Steamboat Springs, a western Colorado town known for its Olympic skiers and summer bikers, also has an arts theater with a rich past that was built nearly 90 years ago, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Chief Theater, which dates back to 1927, was recently bought from a multiplex movie chain by a group of local residents hoping to revive the spirit of the theater in its heyday. Now a non-profit community theater, it presents live performances in theater, cabaret, and dance, concerts in jazz, rock and roll, and classical, and holds foreign film screenings.
Scott Parker, the Chief's executive director, acts as its manager but thinks nothing of tasks atypical of his job description. He thinks nothing of getting on a ladder to change the marquee, and often acts as bartender, actuary, marketing guru, and carpenter.
“The Chief has come back to its original purpose," he explains. "When the theater was first built it was like a community center. The women’s club met there. There used to be vaudeville, magicians and Perry Mansfield…Of course, it was famous, too, for showing the first talkie movies."
As is the case with most nonprofits, Scott has to scrape to make ends meet. He has always loved and worked in small theaters as an actor, comedian, and juggler.
“The theater is an extension of me," he said. "I know what theatergoers like to experience, and I want to make it affordable.”
To keep the theater afloat, Scott has had to let employees go and transfer others to part-time positions. He has a rotating group of volunteers who help collect tickets and pitch in at the concession stand.
Scott points out, “I have grown with the job. I am getting better at asking for grants and seeking out donors. We have themes. When we showed 'The Big Lebowski' we offered White Russian drinks and cookies and cupcakes decorated with bowling stuff."
Scott hopes to add a proper Green Room with its own bathroom, a space with a dance floor for rehearsals, and raise enough money to bring some big names to the stage.
"In the meantime, last month we had a performance by a local theater group of the Broadway hit, "Love, Loss and What I Wore," he said. "It was popular. We’re getting there.”