Lisa Dawsey

Resort 76 – Immersive Theatre Experience

Bruce Cohen directs this tale of life in the Lodz Ghetto

(WHITEWATER, WIS.)— UW- Whitewater Theatre/Dance Department begins the 19-20 Season with Resort 76 by Shimon Wincelberg based on A Cat in the Ghetto by Rachmil Bryks. The play takes us to a forced labor textile mill in the Lodz Ghetto in Poland during World War II. The play focuses on a motley and compelling crew of characters who both live and work in this industrial “resort” and struggle to survive and find hope in the face of darkness. Resort 76 runs from October 7-12 at 7:30 pm and October 13 & 14 at 2:00 pm in the Hicklin Studio Theatre in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, 950 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. Tickets are available by calling 262-472-2222 or online at tickets.uwwe.edu

Bruce Cohen is directing Resort 76 in the style of immersive theatre. Immersive theatre removes the stage and places the audience within the production itself allowing the actors to break the fourth wall. This type of performance eliminates the boundaries between the real world and the world created in the play to stimulate all five senses, allowing for a more emotional experience for the actors and audience. It removes the audience from their comfort zones, causing their reactions to the events in the play to be more instinctual and creating a more real experience. To do that in a play about the Holocaust will create an empathy and visceral experience for all attending. Bruce Cohen has this to say about the play, “The story that Resort 76 tells is uncomfortable and compelling. The people it portrays are, at once, disturbing and laudable. Most importantly, this human story is deeply dimensional and does not seek to spare any polite sensibilities. It is certainly a justifiably difficult evening.”

In addition to the performances there are a number of outreach activities associated with Resort 76.

It’s important to note that the dates of the play coincide with Rosh HaShana (the Jewish New Year festival) which starts on September 30 and ends on October 1 and October 9 is Yom Kippur the Day of Atonement and the most important holiday in the Jewish faith.

  • Speakers forum: October 8 from 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, Room 30

Guest speakers Dr. Stanislav Vysotsky (UW-Whitewater professor of Sociology and Criminology), Jennifer Gramer (UW-M professor of History), and Dr. Daniel Haumschild (The Milwaukee Jewish Federation- HERC) will join us to discuss themes brought to light through the production of Resort 76 by Shimon Wincelberg. Topics discussed include genocide, memory, and incarceration in how they relate to the play, as well as, in society today.

  • My Father Rachmil Bryks: October 10 from 5:00 – 7:00 pm in Barnett Theatre in the Greenhill Center of the Arts. A lecture and talk with Bella Bryks-Klein, the daughter of Rachmil Bryks, author of A Cat in the Ghetto (the novel that Resort 76 is adapted from). Mrs. Bryks-Klein will give insight into her father’s life through his writing and biography. Rachmil Bryks wrote other novels “The ‘King’ of the Ghetto”, “ The Paper Crown”, and “Ghetto Resort 76”, upon which the play  Resort 76 is based. Mrs. Bryks-Klein will discuss how this traumatic experience in the Lodz Ghetto affected him to the very last day of his life, and is affecting her as a second generation child of a Holocaust survivor.
  • Apocalypse Now: German Works on Paper, 1920’s-1950’s

Highlighting works from the Fishman Collection at the Crossman Gallery of Art, Apocalypse Now  explores mounting tensions in Weimar Germany leading up to WWII, and the utter devastation felt after the war. The exhibit includes prints and drawings made by prominent artists of the German avant-garde, including artists included: George Grosz, Christoph Voll, Fritz Skade, Wilhelm Höpfner, and Rudolf Schlichter. 

  • Dates of the exhibit: September 24 – October 24.
  • A Cat in the Ghetto Library discussions:
    • Irvin L. Young Memorial Library: October 3, 2019 at 4:00 pm
    • Dwight Foster Library: October 10 and 14 at 1:00 pm
    • Jefferson Public Library: September 23 at 6:00 pm

Please take part in any of the free ancillary activities and join us for the immersive theatre production of Resort 76, October 7-12 at 7:30 pm and, October 13 -14 at 2:00 pm in the Hicklin Studio Theatre in the Greenhill Center of the Arts, 950 West Main Street, Whitewater, WI 53190. Tickets are available by calling 226-472-2222 or online at http://tickets.uww.edu or in the Greenhill Center of the Arts box office, hours are M-F 8:30 pm – 4:00 pm.

The Whitewater Police Department Receives Donation from Whitewater City Market

City Market Co-Manager Lisa Dawsey Smith and Police Captain Adam Vander Steeg

Whitewater, Wis. Sept 23, 2019 – The Whitewater Police Department is honored to receive a donation from the Whitewater City Market.

Proceeds from the Whitewater City Market tent on September 10th, 2019 were donated to the in remembrance of September 11th. Last year, the donation was gifted to the Whitewater Fire Department. City Market Co-Manager, Lisa Dawsey-Smith delivered a check for $400. Police Captain, Adam Vander Steeg accepted the donation on behalf of the Whitewater Crime Prevention Fund to purchase future equipment.

“As we marked another anniversary of 9/11, we were fortunate to have an opportunity due to the generosity of market patrons to recognize and support the first responders in our community who diligently serve our community every single day, said Dawsey-Smith. “We are incredibly thankful for their commitment and professionalism.”

It’s Not Thanksgiving Without Pie

Last year, the Whitewater Food Pantry distributed 149 Thanksgiving meals…and no Thanksgiving dinner is complete without pie! Jake, Elizabeth and Aaron Katzman are participating in the Jefferson County 4-H Pizza & Pie Fundraiser. For each Pine Cone Restaurant Pie Gift Certificate ($11) you order from the Katzman kids for donation to the Whitewater Food Pantry, they will match – up to 75. Your $11 donation, will turn into two pies for the Whitewater Food Pantry…all while supporting 4-H, a program near and dear to the Katzman family! Please help them reach their goal of donating 150 pies!

Orders are due by Monday, September 30. To order gift certificates, contact Katy Katzman at 262-903-6727 or katzman@idcnet.com.

4-H has given us so many opportunities, so we would like to give back by not only supporting Jefferson County 4-H through this fundraiser but also the Whitewater Food Pantry!

Photograph exhibit at UW-Whitewater

Ida Wyman: Heart and Mind Photograph exhibit at UW-Whitewater
Crossman Gallery in the Greenhill Center of the Arts

UW-Whitewater plays host to the iconic urban street photographs of Ida Wyman. The photographic exhibit Ida Wyman: Heart and Mind will be in the Crossman Gallery, in the Greenhill Center of the Arts on the UW-Whitewater Campus from September 9 through October 5 , with an opening reception on September 9 from 5-7:30 pm. The Crossman Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10am – 5pm, Monday through Thursday evenings from 6pm – 8pm and Saturdays from 1pm – 4pm.

Ida Wyman was born March 7, 1926 and died July 13, 2019, she grew up in the Bronx, New York and began her photographic career while she was in high school, by taking photographs of her neighborhood. Wyman was a member of New York City’s Photo League and during the 1940’s and 50’s, she shot over 100 assignments for Life Magazine.

The Ida Wyman: Heart and Mind exhibit is the first show of her work since her passing. It is a great honor for UW-Whitewater and the Crossman Gallery to host this important exhibition of her work. There will be approximately 60 large scale photos in the show that resonate with the idea of heart and mind and span her entire archive.

“Ida Wyman’s work is a testament to the vitality of documentary photography as a fundamentally humanist practice. With discernment and empathy, throughout her notable career she persisted in photographing ordinary people in their urban and small-town landscapes, their quiet human dramas and their moments of solitude. The lasting impact of her photographs derives from their aesthetic presence as well as their incisive and compassionate visual recording of these mid-century moments, striking chords of memory. We were here, these images say, and Ida Wyman was paying attention.” – Melanie Herzog, Ida Wyman: Chords of Memory.

Come celebrate the life of this master photographer at the opening reception September 9, 2019 from 5-7:30 pm in the Crossman Gallery, members of Ida Wyman’s family will be in attendance that evening. The Ida Wyman: Heart and Mind exhibit will be in the Crossman Gallery from September 9 – October 5, 2019. The Crossman Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 10am – 5pm, Monday through Thursday evenings from 6pm – 8pm and Saturdays from 1pm – 4pm. The Gallery is located at 950 W. Main Street in the Greenhill Center of the Arts.

10th Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition at Whitewater’s Cultural Arts Center in July

The 10th Annual Fran Achen Photography Competition kicks off July 5 and runs through July 28 at the Cultural Arts Center on 402 West Main Street in Whitewater. The Whitewater Arts Alliance honors Fran Achen with this yearly competition.

An opening reception will be July 7 from 1-3 p.m. with awards at 2 p.m. More than 34 people of all ages and experiences in photography will exhibit their work.

Jeff McDonald, chair of the show and Whitewater Arts Alliance board member, said, “The Fran Achen show is truly one of the highlights of the year and the Cultural Arts Center is one of Whitewater’s gems. Together they provide a showcase for outstanding work created by both established and aspiring area photographers. It is exciting to see the many ways these artists interpret the world through their images. Fran Achen was an exceptional photographer and his catalog of images continues to inspire. I eagerly await this year’s event and hope to see you there.”

Fran Achen was a longtime Whitewater resident, teacher, and local photographer. He is most remembered for his photographic collection which chronicles the history of Whitewater.

Born in Kenosha in 1916, his interest in photography began after high school. He spent almost two years delivering cars for the Nash automobile factory. “It seemed like such fun to explore America, so that started my interest in photography and geography, which became my major in college,” he said.

In 1938, when Fran enrolled at Whitewater State Teachers College, it was the first year enrollment went over one thousand. Fran remembered being the last one to register, making the enrollment that year 1,008 students. While an undergraduate student at the college, he served as a photographer for the Royal Purple and the former Minneiska yearbook, as well as working as a freelance photographer for the Janesville Gazette, making “a buck a picture” which helped to pay his way through school.

While attending college, Fran met his wife, Lydia. They were married for 55 years and had three children – Chap, Randi, and Jim.

The mission of the Whitewater Arts Alliance is to promote the visual and performing arts through an alliance of artists, individuals, educational resources, and organizations to promote creativity and diversity that will serve to educate and enrich the lives of the residents of the Whitewater community and surrounding areas.

Whitewater Historical Society Creates New Photographic Exhibition

Focusing on its mission to collect, preserve and educate about the history of Whitewater and the surrounding area, the Whitewater Historical Society has created a new exhibition of historic photographs to be on display at the Depot Museum on Whitewater Street. “We have thousands of very good historic photographs in our archives and this exhibition is our chance to share some of the best that we have with our members and visitors,” according to Carol Cartwright, President of the historical society board of directors and Depot Museum curator. “We have attempted to provide those who view the exhibit with a wide range of topics photographically covering the time period of the late nineteenth century into the twentieth century,” Cartwright added.

Historical society members and visitors to the depot museum can expect to see historic photographs that deal with a number of topics such as Whitewater citizens, U.W. Whitewater, schools, important historic buildings and street scenes among others. Those who observe the display will also see a variety of types of photographs including tin types, stereo views, cabinet cards, silver prints and glass negatives. Snapshots to formal studio views are included throughout the exhibit. Simple easy-to-read labels describe many of the rare views of the interesting history of the City of Whitewater and the surrounding area.

The new photographic exhibit at the Depot History Museum is located at 301 Whitewater Street, Whitewater and is open Tuesday from 4:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. during the downtown City Market, Friday 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m. or by appointment by calling 1-262-473-6820. Admission is free and donations are welcomed.

Pictured here are Carol Cartwright, Whitewater Depot Museum Curator and Lizzie Farrey preparing the new Whitewater Historical Society exhibit of historic photographs from the Society’s archive. The exhibit is now open for public viewing.

Summer School Commences

The Whitewater Unified School District Summer School commenced on Monday, June 17. Per the district: “We are very excited about the number of families taking advantage of this fun and enriching extended learning experience. We are equally excited to have some new and engaging course offerings such as Blacklight Art, Pottery, Girls Who Code, American Sign Language, Spanish for Elementary Students among many others!”

Attached are some pictures of the Week 1 action:

Word Masters Analogy Challenge – Top 5

Students display awards

Whitewater Middle School has received the final cumulative results back from this year’s Word Masters Challenge events. Congratulations to the top scoring students for the 2018-19 school year (L-R): Jazmin Cederberg, Afton Clapper, Caleigh Yang, Liz Ngabo, Zoe Olson.

Special recognition and a medal go to Caleigh Yang for having the top score at Whitewater Middle School for the second year in a row!

June Features WRAP Exhibit at CAC

Whitewater Arts Alliance Logo

(WHITEWATER – May 28) The Wisconsin Regional Artists Association will be sponsoring the WRAP exhibit that features the works of non-professional Wisconsin artists at Whitewater’s Cultural Arts Center, 402 West Main Street, from June 2 through June 22.

Artists from Wisconsin will be exhibiting art in a variety of media including 3 D and photography. Artists and art-advocates alike are invited to view the exhibit free of charge. The exhibit will run Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Noon to 5 p.m. beginning June 2 and running through June 22. An opening reception will be held Sunday, June 9 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. A workshop on Saturday, June 22, runs from 9:30 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m., and anyone can attend the workshop for a $5 registration fee (exhibiting artists can attend for free). To register, please contact Joyce Follis at 262-473-2360.

The Wisconsin Regional Art Program was established to encourage Wisconsin citizens with a serious interest in art – people who make art purely for the love of it, rather than for fame and fortune. The purpose of WRAP is to encourage nonprofessional artists to develop their abilities. The Wisconsin Regional Art Program consists of many artist workshop/exhibits who meet throughout the year statewide. Each one has a different artist demonstration or slide lecture and a different judge to lead the afternoon critique. Artists may enter as many Wisconsin Regional Art Workshops as they like.

Artists winning a State Exhibit Award are eligible to compete for monetary awards at the WRAA State Day in Madison. In order to enter the State Exhibit you must be a member of the Wisconsin Regional Arts Program – you can join the organization at any time before the state exhibit by going to wraawrap.com and click on the tab to register.
The first Rural Art Exhibit was held at the Memorial Union during Farm and Home Week in 1940. Under the guidance of John Stuart Curry, the exhibit grew rapidly, expanding from 30 nonprofessional artists in 1940 to over 100 by 1947. The energy and enthusiasm of Curry’s successor, Aaron Bohrod, the WRAP directors, James Schwalbach and Ken Kuemmerlein, and the help of the Wisconsin Rural Artists Association have continued to make the exhibition and workshops cornerstones of activity for nonprofessional artists throughout the state.
WRAP is developed and administered by the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Department of Liberal Studies and the Arts. WRAP exhibits and workshops began in 1940 to encourage the creative growth of non-professional artists from rural areas.

The mission of the Whitewater Arts Alliance is to promote the visual and performing arts through an alliance of artists, individuals, educational resources, and organizations to promote creativity and diversity that will serve to educate and enrich the lives of the residents of the Whitewater community and surrounding areas.

Whitewater Kiwanis Recognizes 2 WHS Students for Excellence; Donation Given for ELL Summer Busing

Mark Elworthy, District Administrator, and Lanora Heim, Director of Public Services, both of the Whitewater Unified School District, accepted a donation for summer school bus funding for ELL students. Whitewater Breakfast Club Treasurer Rick Norman presented the check on behalf of Kiwanis.


On Tuesday, May 21, Steve Ryan, of the Whitewater Kiwanis Breakfast Club, presented certificates of recognition and $100 to each of the following students for their excellence at Whitewater High School: Broderick Frye and Bennett Miles. The Club also donated $4,679 to the Whitewater Unified School District to pay for summer school busing for English Language Learners (ELL).

The Kiwanis Whitewater Breakfast Club is made up of dedicated volunteers who help children in the Whitewater community and the world, all with 100 percent of funds raised going directly to projects and zero to administrative costs. Each year, the club distributes approximately $20,000, with over half going to the Whitewater Unified School District, including Ferradermis, Summer School Transportation, shoes for students, Badger Boys State and Badger Girls State, and scholarships. Kiwanis helped to build and maintain the Flowing Well Shelter, the shelter and accessible playground at Starin Park and Treyton’s Field of Dreams, the WHS football field lights and press box, as well as adopting a highway to clean up. In addition, the group donates to the Whitewater Youth Soccer Club, the Friends of the Whitewater Aquatic Center Family Partnership Fund, the Whitewater Food Pantry, Bethel House and more.

Funds are raised through annual Pancake Breakfasts that have been served continuously since the 1950s, the Discover Whitewater Series Half-Marathon Pancake Breakfast since it began, and yearly poinsettia and lily plant sales. More information can be found on the Whitewater Kiwanis Breakfast Club Facebook page.

Photo Descriptions:
Broderick Frye and his parents, with Steve Ryan, of the Whitewater Kiwanis Breakfast Club, and Nathan O’Shaughnessy and Mike Lovenberg, of Whitewater High School.

Bennett Miles and his parents, with Steve Ryan, of the Whitewater Kiwanis Breakfast Club, and Nathan O’Shaughnessy and Mike Lovenberg, of Whitewater High School.

Mark Elworthy, District Administrator, and Lanora Heim, Director of Pupil Services, both of the Whitewater Unified School District, accepted a donation for summer school bus funding for ELL students. Whitewater Breakfast Club Treasurer Rick Norman presented the check on behalf of Kiwanis.