MOBILIZE THE POETS

Reaching across time. Empowering the present.

MOBILIZE THE POETS

Reaching across time. Empowering the present.

The Foe and the Fallen: Songs from the Greatest War

Performed by The Kissers

Six years after the debut of The Greatest War: World War One, Wisconsin, and Why It Still Matters, The Kissers are releasing their music they performed in the show. It features originals about Wisconsinites who supported–and resisted–the war, adaptations of period music and poetry, and a few iconic World War One covers.

Available now on Bandcamp, vinyl, and CD.

“Mobilise the poets…Let them address Wilson, and let them remind him in their best verse that he has the opportunity and the duty of giving the world true peace and freedom.”

-Arthur Griffith, Interim President of Ireland, Gloucester Prison, 1919

“Mobilise the poets…Let them address Wilson, and let them remind him in their best verse
that he has the opportunity and the duty of giving the world true peace and freedom.”

-Arthur Griffith, Interim President of Ireland, Gloucester Prison, 1919

Rock And Roll History Show

An actor reads their words–to you, right now. You feel the immediacy; share in their excitement, worry, grief.

The band kicks in. The music pulls at you, connects with you where words cannot. The singer joins. The lyrics reach across time and reflect on the past with a modern lens.

Then an image of a face, a headline, a quote towers behind the performers. The lighting balances the bright and the darkness. You feel a sense of awe at the power of it all.

You are pulled in completely. Your eyes, ears, heart. Time is no longer linear. You are with them, us, each other in the past and the present all at once.

This is a rock and roll history show.

Rock And Roll History Show

An actor reads their words–to you, right now. You feel the immediacy; share in their excitement, worry, grief.

The band kicks in. The music pulls at you, connects with you where words cannot. The singer joins. The lyrics reach across time and reflect on the past with a modern lens.

Then an image of a face, a headline, a quote towers behind the performers. The lighting balances the bright and the darkness. You feel a sense of awe at the power of it all.

You are pulled in completely. Your eyes, ears, heart. Time is no longer linear. You are with them, us, each other in the past and the present all at once.

This is a rock and roll history show.

Who We Are

We are a cross-discipline group of artists and historians dedicated to building a connection between audiences and everyday people of the past.

Members of
The Kissers

AntiShadows
Theatrical Design

Four Seasons
Theatre

In Partnership with

Who We Are

We are a cross-discipline group of artists and historians dedicated to building a connection between audiences and everyday people of the past.

Members of
The Kissers

AntiShadows
Theatrical Design

Four Seasons
Theatre

In Partnership with

Past Work

The Greatest War

THE GREATEST WAR: World War One, Wisconsin, And Why It Still Matters
Performed in 2018 & 2019

“It was a remarkable show. Moving. Enlightening. Rocking. Important.”

Andy Moore, PBS Wisconsin
“Utterly unique, musically and visually exciting, chilling and thought-provoking!”
Gwendolyn Rice, Theatre Critic

“Ken Fitzsimmons and the crew…have achieved something miraculous. They have taken history that is complex, controversial and half-forgotten and produced a strikingly coherent and remarkably powerful statement about the past and the present.”

John Nichols, The Nation

Past Work

The Greatest War

THE GREATEST WAR: World War One, Wisconsin, And Why It Still Matters
Performed in 2018 & 2019

“It was a remarkable show. Moving. Enlightening. Rocking. Important.”

Andy Moore, PBS Wisconsin
“Utterly unique, musically and visually exciting, chilling and thought-provoking!”
Gwendolyn Rice, Theatre Critic

“Ken Fitzsimmons and the crew…have achieved something miraculous. They have taken history that is complex, controversial and half-forgotten and produced a strikingly coherent and remarkably powerful statement about the past and the present.”

John Nichols, The Nation

Introducing

WHEN THE DARKNESS COMES

1919 and the Search for Peace

1919 is the forgotten year after the forgotten war. And it’s one of the most troubling years in the history of the United States. The post-war, post-pandemic country is reckoning with the fundamental rights of its citizens. Strikes, race riots, women’s suffrage, mass deportations, the Red Scare, and prohibition dominate the headlines and people’s lives.

This show reflects on the year, the meaning of peace, and Wisconsin’s role in it all.

Premiering in the fall of 2025

Introducing

AFTER THE WAR

1919 and the Search for Peace

1919 is the forgotten year after the forgotten war. And it’s one of the most troubling years in the history of the United States. The post-war, post-pandemic country is reckoning with the fundamental rights of its citizens. Strikes, race riots, women’s suffrage, mass deportations, the Red Scare, and prohibition dominate the headlines and people’s lives.

This show reflects on the year, the meaning of peace, and Wisconsin’s role in it all.

Premiering in the fall of 2025

Support

Just as the effort to achieve peace is a collective effort, so is a show about peace. We
depend on the support of individuals to make this truly a show by and about the people.

Founding Supporter

Be in at the ground level in the making of this genre-defying show. Any amount helps.

Via Four Seasons Theatre.
Donation is tax deductible.

Mobilize

Want to be in on the action? We need musicians, researchers, and more. Let’s talk!

Support

Just as the effort to achieve peace is a collective effort, so is a show about peace. We
depend on the support of individuals to make this truly a show by and about the people.

Founding Supporter

Be in at the ground level in the making of this genre-defying show. Any amount helps.

Via Four Seasons Theatre.
Donation is tax deductible.

Mobilize

Want to be in on the action? We need musicians, researchers, and more. Let’s talk!