Mighty Makers

A warm, intimate, inviting theatre experience might be tough to come by in a sprawling city environment. But tucked away in a community just across the highway from Brandon, S.D., is a storied organization with 41 years under its belt that aims to satisfy those seeking that very night of entertainment — the Mighty Corson Art Players.

(From left) Macie Lupica, Ryan Howe, Marisa Moser & Dave Bakke perform American Hero at the Corson Playhouse in October 2022.

Since its inception in 1982, MCAP, as it’s affectionately known, has been bringing community theatre to the Brandon area, striving to provide a low barrier to entry for those looking to partake in the arts, performer and audience member alike.

Having just wrapped its 41st season, MCAP board president Ryan Howe has seen the organization hit a new sweet spot in recent years, thanks to the leadership of recent managing artistic director, the late Brian Schipper.

“We really try to embody our mission by having a unique set of shows that we perform throughout the year,” he said. “A bit of that traditional format of doing a bit of a think piece, a comedy and then our holiday piece. We like to really tell some unique stories — stories that no one's really heard of — and show people that there's a really wide array of theatre going on in the community.”

Through Schipper and the board’s leadership in recent years, MCAP has been able to increase its outreach to the surrounding Sioux Falls area, bringing in fresh faces to the stage, as well as new patrons to experience the Corson Playhouse for the first time.

“We’ve seen a bit of a shift as our seasons have changed, as we've added shows as we've sort of shifted a bit of the artistic direction that has brought in a lot of new people,” Howe said. “Typically, our patronage had been a lot of local Brandon and Corson folks, but as we've been able to network more with the greater Sioux Falls community and work with a lot of those artists and bring more and more people in, that has expanded our audience.  

“And now we're seeing more than ever a really nice blend of artists and audience members who have been coming for a long time, a lot of friends and family, and we sort of pride ourselves that once you get your foot in the door, you’re a member of the Corson family for life.”

That aforementioned show selection has helped MCAP to develop a roster of repeat players to its talent pool, a consideration that has to do with not only unique storytelling but also working within a unique environment.

(From left) Nathan Sparks, Alexandria Mathews, Grace Kjelden & Jack Bledsoe perform [title of show] at Mighty Corson Art Players in April 2024, under the direction of Jesse Jensen.

“(Schipper) was always fond of saying, ‘We just do cool s**t.’ And what it comes down to is we have been choosing shows that we are really passionate about and we think are unique stories that give actors really meaty roles and the ability to open themselves up and challenge themselves,” Howe said.

“There are different things that happen when you perform on a massive stage like the Orpheum versus performing in a small space like ours. I think us being able to offer some really varied performance opportunities to actors — give them the opportunities to challenge themselves and open up their skillset — I think we've just shown people that we're a space that does really unique work, and, as actors have seen that work, they’ve wanted to be a part of that and have had really impactful experiences working with us.”

This past season included three varied formats, including a biographical drama, They Promised Her the Moon; a comedic holiday play with a history at MCAP, Those Crazy Ladies in the House on the Corner; and an irreverent musical, [title of show]. The first of those, directed by Schipper, was particularly poignant for the MCAP team and greater community, coming on the heels of the director’s passing this past fall.

“They Promised Her the Moon was in the midst of immense tragedy,” Howe said of the production, which tells the true story of Jerrie Cobb, the first American woman to test for space flight. “Seeing the community come together was really, really wonderful. But I think that story in particular was one that we really rallied behind.”

Wrapping up the season with Tony-Award-nominated meta-musical [title of show] was a foray into the genre that MCAP hadn’t touched in more than a decade.

“It’s a little bit outside the scheme of what we do, where traditionally we do really intimate straight shows,” Howe said. “And so now we're branching out a little bit. We'd wanted to do [title of show] here for as long as Brian and I had known each other, and we've got (production music director) Matt (Walicke) in the building. He loves working with us, we love working with him. And so the stars sort of aligned there.”

As MCAP has continued its brand evolution over recent years, Howe and the larger board have been pleased with the response, both from new patrons and those with a rich history of attending Corson events.

“It’s been really gratifying. It’s been really refreshing to hear people tell us how much some of these stories mean to them, how much they've connected to them and raising up the stories that we're raising up on stage,” he said. “We hear often that what we're doing is unlike anything else that's offered right now, and that there's an appreciation that we're doing things for the sake of the art and trying things that are unique.

“It’s something that I really love about the Sioux Falls community as a whole — everyone's sort of carved out this niche of the things that they do really, really well. And we're each helping each other raise the bar for excellence in the community because we're all trying new things and we're all expanding. I think we're all helping audiences sort of increase their theatrical literacy. We’re aiming to teach people something new about theatre with every show.”

Find out more about the Mighty Corson Art Players, including their recently announced lineup for Season 42, at mightycorson.com.