ART

Madison aims to turn the controversial history that is women in theater on its head, as these fabulously feminist playhouses make room for a new kind of female lead.

When her kindergarten teacher asked the class what they wanted to be when they grew up, Jane Wilcoxson had a ready answer: she wanted to be an artist.

Rebecca Brown, whose novel “Flying at Night” was published in April, finds untold inspiration in everyday life. She lives with her husband, three boys (ages 16, 12 and 10), and two rescue dogs in her renovated 100-year-old home on Monroe Street.

Using her hands to create was originally a passion rather than a profession for artist Stephenie Purl Hamen. After working in the craft world, then in education and marketing sectors for numerous years, she resigned from her most recent stint at Aldo Leopold Nature Center in 2016 to be a full-time artist.

A perfect pairing, bringing wine drinkers into the mix, has risen out of Ann Garvin’s and the Tall Poppies’ efforts – the Books & Bottles companions box.

Novelist and Madison resident Chloe Benjamin is elated to ring in the new year. When January begins, her second book, “The Immortalists,” will be published.

As the producer and biweekly host of Wisconsin Life, Erika Janik’s passion for obscure facts and local trailblazers—past and present—shines through.

Thanks to Melanie Cain, her husband Frank and their company Fresco Opera Theatre, perceptions of what opera is—and whom it’s meant for—are changing.