NESTLED ALONG the RED RIVER

in south Moorhead, Bluestem Center for the Arts boasts beautiful river views, grassy meadows, woods and wildlife. With its gorgeous 2500-seat outdoor amphitheater, and unique indoor educational center that serves multiple purposes, including hosting community festivals, business conferences, trade shows, private events and concerts, Bluestem is a world-class facility. Each day as she arrives at work, Kathy Anderson, Executive Director of Trollwood Performing Arts School and the Bluestem facility, feels blessed to work in this wonderful setting. →

Anderson grew up on a farm near Clifford, North Dakota, with her parents Robert and Mary Motter, older sister Susan, and younger brother Larry. Music was always an important part of her life. She played trumpet and baritone in the band, as well as piano and guitar, but her absolute favorite musical activity was singing. Anderson was a school choir member, worship leader at church, performer for many area concerts, and soloist for more than 100 weddings through the years. This love for music naturally led her to look for ways to integrate that passion into her adult life. While considering college and career plans she learned of the music industry program at Minnesota State University in Moorhead. Its combination of music along with business, marketing and accounting seemed a perfect fit and indeed it was. Anderson flourished as she studied vocal music and participated in choirs, ensembles and opera workshops. She also studied business fundamentals for the music industry, and event venue management. As Anderson recalls her education she explains, “That preparation was very fortuitous. The daily management of Bluestem Center for the Arts requires me to incorporate all of those varied skills.”

INTERESTING and VARIED CAREER OPPORTUNITIES

During the summer of 1990 Anderson had her first exposure to Trollwood Performing Arts School when she accepted an internship with the program at its original home in north Fargo. It was the beginning of a relationship that would span nearly 30 years as an intern, employee, parent and loyal supporter. Following graduation with her Bachelor of Music degree from MSUM, Anderson began working full time at Trollwood as an assistant to then director Vicki Chepulis. Their relationship was warm and nurturing and Anderson learned so much from Chepulis’ guidance.

In 1997, Anderson transitioned to a position as Executive Director at Bonanzaville. With forty-seven buildings on 12 acres, Bonanzaville is a living history museum of the Cass County Historical Society. This experience was rewarding and helped Anderson learn many skills that would enhance her abilities in each step of her career, including fundraising and budget management for a non-profit, as well as site development and maintenance. During those years Anderson and her husband Jim welcomed daughter Jessica into their family and Anderson opted to be a stayat-home parent for a season. Before she was even really considering re-entry in her career, a friend suggested that Anderson’s skills would be well suited for a position open at Microsoft. It sounded interesting so she applied. Soon Anderson began work as a technical support engineer, eventually transitioning to technical lead for the accounting package Great Plains. Describing her time at Microsoft, Anderson says, “I am so thankful for the phenomenal training and leadership development that Microsoft provided. I learned many valuable things during my time there and appreciate the ways that time in the tech industry continues to impact my career in the arts.”

A 2005 call from friend and mentor Vicki Chepulis invited Anderson back to the Trollwood organization as Director of Administration. The Trollwood campus was experiencing damage due to repeated flooding, and plans were in the works for the purchase and development of a completely new space within the Fargo Moorhead metro area. With many administrative details requiring attention, Anderson became a key facilitator in making the plans become a reality.

BLUESTEM becomes a NEW HOME for TROLLWOOD

Moving Trollwood, a program of the Fargo school district, from the residential north side of Fargo to an available plot of land on the south side of Moorhead to seemed like an implausible choice when the idea arose in the early 2000s. It took a great deal of cooperation among different sponsors including Fargo Public Schools, the City of Moorhead, and generous donations from individuals and businesses to make the dream a reality. Bluestem Center for the Arts became the new home for Trollwood when it opened in 2009. As with any big transition like this, there were bumps in the road, but Anderson is pleased to announce that the debt was paid off in 2012 and “it is awesome to have every dollar of income being reinvested in programming that can be enjoyed by so many.”

Trollwood is unique in the way it serves the community. A look at the statistics shows that Trollwood provided opportunities for more than 1,120 youth to participate in 12 different programs in 2016. With an astonishing 28 percent increase in attendance from the previous year, the programs entertained nearly 85,000 people. The 16 concerts provided by touring acts ranging in style from 3 Doors Down, Switchfoot and Boyz II Men to the retro group Herman’s Hermits performing hits from the sixties, Weird Al Yankovic’s parodies of popular tunes, and the annual Symphony Rocks concert, span a broad spectrum of tastes. With over 420 arts activities and events, there is literally something for everyone and the whole community benefits from the diversity of programs.

Recognizing that Anderson coordinates both the programming for Trollwood Performing Arts school and the Bluestem facility, it is natural to wonder, how does she handle the logistics and attention to detail needed to coordinate all of that activity? She will be the first to recognize that it is the work of her team. “We have a fantastic staff,” says Anderson. The seven yearround staff members attend to program coordination, marketing and communication, business management, community relations, and building and grounds maintenance. During the summer months when rehearsals are in full swing for the mainstage musical, the staff increases to over 125 people. Many of these staff members are local teachers, musicians, directors and choreographers, but a substantial number are also from outside the area. Directors, designers, and professional musicians from New York, technicians from Hawaii, Louisiana, Florida, Ohio, Kansas, and Pennsylvania, filmmakers and actors from California, and choreographers from Wisconsin are among those who have heard of the quality of the program and have chosen to spend weeks of their summer here to become immersed in the production. As a testament to the loyalty people feel once they’ve become connected to Trollwood, nearly one third of the staff members are alumni of the program. Dr. Jeff Schatz, Fargo Superintendent of Schools, is proud of the leadership and guidance Anderson provides for Trollwood and Bluestem. “She manages two diverse programs effectively and efficiently, always looking for ways to make positive things happen.”

This summer the mainstage musical will feature the beloved “Beauty and the Beast.” Because of Disney’s 1991 animated movie, and the more recent 2017 live-action re-telling of the classic tale, this is a story many know and love. With a gorgeous stage set against the prairie night sky, beautiful lighting, exquisite costumes and incredibly talented local young actors and actresses, this production is sure to be a crowd pleaser.

Anderson explains, “The heart and soul of Trollwood’s purpose is to connect people, especially youth, to arts education.” Although the mainstage production is certainly the most visible of the educational programs, Trollwood also offers many other youth programs. Children ages six to 11 can become involved with ArtSpark, a week-long performance based workshop that kindles kids’ confidence and ignites their creativity. Elementary school students can also participate in a full scale musical designed especially for kids through Trollwood Children’s Theatre. Middle-schoolers can take courses in early summer through Totally Trollwood Academy to learn the basics of acting, vocal performance and movement and more, and if they wish they can continue in July taking their place on stage as part of a junior Broadway musical. Upper level students, ages 16 through 20, can participate in a two week intensive study program at Trollwood Conservatory, or some may even take on a leadership role within the performing arts school and be mentored by professional artists, as they, in turn, mentor other youth. Because the Trollwood programs are school sponsored and supported, care is taken to make sure the courses align with curricular standards and benchmarks appropriate for arts education. With the summer scheduling and outdoor spaces it is possible to provide unique, performance based differentiated instruction tailored to the needs of every individual student.

One unique component integrated into all of the youth programs at Trollwood is a nationally recognized initiative called the STAR program designed to empower Students At Risk to use the arts as a tool for empowerment. Through STAR, students who have learning, physical or other challenges, who might not otherwise have the resources, receive arts training and other needed support such as transportation, supplies, meals and adult mentorship. It is the hope that these art experiences will inspire them to find success in school, in work and in life.

Balancing Many Roles

One of the factors that contributed to Anderson’s ability to balance career and family responsibilities through the years is that her family has embraced Trollwood as an integral part of their lives. Jim, Anderson’s husband, is the assistant director of admissions at MSUM. As Anderson describes it, “that is his paid day job,” but he also “puts in a lot of unpaid hours as a volunteer at Trollwood.” On the evenings of mainstage productions he can be found donning a neon green vest for parking detail and helping with miscellaneous jobs on the campus.

Daughter Jessica was naturally drawn to theatre and she has had the fortunate opportunity to be part of six Trollwood productions. As a third grader she got her first chance on the mainstage as a member of the children’s choir in the 2008 production of “Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” the final show at the north Fargo campus. A few years later she again earned roles in the ensembles for “Shrek the Musical,” “How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying,” and “Mary Poppins.” Jessica loved her time growing up as a Trollwood kid, “Although Mom was very busy, she always made time for me and I learned to appreciate the arts by spending so much time at Trollwood.” Last year Jessica donned a slippery green costume and roller skates to portray Jetsom, one of Ursala’s evil eels in “The Little Mermaid,” and this year she will become a personified feather duster as Babette, the enchanted castle maid, in “Beauty and the Beast.”

Jessica has also been very involved in theater and speech at Moorhead High School. She won a prestigious Minnesota Spotlight Award for her role as Kala in “Tarzan” and Ronette in “Little Shop of Horrors,” and has been recognized as one of the top speakers in the nation in original oratory. This June, she’ll be returning to the 2017 National Speech and Debate Tournament, and next year plans to attend MSUM majoring in communications. Her mother admits that being a parent to Jessica helped her gain insight for ways to greater serve students at Trollwood. “There are many kids in this community, who, like Jessica, gain so much benefit from participation in the arts, and we need to provide a variety of age appropriate programming,” Anderson says.

Certainly Anderson, her husband Jim and daughter Jessica have given a tremendous amount of time and commitment to Trollwood, but they are not unique in their dedication. As Anderson describes it, “Parents come out in droves to support not only their own children, but the entire community of young people. The adults genuinely care for the students and want what is best for each individual.”

The mission of Trollwood Performing Arts School is “to inspire those we serve through the arts to realize their full potential and be a positive influence in the global community.” Superintendent Schatz is continually impressed with Anderson’s relentless positivity and vision, “Kathy has the ability to see the big picture while simultaneously giving attention to the daily details necessary for running this venue. Under her leadership and guidance Bluestem has become a well-functioning, tremendous amenity that truly does serve our entire community.”

TO LEARN MORE about programming or ways you might connect with Trollwood and Bluestem Center for the Arts go to trollwood.org.

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