Michigan City’s thriving theatrical atmosphere would not play as prominent a role in the community today had it not been for the efforts of Young People’s Theatre Company Executive Director and namesake of the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center, Stan Holdcraft.
Holdcraft, who celebrated his 50th year in Michigan City in August, has been a part of the town’s theatrical community for 48 years. After majoring in radio television with minors in audiovisuals and speech at Indiana State University, Holdcraft worked as Michigan City Area Schools’ Radio TV Coordinator for five years. He then moved on to be the school system’s Media Director for 15 years. The city felt his theatrical presence for the first time when he took on the task of directing Elston High School’s musicals, though.
After directing his first musical, Oklahoma!, Holdcraft continued for decades to invest his time in educating Michigan City youths on the importance of theatre.
“My favorite thing about directing high school students is that they’re like sponges; they absorb everything. I remember sounding like a commercial for the US Army when I would say, ‘Be the best that you can be.’ Repetition is key, so I would have the kids do scenes over and over until I got them to do exactly what I wanted. Then, I would have them do it again,” Holdcraft said through chuckles.
To Holdcraft, theatre is all about the end product. He loves seeing each student relish in their accomplishments after a show and watching their confidence grow. Over the years, Holdcraft witnessed countless students with stage fright develop into trained actors.
“Kids should get involved with theatre because, if they have low self-esteem, they’ll get so much confidence. I’ve seen kids so scared before shows, and I would just remind them that the audience was filled with their friends and families,” Holdcraft said.
For most of his career, Holdcraft’s students performed in the Elston Performing Arts Center, now named the Holdcraft Performing Arts Center. Not only did Holdcraft get married in this theater, but he helped design it during Elston High School’s renovation. Holdcraft determined the theater’s current seating capacity, flyspace, and stage size.
“As the school was being renovated, [Superintendent] Jim Wagner just said, ‘Give Holdcraft what he wants.’ There’s not a bad seat in the house at Elston. The location is easy for people to get to with it being downtown, and the seating capacity is intimate. That is, if you can call an 800 seat auditorium intimate,” Holdcraft said.
The school board used Holdcraft’s dedication to improving the performance space to justify the renaming of the theater. To this day, Holdcraft still cannot believe the marquee bears his name. The renaming ceremony, affectionately named “Stan-a-palooza,” happened over the summer, and Holdcraft’s former students and mentors came to honor all of his hard work.
“It’s still surreal. I’ve been given a lot of credit for things that no one person could do alone. You have to have a good staff and good support. You don’t get to do what I’ve been doing for all these years without help.” Holdcraft said.
Over the years, hundreds of people have helped Holdcraft entertain the Michigan City community. Be they parents of high school students, teachers, or community members in general, these people allowed Holdcraft to follow his passion. For example, Holdcraft’s wife, Barb Holdcraft, has diligently run the ticket booth for almost all of her husband’s shows. To this day, she still takes tickets at Young People’s Theatre Company shows.
Holdcraft no longer directs shows with YPTC, but he still handles administrative business such as event scheduling and community relations. After directing his last musical, Peter Pan, in 2014, Holdcraft passed the baton to Aaron Garrett, who has been directing ever since.
Garrett is one of the many YPTC board members who were once Holdcraft’s students. Throughout his career, Holdcraft has frequently been asked who his “greatest success story” is, and he gives the same answer every time.
“I can’t point to just one, but I have several,” Holdcraft says.
One of his students is now an Associate Professor of Theater at the University of Chicago, and others have followed their theatrical professions through both performance and tech work. These students followed their passions, and, to Holdcraft, that is the greatest success of all.
“Theatre is and always will be my passion,” Holdcraft said. “I don’t care what you do in life, if you don’t love what you’re doing, you’re going to be miserable.”
Luckily for Holdcraft, Michigan City offers many different vessels by which his students can follow their theatrical passions. With two high school theatre programs and several community theaters, there are plenty of opportunities to get involved. According to Holdcraft, the more involved the community is, the better the theatrical environment will be. Specifically, though, he hopes to get more kids invested in theatre.
“The key is making sure there are performance opportunities for kids. We have such a rich community as far as theatre is concerned. YPTC is bringing kids in and getting them to perform, especially with YPTC Jr.,” Holdcraft said. “Kids know what’s expected of them, so it’s easier for them to grow as performers. I’m also so glad to work with YPTC because the age limit is higher than high school. After a few years of college, the kids have more maturity and confidence.”
Through Holdcraft’s work with YPTC, and theatre in general, Michigan City has become an epicenter for young actors and actresses. After over four decades in the business, Holdcraft could not be more grateful for all of the support he has received.