Let’s be real—big, flashy theatre productions are like a giant cake covered in gold-leaf frosting. Impressive? Sure. Delicious? Maybe. But if there’s nothing tasty underneath, you’re just eating expensive air. Theatre is the same way: all the moving sets, dazzling projections, and pyrotechnics in the world can’t make up for a story that falls flat.

There’s a quote from Shakespeare in Love that’s become a bit of an inside joke for those of us in the arts. Anytime someone asks how we manage to pull off what feels impossible—mounting productions on tight timelines, bringing together diverse teams, turning a blank stage into a world full of life—the answer is often delivered with a shrug:

“I don’t know. It’s a mystery.”

During one of our recent "Feed the Artist" segments at a board meeting, our Board of Trustees Chair, Kate Rufener, brought up Oskar Eustis's 2018 TED Talk, "Why Theater is Essential to Democracy." After watching the talk, I couldn’t help but feel that Eustis had a powerful message about how theater and democracy are more closely tied than most of us realize. It’s not something we often think about, but when you dig into it, theater is one of the oldest forms of democratic discourse.

Have you ever thought about what makes you love where you live?

Peter Kageyama, who wrote Love Where You Live, says it’s not just about having good roads or decent weather. It’s about the things that make a place feel special—the little moments that make us proud to call our city home.

And honestly? That’s exactly why the arts matter so much to our community.

At West Valley Arts, we’re not just putting on plays or hosting events for the sake of staying busy. We’re helping create the kinds of experiences that make people stop and say, “Wow, I love it here.”

When planning each season at West Valley Arts, we ask ourselves the same question:

What stories need to be told right now—right here, on the west side?

This year, A Chorus Line was an easy answer.

At West Valley Arts, we’re committed to bringing high-quality, professional theatre to the west side at a price that remains affordable and accessible. But what many people may not realize is that ticket sales cover only about 25% of our total operating costs.