By Damien Jaques Senior Contributing Editor Published Aug 30, 2011 at 10:13 AM

The American Players Theatre in Spring Green continues to excel at raising money as well as producing superb theater. The company has successfully completed the $5 million capital fund raising campaign begun in 2008 to finance the construction of the 201-seat indoor Touchstone Theatre and a 10,000-square foot production support facility.

A total of $5,070,000 was collected from 781 donors.

The Touchstone Theatre debuted in 2009, and the productions it housed for its first two seasons played to 95 percent of capacity, according to director of communications Sara Young.

Previously only an outdoor theater company with a large venue seating more than 1,100 persons, the APT added another dimension when the Touchstone opened. The new space's smaller productions offer a more intimate theatrical experience to audiences, and the Touchstone gives more professional variety and opportunities to the company's actors and directors.

The APT also announced that David Kraemer has stepped down as president of its board, a position he has held for almost 25 years. He is being replaced by Barbara Swan, the retired former executive vice president, general counsel and chief administrative officer at Alliant Energy in Madison.

Damien Jaques Senior Contributing Editor

Damien has been around so long, he was at Summerfest the night George Carlin was arrested for speaking the seven dirty words you can't say on TV. He was also at the Uptown Theatre the night Bruce Springsteen's first Milwaukee concert was interrupted for three hours by a bomb scare. Damien was reviewing the concert for the Milwaukee Journal. He wrote for the Journal and Journal Sentinel for 37 years, the last 29 as theater critic.

During those years, Damien served two terms on the board of the American Theatre Critics Association, a term on the board of the association's foundation, and he studied the Latinization of American culture in a University of Southern California fellowship program. Damien also hosted his own arts radio program, "Milwaukee Presents with Damien Jaques," on WHAD for eight years.

Travel, books and, not surprisingly, theater top the list of Damien's interests. A news junkie, he is particularly plugged into politics and international affairs, but he also closely follows the Brewers, Packers and Marquette baskeball. Damien lives downtown, within easy walking distance of most of the theaters he attends.