Part IV: Dream for Estes Park — 2008 
Materializing the Estes Park Performing Arts Center

  By Janice Mason

Trail Gazette Editor’s note: This is Part IV of a series about the proposed Estes Park Performing Arts Center. Thanks to the enthusiastic members of the performing arts community, the vision has begun to take shape, and 2008 is the year they hope to raise the final funds necessary to make the Estes Park Performing Arts Center a reality. Part I was from the perspective of Christopher Wood, chairman for the Supporters of the Performing Arts, Inc. (SOPA), and was published in the Dec. 21, issue of the Trail-Gazette. Part II expressed the views of SOPA treasurer, Greig Steiner and was published in the Dec. 26 issue. Part III included the opinions of Kurtis Kelly, member of the Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies, and Claudia Irwin, director for the Oratorio Society of Estes Park and was published on Dec. 28.

The plans have been drawn, the money is being raised, the expediency of the project seems apparent, but the building of a Performing Arts Center in Estes Park has been long coming. Many members of the Estes Park community have dreamed of such a place for many years.

Lynette Johnson is in the Oratorio Society orchestra, several other groups and is on the Supporters of the Performing Arts, Inc. board.

“My dream for the Estes Park Performing Arts Center is that, ultimately, everyone in this community will be very, very happy with it,” she said. “The SOPA, Inc., board held a series of informational gatherings this fall at the home of Robert Keep and Shannon McGlothlen. Every one of the 98 guests were enthusiastic about the project. Several of them said, ‘At last, I think I will see a performing arts center in Estes Park before I die.’

Julie Phares performs in numerous Fine Arts Guild theater productions. Her vision of the new Performing Arts Center is “a place where people of all ages can gather together and enjoy all the wonderful talents of performers throughout the country, and maybe the world,” she said.

The performing arts community have been making do in what facilities they can rent for each program, whether it’s music, dance or theater. As the arts has grown in Estes Park, so has the number community members participating, as well as larger outside groups arriving to perform in Estes Park.

“We have no building here in town that can accommodate a professional theater group or professional musicians to perform at,” said Phares. “There are so many behind the scene things that need to be in place in order for these kinds of shows to be performed. Estes Park has put their name on the map throughout our state, throughout this country, and throughout this world. I have met people through my travels who have been to Estes Park and they love coming here to enjoy the beauty, but they do want more than just the beauty.

“They want to come here and stay for a week, they want to shop, eat and have entertainment,” Phares continued. “We have the first three elements in place but we don’t have the right kind of entertainment that these people are looking for. When the Rotary Club hosts Estes Park Sings every year, you would be amazed of the people that come from Wyoming, Nebraska and Denver to see this small variety show. Can you imagine the people that would come to Estes Park if we had a professional theater company with a professional building? It really blows my mind of the possibilities.

“On the other side of the coin, the local residents of Estes Park I feel want the same thing. It is more difficult for some our local residents of Estes Park to drive to Denver to see the kind of theater that they would like to see. If we build a professional theater here in Estes Park, we will be able to provide the kind of entertainment that they are asking for.”

The Fine Arts Guild of the Rockies have been bringing theater to the Estes Valley for 50 years. Currently, they rent a couple facilities in town that are not designed for a full theater company.

“I know that the local Fine Arts Guild has the talents to host some incredible shows, but again they do not have the facility to place the musicians properly, or a place where the cast can change costumes or even go to the bathroom,” said Phares. “I want to applaud all the actors that have performed for us here locally. They are sitting on the floors back stage and sharing dressing rooms to a point that there are five people sharing a dressing room when the room was built for one person.

“The Town of Estes Park has developed an incredible master plan at Stanley Park that will put Estes Park on the map, which includes our new theater if the funds are raised. Estes Park, it is time to get behind this project 100 percent. We need this building for the future of Estes Park.”

The Ars Nova Singers from Boulder performed a holiday concert in the Stanley Hotel Concert Hall on Dec. 20. The concert served as a fundraiser for the Estes Park Performing Arts Center. John Wilkens, executive director of the Ars Nova Singers, had these comments about the proposed center:

“Every professional arts organization, whether it be in the visual, dramatic, musical or performing arts, desires to showcase its talent in the very best performance space,” said Wilkins. “For Ars Nova that means a venue that has as close to perfect acoustics as possible. And while tonight’s performance will no doubt delight your ears, imagine how much greater the experience might be if it were presented in a space specifically tailored to the nuances of the human voice and the dynamics of ensemble singing.

“The people of Estes Park have the opportunity to create such a space and, if the community is supportive, artists (like bears to honey, or elk to Estes) will discover a new mountain arts destination. To paraphrase a familiar saying, ‘If you build it they (and we) will come,’ returning again and again.”

The Supporters of the Performing Arts, Inc (SOPA) is a non-profit group that is leading the effort and working in conjunction with the Town of Estes Park and other local non-profit agencies to build a state of the art performing arts venue in Estes Park at the Stanley Park fairgrounds.

For more information or to make a donation, visit www.estesparktheater.com.