(Spencer)– Spencer Community Theatre has undergone some significant changes in the past year. For one thing, Connie Goeken of SCT says their staff has changed and now consists entirely of volunteers. She says it’s part of their effort to recover from the pandemic…
“Even when things were opening up again, we faced a scene change, I guess you would say, in the entertainment landscape, which is that during those two years, most of our patrons had become accustomed to gaining their entertainment on a screen, and live performances were something that we had to convince people to come back out and experience again. And we’ve been working really hard to let people know that there is a big difference between a live performance and something you would witness on the screen and it’s participation of the people in the audience with the people on the stage, and we’re very happy to say that that seems to be kind of turning around in the world and also for us.”
Goeken says they’re also reviewing their business model…
“How do we best serve our patrons, our members, our participants, the people who make our product. We have volunteers who make our product and we have to make sure that that experience is as good for them as it is for the people sitting in the seats. And then how many plays do we produce each season? Really what can our community support? What’s the call, what’s the need for that? And then how do we market our beautiful theatre for rentals to outside groups? When we built the theatre back in 2010, one of our primary goals was to have another public space in town that people could utilize for meetings and events and of course when the events stopped the rentals stopped, but we’re getting back into that now and we have had several outside groups rent our theatre for meetings and trainings and parties, that kind of thing.”
She adds there’s another reason to keep the Spencer Community Theatre alive. Goeken says their statistics indicate a large number of people from outside Clay county attend productions at SCT. She says that has a direct impact on Spencer’s economy…
“We know full well that when people come to Spencer to see one of our shows there’s a very good chance that they will buy gas; buy groceries, maybe; shop in our downtown retail area; or in a long held theatre tradition, have a meal before the show or a drink afterwards. So we’re proud of these numbers and what they say about our place in the community and about how we give back in ways that reach beyond the stage.”
Goeken says some exciting productions are coming up at Spencer Community Theatre. She says rehearsals are underway for “The Music Man”. “Lend Me A Tenor” is also on this season’s schedule. And Chad Elliott will be performing at SCT January 27th.
Goeken says there will also be a full schedule of shows in the children’s theatre this summer, along with a weeklong camp for children that will be put on by a group from central Iowa.
