I have lived in Lansing most of my life (minus a wonderful year or so in New York City), and I am constantly inspired by the plethora of events, offerings, and outlets that Lansing, and Michigan has to offer for its residents.
But I am supposed to be talking about my hope for the Lansing region. Well thank goodness this is an ON-GOING blog, because I could list a lot of things that fall under my hope for the Lansing area, my town, the place I love. I was fortunate to be at TEDx Lansing a few weeks ago, and it was so inspiring to see everyone there with a name tag, not just announcing their name – but trumpeting what they were passionate about. Imagine if we all got to talk about, engage in conversations every day, and actively wore what it was we were passionate about around out necks. IMAGINE! We would become a community that not only constantly got to occupy our own time and thoughts on things we really cared about, but also were given a glimpse into other people’s lives and souls and desires through what excited them. What a very humanizing and inherently pure action that could become.
So on my name-tag, I put two things: on one side, I named my near-perfect niece and nephew, and on the other, I put “theatre”. If you know me, this doesn’t come as a surprise. And it’s that passion that drew me to working on one of the subcommittees for the Lansing CED plan. For quite some time now, I have been really focused and driven by the need for a common performing arts center in Lansing that is affordable and accessible for all arts groups. I am operating in a field that boasts over 12 different theatre groups (for a town the size of Lansing, that’s equivalent to the city of Portland!), and yet TWO of those groups closed their doors this year. While there is always more than one reason for a decision like that to be made, one of them was the need for a performing space that didn’t comprise more than 50% of their budget. Of those 12 theatres in Lansing, only two of them own their own space. The rest are itinerant. I have been the Artistic Director for Peppermint Creek Theatre Company for over 15 years, and we are one of those itinerant companies. I like to believe that as a company and arts organization, we not only have a positive impact on our patrons, but that we are teaching them something as well that they take away from any given performance and then hopefully effects their outlook on life. Now imagine if Michigan State University, also an organization that effects people in a positive way and hopefully creates change in the world, had to consider where they were going to set up their campus EVERY school year. Suddenly, their entire focus would need to go toward constantly securing a location to simply do their work from year to year rather than continually doing good work and bettering the Lansing community. Often times it feels that way for any Arts organization that doesn’t have a location they can rely on to simply do their work.
You can imagine my joy, after years of traveling from one performance space to another, and of peering into empty storefronts that could be potential locations for a theatre, to discover that the CED also recognized the necessity of a common performing arts space. Hallelujah! I believe in Lansing and the tremendous opportunities and assets it houses. And I am grateful to be part of a community that relishes looking forward to a better future. How fortunate we all are to be able to raise our voices (or write on a name-tag) to proclaim for everyone to hear, just what we’re passionate about and for Lansing as a collective to rejoice and support those passions. We’re THERE Lansing – and we’re going THERE as well. That’s exciting!
Chad Badgero is a member of the Cultural Economic Development Attract and Retain committee and guests blogs as a member of Greater Lansing Next Cultural and Creative Strategy Team.