Lomira Community Theatre Reflects on Silver Anniversary

Silver–a symbol of strength, durability, and beauty with lasting luster. Since medieval times, this reflective metal has been associated with 25th-anniversary celebrations, so much so that silver has been forged into its name. Silver anniversaries are a time of reflection, a time to recognize and celebrate long-term commitment to a person, craft, organization, or community.
As the Lomira Community Theatre’s (LCT) latest production, “The Somewhat True Tale of Robin Hood,” wraps up with performances on April 11-13, the theatre is already gearing up to celebrate its silver anniversary next April. The theatre board of directors has planned a new show consisting of musical numbers, scenes, and photographs from previous productions, including the show that started it all: “Children of Eden.”
The musical “Children of Eden,” with music written by Stephen Schwartz, inspired past School District of Lomira choir teacher Paul Dankers to found the Lomira Community Theatre.
“A friend of mine had introduced me to ‘Children of Eden’ probably sometime...during the year 2000,” said Dankers. “I had been listening to it a lot. I wanted to do it. The only way that I could think of to do it was to start a community theater to do it.”
Which is exactly what Dankers did. In April of 2002, the newly formed Lomira Community Theatre performed “Children of Eden,” with the school’s stage equipped with pyrotechnics and Dankers directing and acting.

“I was young and idealistic and naive, and I had no view for the future whatsoever. I just wanted to do ‘Children of Eden,’” stated Dankers. “I didn’t even know if we were going to be successful in producing this one piece of theater that we set out to do. Would it all flop? Would we have to refund the tickets? I’m not sure that I even spared a thought for what the future might hold or whether we would ever do another show or not. I think that at every stage, we kind of just gathered together and reassessed. We were like, ‘So, do we want to do another show?’”
With each reassessment came another LCT production. Dankers ran the theatre for its next three shows, “The Fantastics,” “The Baker’s Wife,” and “Honk!,” directing each.
In 2004, Dankers moved to Colorado, and a different type of leadership formed within the organization: a board of directors.
Fran Coulter, the first Lomira Community Theatre Board of Directors president, explained, “We really needed a different form of leadership because [Dankers] was the one who started the theatre, and up until he left, he pretty much was the one that had the ideas of what he wanted to do. He was the one who gave the direction of which way the theatre should go. After he left, we needed more than just one person to do that.”
“When I left, it was a huge test. What we discovered is that there was that will within the community,” said Dankers. “They had the will and the ability and took on the responsibility to take on literally every aspect of the production.”
Though Dankers moved and had originally no outlined goal for the theatre’s future, the board of directors, led by President Coulter, continued his precedent of bringing “lesser known, yet very worthy, shows to the local community.” In 2005 and 2006, the Lomira Community Theatre put on productions of “Summer Song” and “In the Beginning” and established showcasing not-so-well-known theater as one of the group’s goals. But the theatre’s main goal was one that continues to be an aim today.
“The biggest goal was to provide some good entertainment for the community and to get as many people involved as we could that wanted to help,” stated Coulter.
It was existing involvement and the spirit of entertainment that led the Lomira Community Theatre to create one of its most humorous events, the Winter Variety Show, in 2010. Now, as an annual event, LCT members perform an array of skits and musical numbers near the end of December.
“We just saw a need for something else, like we have this group of people who want to do things. Let’s do something else,” said current LCT president Kim Peterson. “It started as just a one-time thing, one show: New Year’s Eve Variety Show. That has now morphed into...the Winter Variety Show, and we try to do it three or four times in the winter so that we maximize our performers’ work... I think that’s kind of the opportunity for people who aren’t ready to jump into a full-on show to come and be in a skit or two.”
Along with bringing variety shows and not-so-well-known theatre productions to the Lomira community, LCT brought a completely new production into the theater world. “Selling Elephants,” by West Bend playwright Adam Kempf, was premiered by the theatre in 2014. Since then, the theatre has continued to get script submissions, but it has not accepted any.
“We haven’t really gone super far into that, partially because we only put on one show a year. We want to maximize how many people can be in it and the audience,” explained President Peterson. “I don’t think that many are really technically local that are approaching us.”
While the playwrights reaching out to the community theatre may not be local, the Lomira School District also saw potential in collaborating with the theatre. Lomira students had participated in Lomira Community Theatre productions before, but it wasn’t until 2024 that an official partnership with the school began.
“It came to be because [Lomira High School English teacher and Drama Club advisor] Patrick Davis came to our meeting and said, ‘Hey, we have students that would love to be involved in things, but we don’t necessarily have the volume of students to put on something to the quality we would want to, so could we partner?’” said President Peterson.
Over 15 Lomira students performed in the theatre’s 2024 production of Mary Poppins, with then-freshman Lexi Torngren and senior Teva McQuitty in the lead roles of Mary Poppins and Bert.
“I think it’s been great,” stated President Peterson. “On our end, I love to see more younger people get involved... By opening up this partnership, I think it’s been really good to get some more involvement and get us really entrenched in the community that we say we’re serving.”
Along with giving Lomira students a local opportunity to perform, LCT has helped provide for students’ higher education. Each year, the theatre awards one $500 scholarship to a Lomira High School senior who is involved in the arts, whether theatre, music, visual arts, or a combination of the three, regardless of whether they’re a member of the community theatre.
“I know that $500 in today’s world probably is not as impactful as it was 20 years ago, but it could buy a book,” stated President Peterson. “I hope that we are inspiring further education.”
While partnering with the school has helped the theatre work towards its long-standing goal of “remaining accessible, welcoming, and exciting for people to come and be involved,” overall involvement is an ongoing challenge LCT has faced since its beginning.
“It’s like a double-edged sword. We have a tight-knit group of people, but we also want to open that up. I hope we are welcoming and inviting to all, but I also know what it’s like when you’re the new kid on the block coming in, and everybody’s already talking. It’s kind of hard to break into that,” explained President Peterson. “None of us are professionals, but we’ve got very talented people in all the roles, behind the scenes, on the stage, everywhere. I hope that that’s appreciated, and I hope that it inspires people to come join us... All are welcome! Just come check us out! You don’t have to know what you’re doing.”
In preparation for its silver anniversary show, the Lomira Community Theatre is especially looking for new talents both on and off the stage.
“Currently, we are in conversation about how we get people interested and excited about being a director for us. Next year, specifically, we are looking to do a big review show, but I think we’ve taken for granted the same people directing, or the same people playing piano, or the same people doing music, and it’s like if they want a break, shoot, now we don’t have people to do those jobs,” continued President Peterson. “Really, I think, just keeping it fresh and keeping a lot of faces involved in leadership and director roles and things like that is really important... The more variety we have in all the roles, the better to bring fresh perspectives, so it’s not just the same things you’ve seen every year.”
Despite the continuous challenge of participation, the Lomira Community Theatre has persevered toward its 25th year, exemplifying the silvery strength and durability of long-term commitment.
“At every stage, there was still this will to live... I am so proud of them for the work they are doing and for keeping it alive,” said Dankers. “That’s what’s so beautiful about this and something to be so proud of for the community.”