Magic Happens Behind the Scenes
Meet the women at the helm of NOVA Center for the Performing Arts
NOVA Center for the Performing Arts hummed like a beehive on a hot day. It was the last night of a three-day run of Comic Book Artist, and backstage, children chattered as they donned their costumes and fiddled with their scripts. The set was up, props were laid out, and everyone was ready for their cue. In the minutes and seconds before curtains up, anything can happen, and Dodie Rife and DeLaney Hardy Ray have seen it all. No show goes off without a hitch.
“There’s a lot of moving pieces and organized chaos, but we have fun!” Dodie says.
Dodie wears many hats at the NOVA Center for the Performing Arts. She’s the executive producer, but you can find her working the box office, ushering theatergoers to their seats, and jumping in to help behind the scenes. You might find her giving a little girl’s hair a final touch, helping find a lost prop, or reassuring an actor with a silent nod and smile as they enter the stage.
DeLaney is NOVA’s youth conservatory director. She has her own pile of hats she wears. Not only does she coordinate three to four children’s productions at NOVA, but she is also an acting instructor, an actor, a director, and a playwright. DeLaney is a graduate of Rocky Mountain College and worked for the Seattle Children’s Theater before returning to Billings and putting down roots.
Pulling together a production like Comic Book Artist is a heroic task, but it’s typical for the Youth Conservatory. With a cast of 36 for this show—12 of them working tech behind the scenes—pretty much every child from ages 4 to 18 who auditions gets a part, and it’s free for all children.
“The kids did everything for this one. We have the youth run lights, sound, and work behind the scenes,” DeLaney says.
Parents are always welcome to join the fun and help where needed. In fact, it was as a parent that Dodie was introduced to NOVA. Her daughter was interested in opera, and NOVA was where she found her voice. Dodie stepped into the role of stage manager, and her dedication and passion grew from there. She was hired as the executive producer ten years ago.
NOVA Center for the Performing Arts is much more than a children’s theater. It’s an all volunteer-run nonprofit. Dodie and DeLaney are the only two paid employees.
NOVA has two theaters under its roof on Montana Avenue: The Roebling Theater, which seats 120, and the flexible, smaller Black Box Theater. NOVA is also home to the Yellowstone Repertory Theater, and the theaters are rented by many organizations in the performing arts community. In any given year, a NOVA visitor could see everything from Shakespeare to comedy to opera. The center has hosted the annual Dreyfest Arts Festival and ariel acrobatic performances by Alternacirque. It’s not uncommon to have two shows running at the same time.
“We keep the building really busy,” Dodie says.
Improv groups for all ages meet at NOVA regularly, and the center hosts Reader’s Theater, where participants pick a play and read the script together, and Cabaret Club, which gives people an opportunity to sing and perform.
Rent as well as ticket sales, donations, and public sponsors provide the foundation for operations. However, Dodie, DeLaney, and the NOVA board of directors are always looking for new, creative ways to engage the community and raise funds.
“We survive because the community wants us here, and they tell us that with donations,” Dodie says.
Recently, NOVA hosted an art exhibit where children in the Youth Conservatory created and donated artwork, which was sold to support NOVA.
“It’s just one of all the little ways we connect with our community and help keep the lights on,” Dodie says.
The space has been dedicated to the performing arts for decades. It has been NOVA since 2012. In the past, Dodie says, the theater scene in Billings had a reputation of being an “exclusive club.” It’s taken some time to turn that culture around to what NOVA is today.
“We have really tried to make it an accessible place for everyone,” Dodie says. “It’s safe and supportive and open to everyone. You can come inside and focus on learning a new skill.”
When people think of theater, they often only think of acting and overlook all the other fun that goes into a theater production. At NOVA all the sets are built on site, and there’s a huge costume closet packed with costumes from every show that’s been produced there – and more. Volunteers are encouraged to get creative and help in every facet of the organization.
“We’re creating a space where people are valued,” Dodie says. “It’s a space for people to be who they are.”
TO LEARN MORE about NOVA Center for Performing Arts—its upcoming shows, how to donate, or how to volunteer—visit novabillings.org.
