On Saturday, Triumvirate Theatre officially welcomed visitors to it's new playhouse on Daubenspeck Road in Kenai. The space was the culmination of fundraising efforts, volunteer hours and of course, a love for community theater.
“It is a real building with doors that work and bathrooms backstage for the kids, so they don't have to share bathrooms with the patrons,” said Joe Rizzo, Triumvirate Theatre’s executive director. “It's a really great facility. There's really, honestly, nothing like it on the Kenai Peninsula.”
The troupe’s last rehearsal space, a former mechanic shop in Nikiski, was destroyed by fire in 2021. Since then, the nonprofit primarily rehearsed and performed in local high school auditoriums.
Since then, the group received about $3 million in grants from groups like the Rasmuson Foundation, and from local donors to fund construction of a new, two-story building. The 6,300 square foot facility includes a 200 seat auditorium and a big piano in the lobby, among other things.
Chris Jenness, one of the founders of Triumvirate Theatre, says it's the largest and most practical space the group’s ever had. He says this is their third, and final, playhouse.
“When we were in those two spaces, everything we would do was in mind for the next six months or maybe even the next year," Jenness said. "‘What do we need next year? What are we going to build so we can have this for next year?’ But with this space, it's ‘What do we need for the next 30 years, or 40 years?’”
Elements of the former Nikiski playhouse have been incorporated into the new theater. There’s a small, salvaged section of wood stage that’s been built into the new stage. There’s also a piece of mural and stained glass art display that survived the fire and is now on display.
Visitors will also notice photographs from past Triumvirate shows and summer camps hung throughout the playhouse. For young actors like Oshie Broussard, it makes for a “homey” feeling.
“I was in the old theater for, like, my entire childhood," Broussard said. "I basically grew up there, and being here as a teenager, it feels like I've brought my childhood memories into the new space, and it feels like I'm back home.”
Construction crews broke ground on the project nearly two years ago. In the last few weeks, volunteers spent nights and weekends installing chairs and fixtures, painting walls and more.
Rizzo, Triumvirate’s executive director, says it's a labor of love for the next generation of thespians.
“It is going to bless kids' lives for generations, for many, many, many years," he said.
While the theater troupe doesn’t have any shows scheduled, Rizzo says the group is excited to rehearse and perform once again in a space all their own.
