A Place for Discovery

Characters with complexities, unique foibles — those who local theatre artist Nancy Tapken refers to with fondness as “messy characters” — are part of the fabric of Theatre Lab, one of Sioux Falls’ most recent additions to the local theatre scene. And as the company’s founder, Tapken is thrilled at the prospect of helping to bring them to life.

Nancy Tapken

“I really like characters who have a lot of challenges and a lot of hurdles,” she said, “and yet, for the most part, they have that kind of good center. I like hard situations. I like stories with a lot of challenges or decisions to make.”

This bears out in Theatre Lab’s first couple forays into the local scene, including a production of the Jon Robin Baitz play Other Desert Cities last fall and a recent two-hander, A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters this past February.

“I loved the show right away,” Tapken said of Other Desert Cities, Theatre Lab’s inaugural production. “I loved the characters. I loved the family dynamics. I thought the family nucleus was really excellent In this show. It did have a little bit of a political theme, too, so that stood out to me as potentially having some timely messages.”

That craving for messiness was evident in Tapken’s character in the play, portraying a conservative matriarch of a wealthy, politically adjacent family. “She wasn't a good communicator with her kids. She had really strong beliefs that aren't necessarily my beliefs, but I thought it was interesting to put those two different ways of thinking up on stage. A really hard exterior, but less hard on the inside — I liked that.”

Tapken, for her part, is a familiar face for those in the local theatre arena, having performed in productions at Mighty Corson Art Players, the Premiere Playhouse and Monstrous Little Theatre Company, in addition to co-founding Broad Cast Theatre.

Her own interest in challenging material is what originally sparked her interest in starting Theatre Lab, an organization she hopes can provide more opportunities for fellow theatre artists who seek these types of works.

“I like a specific kind of theatre,” Tapken said. “I like drama. And there is some of that, of course, in the theatre scene. But there just wasn't enough of it. I just remember every spring in this March-to-May window, I'm always just on tenterhooks about what all the companies’ seasons are going to be.

Erin Sharp & Alexondrea Thong Vanh appear in Theatre Lab’s production of Other Desert Cities at the Washington Pavilion in fall 2024.

“When folks announced, I was just always really on pins and needles. So, I just finally said, ‘Why am I waiting for someone else to do the stuff I want to do? If I want it done, I better just do it!’”

And since starting this endeavor, Tapken has gotten a brand-new appreciation for every aspect of theatrical production, including that producing bit.

“For me, the biggest challenge is logistics,” she said. “I just can't say it enough. Where's the space? Who am I interested in involving? Can all their lives congeal at the same moment to come together and make it happen? The logistics, I think, are tough.”

But the challenge of creating something from nothing is a big part of what drives Tapken to continue her pursuits via Theatre Lab and her other creative endeavors.

“I really do enjoy the puzzle that is ‘this actor from over here, that actor from over there, that director who I've never worked with before, these community organizations that might play a part…,’” she said of the coming-together of the cast and crew of Other Desert Cities, which included artists most associated with a variety of other companies in town. “For future projects, I'm reaching out to other folks in the community about how they can potentially be on board with Theatre Lab, as well, and just make it that much more full, that much more exciting. To draw in folks that maybe don't walk in the doors of a theatre as frequently as we do.”

As she envisions what Theatre Lab will look like in its second season and beyond, Tapken is eager to feed what she sees as a growing appetite for this type of dramatic theatre experience.

“I hope we can provide that meatier theatre experience,” she said, citing fellow local organization Monstrous Little Theatre Company as scratching this same sort of itch. “I hope we draw audiences who want to think, who want to ponder, who want to grow.

“I also want this for the actors — something they can dig into. I hear too often performers say that ‘it’s been a while since they’ve gotten to really dig into a character study,’ but I don’t want it to be a while. I want those opportunities to be all the time.”

A kindred spirit in this regard is Other Desert Cities director Jesse Jensen, who she tapped for the company’s first project.

“I just adore him,” Tapken said. “I would do anything with him at the helm. He's so intelligent in a way that I'm not, with a depth of knowledge about things that I don't. He lets the actor take the lead. His knowledge is so deep.

“I don't have 25 more years in me to do shows. I'm on a little limited timetable, so I really want to work with people. I want to keep learning, and I really need to work with people who can keep teaching me stuff.”

And what better place to learn and try things with your craft than in a “lab?” 

“You’re making discoveries, seeing worldviews different from yours — taking risks and experimenting.”