A number of Milwaukee actors have had terrific years in 2010, but it’s difficult to top the two accomplished performances by Milwaukee Rep resident actor James Pickering. In February, he played a blind Irish drunk in The Seafarer—the Rep’s best of the season. Months later, he played a dramatically different character as the powerful Prospero in Optimist Theatre’s free, outdoor production of The Tempest. This powerful, seasoned actor continues to lend his voice to a seemingly limitless range of characters—a talent widely on display in 2010.