Submitted photo
Two headshots of the actors, Nate Burger and Neil Brookshire.
Nate Burger, left, and Neil Brookshire, star in Two Crows' first production of the season, 'Before the Mountains of Madness,' which runs Jan. 22-Feb. 1.
Taking risks is at the heart of Two Crows Theatre, Spring Green’s late winter/early spring company.
“People often say, ‘I almost couldn’t look — it felt too charged,’” says Marcus Truschinski, co-founder, artistic director, and American Players Theatre veteran.
Creating “a deliberately intimate setting” is a key part of Two Crows’ mission, Truschinski says. The three plays in its 2026 season are all staged at the cozy Slowpoke Lounge in Spring Green. Truschinski tries to take advantage of that. “You’re inventing things. You’re playing imagination games. You don’t have the bells and whistles, so you have to create them.”
In such an intimate venue, the line between audience and actors blurs. “My goal is to put together really good plays with really good actors in a really small space,” says Truschinski. Frequently cast members are APT regulars. “Seeing someone like Nate Berger or Colleen Madden in the back of a bar, where you could reach out and touch them, is a completely different experience. You’re so close that it’s almost cinematic.”
He also loves that Two Crows allows him to foster relationships between early-career directors and seasoned actors. “There’s an alchemy that happens when you bring together people who are rediscovering why they got into the business and people who are bringing new creative energy. That’s what I’m after,” he says.
Two Crows started in 2019 as a way to employ local actors during the winter, and has evolved, building a passionate following despite a three-year hiatus prompted by the pandemic. The company has restructured since last season, with Truschinski assuming the role of artistic director after cofounder Rob Doyle left the company for new opportunities last year.
“This is the first year that Rob and I won’t be doing the sets or costumes ourselves,” Truschinski says. “My dad isn’t coming out to help me build a set this year — which was fun — but it feels like a real step forward.” Nathan Stuber, an APT scenic designer and properties director, will design the set for Before the Mountains of Madness, for instance, while Lea Branyan, a stage operations manager at APT, is doing lights for all three shows this season.
But getting the word out about the small company remains a challenge. Truschinski hopes that the addition of managing director Nora Murphy and social media and marketing manager Aaron Christensen will help, and he already credits these two with strengthening the company.
Two Crows’ first play of the season, Before the Mountains of Madness, runs Jan. 22-Feb. 1. It’s a two-actor horror-thriller about a fateful Antarctic adventure at the turn of the century, written by APT veteran David Daniel, directed by Truschinski, and starring Nate Burger and Neil Brookshire.
The idea was sparked during another play Daniel and Truschinski did with Two Crows last year, A Number. “David had this idea for a kind of cosmic, existential horror based on an H.P. Lovecraft story,” Truschinski says.
But they wanted to raise the stakes. “We started saying, what if there are no props? What if the two actors have to invent everything themselves?” he recalls. “We settled on one lantern and the creative minds of the two people on stage. It came together very quickly.”
Sandra runs Feb. 26-March 8. It’s the second part of a trilogy of film noir–style thrillers by David Cale (Two Crows staged Harry Clarke, the first play in the trilogy, last year). It’s directed by Samantha Martinson and stars Colleen Madden in a one-woman performance.
Sandra follows a recently separated woman who travels to Mexico to search for her missing friend, Ethan, a young composer and pianist. Her investigation into his disappearance leads her into a dangerous and highly charged love affair, ultimately prompting a journey of self-discovery as she finds herself reinventing her own life.
“Colleen is a chameleon. She shifts into all these characters, and there’s no space between her and the audience,” says Truschinski. “Seeing someone that brilliant up close feels voyeuristic, like watching your own film.”
The third show, Chesapeake, runs April 16-26. Written by Lee Blessing and starring Elizabeth Ledo, its subject is timely: A performance artist whose funding gets cut by the NEA decides to take revenge by kidnapping a conservative senator’s prized Chesapeake Bay retriever.
“Elizabeth is incredibly funny, but there’s a real depth there too,” Truschinski says. Expect fun twists and turns in the plot, including a “supernatural transformation.”
In coming seasons, Truschinski hopes to grow Two Crows’ offerings. “My hope is to lengthen the run of shows and collaborate with other theater companies around the state,” he says. “Post-pandemic, sharing resources feels essential. I want these stories to build here and then travel.”
