American Players Theatre

American Players Theatre (APT) is a classical theater located just south of Spring Green, Wisconsin. It includes a 1,089-seat outdoor amphitheater.
APT sits on of woods and meadow just off the Wisconsin River across Wisconsin Highway 23 from Frank Lloyd Wright's studio Taliesin. Founded in 1980, APT has grown rapidly in recent years, with more than 100,000 patrons attending performances each year. It currently claims to have the second largest audience in the United States for outdoor classical theater.
APT typically produces 116 performances of nine plays running in repertory from June to November. In 2009, APT opened the new, indoor Touchstone Theatre, with 200 seats. aAPT's repertoire consists primarily of plays by Shakespeare and other noted (usually Western) playwrights, such as George Bernard Shaw, Anton Chekhov, and Molière. Two of the plays at either "the hill theatre" or "Touchstone Theatre" are typically Shakespeares, with some 20th-century productions performed on both the Hill and the Touchstone.
A significant part of APT is its education program. APT works with schools and educators to teach students both about Shakespeare and other classic dramatic works, and about the theater in general. Each season, APT offers student matinees during school hours in the fall. The actors of APT also conduct in-school workshops.
In a personal blog post in August 2014, "The Wall Street Journal"'s Terry Teachout wrote,"APT is the best classical theater company in America."
History.
Randall Duk Kim and Anne Occhiogrosso came from the Guthrie Theater and Charles J. Bright from the Kennedy Center to cofound APT. Kim served as the artistic director, Occhiogrosso the resident director, and Bright the managing director. Due to financial mismanagement, the theatre accrued around $600,000 in debt and announced in January 1986 that they were set to close. Shortly afterward, the theatre received $170,000 from community fundraising and a $405,000 loan from the state's block grant to stay open.
It was nominated for the Regional Theatre Tony Award in 1985.
Kim was the artistic director and mainstay lead actor for 15 years before reviving a movie career after a dispute with the board of directors. 
David Frank served as artistic director from 1991 to 2014. He established the APT's core company in 1996. Frank was succeeded by associate art director Brenda DeVita.
Acting Company.
American Players Theatre has an Actors' Equity Association, a company of actors cast in annual productions for one season, along with a core company, 14 actors committed to APT for a designated period of time through a contract. APT's core company consists of actors and actresses Tim Gittings, Kelsey Brennan, James Ridge, Tracy Michelle Arnold, Jim DeVita, Brian Mani, Gavin Lawrence, Marcus Truschinski, Melisa Pereyra, Sarah Day, Nate Burger, David Daniel, and Colleen Madden.