23 From left: Laura, Tom and the mother (played by Julia Pfeifer, Brian Schultz and Joy Fledderjohann) pose for a promotional photo for the February 1997 production of “The Glass Menagerie.” The fall production of “The Sound of Music,” presented through a renewed collaboration between Northern State University’s School of Fine Arts and the Aberdeen Community Theatre (ACT), marked more than a successful show. With more than 4,000 attendees across five performances and packed houses, it demonstrated that live theater at Northern isn’t disappearing—it’s transforming into something stronger through partnership. The challenge was real. Northern’s School of Fine Arts had weathered significant changes in recent years. Declining enrollment led to the discontinuation of the theater major, and staffing adjustments followed. While those shifts raised questions about the future of live performance on campus, Dr. Kenneth Boulton, dean of the School of Fine Arts, saw an opportunity rather than an ending. “When it became apparent that the School of Fine Arts was destined to lose its theatre degree and associated faculty, the vocal faculty and I realized there was an opportunity to preserve a successful musical stage tradition,” Boulton said. “We could combine our existing opera program with a rich history of musical theatre. But to produce large-scale shows, we needed the contributions of our professional connections at Aberdeen Community Theatre.” That realization opened a door to something larger—a partnership rooted not in necessity alone, but in shared history stretching back decades. A Foundation Built in 1980 Why the partnership felt inevitable becomes clear when you trace ACT’s origins back to the Johnson Fine Arts Center itself. The organization quite literally could not have begun without Northern’s facilities and support. ACT Co-Founder Jim Walker, now Artistic Director Emeritus, recalls those early days vividly. As a Northern State College student, he served as technical director and designer, collaborating with faculty member Dick Norquist on productions that blended students and community members— an approach that would later define ACT’s entire mission. It was the life blood for us at the beginning of the organization,” Walker said of JFAC. “Without a home of its own, ACT was a vagabond organization, staging shows in rented, temporary or borrowed spaces. The Johnson Fine Arts Center was the most significant of these locations and, of course, the one best suited for theatrical productions.” When ACT staged its first official production—”Annie Get Your Gun”—at JFAC in the summer of 1980, that partnership was essential. From there, the organization grew rapidly, expanding from a small group of enthusiasts to several hundred members. Summer musicals became a beloved Aberdeen tradition. As ACT continued to thrive, the need for a permanent home became clear. In 1992, the organization acquired the Capitol Theatre, a historic 1926 building. After renovations, performances moved fully into the renovated space by 1995. Having its own venue allowed ACT to expand beyond summer productions and operate year-round—something that wasn’t possible when scheduling around university needs at JFAC. Yet the relationship between the organizations never faded. When Northern later renovated the Johnson Fine Arts Center, ACT returned the favor. “NSU theatre productions performed on ACT’s stage at the Capitol Theatre while JFAC was closed,” Walker recalled. That spirit of reciprocity—each institution supporting the other when needed—would define their partnership for decades to come.
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