Isabelle Kralj & Mark Anderson

This year, Theatre Gigante completed its 25th season in Milwaukee since forming in 1987 as the Milwaukee Dance Theatre. Then, it was purely the brainchild of Isabelle Kralj, but she joined forces with Mark Anderson in 1996, and have been co-collaborating ever since. The resulting partnership has brought a unique style of performance to Milwaukee, as a company unafraid to blend artistic mediums in any variety of combinations – this season, Gigante has put on shows as diverse as Dust, a straight play with no singing or dancing, and Electra, a retelling of the classic Greek tragedy that slipped from contemporary dance to theater without thinking twice.

In anticipation of their last show of the season – a performance by accordionist Guy Klucevsek at Paddy’s Pub on June 20 and 21 – Mark and Isabelle met with Mark Metcalf here at the TCD office to discuss how their partnership developed, Gigante’s performances around the world, and their take on the changes in Milwaukee’s theater scene over the past 25 years.

A note in advance: As Mark himself will announce at the start of this podcast, this will be the last installment of Backstage with Mark Metcalf. While we’ve enjoyed working with Mark for the past 4 years – he’s been an integral part of the site almost since its inception, publishing his first podcast in May 2009 – he’ll be leaving Milwaukee later this month, to fulfill a dream of moving to Montana. We’re incredibly sorry to see him go, and wish him all the best as he travels out west.

Listen now:

[audio:https://urbanmilwaukee.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/finalpodcast.mp3|titles=Backstage with Mark Metcalf – Mark Anderson and Isabelle Kralj]

“Backstage with Mark Metcalf,” a 2011 Milwaukee Press Club award-winner, is engineered and produced by Sahan Jayasuriya. The series, focusing on many of Milwaukee’s behind-the-scenes personalities, alternates between short (10-15 min.) and long (25-30 min.) segments. For the full archive of these podcasts, check out TCD’s Podcasts page.

Theatre Gigante will host Guy Klucevsek at Paddy’s Pub, 2339 N. Murray, on June 20 and 21. Performances are at 7:30 p.m., and admission is $25. To reserve your seats, call (414) 961-6119.