After more than 60 years of bringing theater to the Palouse, the stage lights permanently dimmed in the Idaho Repertory Theatre Friday.
Ann Hoste, University of Idaho Theatre Arts department chair, said the closure came after two years of conversations with UI administration.
“The consensus was for us to close IRT and look for other summer theater opportunities that would enrich our program,” Hoste said.
IRT frequently brought in professional actors and behind-the-scenes workers, such as costume and set designers, to work alongside students for summer performances. Hoste said 2013 saw six shows in one month as an anniversary celebration, but IRT has decreased the number of shows since.
“We were in a position where we were committed to producing theater within our means and we did that successfully only by scaling back,” Hoste said.
Hoste said it became a decision of lowering quality or raising ticket prices, which both violate the mission of IRT – to provide professional quality and accessible theater.
“The financial structure of delivering that kind of professional summer theater changed a bit, the market changed for that a bit as there are now many different options for people to take on,” said Andrew Kersten, dean of the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences. “So summer theater once was the only thing here on the Palouse now is not the only thing on the Palouse.”
Hoste said although IRT will not be a source of theater or an opportunity for students, there will be something to take its place.
“We”re looking to continue to provide accessible theater, the highest quality possible, but it means we might have to do it in a different way,” Hoste said. “We can”t ask people to pay New York theater prices.”
Hoste began her career with IRT 20 years ago as a professional costume designer. She joined UI as faculty in 2010 and oversaw her first IRT production as artistic director in 2012.
“So many people love IRT and have loved it over the years, and I include myself with those people,” Hoste said.
For UI students, Hoste said she has tried to offer academic credit or wages for their work in IRT.
For Isla Rose-Witt, a fifth-year theater student, IRT provided a way to practice theater and pay her rent over summer break. She participated in the 2013 and 2015 productions. In 2013, she worked alongside professionals.
She said she saw the benefit of working with professionals carry over into the academic year through actor”s confidence levels and drive to succeed in their craft.
Hoste said UI does offer other options for summer theater, such as the Moscow (Idaho) to Moscow (Russia) program.
“We no longer have an accessibly repertory theater that we can work with,” Witt said. “If we want to work professionally, we have to try to find somewhere else in the region.”
The theater department is committed to preparing its students and helping them make connections, Hoste said. The connections are what Rose-Witt said brought her to Wyoming summer 2014 to perform.
Hoste said the department is like a family, something she said she means despite sounding cliche.
“Part of that is we engaged with our students 100 percent in supporting them,” Hoste said. “That”s where we”re focusing our energies, preparing them for those professional opportunities.”
She said students have multiple opportunities to practice their skills during the academic year and many find success outside of Moscow during the summer months.
Hoste said Kersten and other UI administrators have been supportive throughout the process and in beginning to develop what will be offered in future summers.
“They understand that theater absolutely enriches our culture and that a theater education is really a vital part of what we do at U of I,” Hoste said.
IRT will continue to take the stage through April. This summer, UI will host a Summer Drama Camp for kids.
“We”re exploring new avenues and I couldn”t be more exciting to be a part of that,” Hoste said.
Reporting contributed by Tess Fox
Katelyn Hilsenbeck can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @Katelyn_mh