Premiere Playhouse navigates ‘critical crossroad’

The last time Scott Ostman stepped on a theater stage was the fall of 1977  — close to 50 years ago.

The last time he sat in an audience appreciating the on-stage and behind-the-scenes craftsmanship of others, well, that was just days ago.

Even though the semi-retired advertising creative director has no interest in donning a costume or painting a set, Ostman’s love of theater led him to join The Premiere Playhouse board of directors four years ago.

Even before that, though, he and his wife were season subscribers and rarely missed a performance.

“This is a community-run theater, and they put on some amazing shows,” Ostman said. “It’s pretty impressive.”

The Premiere Playhouse started in 2003 and incorporated as a nonprofit in 2004, but its history goes back to the 1970s, said Oliver Mayes, executive artistic director for the past three years. It is considered an educational community theater, one that stresses the opportunities to teach as well as entertain.

“What we’re doing here at The Premiere Playhouse is deeper than plays,” Mayes said. “It’s helping people in finding their creative voice and harnessing it. Whether you identify yourself as a creative person, everyone is going to live a more full, satisfying, content life in some form or fashion whether it’s gardening, painting or community theater.”

Like other nonprofits, however, The Premiere Playhouse finds itself at what a letter sent out in December describes as a “critical crossroad.”

It continued: “Rising operating costs, reductions in grant funding, shifting audience patterns and the lingering effects of the nation’s economy have created financial pressures that threaten our ability to continue offering the productions, education programs and community outreach that so many rely on. Despite streamlining operations and innovating in every way we can, the gap between what it costs to produce high-quality theatre and the revenue we bring in has grown in ways we can no longer overcome on our own.”

Nonprofits in general are struggling with reaching their fundraising goals, Mayes said. Arts and humanities programs have seen cuts in grant funding. And The Premiere Playhouse also faces a misunderstanding in where its funding originates, Mayes said.

“People think The Premiere Playhouse is part of the (Washington) Pavilion or the Orpheum,” he said. “We are not. We have to rent all those spaces. A lot of folks we engage with in ticket sales or fundraising, there’s confusion on who is what. They think their support is going to us when it’s not.”

As Sioux Falls has grown, so have opportunities in the arts, Ostman said. Levitt at the Falls, art galleries and other theater groups, along with the Broadway offerings the Washington Pavilion brings in, fill people’s calendars.

“It’s easy to take us for granted,” Ostman said. “But if it wasn’t there, people would miss it.”

City leaders seem inclined to agree. In late December, The Premiere Playhouse was named one of 10 nonprofits recommended for funding next year through the new Community Partners Program. It was one of four chosen to support culture, arts and community programming. A funding level wasn’t announced and will require City Council approval.

The Premiere Playhouse draws in more than 300 volunteers annually, Mayes said. Its deepest strength comes in the bonds it forms.

“We are the place they find friends and can really start their social and professional life in Sioux Falls,” he said. “Community theater is essential to the fabric of a place. It’s more basic than we think it is.”

The Premiere Playhouse reaches out to all ages, Mayes said. About 150 youngsters took part in its theater camps in 2025, and the playhouse stress all-ages and all-abilities programs. About 60 individuals took part in the all-abilities Penguin Project. Community classes are offered throughout the year.

“The educational component sets us apart,” Ostman said. “Our Penguin Project, it’s such a cool thing. It’s for all-abilities youth, so you’ll see a lot of people on stage, sometimes shadowed by a mentor, with physical and mental disabilities. There’s not a dry eye in the house.”

The Premiere Playhouse recently offered its first performance in the Underground Series, when Green Days’ American Idiot was performed at the Icon Events Hall. Ostman served as a greeter one evening and saw an audience immersed in the performance, he said.

As The Premiere Playhouse progresses through its 23rd season, it will offer a dozen productions and also performance events like cabarets or comedy shows. Those run only a night or two and require less funding for rehearsal costs and production. A Halloween show featured works by local storytellers.

In January, a two-person play on organ transplant, written by Loren Gunderson, will show. In February, the annual new-play production will debut two productions, and in March, “Head over Heels” uses the song catalog of The Go-Go’s, Mayes said. The 2025-26 season also includes “Hairspray,” “Death of a Salesman” and “Legally Blonde.”

Playhouse staff also switched up things in December with a cabaret called “Holiday in Blue.” It replaced, at least for this year, the production of “A Christmas Carol,” which had shown a plateau in ticket sales.

“We wanted it (‘A Christmas Carol’) to be an annual production when it was initiated,” Mayes said. “A recurring production has built-in recurring costs, even though you think you won’t have as many.”

“We’ll reassess it after this season,” Ostman said. “We might roll it out every two years or three years. We’ll gauge what we should do with this.”

As a subscriber, Ostman marveled at the costumes and sets in every production. As a board member, he soon realized how much it can cost to put on the bigger shows. A music with costumes, music rights and other expenses can cost $50,000 to $60,000, and ticket sales alone don’t cover that.

But season-ticket holders are valued, Ostman said.

“We love our season subscribers. That’s a constant for us,” he said. “Subscribing to a season of entertainment, attending shows, spreading the word, volunteering — our website has a donation page. You can donate time and funds in a number of ways.”

In May, The Premiere Playhouse relocated its operational headquarters from the Orpheum building across the street to a space in the Rock Island Plow Building. The multipurpose space, larger than its former quarters, now hosts expanded classes, rehearsals and events.

It has been a good move, Mayes said.

“It gives us more agency to create our destiny almost,” he said. “We didn’t have a lot of control or power before. Now, we’re still fundraising to fully expand the space and make it the best it can be, but it’s our space.”

“Our space” is one that needs public support. Come see The Premiere Playhouse’s shows, Mayes said. There’s a plethora of programming, and the theater has options for those who need financial assistance. Support the smaller shows, too, not just the productions with name recognition, he said.

In addition, people can become champions of community theater by donating monthly, Mayes said. They can take advantage of the classes offered or rent the theater’s space to help generate revenue.

“Just hop on our website, and see what we have to offer,” Mayes said. “Consider doing something cool to you.”