For more than three decades, Renaissance Theaterworks has championed women’s stories and careers, working towards gender equity in the arts and beyond.
Five women — Suzan Fete, Marie Kohler, Raeleen McMillion, Jennifer Rupp, and Michele Traband — started the theater company in 1993 after facing inequities both on and off the stage. Suzan Fete says that at the time, starting a women-run theater company was a polarizing move.
“I'd love to say it was embraced warmly by the community," she says. "But some of the first things we heard were, ‘Well, does this mean you're going to exclude men?’ and other things that were not so polite.”
Fete was in her 20s then, working as an actor and director in Milwaukee. Facing a shortage of women's roles in the local theater scene and influenced by her experience applying for grad school, she moved to start Renaissance with friends she'd met through Next Act Theatre and Theatre X.
"At the time, there was a graduate program from UWM, and out of 16 potential slots, they only took two women," she says. "Their response was, 'We do mostly Shakespeare and other restoration comedies and things like that where there aren't that many women's roles."
Since then, Fete has led the company as artistic director through over 200 productions and readings while fostering opportunities for women theater professionals in all roles. She'll be retiring this spring after directing one last show — a production of Neil Simon’s “Barefoot in the Park."
"I wanted to do 'Barefoot in the Park' for a long time," she says. "I think it's a perfect comedy."
Fete talks about her career and Renaissance Theaterworks’ legacy: “I feel most proud that we've stayed true to our mission, and the thing that's the most important about Renaissance are the people,” Fete says. “Barefoot in the Park” runs through April 12 at Next Act Theatre. You can find tickets and more information here.
