volk Auditorium facility state-of-the-art.  Pictured Left to Right: Dean Kolze (Lighthouse Productions), Logan Riebe (WHS Student), Jan Volk (Wabeno Area Players), Evan Thomas (WHS Student) and Drew Arnold (Lighthouse Productions)
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