Don’t Let That ‘Folklore’ Fool You

Photo by Len Villano

American Folklore Theatre. If you are like me, and you grew up sitting in our outdoor amphitheater in Peninsula State Park, the name alone can conjure up a whole slew of emotions and can even awaken your senses. You might be immediately transported to a beautiful summer evening: the feel of cedar beneath your feet, the smell of a campfire, the creak of the wind through the pines, and the anticipation of witnessing a magical performance beneath a canopy of stars. It’s a powerful thing when just hearing the name American Folklore Theatre (AFT) can bring you swiftly back to your most cherished childhood memories.

That’s why those for whom AFT is a household name might be appalled by the following statement, but the truth is, the name “American Folklore Theatre” can be somewhat, well, challenging. I know it might be hard to imagine, so here are just a few of the things we’ve heard from those discerning visitors who have never been witness to the magic that is AFT: “American Folklore Theatre? Isn’t that a wing at The Smithsonian?” Or this, “Well, yes, I’ve seen the signs for American Folklore Theatre, but I just thought you were a troupe of banjo pickers in the park.” Or even this analysis offered by Artistic Director Ron Peluso of what was then called The Great American History Theatre, “You might be the only theatre with a worse name than ours.” They’ve since changed theirs to The History Theatre.

Yes, by comparison, AFT just doesn’t carry the prestige of names like The Looking Glass Theatre or The Rialto. Don’t get me wrong, I mean, alphabetically speaking, American Folklore Theatre is about as good as you can get. Open just about any Door County marketing publication and there at the top of the page, you’ll see AFT as the very first listing, by default. But simply being listed first only gets you so far.

Jeffrey Herbst and Fred ‘Doc’ Heide in “Belgians in Heaven.” Photo by Len Villano.

Perhaps at this point, a history lesson is in order. In 1990, when Doc Heide, Gerald Pelrine and Fred Alley, all long-time members of AFT’s predecessor, The Heritage Ensemble, helped the organization move to a new level of professionalism, the group’s name was changed to American Folklore Theatre to reflect their intent to broaden its scope while still preserving its roots in the traditions of populist culture.

The founders expected that we would be a more expansive version of the Heritage Ensemble. They loved the ensemble-style shows and the folklore that spoke of the people’s own stories and music. As Doc put it, “I never imagined we would be doing so many of the type of shows we do now – book musicals with composed scores in the Broadway style. If we had set out to create a theatre company that would produce more than 40 new musicals, entertaining over 40,000 patrons each year, well, I expect we would have failed miserably.”

He also added, “I would point out that we’re not the only entity that has outgrown our appellation. I’m sure if AT&T had it to do over, they would probably leave ‘Telegraph’ out of their name.”

So, yes, our current name is deceiving. You simply can’t believe how good it is until you actually go. That explains why, in all of our surveys, we find that our strongest marketing tool is word of mouth. Friends tell their friends, grandparents take their grandkids, generations of families pass on the tradition of sharing time at our performances each year. Actually, when you think about it, that sounds a lot like the very definition of folklore.

Steve Koehler, Dan Klarer, and Chad Luberger in “Victory Farm.” Photo by Len Villano.

Add to that our setting deep in a state park, keeping our ticket prices low, and welcoming kids and you’ve got something of a hidden treasure. Very few of our shows now include traditional folk songs or lore. But for all of its downsides, there is something sweet about our name. As Doc put it, “It might make us work a little harder to tell our story. As long as we have ‘folklore’ in it, we’ll always sound a little old-fashioned, and in a sense we are. Who else would try to do something this crazy in this day and age? Perform outdoors in a location guaranteed to make us seem humble? Charge so little that everybody can come? In an era when the theatre audience is steadily older, we draw old and young and everybody in between. In an era where theatre can barely survive without corporate underwriting, we are beholden to the people.”

As Artistic Director Jeff Herbst mused, “It’s somewhat ironic that, by virtue of the fact that all we do is completely original material, we may be the theatre company most disqualified to use the word folklore to describe us!”

Doc went on, “Folklore is like hash. Nobody writes it, it just accumulates. And nobody composes folk songs. They get handed down over generations and refined by the personality of the next person to recall them. Only the strongest tunes survive. Our shows aren’t exactly folklore, but we do tell stories that real people care about. The ‘folk revival’ is 50 years past, but we keep its light burning every night under the stars.”

So until we get full board approval to change our name to something like: The World’s Greatest Outdoor Theatre Company, you can continue to call us American Folklore Theatre. Just don’t think of it so much as a “name” as a “state of mind.” Or at the very least, take the recommendation from Warren Gerds in his most recent review of our 2012 World Premiere, Victory Farm, and “Don’t let that ‘folklore’ fool you…”

For more information about American Folklore Theatre call 920.854.6117 or visit http://www.FolkloreTheatre.com.