Project Grant Round 1
Project Grant Round 1
2025 Big Lake High School Spring Musical and Theatre Update Plan
Gretchen Boulka: Chair, Director of Performing Arts at Paramount Center for the Arts, arts administrator with background in development, special events, program management, marketing and communications; musician, Association for Performing Arts Professionals (APAP) member, Minnesota Presenters Network board director; Buddy King: Vice Chair, St Cloud Playwright, percussionist, teaching artist, community youth arts initiatives; Louis Witt, Treasurer: BA and MA in Music Education, Conductor and musician for Community Bands, Musical Theatre and Orchestras, served as VP of Corporate Giving, past member and chair of MOST Ministries, serve on Advisory Council for Feed My Starving Children; Tom Berger, Secretary: Small Business Owner, AAA Courier Express, Waite Park; Producer, Production Manager, Designer with Belville Productions; Served in many capacities for the History Theatre in St. Paul including Managing Director, Educational Project Director, Tour Director, Production Manager, Designer; University of Minnesota, Theatre Arts, Classics, Geology; Deb Vander Eyk: visual artist, B.S. Arts Education, B.A. in Sociology/Research and an AA Degree in Advertising with a background in K-12 Art Education, community involvement research, nonprofit fundraising and programing; Eric Ellwoods: facilities manager, BA in Christian Ministry, history of involvement in choirs and community theater, member of Buffalo Community Theater board of directors.; Hans Lammeman: Assistant News Editor for Star Publications; columnist, lead reporter, and award-winning journalist for Benton County News; contributing writer for Sauk Rapids Herald and Benton Ag with a focus on human interest stories and community government coverage. BS in Sociology, University of Houston; Pat Thompson: Moorhead State University, BA in theater, Second City, Chicago, UND School of Law, Grand Forks, involved in numerous theater, workshops and performances, previous volunteer for GREAT Theatre Board of Directors, LaSemana Volunteer, St. Cloud District 742 Advisory Board, Career Solution Board of Directors; Abigail Nelson-Davis: visual artist, BA in Education, trauma informed children's advocate, involved in DEI committee, past educator in Taiwan.
Stacy Larson: artist, MFA in Ceramics from West Virginia University, BFA in Ceramics and Jewelry/Metalsmithing with a minor in Retail Management from Syracuse University, studied during residencies at the Chautauqua School of Art, NY, The Pottery Workshop in Jingdezhen, China and resident artist at Red Lodge Clay Center, MT, at The Craftsman House in St. Petersburg, FL. Post-Baccalaureate program at Louisiana State University, interned at the Anderson Ranch Arts Center and Touchstone Center for Crafts, arts administration at Touchstone, taught ceramics workshops, served as Student Director at Large of NCECA, work has been featured in Ceramics Monthly and in galleries throughout the United States; Shawn Jarvis: served as supervisor and coordinator for a public arts project at St. Cloud State University, B.A., MA and PhD in German literature, professor at St. Cloud State, extensive research in archives and published a number of books for which I found illustrations, pictures, manuscripts; Jordyn Foss: B.A. in Theatre Education, MA in Theatre Pedagogy, dedicated arts career as a Theatre Director, currently the Performing Arts Director at the Paramount Center for the Arts; Millie Annis: Box Office and Budget Manager at the College of Saint Ben's and Saint John's University, past experience as Education and Community Manager, Oregon Shakespeare Festival Ashland, Oregon, House Manager at Theater Latte Da in Minneapolis, Education Coordinator at Guthrie Theater for School and camp programs, 10-years serving as a one act play adjudicator as part of the Minnesota State High School League.
ACHF Arts Education
Engage students and community in 2025 spring musical; support local businesses, teachers and artists; and build sustainability for future theatrical productions. Improve student confidence, showcase student talents, and connect community to the arts. Evaluation plans include collaboration between Community Education; musical staff, cast, and crew; and parent volunteers to assess success during preparations (Jan-April 2025) and reflection following the final performance.