Artists of All Trades

When it comes to the sometimes scrappy nature of making things happen in the Sioux Falls performing arts scene, it often takes a “special set of skills.” A fleet of renaissance people who just so happen to dabble in more than a few areas of expertise and are more than willing to add a few more for the sake of creating something remarkable. We gathered four of them to talk about the state of this subculture of performance. 

Pictured: Alex Newcomb Weiland, education Coordinator for the Premiere Playhouse, director for the Premiere Playhouse & Monstrous Little Theatre Company & performer with the Good Night Theatre Collective, the Premiere Playhouse, Bare Bodkins Theatre Company & Black Hills Playhouse (Credit: Peter Chapman)

What do you value most about Sioux Falls as a performer and arts appreciator?

Maren Engel: I think like a lot of performers who have grown up here and gone to school around here, I think for many years I didn’t realize the capabilities Sioux Falls had as an incredible place to be an artist. I was blindsided in those regards and for a long time felt like I needed to go somewhere else to do this in a professional capacity and could not have been more wrong. I think we all can speak to the fact that a community like Sioux Falls, that is constantly growing as a creative community, is full of opportunity. And that’s why all of us can be as tapped into so many different areas as we can be. This is a community that needs people like us in the organizations we are a part of to continue to build the momentum we have, and I would also say that the tight-knit element of being an artist here is really special. You collaborate with so many people in all of these different mediums and artistic focuses. It just makes for a really satisfying artistic experience.

Andrew Reinartz: For the work that I do with Arts South Dakota, we kind of see that through the whole state. There’s a little bit of that “you have to create the community that you want to see”—there isn’t that built-in infrastructure there for you. On the one hand, that’s terrifying, incredibly hard work and really draining, but, on the other hand, there is that opportunity to not have to fight against traditions of certain artforms that are really entrenched and instead create something and roll with it. Which is unique, especially for somewhere that has such a vibrant arts scene. Sioux Falls acts a lot bigger than it is, and—around the whole state—there’s amazing art being done everywhere, from Bison to Hot Springs and everywhere in between. I think that Sioux Falls in its growth is in a unique spot right now where we can really take advantage of that energy and really keep that collaborative spirit. Usually when communities grow to whatever the next size is, some of that collaboration can fall away—it used to be you couldn’t be siloed, because each silo would just have one person.

[Laughter]

Now we can have some of these smaller artistic and creative communities, and overall I’ve been really impressed with these smaller groups that are really grassroots and homegrown and want to work together, finding ways to do better things. 

Zach Dresch: You can be a big fish in a small pond, whereas, if you go somewhere else, you’re often fighting constantly to prove yourself. Here, if you want to do something you can do it and thrive. That’s something that’s different, in talking to people who have moved to bigger cities and have struggled day in and day out. Then they come back here and love it, because they can do what they love to do and get giant support for it. It makes you feel more secure in yourself as a person and as a performer.

Alex Newcomb Weiland: I think the community itself is so accepting of anyone that really wants to try it. Coming from someone who did leave for a hiatus to try and pursue elsewhere, it’s definitely different being in that New York environment and energy, because it’s a fight. You’re constantly trying to prove yourself or to get anyone to notice you—and that’s the only way to be successful there, to get noticed. Here in town—and growing up in the community as well—you don’t have to work too hard to get the support, because the city itself just loves people and loves arts and wants to support them You already have an audience, because the community will do everything it can to support you—it makes you excited and motivated to keep creating, that what you’re doing is reaching people.

Pictured: Andrew Reinartz, Sioux Falls area musician, music educator & arts advocate; Community Development Director with Arts South Dakota; performer with JAS Quintet & South Dakota Symphony Orchestra; & collaborator with such regional artists as Jami Lynn, Eliza Blue & Mary Marshall (Credit: Peter Chapman)

What do you think is most valuable for an artist in being multi-disciplinary?

ZD: For me it’s never being complacent. I never want to just settle for something. I want to constantly get better. It’s why I do a million different things. If I just did traditional stand-up, I’d be too comfortable. I want to constantly challenge myself. If someone’s like, “We want you to speak at a construction site and tell some jokes for excavators,” which has happened (and it didn’t go well), I can do that, because I’m terrified, but that sounds great. You can’t be afraid to evolve.

AR: To be really good at any craft, you have to be really dedicated to it, but you also have the opportunity to see it from multiple sides—to be a director and a performer makes you better at both of those things. The silly band I play guitar in—I’m not supposed to be good at it. I’ve dedicated my life to playing bass. When you don’t pick something up easily, your ego gets hurt a little bit, but it takes you back to it being play—why we did some of this stuff in the first place. Having that almost childlike fun with it.

ANW: Having those perspectives is so helpful to the all-around product you’re creating. Especially in a theatrical setting. Being a director makes me a better actor, because I’m noticing what other people are doing and the moments they can create. And then when I switch back over to being an actor I’m noticing what the director’s doing and how I can be a better performer because of that experience. Same thing on the technical side of things—I’m noticing the lights, the sound, the set and how it all works together. And now I better realize why it’s so important for each person to have their roles. It’s granting empathy and understanding—and being able to communicate with perspective to make a more collaborative effort.

ME: Creativity breeds creativity. I think for a long time I saw myself only as a singer, and that was my focus. But as I get older and as I perform consistently in this community, it’s nice to be able to—like Andrew said—play and open up parts of your creativity that you haven’t before because you’ve been focused on one thing. I’m just so excited about these new opportunities I have—directing is a great example. I’ve loved being able to take on that role. For me, it’s about being a part of the process as a whole, but, as an arts advocate, it’s also the chance to have the space to help develop other artists and watch them take something and build it—it’s been one of the most exciting things about being an artist for me. I’m realizing that there are artists that are good at so many things—it’s all the same part of your brain. If more creatives dabbled in other areas, it would open up a lot of doors and opportunities for Sioux Falls.

Pictured: Maren Engel, board member & voice teacher for nonprofit Breathe Bravely, collective member & production director with the Good Night Theatre Collective, house band member with the Midtown Coffee Radio Hour & performer with South Dakota Chorale & Transept (Credit: Peter Chapman)

How does your life as a performing artist inform how you advocate for the arts?

AR: Thinking about what I’ve struggled with trying to come up, the hardest thing for an artist is when you’re getting going. I think that’s the thing that South Dakota could use the most work at. That infrastructure—whether it’s arts education in schools or arts opportunities for young people, just seeing yourself in those positions to be creative and expressive, however that works out for you. I think that was the thing that was always the hardest as a kid. But I also came from this kind of DIY punk community where the mentality was, “Oh, there’s no venue? Fine—find someone’s basement and sell tickets until the sales tax office shuts you down.” It’s kind of a find-the-space-and-make-something-happen mentality. 

ME: I think the work you do is so important, because I want Sioux Falls to continue to grow to be the city where more people can do this as their job. I think there are a lot of people doing that, but I want this to be a place where an individual can sustain themselves doing what they love full-time. And the community craves it and wants to support it and gives opportunities for people to really lean into their passion in that capacity.

AR: And I think all artists know the economic impact of the arts. But with my work (with Arts South Dakota), it’s informed my artistry in a different way. Just seeing that impact, it’s amazing to think that—just the nonprofit arts—the last time they did the Arts and Economic Prosperity Study six or seven years ago, a lot has changed even since then. If you took every nonprofit arts organization in Sioux Falls, it would be something like the third or fourth largest employer. It was thousands of jobs, it was millions of dollars of economic activity. And not that any of us want to boil down our creative expression to a very specific capitalist formulation, but, especially for people that doubt public support of the arts, those are really good tools to have. It’s amazing to see how many cool venues or jobs we’ve had wouldn’t have happened without the arts and the impact they have. You need really creative people in every walk of life, and the arts are one of the best ways to breed that creativity.

Pictured: Zach Dresch, local standup comedian, founding member of local comedy troupe Improv Falls, drummer with local bands Sharon’s Little Helpers & The Disarmed, performer with dueling piano act Duel Purpose, musician & actor with the Good Night Theatre Collective, co-host of local late-night talk show Late Night Boomin and host of local YouTube series The Dresch Code (Credit: Peter Chapman)

How has your arts experience informed how you approach an educational setting?

ME: I think it’s a huge responsibility. I think there is so much tied up in creating something. For my area in singing specifically, it’s so emotional. Your instrument is you. It’s such a unique experience in that, when you are making music, it’s a part of you. I think being able to teach students not only good technique and foundations and how to grow as a singer and good breath control, but it also teaches confidence and health. All of these things inspire me as a teacher. I get more excited when I ask my students, “What did you get out of this session or class?” and they say, “I’m a more confident person.” To hear they never would have done this thing that they love before because they didn’t have the tools to do it. That’s No. 1 for me. On top of that, the work I do is music therapy—all of the good things that happen to a person when they participate in a creative experience is incredible. Being an artist has taught me that in myself, so to be able to share that with my students and give them that gift fills me.

ANW: I think it’s so interesting coming at it from a teaching point of view versus the student. You have a totally different perspective. You also have to know so much more, so having those experiences as a performer and being in an educational setting myself, being able to absorb that as a student, I get it now. I get why my teachers have taught this to me and why it’s important I carry this on to the kids I’m teaching. Technique, acting intentions, physical things you’re learning with your body or how to hold yourself to take care of yourself. It’s so important to carry on that tradition, because it’s what creates that strong sense of “I can do this.” It’s so cool to see it when you have that first kid that comes in, their first time doing it, and they get to be in that environment of support. Realizing it’s an outlet to express yourself and discover yourself. Seeing that as a reaction for something you’ve curated and been a part of is the most rewarding thing.

What gives you the strength to put yourself out there as a performing artist?

ZD: It’s all I know, honestly. If I didn’t have that, I don’t know where I’d be. I just feel like I have to do it.

ME: I think Sioux Falls has a really arms-wide-open mentality, and I think that we’re really lucky to get to perform in a place that is so supportive. I think on top of that, we live in a city where we’re on the cusp of so much, so it’s a responsibility to try and innovate something different or take something to the next level. Because we live in a city where we can do that. There are lots of things here that haven’t been done before, and I think that it’s exciting to be part of that growth.

ZD: We have a tighter-knit arts community than bigger cities. Comedy scenes in Minneapolis, Omaha, Fargo—they don’t touch Sioux Falls. There are 20 of us that are all there for each other, rather than out for themselves and cutthroat. We’re all here to lift each other up and it’s not a competition. That’s what makes us stronger.

AR: I feel lucky in my personal art just as a bass player, because even bass players don’t want to listen to a solo bass…

[Laughter]

AR: …so I’m always collaborating. Personally, I don’t want to be seen—I’m an introvert, so when people say, “Oh, you’re doing all this stuff and everyone knows you,” I’m just like, “Who?!” It doesn’t make any sense to me, but I think a big part of that is when you want to see something you just have to do it. Don’t wait around for someone else to. And you end up being seen because you’re one of the people who’s wiling to roll up their sleeves, do the hard work and be tired a lot.

[Laughter]