Milwaukee residents can enjoy a night of entertainment, prizes, food and laughs at In Tandem Theatre’s annual fundraising event Saturday at 7 p.m.

A non-profit organization located on 10th Street below the Calvary Presbyterian Church, In Tandem Theatre holds a themed fundraising event each year to cover the year’s production costs. Saturday’s fundraiser theme is Giggles for Grown Ups. The event will begin at 7 p.m. with food and drinks, a 50/50 raffle, silent auction, piano music and a wine pull. In the raffle, guests will have the chance to win items such as tickets to Summerfest, a signed Packers’ football, visual arts painting and a 1 hour tarot card reading party. The wine pull allows guests to purchase a surprise bottle of wine, concealed in a paper bag, which varies in price beginning at $10.

Entertainment will begin at 8:30 p.m. and will consist of three stand up comedians—Dana Ehrmann, AJ Grill and Carter Deems—and improv with Tim Higgins and various perfomers.

Tickets can be purchased in advance for $30 online, over the phone or at the box office, which is open between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. 

Now in its 21st season, In Tandem Theatre produces a variety of plays and musicals—including originals each four-show season, according to producing director Jane Flieller. In Tandem Theatre’s season runs from September to May, she said, and the theatre is rented out to other arts groups when it is out of season. 

Flieller said that while not all playwrights are local, all performers are local or have local ties.

Flieller also said the annual fundraiser is their main source of raising money. She said they occasionally have silent auctions or raffles at shows throughout the year, usually during holiday shows. 

The Giggles for Grown Ups fundraiser theme is usually popular. Flieller said In Tandem Theatre has used this theme about six times in the past 20 years. 

“We like to mix up themes so we can have different fundraisers at different prices so more people can come,” Flieller said. She said guests are welcome to come anytime before the entertainment begins, but she suggests getting there at 7 p.m. to get the biggest bang for your buck. While there is no formal age restriction, the entertainment portion of the night is geared towards those who are 16 or older, Flieller said.

Flieller said she grew up in the world of arts and thinks it provides a stability for the community. 

“You are taught have a good work ethic and to work as a team,” Flieller said. “The arts are valuable to the civilization of society.”

“You aren’t separated by a screen or glass,” Flieller said. “You can see stories unfold in front of you and experience it with a shared audience.”

Flieller directed Marquette’s performance of “Dirty Rotten Scoundrels” in 2013. Stephen Hudson-Mairet, associate director and chair of digital media and performing arts at Marquette, said the Milwaukee theater community is vibrant and tight, so most theaters interact. He also said Milwaukee has a large theater community given the city’s size.

Hudson-Mairet said theater provides a community and mode of expression. Being able to express ourselves is central to who we are as humans, and he notes that people have told stories throughout history. Without the arts there is a lack of culture and intelligence, according to Hudson-Mairet.

“In the grand Jesuit tradition, it is central to humanity to be able to talk about who you are and express who you are,” Hudson-Mairet said. “It’s really part of being human, this ability to really express yourself through multiple means.”

Amelia Thompson, a freshman in the College of Communications, got involved in theater at the age of five.

“As I kid I liked the attention, to be honest, but as I got older it became a good creative outlet,” Thompson said. “It takes you out of reality.”

Thompson said she started taking theater more seriously in high school, where she enjoyed taking to the stage to tell stories and entertain people. Unlike movies, Thompson said, you don’t have distractions like phones or the ability to pause and rewind, which makes theater a good escape.

Thompson is a part of Marquette Theatre, though her decision to add a theatre minor was a last minute one, she said. Thompson said she has learned just how hard everyone works, both on stage and behind the scenes.

Jordan Tellock, a freshman in the College of Business Administration, said she began playing piano and the flute when she was younger and played in the pit band for musicals in high school. She said musicals can add value to music, as music is what tells the story.

“There’s not as much meaning in a lot of Netflix shows,” Tellock said. “There’s more intention, which adds meaning, in musicals.”

Tellock now has a development ambassador internship at the Marcus Center for Performing Arts, which she started this semester.  At her internship she said she gets to pursue her interest in performing arts and watch shows while doing market research and donor outreach.

“(Theater) makes you think and see from a different point of view,” Flieller said. “It is important to continue to  share stories and learn more things.”