Features Editor
Providing a local sanctuary for artistic expression, the Dreamland Theater of Ypsilanti offers office artists an open stage on which to deliver their designs.
Open to public involvement for almost a decade, the Dreamland Theater’s diversity of performances and showings gives residents a chance to enjoy and be a part of Ypsilanti’s independent art and music scene.
“The Dreamland cultivates as much artistic expression as any artist needs,” said Nick Johnson, a volunteer organizer and promoter of events for the Dreamland Theater.
Since opening in Ypsilanti’s Depot Town in 2002, the Dreamland Theater has been an ongoing artistic experiment created by Naia Venturi, an Ypsilanti resident. At first renting in Depot Town and struggling, Venturi soon had to make the move to Washington Street in downtown Ypsilanti and commit to the cause even further.
“I had to make a decision,” Venturi said. “I had to stop renting and give up or spend my entire life savings on a new building.”
Mike Frieseman The Washtenaw Voice
Mike Frieseman The Washtenaw Voice
Mike Frieseman The Washtenaw Voice
Mike Frieseman The Washtenaw Voice
Mike Frieseman The Washtenaw Voice
Mike Frieseman The Washtenaw Voice
Mike Frieseman The Washtenaw Voice
After purchasing the building, Venturi has continued to allow locals to join in. Hoping to create a free, expression-driven environment where artists can create and organize their own events, Venturi has witnessed a vast array of artistic endeavors take the stage at the Dreamland Theater.
“It’s really about letting people experiment with their self-expression however they want,” said Venturi of the immense assortment of creations that have adorned her theater in the past.
One of the Dreamland Theater’s longest-running stage shows, the Dreamland Puppet Show, has always been a favorite of Venturi’s.
“I’ve been a puppeteer most of my life,” Venturi said.
After crafting them by hand in the basement of the theater out of paper mache and polyurethane, Venturi brings her puppets to life every Sunday at 3:30 p.m. on the theater’s main performance stage. Joined by three to five fellow puppeteers, Venturi hopes to use her puppets to entertain the children of Ypsilanti and inspire a deeper analysis of the world around them.
“Most of performances are satirical,” Venturi said. “They are often critical of consumerism and modern society, and so some people, and very rarely, have been offended.”
With locally written scripts and an open cast of actors and puppeteers, the Dreamland Puppet Show is a continuous and often educational group effort.
One of Dreamland’s newest puppeteers, Jesse Arehart-Jacobs has been working with the Dream Land Puppet Show since July. New to the craft of puppets, Arehart-Jacobs hopes to use the self-expression granted by the show to reach out to Ypsilanti’s youth through his performances with puppets.
“I always really dug the vibes here,” said Arehart-Jacobs. “I love doing things for kids, so when they asked me about the puppet show, I was all about it!”
With some acting in high school under his belt, Arehart-Jacobs was delighted to be able to pursue the theater and learn a unique trade along the way.
“Everyone’s been real nice here,” said Arehart-Jacobs. “Luckily, they were willing to teach me, and we just went from there.”
Although the Dreamland Theater has taken on several projects over the years, lately Venturi has been focusing on more than just entertainment and self-expression. After filing as a non-profit organization in 2009, Venturi plans on giving back to the community through her art.
“We now are trying to go out and help the community and work with other non-profits on some projects,” Venturi said.
In 2010, the Dreamland Theater applied for the National Endowment of the Arts Challenge America Fast Track grant to begin working with Full Circle, an Ypsilanti-based organization for children with mental illness. The Dreamland’s prepared performance for Full Circle is titled “4 in 1” for the ratio of those afflicted with mental illness and would include several puppet performances written and performed by locals to raise awareness for the cause and to entertain the stricken youth.
“We think it would be really great for all those kids,” Venturi said. “We are still working hard for approval.”
Since its creation, the Dreamland Theater’s list of purposes has continued to grow. Treating locals to art exhibits, rock concerts, puppet shows, plays, comedies, local film screenings and burlesque shows, along with involvement in local charities, Dreamland’s open door policy has readily allowed for continued additions.
“We want to expand as much as possible,” Johnson said.
Johnson, an Ypsilanti musician and frequenter of local shows, was originally attracted to the venue because of its penchant for granting those involved free reign of the facilities.
“I wanted to find a venue that would allow me to do whatever I want, except for breaking things,” Johnson said.
Having played many gigs at the Dreamland Theater since 2007, Johnson now organizes concerts in hopes of contributing to the Dreamland’s offerings and bringing in more funding. Although Johnson accepts and encourages donations at his concerts, he enjoys their non-mandatory status and unfixed price.
“It’s important to just let people in regardless,” Johnson said. “Without a set price at the door, we bring a lot more people in. And everyone’s got at least a buck or two.”
Hoping to bring in donations and drive up awareness for the Dreamland Theater, Johnson is planning a benefit concert for Sept. 23, featuring local rock acts, Gun Lake and the Amateur Anthropologists. Johnson hopes for high attendance.
“Gun Lake is pretty big around here,” Johnson said. “Hopefully, they bring a lot of people.”
Regardless of the success of their shows, or the attendance at their concerts, Venturi remains hopeful of the Dreamland Theater’s future through volunteerism.
“We will always take volunteers,” Venturi said. “We can find a place for anyone.”
Interested citizens looking to volunteer can inquire via email directly to Venturi on the Dreamland Theater’s website. The website also allows visitors to make tax-free donations.
