Zephyr Depot to reopen as community theater
Community gives a sense of home and hope. The Zephyr Theater, opening in downtown Stillwater, has effectively gave a sense of home even without a building. In early 2016, the Zephyr decided that they wanted to bring the arts together and build a 330 seat professional theater in the Zephyr Depot to allow those who love the arts to feel welcomed.
Zephyr Theater claims they will bring community together by making the theater bring in it a more cultural destination, allowing those who enjoy the arts to have a place to go, and by giving space to those around who need it for recreational purposes.
“I think that anytime a community has theater in it, it is going to be positive influence on the theater and all the arts programs in the community,” theater coordinator Grif Sadow said. “My hope is that they’ll expose the community to quality professional theater and that the Stillwater community has a professional company that they’re proud of.”
Zephyr is said to include an immense meeting hall along with a dance rehearsal space. It will also include a bakery and a theater material store. Their plan is to raise $6.5 million to begin construction by fall 2018 through donations of the community. They even have a pledge form on their website for those who care to donate.
2019 is in two years. That’s a very short amount of time. If they really put all their energy and effort into raising that much money by that time then yes [ they will reach their goal]. At the rate that they’re going no.
— Ivy Lariviere
“2019 is in two years. That’s a very short amount of time. If they really put all their energy and effort into raising that much money by that time then yes [ they will reach their goal]. At the rate that they’re going no,” sophomore Ivy Lariviere said.
Lariviere is not the only one who believes that the Zephyr will not meet the planned goal. Some have many doubts about Zephyr’s target.
“I believe they have half the money raised that they need to have raised to start building it, but I’m sure it will take longer than another year and a half before they build it,” junior Matthew Lamers said.
Ninety-six percent people have rated the Zephyr with a five out of five review. The majority including how pleasurable and entertaining it is to be there. The other four percent replied with comments bandwagoning what the others said and agreeing to them.
According to Lariviere, “[They are] very welcoming. The teachers there were amazing, they’re caring. You just get the atmosphere of ‘I’m going to enjoy it here’ and I did.”
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Madison Weispfenning, junior, is a layout editor and writes for the arts and entertainment department. In her free time, she enjoy doing crossfit and is...
Hannah Boardman • Dec 17, 2017 at 11:19 am
This article is very informative about the new theater and their plans for the future. I enjoyed the quotes and I think that you had good sources. I wasn’t really sure how Ivy’s quotes fit in until the end when she speaks about her experiences with the theater, so maybe next time provide a little background on the source of the quote, otherwise it was very informative and well written!
Mikayla Cousineau • Nov 13, 2017 at 8:23 pm
I thought this article was a great read for those who had no knowledge about the topic so far. The writing detail of this article were excellent, including how the lead used various sentence structures to create a sophisticated, easy-flowing dynamic. I also thought that the lead was well expanded upon in the nut graph to provide readers with necessary information for understanding the topic. After reading, I am looking forward to 2019 when the public has an opportunity to explore this site for themselves!
Levi Gregg • Nov 13, 2017 at 8:07 pm
The story effectively draws readers in and is made stronger because it incorporates an interview with a teacher. However, it would be better if it included the total funds collected compared to the funds required and if it explained what a five star rating means.
Will Gleason • Nov 13, 2017 at 7:47 pm
Article was well written, quotes added dimension to the story, and the way you backed up your quotes with more information gave them more power which is perfect. I was completely unaware that the Zephyr depot was going to be reopened as a theater, your article was quite informative as well as well written. Great job.
Joseph Blomquist • Nov 13, 2017 at 10:27 am
The quotes were very relevant and helpful to the content of the story. The question of wether Zephyr is having classes yet was not answered in this article.
Benjamin Valerius • Nov 10, 2017 at 10:20 am
The quotes were really good supports of the content in the article! I liked how it wasn’t purely just an informative article about the Zephyr theater but rather gave light on the possibility of the theater not receiving enough funds to become fully functioning in the way they want it to be. A question I had that wasn’t directly answered in the article was about whether or not the actual Zephyr location is holding classes yet or not – Ivy talks about the teachers there but earlier in the article it sounds like the theater is still in the process of being finished? Either way it is an interesting read!
Emma Lowey • Nov 9, 2017 at 1:04 pm
I like how you interviewed sources close to the development of Zephyr and the theater community, it definitely gave the quotes some power. The article leaves a lot of speculation about the outcome of the theater, which can be frustrating for the reader but you handled the writing well with the information you gathered. You’re off to a really good start with this piece.