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hen the Michael D. Palm Theatre first opened its doors in 2005, it was a unique hybrid: a school building that housed a community’s performing arts center. “These days,” Palm Managing Director Kathy Jepson explains, “you’ll find several towns THE PALM doing the same, but back then it was a rarity to have a regional facil- CONTINUES TO ity working collaboratively with a EVOLVE AS BOTH high school.” Film Festival, the Bluegrass ITS NEEDS AND As it turned out, such a visionFestival’s NightGrass series and TECHNOLOGY ary combination worked on several the Ride, to name just a few. CHANGE. fronts. First, it allowed the school “During non-Covid times, we to offer a top-notch performance typically present five to seven space to students. Dancers had access to a sprung major shows in addition to simulcasting events floor, protecting them from injury, while actors such as the Metropolitan Opera and London’s and actresses had a sophisticated stage with HolNational Theater,” Jepson says. lywood-level sound and lighting systems and a fly That the Palm exists at all is the result of tower. But the performers weren’t the only ones several generous factions. Looking for a way to to benefit. In its 16 years, the Palm has trained commemorate Michael D. Palm, a cherished dozens of students to be theater technicians, local musician and philanthropist who died running the lightning and sounds for shows, from complications related to AIDS in 1998, the cultivating “home-grown talent,” as Jepson puts Gluckstern family offered both time and some it. “Technician training is the kind of thing you initial funds to build a performing arts center find in larger cities,” Technical Director Michael in his name. A bond initiative to build it was Wingfield says. “It’s great to be able to offer it to approved by the town in 2002 and under the kids in a town of this size.” leadership of Ron Gilmer and Mary Wodehouse By day, the school has access to the theater, and with the support of the Johnson Family but after school and on weekends, the Palm Foundation, the Michael Palm Foundation and flings open its doors to the wider community, the Lucky Star Foundation, advocates launched hosting national and international touring coma capital campaign, raising nearly $2 million to panies, as well as Mountainfilm, the Telluride help make the theatre a state-of-the-art facility.
Palm Theatre is a top-notch performing arts hub BY EMILY SHOFF
These days, it operates financially without the assistance of tax dollars. Instead, fundraising, grants and rental income help cover operating and programming costs. “We can offer quality shows to the town and garner the funds to help subsidize rental fees for local nonprofits such as Telluride Theatre, Telluride Dance Collective and others,” Jepson notes. The Palm continues to evolve as both its needs and technology change. In 2014, a smaller black-box theater was added, providing a flexible space that can be reconfigured easily depending on need. It was christened the Bob Theatre in honor of “Glider” Bob Saunders, a local, beloved theater and flying enthusiast who passed away in 2016. And, more recently, the theater overhauled its lighting, adding LED lights and undertaking a digital upgrade, making the lighting more environmental and cost-effective. “We want to continue to grow,” Jepson says of the future, while Wingfield adds, “Our hope is to provide high level arts for the region at large as well as Telluride.” telluride.com | 855.421.4360
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