The "Arts". (A Rant)

Original Post Date: September 22, 2006

There seems to be some confusion in my town about the definition of the terms "The Arts." It seems that "The Arts" only means "Art" around here anymore. Now I have no beef with the sculpters and artists. They have my deepest respect for what they do. I wish I could do that. However, I am a musician. And an actress. And I'm running out of opportunities in Loveland.

Everyone is so worried about all the sculptures around town. We almost had a civil war about a naked sculpture in a round-about. The Sculpture Show practically shuts down part of the city once a year. However, there is no theatre in town that is big enough to handle the large-scale musicals I have been involved in for the past 5 summers. The Loveland Music Guild put on a big show every summer in Loveland from 1976 to 2001. However, in 2002, the auditorium at Thompson Valley HS was being renovated. So, that summer's production of "Oklahoma!" was moved to Fort Collins to the Lincoln Center. A much better space for the caliber of musicals we were doing. And we never returned. However, the City of Loveland pretty much forgot about us. We left, therefore we were no longer worthy of their support. The die-hards came, of course, but the general public lost interest. It's just too far and too expensive to drive to Ft Collins. Never mind that it was the best and biggest show in Northern Colorado. It was too much of a hassle. Now, the future of Front Range Music Theatre (Loveland Music Guild's producing arm) is in question. There's no money. I'm also hearing that the Loveland Community Theater has gone by the wayside. There's only one theater in town that's nice enough to accomodate local performing groups. The Rialto. However, it's VERY SMALL. Thompson Valley is great for a high school theatre, but not for much more. It may be the Civic Auditorium, but it's still in a school. It's not maintained as a Civic Auditorium should be.

I don't have all the answers. I certainly don't have the money to support any theatre company from a financial standpoint. My support comes in my performing. I'm working hard with the brand new Loveland Opera Theatre. We aren't big enough yet to need anything bigger than the Rialto, but give us a few years. My point is, let's worry a little less about a naked statue and a little more about the fact that theatre is dying in Loveland!