Lafayette's Arts HUB hosting gala to promote community theater

Sep. 5—Theater is a chance to step into someone else's shoes while still expressing yourself. And the Arts HUB in Lafayette is making sure it's an endeavor in which everyone can participate.

The Arts HUB, 420 Courtney Way, will hold the 2023 Gala Saturday to raise funds and will soon be presenting the first year-round community theater season at the HUB.

The Arts HUB is a non profit focused on providing accessible, equitable and high quality theater for the local community. Clara Wendland, marketing and events coordinator, said the center has expanded to create an adults theater program last year.

Jen Morris, Arts Hub board liaison and co-chair for the 2023 Gala said all proceeds from the gala will go towards needed upgrades to the current building as well as raising funds for the Arts 4 All program.

The Arts 4 All program focuses on providing marginalized groups who have historically been excluded from extra curricular arts programs. The program gives scholarships to Alicia Sanchez Elementary School children to attend Arts HUB classes for free, as well as providing free tickets to Arts HUB shows. Alecia Sanchez Elementary school is 75% Latino and has the highest percentage of students on a free and reduced lunch in all of Boulder Valley School District.

"We have a scholarship fund there to truly make theater accessible for all kids, regardless of ability to pay," Morris said.

Director of Programming Kenzie Rosen-Stone said that this year, 12 students from Alecia Sanchez were able to participate in Arts HUB programming through the Arts 4 All fund.

Morris will be master of ceremonies for the night. The event will also feature special guest Broadway music director Boko Suzuki, who did musical direction for the first and second national tour of "Wicked" and has many other musical theater credits.

The evening will also feature drinks, food, games, a live auction and performances from Morris and other Arts HUB musicians.

Adult programs at the HUB were well received by both audiences and actors, and so the first year-round season begins with the showing of the musical "Urinetown" directed by Jason Lindsey Sept. 15-17 and Sept. 22-24.

"Urinetown" written by Greg Kotis tells the story of a not-so-distant future where due to an extreme drought, public bathrooms are outlawed. Main protagonist Bobby Strong has enough of having to pay fees to use bathrooms, and decides to fight for the "right to pee." The satirical musical takes a funny approach to discussing capitalism and fascism.

The Arts HUB will also be presenting "Peter and the Starcatcher," "Newsies," "Sweeney Todd," "Rent" and "Once Upon a Mattress." The season's theme is resiliency and examining how humans react to adversity, both the lows and highs.

"We want our community theater program to be for the community," Wendland said.

She said the HUB is focused on providing accessible and equitable access to everyone, and open auditions are held for every show. As a former theater kid, Wendland said people often find community, family and acceptance in theater groups. Theater is a "collective hobby," and Wendland explained show production can feel magical when a great crew and cast work together.

Rosen-Stone explained that the HUB has programs for anyone at any age. There are art sensory programs for kids who can not yet walk, kindergarten musical productions, specialty acting, vocal and performance classes, and many performance groups.

There is Broadway Kids program designed for 5-to-8 year old kids, Rising Stars for elementary aged children, and Showstoppers for middle schoolers. The choir and community theater groups are open to high schoolers and adults.

"Each group gets to have a production that they work on all semester and perform at the end of the semester," Rosen-Stone said.

There is also the immersive year-long Thespians group, who learn the skills of live performances and production. Rosen-Stone said that there are also a variety of film making and fine arts classes, summer camps and even more programs that will be launched next year.

Wendland, Rosen-Stone and Morris all stated that the importance of being given the opportunity to be artistic and creative. They all also stated the importance of telling stories about historically marginalized people, and having input from those communities.

"We recognize and fully understand the importance of being able to have people of color amongst us and learn from their lived experience, and understand and know that we are hearing their stories fully and represent our community," Rosen-Stone said.

The gala will also provide funds to provide stipends and travel accommodations to the HUB for local marginalized groups to provide their stories and advice for shows to the HUB.

Rosen-Stone said The Arts HUB is a place of love, acceptance and community. Morris said people do not have to grow out of theater and while people may get occupied with life, kids, jobs and other passions, The Arts HUB welcomes everybody to the stage.

Tickets for the 2023 Gala are available at artshub.org/2023gala. Tickets range from $80 to $100. Morris said people can use the code "GALA2023" to save $20 on tickets.

More information about The Arts HUB is available at artshub.org.