“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; Memo sent from Gloucester Prison, January 23, 1919

We are a cross-discipline troupe of musicians, historians, and theatre artists dedicated to honoring the lives of everyday people who have lived through extraordinary times. We bring history and music together in powerful multimedia productions. We call them “rock and roll history shows.”

Bringing the past into the present

The theater is dark. A spotlight illuminates a figure on stage. The actor reads aloud–to you, right now. These words were spoken by someone long ago, but you feel their 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.

The core members of Mobilize the Poets produced The Greatest War: World War One, Wisconsin, and Why It Still Matters, which debuted to a sold-out audience at the Barrymore Theatre in Madison, WI on November 11, 2018 and was reprised in 2019 at the Wisconsin Union Theatre at UW-Madison.

The incredible response the show received revealed a demand for this type of transformative, multimedia, history-based production.

But The Greatest War was only meant to be a one-time commemorative event.

To create shows that we could bring directly to all the people of Wisconsin and the Midwest, we had to build a new organization: a small but resourceful arts group with outsized talent and a big vision. Mobilize the Poets was born.

Mobilize the Poets is a community-driven arts organization that depends on a wide swath of support. We are mobilizing individuals as well as organizations and companies to help bring this important work to the people.

Our vision is:

• To deliver to Wisconsin audiences an impactful production that is entertaining and educational.
• To use our collective skills and knowledge in music, history, and theatre production to produce a heavyweight, locally sourced performance.
• To make these shows accessible by bringing them directly to communities and keeping ticket prices affordable.
• To partner with other organizations who share in our vision.

“I don’t study history to learn facts and dates. I study it to understand myself. Trends change, clothes look different, how people speak and write varies, but the fundamental truths and struggles that everyday people contend with are shared across humanity no matter the time period.

When I connect with these extraordinary people from the past, I feel empowered. I realize that my struggles are shared with others across time, and it gives me the courage to keep going. I feel inspired to share these stories to help others make meaning of the difficult times we find ourselves in.”

-Ken Fitzsimmons, founder of Mobilize the Poets

Founder, Writer, Performer

Ken Fitzsimmons has worked in music for 30 years, receiving a Bachelor of Music under the tutelage of jazz bass great Richard Davis, and an MBA from the Bolz Center of Arts Administration. He is the bassist in Milwaukee-based Little Blue Crunchy things and co-founder of the nationally touring Irish rock group The Kissers.

He has taught music privately for three decades and serves as the Education Director at Madison Music Foundry. In 2018 he was the Artistic Director for the multimedia “rock and roll history show” The Greatest War: World War One, Wisconsin, and Why It Still Matters produced in partnership with Four Seasons Theatre and Antishadows Theatrical Design.

Design, Lighting, Production Management
As a full-time lighting designer, Jason Fassl has worked with countless theatre companies including American Players Theatre, Forward Theater, Northern Sky Theater, Milwaukee Rep, and Theatre LILA. His talents have also been on display for many of The Kissers St. Patrick’s Day shows. He’s a member of IATSE Local 18 and United Scenic Artists Local 829.