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IT’S (ALMOST) SHOWTIME Desert Foothills Theater continues to plan for upcoming season Laura Latzko >> The Entertainer!
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he COVID-19 Pandemic has impacted the arts in different ways, but many local organizations have still been pushing forward. Founded in Scottsdale in 1975, Desert Foothills Theater has a forward-thinking approach despite having to cancel the end of the 2019-20 season. “I think we are in great shape,” says Terry Temple, who started as managing director in December 2019. “The future is bright for Desert Foothills and for the arts in general in the community, and I’m honored to be a part of it.” There will be changes because of his leadership style and because of COVID-19, but the goal is to bring programming that will best serve the community. “There are people who a little more cautious,” Temple says. “They love this place, and they want it to succeed. We are just trying to convince them that we are all in this thing together. We’re going to make this work. It’s going to feel different. It’s going to look different. I’m going to put my influence on this place. Some people are going to get on board and some people are going to challenge it a little bit, and that’s OK. That’s how it should be. I love that people care about what happens here.” He and his new staff have been communicating regularly via Zoom,
FaceTime and phone chats. The plans they are making will impact this next season as well as future years for the theater company.
REMODEL The DFT started the first phase of a remodel of the theater space in the FCFHolland Community Center, where it has produced shows.
The next step is to raise funds for the project. The remodel would create a modular theater space for smaller productions inside the community center. The new space will also offer professional-level lighting and sound, a backstage area for the actors, moveable seating that can be adapted to shows and rehearsal, and set construction
areas. With the space, the center and the theater company will be able to offer more programming. “What we are proposing gives us so much more flexibility in our scheduling and the types of shows we can do,” Temple says. “It also changes the nature of what the Holland Center can provide. They can do different types of presentations and concerts. This is a mutually beneficial repurposing of the center.”
NEXT SEASON This next season, the theater company will offer a variety of programming, including well-known classics, youthfocused shows, Broadway hits and intergenerational productions. The shows and dates have not yet been announced and are contingent on COVID-19 guidelines. Many of DFT’s productions will take place at the Cactus Shadows Fine Arts Center, with which it has a longstanding partnership. This past season, the company canceled three shows that were already in production, including “Godspell,” “Steel Magnolias” and an original work
