Ladies Who Lead
How does one navigate the world of performing arts leadership? It takes a creative sort of person with vision, talent and a penchant for collaboration. These four women happen to have these qualities in spades. They recently talked to Sioux Falls Stage about what it’s like for each of them leading their respective performing arts companies.
What successes have you seen, leading a Sioux Falls performing arts organization?
Jayna Fitzsimmons: I think just how open and excited the Sioux Falls community is. They embrace the type of work that we do in a really cool way. Sioux Falls really is becoming—and has been for years—a really great place for the arts. The fact that Bare Bodkins (Theatre Company) is supported through the city—they say “yes” to us every year. It says that they like what we’re doing and that the people of Sioux Falls and the surrounding areas really are hungry for this type of experience—so let’s have more of it. That’s something I keep coming back to—you want to meet that challenge, that expectation. That’s something that I think is awesome about doing theatre in Sioux Falls.
Pictured: Laura Cooper (Credit: Peter Chapman)
Martha Stai: And I think it’s very obvious to see the excitement in our audience members and the fact that (the City of) Sioux Falls is sponsoring, but also that we have corporate sponsors, as well. It’s awesome to see that there are individual business owners who think it’s important enough to have art in this city that they’re willing to throw some money at it.
Debbi Jones: With improv, we’ve found that when we first started performing in public, we were doing shows at a local bar, and with time we realized that there was buy-in for it. Since, we’ve found our shows selling out and the audience that comes loves it and wants to be there. There are people who support this art form and want to buy into it. For sure, that’s a win.
Laura Cooper: I’ve noticed little groups, like each of ours, are popping up more and more. And I think it’s great that I see you all at our concerts and we like to go to your stuff. I think as artists it’s neat that we all support each other too.
JF: Just sitting here and looking around, we’ve all collaborated together on different things. It’s a small community, and I think that’s what makes it really vibrant and strong. We get to know each other’s work, we know each other’s strengths and can support each other that way.
What are some of the most gratifying parts of making art in Sioux Falls?
DJ: I love the idea that we are part of the growth. We could go to any other big city and have to try to edge our way in—and, of course, be challenged and find beautiful things about that—but there’s something so exciting to grow with the scene. I think it’s unique to Sioux Falls, and we’re very lucky to have a community that is so willing to grow.
MS: In big cities, people are often not as loyal. I notice that people keep coming back. They subscribe, they come to Bare Bodkins every year, they come to the White Spruce (Chamber Players) performances and Improv Falls—they keep coming back. And I think a lot of that is attributed to the size of our city.
LC: I think collaborating with each other is kind of a neat, unique thing, too. White Spruce collaborated with Good Night (Theatre Collective) on a show last year (The Last Five Years), and I am getting to play with a Monstrous Little Theatre Company (MLTC) production (Melancholy Play) in March. I think the opportunities for collaboration within these small groups is a really unique thing.
(Editors Note: MLTC’s Melancholy Play has been postponed until the fall.)
JF: The fact that we all communicate really well as a performing arts community—there’s a lot of respect among the different theatre, music and dance companies. We want to support each other, and we want to see each other succeed. So that kind of camaraderie and feeling of “all ships rise in high tide” I think is something that you don’t get everywhere. It’s really special, and that’s something I really treasure about doing theatre in this city and in this environment with people like all of you.
LC: You’re totally right about that, because, in a lot of places, we could see each other as competition, and I don’t think we do.
MS: We still are able to compartmentalize and say, “This is what we are good at, and this is what you are good at.” And we all work together and share talent.
DJ: We’re a very co-supportive community.
Pictured: Martha Stai (Credit: Peter Chapman)
JF: I’m proud of that. That doesn’t happen easily. I think that’s really been cultivated here. And that’s really exciting to see. It’s such a gratifying environment in which to produce art, because you know that you’re surrounded by people who are cheering you on—not trying to tear you down. I think that’s important and it feeds what we do.
LC: Also, it allows us to take some risks. If you know people are in your corner, you can try something.
What are the biggest challenges facing performing arts groups in Sioux Falls?
JF: There are a million things to do in Sioux Falls—and they’re all worthy of attending and it’s about figuring out how we draw our audience or encourage them to come and see what we’re doing but also attend another theatre event or music event. I think that’s also what makes Sioux Falls really vibrant, though—it’s kind of that challenge, but it also means really great things for our city and for our performing arts scene.
MS: One challenge we faced is that we knew we wanted to pay our artists, and we did not have much to give them when starting out, but it has become something that’s much more possible for us to do and to give them something that’s worth their while. That was a challenge that I think we’ve overcome—it really makes us feel good that we can compensate them—even a little bit—for their talents.
LC: I think that says a lot about the community, too. That you’re able to pay your artists—I think that’s wonderful.
DJ: From the MLTC perspective, that’s totally something we’ve aimed to do as well—to pay our artists. I find one of the challenges, though, is that in order to do that, our board doesn’t pay themselves. We donate our time to make MLTC happen. We’re happy to do it, but it’s a challenge at times when you need to make choices in your life on what you can prioritize. I think that’s a challenge for artists to continue to overcome. But yes—my other greatest challenge is rehearsal space.
[Laughter]
MS: There are only so many times you can rehearse in your living room!
DJ: There are only so many times you can be loud at the library! Yes, we’ve found some very gracious hosts, but it’s not always guaranteed.
JF: Something I really love about what MLTC does, though, is that you’re always performing in different spaces. I think that’s so exciting, because it’s like we get a little tour of the city when we come and see your shows. It feels like we get to see Sioux Falls in a different way.
LC: And what a neat partnership with those businesses.
DJ: It can be a challenge to find businesses that are supportive, too. The ones we have booked have been so wonderful and we’re so lucky for that.
Pictured: Jayna Fitzsimmons (Credit: Peter Chapman)
JF: I think we’re all similar in the fact that we’re directors and we’re working with these companies as sort of a second or third—or fourth—job. We’re all educators by day and kind of wear this other hat. I always kind of joke that Bare Bodkins is “the best summer job ever.” But there is that sort of balancing act that this isn’t what you’re doing full-time, so you have to make sure that everything is given 100 percent.
MS: And it is this creation—in 2016, I don’t think I realized (Good Night) was still going to be a huge part of my life five years from now. I couldn’t really even imagine what it could be, but it’s still here, and I’m so happy it is.
DJ: It takes a lot of sacrifice.
JF: There are times when I say, “If I pay myself a little bit less, I can pay my actors a little bit more.” And those are the types of bargains we make as leaders of these companies. We want to make sure everybody is looked out for as best as possible. That’s important to our arts community and everyone in this circle.
LC: It is so much time and it is such a big commitment, but I also feel that playing in White Spruce helps me remember why I do this. When I started playing the cello when I was a fourth grader I never imagined that I would be doing anything like this. I think it’s neat to be able to see the other side of that coin and remember that this really matters.
MS: It makes me a better human in my day job.
LC: And I think it makes me a better teacher.
MS: Knowing that I have this outlet—something that makes me so excited—helps me get those kids excited about Shakespeare and grammar.
[Laughter]
DJ: All of the members of Improv Falls are trained in improv, but we all have different day jobs. There are bankers and lawyers, and it’s so fun how what we do feeds and improves upon our lives as a whole. It increases our productivity and our effectiveness as beings.
Why do you do what you do—and what keeps you doing it?
DJ: It’s fun, and it feeds your soul. It makes me better at everything else I do. We rehearse improv Monday nights, late at night, and sometimes I don’t want to take off my sweatpants and put my jeans back on and leave the house that late at night, but the second I walk in the door, my heart just soars and everything gets better.
MS: Any time I’m not on the stage for Good Night, I get a little misty when the lights go down and the show begins, and I just think, “Wow—we created something beautiful here.” Those moments make it all worth it. You see those smiles and it’s like a happiness that I’ve only known in rare occasions.
JF: It’s life-giving, and, I think, in its best form, it’s not only life-giving for us but outwardly to our community. That’s the reason why I do what I do with Bare Bodkins—it’s really linked to the reason why I went into education as my profession. There’s an element of serving others. Theatre is a social good. There’s something magical and important that happens when we are together, imagining together, and experiencing something together that I don’t know where else to go for that.
MS: Is it Oscar Wilde that said, “The stage is the return of art to life?”
JF: That’s so true.
DJ: You would quote Oscar Wilde…
[Laughter]
What performing arts goings-on are you loving outside your own organization?
LC: Our favorite date nights are to the Good Night Theatre Collective. We just love to go down (to ICON) and sit at the bar and drink our gin and watch some musical theatre.
JF: I’ve never had a bad evening out at MLTC shows. I think that they’re choosing scripts that are really new and interesting and kind of filling that niche in Sioux Falls theatre. There’s also a lot of really great theatre happening at area universities in collegiate settings—USF, USD, SDSU, Augustana.
DJ: I’m also very excited by our stand-up community and our poetry community. They’re thriving, and they’re so supportive of one another. Those kinds of niches in our community are really kind of exploding lately.
MS: One of my coworkers, actually—Xavier Pastrano—is starting with Lincoln (High School) students the “Soo Foo Po Co,” and he’s introducing them to professionals in the poetry community and then incorporating them and letting them have the stage a little bit, which is so cool.
JF: Something else that’s really cool is Dakota Players (Children’s Theatre) and its collaboration with LifeScape—they are doing really cool, ambitious projects that our community hasn’t seen before and needs to see more of.
MS: Deb Workman (Black Hills Playhouse education director) is amazing.
JF: It’s so immersive in our city—wherever we go there is something that is arts-related, and that hasn’t always been true.
Pictured: Debbi Jones (Credit: Peter Chapman)
How have you seen Sioux Falls evolve in the performing arts scene?
LC: I think so many more small arts groups have popped up. I grew up here, and I don’t remember these little groups being around when I was growing up or even five or six years ago.
MS: I remember graduating from Augustana and feeling like there was no place for me here, so I moved away for a little bit. And when I was considering that move, I remember telling someone that the only reason I would stay here is if I started my own company. And I think I had to move away and come back to realize that it is possible. And look at all these groups that have sprung up since—it’s beautiful.
DJ: I love the idea of “make art where you are.” I think that is a concept that’s been really embraced by so many members of our artistic community, and we all kind of inspire each other to keep going and to keep innovating and to keep building new things with new challenges and new ideas. I can’t wait to see what it does in another 10 years.
What are your hopes for the future of the performing arts in Sioux Falls?
LC: I think we’re on a good path—I hope we can stay the course and keep bringing meaningful art to the community.
MS: We never know where our lives will take us, so it’s reassuring to think that there are others who will help carry on what we have started. That’s just so exciting.
DJ: That’s one of Improv Falls’ goals, actually—“to outlive us.” That’s a dream.
JF: As an educator, it is my hope that students will continue to see the value of pursuing fine arts and humanities majors and fields of study. Because it is really useful, and these skills really do impact all areas. I think we need to continue growing our community of trained artists.
DJ: One of my greatest goals, personally, is to help contribute to the fact that I want Sioux Falls to be a place where artists want to live.