In the midst of a closure to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, Jeremy Stanbary, co-founder of Open Window Theatre, is hoping to find new ways to stay connected with patrons and donors, as well as attract new followers. DAVE HRBACEK | THE CATHOLIC SPIRIT

Open Window Theatre’s temporary closure in March because of COVID-19 — just months after it re-opened in a new location — is one more opportunity to trust God, one of its co-founders said.

The Lord’s hand was evident in establishing the small, Catholic-inspired theater in its new Inver Grove Heights location, said Jeremy Stanbary, 41, co-founder and executive artistic director.

“That gives us confidence even though we don’t know what next week holds, what next month holds, we don’t know how we’re going to keep operating into the near future,” he said. “Still, we walk by faith, not by sight, and right now we’re just trusting that God has a plan for this and will provide the path forward.”

Government restrictions on public gatherings put in place last month to avoid spread of the coronavirus have Stanbary and managing director Cole Matson, 35, seeking revenue streams in a difficult season as they try to maintain their new theater space after four years of closure. Ever trying to rely on God’s providence, they’re developing new ways to reconnect with patrons and donors, while attracting new followers.

Stanbary and his wife, Sarah, who are parishioners of St. Joseph in West St. Paul, co-founded Open Window Theatre in 2011 as a professional theater that brings together art and a Catholic worldview through plays such as “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” based on C.S. Lewis’ novel and “The Jeweler’s Shop” by Pope St. John Paul II.

A disagreement with their original Minneapolis theater space’s management forced the Stanbarys and staff to close the theater three-and-a-half years ago. A mutually agreeable legal settlement reached in 2018, together with a fundraising campaign, enabled them to re-open late last year in Inver Grove Heights.

The 9,600-square-foot space is one-third larger than the previous site and required modifications not originally in the budget, Stanbary said. The auditorium seats 170 for staged productions.

Near the end of the theater’s first production at the new location, the new state restrictions on public gatherings forced Stanbary and Matson to cancel the rest of the season. A second production they’d hoped would generate needed revenue was postponed until the fall.

They have raised $6,000 of the $40,000 needed for the coming months, Stanbary said, but fundraising when many have been hit economically is challenging. Matson, a parishioner of St. Charles in Bayport, is also applying for government disaster aid and loans.

Stanbary plans to announce the theater’s 2020-2021 season before Easter, which he hopes will generate season ticket sales. Included will be “Tolkien” about the friendship between writers J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis, previously scheduled for this spring.

In late May or early June, Stanbary will present his one-man drama on the life of Pope St. John Paul II, which he performed nationally and internationally from 2003 to 2011. If COVID-19 prevents him from performing the play before an audience, the theater will live-stream it, he said. A children’s play is also planned for July.

Stanbary said the prospect of losing the theater again is frightening for him, Sarah and their six children, but he trusts in God’s providence.

“When we can root ourselves in prayer and put those roots ever deeper in the Lord, that’s where we get nourished with hope and trust and the faith we need to know (that) somehow — we don’t know how — somehow God is going to provide.“

Matson also sees God working. “God is going to be requiring a lot of character from us in the future, so he’s building the character,” he said.

After the crisis, Stanbary said he hopes the theater’s patrons, who come from many backgrounds and locations, will return and support the theater, which plays an important role in the culture.
Having brought Open Window Theatre through adversity before, he said he doesn’t believe the Lord will stop supporting it now.

“We know this is where we’re supposed to be, and now it’s just about building up more community around what we’re doing … bringing our old community back and building on that to keep us here,” Stanbary said. “To keep us doing what we’re doing.”

Spoken Word Project

Until social gathering bans are lifted, Open Window Theatre is offering free online semi-weekly poetry readings through its new Spoken Word Project. Video of the readings by staff members, and actors, as well as former NFL star Matt Birk, will be posted at openwindowtheatre.org, Vimeo, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. The project reflects the theater’s desire to contribute hope to the virtual sphere during a time of isolation, co-founder Jeremy Stanbary said. “We want to bring some hope and inspiration to all of our lives because without beauty we risk sinking into despair.”