Photo By Geneva Nodland
About Grace
Grace Davidson-Thooft is the director of performing arts at the Historic Holmes Theatre in Detroit Lakes. She has been involved with the arts for the last 15 years and is proud to have worked in Arts Administration for most of the past 6 years. She loves new and energetic performances, especially challenging theatre productions or loud and exciting music. Although she grew up on the East Coast and only moved to Detroit Lakes a few years ago, she’s fallen in love with the Midwest and the Detroit Lakes lifestyle and has started planting roots in the community. When she’s not working, she loves traveling and exploring with her husband Taylor and daughter Amelia.
Grace’s Greatest Hits from the Historic Holmes Theatre
#1) Croce Plays Croce: “This was one of the first shows I was here for last year and it was incredible! A.J. Croce is folk singer Jim Croce’s son and does a great job covering his late dad’s work. This was a great example of the tributes we bring each year.”
#2) Art & Theatre Classes: “We have at least one, if not a few classes going on each week. The Holmes Art Cellar brings visual artists from the community and beyond to teach different mediums. In the theatre, we’ve had a range of activities from a pop-up master class with a touring dance company, acting classes for youth and adults, and focused discussions with artists. There’s always something cool to try out!”
#3) International Artists: “I am excited to bring international artists back to Detroit Lakes! The pandemic and some shifting in grant availability made this close to impossible the last few years, but we are excited to see a return in our upcoming 2023-2024 season. This will be a group worth traveling for a high-energy, intense, and exciting performance.”
#4) Concerts in the Park: “If there’s a concert in the city park, there’s a good chance the Holmes Theatre is involved. Art should be accessible for all, and our free concerts in the park help us to accomplish that goal.”
#5) Fabulous Armadillos and Rock & Roll Christmas (RRXS): “Nothing more needs to be said for these two.”
Grace’s Vision for Theatre in DL
In recent years, it’s been tough to get involved in theatre and tough to even get to see theatre due to COVID restrictions and social distancing. That’s why Grace Davidson-Thooft is making plans to help bring community theatre back to Detroit Lakes and get young people more involved in the theatre community. Here are some of her plans (some of which are already in action)!
Community Theatre:
#1) “We aim to have monthly community theatre with meetings! We hear from so many people (especially young professionals and people with kids) that it’s hard to commit to doing a full show. Through these meetings—which we plan to start in the fall—we will approach different parts of community theatre, whether it’s learning from an acting coach, staged readings of a new play, or even some writing or directing work! It’ll be low-commitment but also give those who miss the theatre the chance to get involved.”
#2) “In the 2023-2024 season, we plan to have two plays—one aimed at an adult cast and one that will be open for everyone and anyone! We want there to be many ways to get involved and a place for everyone.”
Young People’s Involvement & Engagement:
#1) “We will be working through social media to reach new audiences. Our marketing manager is a social guru and we’ve already seen a new audience this year which is so exciting and makes us feel like we are on the right track.”
#2) “We will be working on more family-friendly programming—we want the whole family to be able to come out to shows. We know it’s a big-ticket item for so many, so we try to create community partnerships wherever we can to help with the ticket price.”
#3) “We are also working on including more diversity at the theatre. Representation is so important, and we really want everyone to be able to see themselves on our stage. Part of that is also knowing who our audience is and could be.”
#4) “The theatre is creating multiple ways to get involved, including social events around shows! We’ve worked with La Barista and Bucks Mill Brewery to do pre-show events at the brewery with meals. We plan on having more events in our ballroom around each show as well to make it a whole experience.”
Support Grace
806 Summit Ave Detroit Lakes, MN 56501
218.844.4221 ext. 114
dlccc.org
[email protected]
Facebook: /historicholmestheatre | /Detroitlakescommunityandculturalcenter
Twitter: @holmestheatre | @TheCenterDL
Instagram: @historicholmestheatre | @thecenterd
