At Milwaukee Rep’s Stiemke Studio
Friday, October 8 at 7pm
Milwaukee, Wis (September 14, 2021) – Milwaukee Rep is thrilled to host author, Poet Laureate and creative change agent Dasha Kelly Hamilton as she launces her national tour of Makin’ Cake, a performance piece where she cuts into a cake, revealing what its history and ingredients can teach us about race, class and equity in America. Makin’ Cake will be performed for one night only on Friday, October 8 at 7pm in the Stiemke Studio and includes delicious conversations after the show and cake for all. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased at www.MilwaukeeRep.com.
Makin’ Cake was commissioned by the John Michael Kohler Arts Center as a strategy to engage a community-wide conversation about race. Using vignettes, digital media, live bakers and Kelly Hamilton owning the stage and its stories, Makin’ Cake explores the histories and basic ingredients of cake and what it tells us about access and privilege.
Dasha Kelly Hamilton is a writer, spoken word artist and creative change agent. She is former Artist of the Year for the City of Milwaukee and the city’s 11th Poet Laureate. She was named the 2020 National Rubinger Fellow and the 2021-22 Poet Laureate for the State of Wisconsin. She has performed on HBO, hosts live storytelling events for The Moth, and is an internationally-traveled speaker. Her nonprofit, Still Waters Collective, initiated literary arts programming for 20 years, creating platforms for thousands of voices to be honored and heard. Dasha served as an Arts Envoy for the US Embassy to teach, perform and facilitated community building initiatives in Botswanan and the island of Mauritius. She’s been an adjunct professor at Mount Mary University, Alverno College, Bryan & Stratton, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and a recruiter and mentor with University of Wisconsin’s First Wave Scholars Program. She holds an MFA in Creative Writing from Antioch University, a MA in Marketing and Communications from Roosevelt University and a BS in Public Relations from Illinois State University.
The national tour of Makin’ Cake continues with dates and cities across the county including: October 9, 2021 at Cedarburg Performing Arts Center in Cedarburg, WI; January 22, 2022 at Perkinson Center for the Arts and Education in Chester, VA; January 28, 2022 at Fort Hills Performing Arts Center in Canandaigua, NY; January 30, 2022 at Chelmsford Performing Arts Center in Chelmsford, MA; February 14 and 15, 2022 at University of Stevens Point, WI; February 17, 2022 at Pablo Center at the Confluence WI in Eau Claire, WI; and February 18 and 18, 2022 at University of Wisconsin-Madison.
To purchase tickets to Makin’ Cake on Friday, October 8 at 7pm visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com, call the Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or in-person at 108 E Wells Street in downtown Milwaukee.
For more information please visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com
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Health & Safety Protocols
In consultation with public health officials and coalition with many SE Wisconsin cultural venues, Milwaukee Repertory Theater will require all patrons and volunteers be either fully vaccinated or provide proof of a negative Covid-19 test taken within 72 hours of performance time of October 8 upon entry for those 12 and older. In addition, all patrons regardless of vaccination status will be required to wear masks throughout their time in the building.
About Milwaukee Repertory Theater
Milwaukee Rep is the largest performing arts organization in Wisconsin with three unique performance venues in the Patty & Jay Baker Theater Complex– the Quadracci Powerhouse, Stiemke Studio and Stackner Cabaret. For over six decades, Milwaukee Rep has been a centerpiece of Milwaukee’s vibrant arts and cultural scene with productions ranging from Broadway musicals to Shakespeare to American Classics and New Works that are entertaining, inclusive and impactful. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Mark Clements and Executive Director Chad Bauman, Milwaukee Repertory Theater ignites positive change in the cultural, social, and economic vitality of its community by creating world-class theater experiences that entertain, provoke, and inspire meaningful dialogue among an audience representative of Milwaukee’s rich diversity.