Views from the Visionary

Fall is often the harbinger of the return of  many an arts program after summer break in our fair city. And with a cavalcade of exciting events on the calendar in the coming months, it’s only fitting we connect with three of the scene’s players poised to be an integral part of what makes Sioux Falls creative this coming season. 

Pictured: Oliver Mayes, local producer, director & performer; managing artistic director of the Premiere Playhouse; bachelor’s in music theatre & master’s in directing; 2021-22 Sioux Falls Stage Award nominee for Best Direction for the Premiere Playhouse’s Cabaret; recent co-director of the Premiere Playhouse’s Young Frankenstein (Credit: Peter Chapman)

What excites you most about the state of performing arts in the Sioux Falls community?

Oliver Mayes: As a newcomer, I’d have to say I get most excited about how much is going on and how many different types of art you can see. And I don’t just mean by discipline, but also within each of those disciplines, each company and group has a very solid and specific objective—something they’re trying to achieve for the community of Sioux Falls. That’s kind of what sold coming into this community for me.

Alecia Juelfs: I am very excited, through the lens of our students—the fact that we don’t have a lot of theatre majors or people in this area who are saying, “I’m going to Broadway!” and the fact that we’re (USF) not a conservatory—that our students are having opportunities outside and past college to be a teacher and to still be creatively fulfilled in both arenas. I think it’s really powerful and important, and that’s one way that I try to expose my students to those things. I mean, you can be a chiropractor and you can do theatre at night. That can be a future for you. And it’s not this “dream thing” I’m telling you about—you can go see it! I think it’s a really unique experience for them to have.

Rachael Payne: I grew up in Sioux Falls—I’ve lived here almost my whole life. I think a lot of born-and-raised and lifetimers here in Sioux Falls have seen that theatre has come such a long way. Even in the pocket of the last five years, it really has exploded. A lot of different groups doing a lot of different things. Like you said, each group has a different objective that’s very clear, and it never feels competitive. It just feels friendly, supportive, approachable. The trajectory doesn’t feel like it’s stopping here.

OM: We haven’t hit a plateau—there’s not a ceiling yet.

What’s optimistic about the opportunities afforded youth in Sioux Falls?

AJ: I am part of an organization called Arts Ignite. Essentially the goal and mission of that organization is that they believe students live cyclical lives, and the arts can be something that breaks cycles. This means generational change that can occur because of opportunities afforded in the arts. The goal is to give students chances to express themselves—to do a dress rehearsal for life. I think what I’m seeing in Sioux Falls is that there are a lot of opportunities for young people to do really excellent work—professional-level work. It’s incredible, because it teaches them a lot of soft skills that students need before they get to us (the collegiate level).

RP: As an adult, it always humbles me to see what young students from first grade through high school can show us and can teach us. They often are so much more than the box we put them in. You see them on stage at (the Dakota Academy of Performing Arts) or the Rise Up Mentorship Program or in their drama clubs, and they are so above and beyond what you expect. It’s important to give those students an opportunity to show their excellence in a way that’s not necessarily what’s expected. Plus, it’s nice to have those small pockets of safety in schools—like drama clubs. It also inspires some confidence to try out for something outside of school, and those opportunities snowball into, maybe, a career or a hobby that supports a well-rounded life.

OM: Where I came from, there was a good amount of theatre education in the public school system. But there wasn’t as much of a focus in community theatre or educational theatre programs or organizations. What I think has been really cool coming into Sioux Falls, though the schools might not have as much programming, they have pockets of clubs and forms of focus. And alongside of it are all the theatre organizations in the area taking note of that, trying to add value to kids’ lives by offering opportunity as well. It becomes a funnel effect—creating those well-rounded individuals who make friends they wouldn’t otherwise have made. At the Premiere Playhouse, we have an education program we’re trying to build so it can focus on every age group in a specific, different experience. DAPA has been doing that for a long time, and the Good Night Theatre Collective is now casting children, too. We’re giving them different varieties of experience. One may inform the other, and, as they get older, it will continue to inform them.

RP: We see a group like DAPA, who invited my drama club to come see one of their shows, which resulted in a bunch of those kids trying out for DAPA. It just seems to ripple. It’s never just one organization. It’s never about competition. It sets a really good example, and it’s very enriching at the same time.

OM: It’s giving them a plethora of opportunities year-round, which is just something I didn’t grow up with. It’s beautiful to see.

What do you think is most valuable in having arts experiences growing up?

RP: A lot of people might say, simply, public speaking skills. And while that’s true, it’s also a lot of interpersonal skills—working as a team, presenting oneself in a professional way. These things that we might not expect kids to rise to the occasion on as 10-, 11- and 12-year-olds, though they always do.

Pictured: Alecia Juelfs, local theatre director & performer; assistant professor & theatre program director at University of Sioux Falls; bachelor’s in communication studies/theatre & master’s in theatre; former fine arts teacher, oral interp head coach & drama director for Sioux Falls Christian; former visual and performing arts admissions coordinator for University of Sioux Falls (Credit: Peter Chapman)

AJ: Someone once told me that theatre is just lots and lots of problem-solving. I can’t forecast the issues my students will face in five, 10 or 15 years. But it’s my job to give them tools that they can recall in such a way that they are aided in those moments. I will tell them, “What you’re doing in class right now, you might not need in the next three months.” But if they’re going to be a nurse, a teacher, and say they have to deliver bad news to someone or something like that, to be able to communicate well, this is the time to rehearse those skills. Particularly in the Midwest, we seem to have a hard time with emotion and expressing it. I think that we were created with this very broad spectrum of emotion, both positive and negative. And if we’re not exploring the full extent of those emotions, we’re doing a disservice to ourselves and others. I have been noticing my students struggling to access emotions they’re feeling. Using theatre as a way to access them, I’ve seen it totally transform people’s ability to laugh at themselves, emote and express themselves. I think it’s a really unique thing about theatre.

RP: It doesn’t have to be a deeply therapeutic experience, but there’s no such thing as a theatre performance that has happened without someone asking for help. Being able to ask for help and learning how to collaborate, reach out and be vulnerable is very valuable.

OM: It helps with problem-solving innately, but outside of that, we also learn to read people and think how we might affect someone in everyday situations. Taking the scene work you do when putting on a show and applying it to real life helps us build empathy. You’re analyzing your interactions with people more. You’re analyzing how people are affected by a certain intention you’ve used. I taught Intro to Acting to non-majors in a college setting, and they’re my favorite—at first they’re like, “what?” But then they’re boggled by it and want to talk about it more than, often, theatre students. They see it as a value to add to their real lives.

What arts creativity have you observed locally that most inspires you?

RP: I’m always worried about expecting too much, but then you go out and see these shows—(the Premiere Playhouse’s) Cabaret comes to mind. That set was incredible, the lighting was astonishing. And these are my friends and co-workers. These are average people doing extraordinary things, and it is completely possible and within the realm of capability, which is really inspiring. The beautiful costuming we’re seeing in (the Good Night Theatre Collective’s) Salem right now and the set for Little Women at Augustana—that’s inspiring for me to know that we can make creative, exciting choices here in Sioux Falls.

AJ: The whole concept of Good Night. The way that it was started and the heart behind it is so evident in the work. Every time I go to a cabaret, I’m expecting it to be similar to the last one I saw, and I’m blown away every time. There are so many good, intentional, creative things happening that set it over the top and apart. It’s very entertaining, welcoming and inviting and all that, but it also feels like everyone is going the extra mile to push toward excellence. Not just doing a thing, but doing it well.

RP: I think what a lot of groups in town are doing right now is defining quality theatre. You don’t have to just go to the Sommervold stage to see quality theatre. I think convincing the public of that and paying X, Y and Z ticket price for it is a slow process, but it’s happening.

AJ: Like what (the Premiere Playhouse) did with Christmas Carol—the costuming, the set… it made me say, “wait—is this Sioux Falls?” It’s also very inspiring to me that there are people who have “regular day jobs” and are doing it for the love of it.

OM: When I entered the space to see Monstrous Little Theatre Company’s Rabbit Hole—I love site-specific, semi-immersive theatre—it was one of my first theatrical experiences in Sioux Falls. It made me aware of everyone’s different objectives—trying to do different things in different spaces. Also, Good Night’s Charlie Brown—I love being creatively inventive with the design of a production, and I felt like the set was used in such a beautifully creative, inspiring way that I would’ve loved to do, too. That was a huge moment of inspiration for me—those blocks were made into a million different locations and painted in a way that was telling a specific story on each side.

Pictured: Rachael Payne, local performer & director; middle school English teacher and drama club advisor at O’Gorman Junior High School; bachelor’s in English education and theatre; performer & collective member with the Good Night Theatre Collective since 2018; 2019-20 Sioux Falls Stage Award nominee for Best Leading Actress for The Rocky Horror Show; upcoming director of Good Night’s Little Women (Credit: Peter Chapman)

What are your hopes for how you might impact the future of performing arts?

OM: I wholeheartedly believe in the mission of the Premiere Playhouse, which is to strive to create exceptional theatre through accessibility, education, inclusivity and collaboration to enrich the community. All of those keywords are things that are the pillars of my objectives as an artist. So coming into this role feels easy, as I don’t really have to think twice about wanting to engage with that mission. That’s what I’m looking to do both through the Playhouse and in the world—it’s become clear what my calling is in life. To create rooms where people are working in harmony to tell stories that inspire empathy.

AJ: Something I learned when teaching middle-schoolers, when we were asked by an administrator to think about our deep hope for our students and what we want them to remember in 60 years, is that usually it’s not the concept you’re teaching. What I want for my students is for them to experience how to love and be loved—well. It’s accepting help, understanding who they are and perhaps starting to question and gain some confidence in why they were created. I just want them to have a space where they can learn how to accept love if that’s something they haven’t been able to do in the past, and to accept it in different ways from different people. It’s not always necessarily through the practice of theatre that this is happening, but also in classrooms. It’s about how we love them well so that they’re in a space where they learn how to accept love and go out and love others.

RP: I think the answer for me is two-fold. I think about who I am when I’m in front of my students, and I think my intention is to let them know that there is a place for everyone. Middle school is a formative age, and it can be very traumatic and confusing for a lot of students. I want them to know they don’t have to fit in a specific box. Even in drama club, I tell my students, we need playwrights, we need someone to run the grand drape, we need someone on lights—not everyone has to be an actor. It’s about working as a team and exploring—feeling uncomfortable, exploring who you are and exploring identity, which can be scary at that age. As an adult, who is a hobby actor/director, I think my hope is to garner some respect for the theatre community. Your neighbor down the street is an amazing actor. Your barber is an incredible director. It’s not what you expect. We’re more than our “day jobs.” We have valuable input to the community. We can create beautiful, incredible things.

OM: I love that—exposing our little community to the rest of the community, and letting them know the value we’re offering.

RP: We’ve come a long way, but there’s still work to be done in that regard.