You are invited to witness improv night every Friday until August 12 at 9:00 pm at the Franklin Square Black Box. The show will last at least one hour and the café will be open for those seeking refreshments during the show. The cost is $5.00 per person.

The show consists of all Festival Theatre summer staff (including cast members you saw in Clue: The Musical and Private Lives) and the games vary each week, so you will see a different and unique show every week.
Festival Theatre uses Improv as part of the Interns Theatre training. Improv allows artists to build on their “on-the-spot” acting skills by being faced with opportunities to listen to other artists and execute enjoyable lines without previous preparation. So, please support the growth of Festival’s artists by coming to each Friday improv night this summer and enjoy the unscripted madness that leaves you asking for more. 

Festival Theatre would like to invite you to see Private Lives by Noel Coward starting July 2nd and endingAugust 21 at the Franklin Square Black Box. Tickets are $26.00 for adults and $13.50 for youth (ages 5-25). They may be purchased from the box office at festivaltheatreboxoffice@gmail.com, or at 715-483-3387.

Directed by Cory Johnson a returning guest director of Festival's, Private Lives is the story of Elyot and Amanda who divorced five years ago and have both recently married again. Problems arise when we learn they are both on honeymoons with their new spouses in adjacent suites at a resort in Southern France. When Elyot and Amanda learn of each other’s presence, old flames are ignited and a whirlwind of events take place that leave all involved in a tangle of emotions.
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Private Lives is host to some of Festival's resident company actors like interim artistic director Andrew Bradford Benson and arts education coordinator Elizabeth Albers. You will also find some of the summer company faces like Joshua Weisenburger and Marjorie Gast.

We offer you one rule of caution; this show contains language and situations that are not appropriate for young children. Stage manager, Abi Leveille, describes Private Lives as a “true romantic comedy” with its talented cast engaging in a unique interplay of comedic violence and sexual innuendos. The director of Private Lives is Cory Johnson, professor of theatre at St. Ambrose University in Davenport, IA and enjoys these plays that “poke fun at ‘people of leisure’ who have little else to do, but decide on where next to dine or travel. Characters in such plays often try to maintain the mask of social artifice while simultaneously revealing to the audience what lies behind such manners.” Diving into this world of privileged 1930s newlyweds brings the audience into a comedic world behind the superficial manners society expects of them. Keep Johnson’s thoughts in mind as you enjoy the irreverent dazzling of Private Lives.