The building on Worthington Circle used to be an old AMC movie theater. But now, it’s transforming into a space for young thespians – complete with a main stage, a green room and classrooms.
Get top headlines and KUNC reporting directly to your mailbox each week when you subscribe to In The NoCo.
“We're replacing basically everything from the roof down to the carpeting,” Lee Kaplan, Debut’s artistic director, said.
Debut Theatre Company in Fort Collins has been fundraising since last October to not only renovate their new home, but also to set the stage for a new youth performing arts hub for Northern Colorado.
Debut dreamed of this opportunity for a decade and finally got the chance when the building was gifted to them by Imago Enterprises. It’s a major upgrade from the troupe’s current setup on Riverside Avenue. It’s an old, tiny office space from the '70s that doesn’t allow much of a chance to hang around and connect.
“A lot of times, parents have to stay in their car until it's time for their kids to come out of class. Our current lobby is about maybe seven feet by eight feet,” Kaplan said. “Here it's so much more expansive, where they can actually come in and get to know one another as well.”
Because of the limited size, their old space doesn’t have a stage, either. Usually, the kids have to do their final productions at local churches and cafeterias. Kaplan said it’s like practicing soccer on a tennis court.
“We're just so excited that they could actually learn how to project their voice, how to play to an audience, not just go to a church and perform,” Kaplan said.
They’ll also have room to organize props, furniture, and costumes at the new location. Eliana Carcasson has been with Debut since she was six-years-old. She said Debut is focused on teaching students every aspect of the production process, but that means having space for sewing machines, power tools and other supplies.
“It'll be nice that things will be a little bit easier to put away and easier to find too, because everything's in bins and behind stuff in bins,” she said.
Carcasson isn’t the only one who started in Debut early. Charlotte Mills started taking classes when she was nine years old. She valued how early she got to experience theatre.
“A lot of the elementary schools don't really offer theater programs,” Mills said. “I just felt like I was really getting a wide breadth of experience that I wouldn't be able to get elsewhere.”
Despite how many students want to get involved with theatre in the state, Colorado’s arts budget is low. It’s ranked 46th in the nation, based on 2023 data. Kaplan thinks these extra resources will get more young people excited about theatre and help enrich the future of Northern Colorado’s youth arts scene.
“There's a void right now in stages for young people to rehearse on, and there are not resources for the arts as there are for athletics,” Kaplan said. “When you learn how to express yourself through not just a script but also through fabric and wood and glue, it gets you out of your head and into a shared experience of creation.”
Carter Mills, Charlotte’s brother, felt the impact of Debut firsthand when he joined. He’s enjoyed practicing stage combat and learning how to perform classic literature, but what he – and many other students – really enjoys is the community.
"There's very few places for kids where you get this sense of, you can belong no matter what you are,” he said. “Theatre really is just understanding humanity, and we're all human, so we all belong here. I just love the type of people that you meet here. There's nothing like it.”
Debut is still fundraising $2 million dollars to finish the project and fix some maintenance issues in the building. They plan to be fully moved in before the end of the year.
