From left, Kaylene Clark and Katie La Blue are the team hoping to revive compensated theatre in Fresno with the Fresno Theatre Association. Photo contributed

When the Fresno Grand Opera shut down in 2017, theatre actors in the area, many of whom grew up in and around the Valley, were left without a stage to call home.

The Fresno Grand Opera, founded in 1998, filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in March 2017 following financial issues resulting in actors and musicians – including the organization’s music director – not receiving pay. Tack onto that the ensuing COVID-19 pandemic, which effectively shuttered in-person stage performances sporadically from 2020 until 2021 – to say that theatre in the Fresno area was put on hiatus would be looking at it positively.

And positivity is exactly what the young duo of Kaylene Clark and Katie La Blue hope to bring back to the Valley’s stage performers – not only performers who attended (and even acted in) Fresno Grand Opera performances, but the future generations of Fresno-born actors, many of which Clark says are already well on their way to understanding the ins and outs of stage acting.

Clark, who founded Kids Can Sing – a youth vocal music performing group – said the growth and excitement brought on by that organization helped inspire her to take the music from the page to the stage; this year, Clark – Kids Can Sing’s founder and director, put on a performance of “The Wizard of Oz,” which took the stage for a full week last summer.

Clark said the organization sold out every performance of the show.

“It seems like people are really grasping onto that organization and what we’re about,” Clark said, adding that the Clovis Rotary Club has recently begun to sponsor the group. “It’s really become a home to a lot of those kids that didn’t have a home before.”

Stemming from the success of Kids Can Sing, last fall, Clark and La Blue discussed the idea of founding a performing theatre group that, like Fresno Grand Opera, provided its actors with compensation, while at the same time showcasing the Valley’s very own homegrown talent.

“We do have other great community theatre organizations here [in Fresno], but as far as compensated theatre – where actors are being paid to perform their art and their craft – we don’t have that anymore,” Clark said. “With Fresno Grand [Opera] plummeting years ago, that was unfortunate, but we saw that as an opportunity, Katie and I, to start something from a fresh, young perspective of where we’re able to raise the funds, get the community support and establish a company that offers professional, high scale performances…but still offering that community theatre support as well.”

Clark said that performers in Fresno find themselves having to travel to neighboring cities like Selma or Visalia that have options for theatre performances – whether acting or viewing.

Fresno Theatre Association would not only bring homegrown theatre back to the Valley, but Clark and La Blue say that it will provide a much-needed outlet for actors living in the area with performing degrees and no viable option to put them to use.

“We did a lot of performing in college because it was written into what we had to do for school, but as far as being a working professional and trying to still perform, it’s pretty hard to do that and sacrifice time out of your schedule or potentially miss work to do community theatre and not get paid for it,” La Blue said.

But with any community organization – particularly nonprofit organizations – that aim to pay its members, one issue continues to be a potential pitfall – finances. Clark, however, says that the organization is well on its way to financial viability, citing several pending grant applications and support from local businesses, like Patrick’s Music, and individual donations and support.

In addition to performances, the organization also hopes to continue to facilitate growth in the arts through mentorships and other programs, with actors attending youth theatre programs throughout the Valley to express that theatre acting is something that is attainable and can be a viable career opportunity.

“We hope to put on performances, of course, but we [also] hope to do master-class things, where we would have professionals who would mentor the younger generation and teach them ropes per say of how the industry works,” La Blue said.

Through the organization’s partnerships with local youth theatre organizations and local business’ support, La Blue said she hopes businesses and music stores will eventually facilitate space acting classes, focusing on local talent teaching local talent.

In addition to funding through grants and partnerships with local businesses, the organization will also benefit from additional Measure P funding opportunities made available last year; 12% of Measure P funding is committed to improving the arts in Fresno.

Fresno Theatre Association also offers a tiered-donor system for both businesses and individuals, with advertising available for businesses and everything from free tickets to meet-and-greets with cast members available for individual donors.

The organization hopes to have its debut performance later this year, with auditions planned for the end of March. In addition to corporate and individual support, Fresno Theatre Association has also launched a GoFundMe  to help the organization get its feet off the ground.

“We think that, with our talent and expertise, but also with others’ talent and expertise as well, that we’re going to be able to create something that is equally as competitive as what you would see in those big touring companies,” Clark said.