Summer time: Warm breezes, cool drinks, friends and free time. It's the perfect reward for an exhausting semester and a cold spring. Summer is when I actually get around to finishing that one book I didn't have time for, or watching that movie I meant to see. Like others staying in Madison, it means going to work or an internship, then coming home to nothing—that is, no piles of homework or the stress of impending exams. But perhaps even better than that is the reclaimed ability to explore the city without feeling like I'm skipping out on some important assignment. Countless concerts, gallery tours, new music, theatrical productions and movie theater trips have taken a back seat to schoolwork during the semester. Yet, sweet summer arrives! There are fewer excuses to stay home and wait for the arts to come inside when the city bustles with artistic expression and the warmth of pleasant Wisconsin weather.
The calm after the semester's storm is the perfect time to support and contribute to the Madison arts scene. The Madison Museum of Contemporary Art will be holding its annual Art Fair on the Square July 9-10, an event always filled with fun, food and fantastic art made by dedicated, talented artists. Nearby in Spring Green, the renowned American Players Theatre will be putting on productions such as ""The Taming of the Shrew,"" ""Blithe Spirit,"" ""Of Mice and Men"" and ""Crime and Punishment"" with bus service to some performances. The Overture Centre will be overflowing with musical theatre, including shows as famous as ""Les Miserables"" and orchestra concerts for more sophisticated nights on the town. On casual evenings, the Majestic Theatre and the Orpheum Theatre will be featuring myriad concerts (including California rock band CAKE), DJ sets and themed parties, with much of the season not yet announced—and thus holding immense potential to provide a spontaneous and danceable summer. And it all begins early with the city-wide Gallery Night May 6, including venues on both sides of the Capitol filled with varied but equally fascinating works.
The art doesn't stop there, however. It's as simple as going to local record stores, local concerts and local artist galleries. Madison's vibrancy is tied inextricably to the arts, as a trip to Williamson Street or Monroe Street will prove. Thus, it is crucial to try to experience locally produced art as much as one's imports or national artists. One such artist, local musician Mr. Squirrel, will be releasing self-produced electronic records May 5, obtainable at the online music shop Bandcamp. The ambient sounds of Waking Dreams and Counterpoints are sure to fill quiet days with a hazy backdrop of resonant beats, atmospheric echoes and a glow to complement the sun-warmed evenings. Also, while the albums will first be available digitally, Mr. Squirrel, in reclamation of the classic record feel, will be pressing physical copies, with vivid artwork created in collaboration with local visual artists.
Of course, these suggestions are not to usurp the warmer months or to look down upon an easy day spent in front of the Playstation or on the Memorial Union Terrace playing cards with friends. But when the depths of the long break threaten boredom, the arts are a perfect place to experience something new and stave off midsummer restlessness. Art is not just for snobs or arts majors: The incorporation of music, theater, visual art and film into daily summer living might lead to a new perspective for the fall semester or whatever might come next. Whether you intend to live in Madison this summer or not, learn about your local arts scene—it could make an otherwise uneventful break into the most memorable one yet.
Are you planning on partaking of the festivities that will be going on in Madison this summer? Email Kyrie at kcaldwell@wisc.edu.
