In an unassuming space in the industrial center of Ketchum, next to a laundromat and dog wash, is The Spot, a nonprofit theater company celebrating 10 years of bringing cutting-edge productions to the most intimate of spaces, pushing the bounds of creativity.
Run by a collective of creative directors who manage both the artistic and administrative operations of the theater, The Spot is a direct reflection of the talents and vision of its team.
The Spot opened in 2014 (with their first show taking place in 2015), an idea hatched by original founders/creative directors Yanna Lantz, Brett Moellenberg, Peter Burke and Kevin Wade, who met while working with the St. Thomas Playhouse. Their experience there taught them much of what it was like to run a theater company and would also introduce them to many of the key players still involved with The Spot today. Natalie Battistone also joined as a creative director in 2015 and Samuel Mollner in 2016.
The original intent of The Spot was to act as a training facility and school for young performing artists to help them reach the next chapter of their acting careers. The four founders quickly realized that classes wouldn’t pay the bills, so after pooling together a collective $3,000 and procuring some loans, they opened their first show, Next to Normal, in the small garage space that would become their home for the next decade.
“I don’t know if we had that clear of a vision,” said Moellenberg of their humble beginnings. “We wanted to create a space that was open for kids who were interested in the performing arts like we had growing up. We wouldn’t have expected or dreamed to be where we are now; we didn’t expect to be a regional theater company.”
After the success of the first show and questions around when the next would be, The Spot continued to provide youth classes and training but pivoted to putting on more shows and eventually became a nonprofit in 2016, which allowed them to take donations, catapulting their growth.
Anyone who has been to a show at The Spot knows that these aren’t typical Broadway shows. Part of the appeal of The Spot has always been the team’s desire to seek out the off- (or sometimes off-off ) Broadway shows and the works of independent playwrights to push the boundaries of both what audiences in the area would see and how far they could push the actual physical walls and flexibility of their small black box theater. The limitations that originally dictated early production choices, such as lack of funds to bring in outside actors or create elaborate sets, created what the crew looks fondly on as some of their best performances, whether because it required all four founders to participate in the shows or because the ensuing set designs pushed them to get creative.
“Looking back on old shows, we just had no business producing these shows,” said Moellenberg. “We would pick these shows and be like, let’s figure out how we can do it. We can’t do that as much anymore because we have worked hard on our mission, vision, and strategic planning, and our decision-making has matured in a way to continue our growth. Utilizing the advice and wisdom of our board members has also been a major part of our evolution.”
Lantz echoed Moellenberg. “We were fearless,” she concurred. “To be able to form a company where you can do the work you’re passionate about and tell the stories you want to tell—what a liberating thing that was. Because you don’t get that opportunity anywhere else in the world.”
With the nonprofit status, recurring donations, a board of directors and an endowment at their disposal, the founders now had a bit more leeway in terms of bringing in outside talent, which they do for almost every one of the four or so productions a year they can bring to their stage. On top of that, they are now able to actually pay their actors a weekly salary!
Looking back over the last 10 years and the 44 productions they’ve put on, The Spot’s creative directors identify a few key factors in their lasting success over the years, the biggest of which is the connections they’ve formed and the support of the community. “Relationships have been so important,” said Lantz. “Starting with the crew and how much we needed to trust and rely on each other. We really gave this everything we had when we started and continue to.”
That foundation of trust eventually led to bringing more into the fold, from adding a board to meeting individual donors within the community. They also cite maintaining their distinctive edge over the years, though the circumstances that once demanded such quirkiness have changed.
“The quality of work hasn’t changed much in terms of our capacity to create theater; we just have more experience and resources to do it now,” Moellenberg explained. Added Lantz, “It’s always a unique experience when you come here, and I think that sets us apart too.”