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A nearly 60-year-old theater hopes to raise $45,000 after a wildfire burned almost 40,000 acres in western Nebraska in June. Though the Post Playhouse suffered no structural damage, the fire forced it to cancel shows, evacuate its cast and staff, and cut into attendance for weeks afterward.
The playhouse, located in Fort Robinson State Park, entered its 59th season running 11 performances a week across five shows in rotating repertory. On June 10, the park was evacuated due to the South Fork Fire that burned over 39,600 acres.
"We had already been prepped about pre-evacuation," said Dewayne Barrett, the playhouse's artistic director. "So, all of the actors, they went home and packed a bag and packed all their essentials for things ... we did have to go to Chadron State College and wait until we got the go-ahead that we could come back."
The company was only displaced for one day, but disruptions to rehearsals and attendance continued for weeks afterward.
What the fundraiser covers
Em Laudeman, the playhouse's development director, said the cancellations cost the theater an estimated $25,000 in lost ticket sales and rehearsal-related expenses.
“We probably lost around 10,000 in direct ticket sales costs. That's the tickets that we know were already sold that we had to push out or refund and then tickets that would have been sold that week if the situation hadn't happened,” she said. “And then as far as the soft costs of rehearsal time and paying our artists while no one can work ... that probably was around $15,000.”
Direct evacuation expenses — gas, food, supplies and housing for the single day the company was displaced — added about $2,000 more, Laudeman said.
The remaining balance of the $45,000 goal is a cushion for reduced tourism through the rest of the season. Post Playhouse relies on ticket sales for 60% of its budget, Laudeman said, and even a modest drop in visitors during the park's busiest months could hit hard.
"If we know we operate at 100% capacity in August, the end of July and August – which typically we do – even a reduction of 25% tourism would affect our budget dramatically," Laudeman said.
That concern wasn't hypothetical. Even after the park fully reopened, both Barrett and Laudeman said confusion about Fort Robinson's status kept some visitors away in the weeks that followed.
"They're not sure if we're open," Barrett said. "But just to let everyone know that the fort is fully open, we're open."
Laudeman said she's heard from people asking whether the playhouse burned down or assuming a scorched landscape isn't worth visiting.
“Anecdotally, people are canceling their vacations. People think that the park might not be open," she said. "Why would I go to an area that just got burned to the ground? As a tourist myself, I can relate and understand that."
She said attendance has picked back up in recent weeks — the theater had a sold-out opening for "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" last Friday, its final show of the season to premiere.
Donations pouring in before the ask
As of early July, the Wildfire Recovery Fund raised $13,500 in cash and pledges, not counting pending grant applications, Laudeman said. The formal fund launched June 18, though donations had already been arriving on the theater's website before that.
The single largest gift so far has come from the Nebraska Arts Council, Laudeman said, earmarked to cover direct expenses tied to the June 10 evacuation. The funds are being made available through the council's supporting nonprofit, the Nebraska Arts Council Development Corporation. Laudeman said the exact amount isn't being released yet because the gift is still being processed, but she confirmed it as official.
"As the premier arts arm of the Legislature, it means a lot to us that they are supporting this project," she said.
But the support isn't just local. Barrett said that donations have been flowing from all over the country.
"It wasn't just local people that are here that always come and support us," Barrett said. "These were people from California, from Florida, from Maine, from Texas, just from all over."
Laudeman said that much of the support came from former cast members and past visitors.
"People want to be connected to the situation and feel like they're making a difference and having an impact," Laudeman said. "We've gotten quite a few gifts from people all over the country, a lot of people who've never made gifts before, but have been connected to the playhouse in other ways."
Laudeman said one gift stuck with her. She said one donor told her they had acted at Post Playhouse 50 years ago, when the theater had only been open for a decade.
"Just getting a snapshot into how deep the Post Playhouse community runs, I think has been a special thing," she said.
Looking ahead to 60 years
Post Playhouse is already planning its 60th anniversary next summer, including an alumni week in July, with a melodrama, a gala dinner and a celebration of the theater's history.
"We really want to honor and celebrate the years of history," Laudeman said. "We are theater artists, so we love to put on a show and love to have a wonderful party."