Whoopensocker's 10th Anniversary Extravaganza

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courtesy Whoopensocker

Casem AbuLughod, Jessica Kennedy and Cris Castro, from left, in a past Whoopensocker production.

Casem AbuLughod, Jessica Kennedy and Cris Castro, from left, in a past Whoopensocker production.

Whoopensocker is a fun program coordinated by departments in the UW-Madison School of Education, which places teaching artists in residencies at local elementary schools. Students learn to write sketches, songs and other short performance pieces, which are then performed by the teaching artists for both school and public shows. This anniversary performance features audience favorites from the last 10 years of student creations, followed by a Q&A session.

media release: On Friday, November 7, 2025 at 6:30pm in Madison Youth Arts Center’s (MYArts) Starlight Theater, Whoopensocker’s ensemble of professional performers brings a small selection of the thousands of stories written by Madison third, fourth, and fifth graders over the past ten years at Whoopensocker’s 10th Anniversary Extravaganza. 

Ten years ago, Dr. Erica Halverson, her University of Wisconsin team, and local theater artists partnered with Sandburg Elementary to present an arts education program that uses theater as a tool to teach creative writing. “Whoopensocker” gets its name from an old Wisconsin word that means “something extraordinary of its kind”.  A team of teaching artists use improv and performance to inspire students to share their extraordinary ideas through creative writing, which is performed in the classroom by students and on stage by Madison’s professional performing artists.

Resulting in a variety show, but written by kids, Whoopensocker’s performers adapt student-written stories into dance, song, drama, comedy, and so much more. Partner schools have included MMSD’s Crestwood, Emerson, Hawthorne, Lake View, Lincoln, Lowell, Mendota, Muir, Stephens, Schenk, Sandburg, and Thoreau Elementary schools, as well as Verona School District’s Sugar Creek, Stoner Prairie, Glacier Edge, and Country View elementary schools. Most recently, a partnership with PBS Wisconsin Education published a website of Whoopensocker resources free for educators’ use.

In the past decade, Whoopenscoker has celebrated thousands of students through performances for students, their peers, and the public. Whoopensocker’s 10th Anniversary Extravaganza includes a collection of the audience’s favorite stories written over the years. Join Whoopensocker for an unforgettable night of socializing, fun, fundraising, laughter, and theater as we reflect on the last 10 years and build for the future: All donations and proceeds from the show will go directly to bringing Whoopensocker on stage for our students and Madison Audiences.

5:30 pm doors open

6:30 pm 10th anniversary show

7:45 pm - Q&A, stories, and community giving

Pricing

OPE! - $100  General Seating

UFFDA!- $500 Reserved Seating & Swag Bag

WHOOPENSOCKER!- $1,000 Reserved Seating, Swag Bag & Future Walk-on Roll!