From PAE's founder...

It was from then on that I knew I had been given a precious opportunity to take the lead and start to plan for our next season-summer 2007. After a 'to whom it may concern email' out to ALL of the local high-school county choral directors declaring I was in desperate need of a music director to work with for the summer for high-energy song and dance revue shows, I received a single response. It was all that I needed-an eager and interested Paul Thompson; a choral director from St. Mary's Springs High of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin. Paul, the musical arranger and choral and band director, and I, the artistic director and choreographer, worked together for the six years and it was a thrilling joyride to say the least! I have to brag that Paul is now a Dr. Thompson having directed choral activities at the University of Idaho:) and just recently in 2021 moved back to Wisco as head of the choral department at Ripon College...Meanwhile, in 2011, I had obtained my BA in dance and officially founded and incorporated PAE, knowing that by creating a non-profit charitable arts entity we would certainly get more support from our community. Having a board of directors who have helped me create a sound mission, visions, and have over the years gained more networking and philanthropy, I couldn't be more lucky. In 2013, as we all said farewell to my partner-in-crime, Paul, we were blessed with the smoothest transition, Ms. Rosemary Walzer.  Rosemary had been the lead alto saxophonist in our Christmas show performances since 2007, and took the reins as music director. Her and I created Christmas and summer music revue shows from 2013 through summer of 2017. The past shows have consisted of high-energy singing and dancing performers, with original titles, themes, and musical arrangements for band musicians and singers, and most of the music selection is of popular genre.  Check out our photos & testimonials:)  The casts of these shows consist of high-school to college-aged performers, most of whom seek a professional career in the performing arts field.  These performances give the students an opportunity for artistic and individual growth, showcasing their talents on stage for the local community. The casts consist of different members per season due to our audition process, however some have been a part of ALL show productions since Maximillian's started in Christmas of 2006! We call them our 'marathon performers.' In any case, it is one of the most rewarding and fulfilling moments to see the students blossom into mature artists, finding their own voice and identity. The confidence, poise, and artistic abilities of these performers increase substantially by the end of each season, and all who we have worked with become well aware of and share how much they have changed and grown from the experience. We have performers who have ventured off to pursue performing with operas locally and internationally, those who continue to write their own music performing at The House of Blues, some have headed out to Nashville, those who become higher educated to become a music teacher, or director themselves. It will never cease to amaze me the amount of raw, local, talent that we have seen perform on the stage with us! We have been so blessed. One of those 'marathon' performers went off to study at Berklee College of Music, Kevin Flood, and then moved back home to spearhead music director position for PAE. Kevin and worked together for 5 years and I've known him since we did our very first show out of Max's in 2006! Our current music director, Joe Phillips, is a PAE alum, who obtained his BSA in music and currently teaches choir at the Sheboygan North High School. I am so happy for him as he created a full circle with PAE...To conclude the 'Arts' in the name of PAE, I envisioned there to be four shows per year, one per weather season. We met this goal as an organization in 2014, by adding a fall season and a spring season to fill the gaps between our Christmas and summer musical revue shows.  Our long term goal for 2019 was met shortly after saying good bye to our home venue, Maximillian's Hall. It has been a great comeback as an organization to be able to reach our goal early-offering other art forms in collaboration and through classes, including visual and theatre arts. Most currently, we’ve been able to offer youth multi-arts camp for summers 2019, 2021, 2022, and this year at our new venue in Elkhart Lake, WI. Be sure to check out what's happenings via our sessions page! Hence, the 'Arts,' pleural for the many art forms I dream about merging...