Expanding Across the 605

By Max Hofer

Staff Writer

Since 1946, the Black Hills Playhouse has brought community and storytelling together under one roof in western South Dakota. Founded by Warren M. “Doc” Lee, the goal was to establish the state’s first homegrown professional theatre company.

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In the following years, it’s become a premier destination, drawing in large crowds and performers from across the country to experience high-quality productions. Today, its reach has grown further by joining a larger initiative, one that focuses on ensuring access to theatre across the state. It’s called Theatre 605.

“I’ve got the best job on the whole planet because I get to make sure that everybody has access to theatre,” said Theatre 605’s artistic director, Jen Luke.

With offices in both eastern and western South Dakota, the organization is able to share resources and provide individuals with artistic opportunities they may not find elsewhere.

“Theatre 605 is kind of the umbrella for four different programs.” Luke is the artistic director for three of the programs: Tours, Jr. Camps and Expanding Stage. Each one focuses on a different aspect of inclusion.

Expanding Stage is an all-ability theatre program that creates a platform for performers with disabilities. They achieve this through a partnership with DakotAbilities, who helps recruit actors, provides staff assistance and rehearsal and performance space.

“We employ stage partners to help some of the actors who aren't able to get around as easily, or help with prompting with lines,” Luke said. “We’re able to create opportunities where every voice and every person can have access to the arts, which has been so important to me.”

The organization’s Jr. Camps are hosted at the University of South Dakota in Vermillion. Students grades 5-12 are invited to join them for a two-week experience where they can discover their voices, build confidence and make friends, all through the magic of theatre.

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“These kids from all over the state maybe don't have a lot in common with their fellow students,” she said. “This program gives them the chance to come together with a whole bunch of people that have the same interests, and feel a little less alone.”

For those who can’t attend camps or don’t have local theatre in their area, the company’s tour program brings the stage to them.

“We go into communities throughout much of the Midwest,” Luke said. “We do a little bit in Minnesota, Nebraska and North Dakota, but we make sure that that we go in and we can do week-long theater residencies with communities.

“We were at a conference, and we were talking to these different teachers from all over the state, and they're like, ‘I think this touring program might be really great to bring into our school because we just had to cut music at a district-wide level.’ I do not want to be the solution for that problem, but I am happy to fill in that void where I can, and make sure that kids get the opportunity to learn music, dance and performance.”

Most of the organization’s programming has been around for decades, but Luke says that under the Theatre 605 label it’s easier for them to share resources and expertise across the state.

“We want to be able to keep creative minds in the state of South Dakota,” she said. “I think it's really important to state that we're only able to do what we do on the level that we do it because of the State Arts Council, which is funded with matching funds from the National Endowment for the Arts. The majority of that funding comes from state taxpayers, and I am so grateful that we support the arts on the level that we do.”

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Not only does Theatre 605 create opportunities for performance and jobs, but it also provides another valuable commodity: Connection.

“I really believe in this world, where things are becoming more and more digitized with AI and all these different sorts of things, people are coming back to these analog forms of entertainment in a very different way,” Luke said. “We get to show our creativity in real time, in person, and create this personal connection in a way that I think is really cool. There's nobody that needs that more than kids.”

Like the performers in an ensemble, each Theatre 605 program plays a different role, and when they all play their part, the result is one incredible production.

“I think that the arts have this really beautiful power to connect people on really deep levels, and we get to play and we get to create worlds that we want to live in, and it’s the best job ever. I'm so incredibly grateful to be able to get to do it every day.”

If you want to learn more about Theatre 605, how to get involved, or see upcoming productions, visit their website at theatre605.org.