HERBERGER THEATER CENTER

HERBERGER THEATER CENTER builds outdoor stage

By Lisa Van Loo

Herberger Theater Center has been pretty quiet. But, not silent. And it’s preparing to make a new kind of noise in the coming months — outdoors.

“There are three parts to this,” Mark Mettes, Herberger president and CEO, says of when the theater will reopen. “For one, we have to be ready. We have to have the facility and staff ready to go. And then the companies have to be ready. And then, when are the patrons ready to come back? Us just being ready by ourselves doesn’t mean too much.”

Mettes says Herberger Theater Center has used this quiet time, while its stage has been empty, to plan for the return of live performances, which they hope to debut in November with a new, outdoor venue. The stage, which will host a variety of performances, is expected to accommodate shows for up to five months.

“It’s all moving forward. And, this is what the Herberger needs to do for the community, so organizations can connect with their guests and artists can work,” Mettes says of the new, outdoor stage. “We’ve seen people are very interested in an outdoor stage and outdoor performances.”

With the new venue, Herberger Theater Center plans to reintroduce audiences to its longrunning Lunch Time Theater offering, which continued during the pandemic with a virtual presence and adjusted programming to include artist interviews and archived performances. In addition, the stage will host the Herberger’s Performance Discoveries program, a pop-up program it’s hosted for several years, and the outdoor venue will allow the Herberger to offer a hybrid setting for its Festival of the Arts.

Films and live performances will fill out the schedule, which will include shows that run for just one night and some that run longer.

“There’s definitely an excitement,” Mettes says of finalizing the details of the new venue. “It’s a feeling of hope and being able to move forward and be together as a community. We’re excited to get back to our mission of bringing audiences and artists together.”

For more information, visit herbergertheater.org.