Debut Theatre: Front Page News
Debut Theatre Company Launches $3 Million Campaign to Build Northern Colorado’s First Youth Performing Arts Hub
New Fort Collins space to provide a permanent home, expand access, and inspire the next generation
Link to Coloradoan front page story
FORT COLLINS, CO – October 10, 2025 – Debut Theatre Company (501c3), Northern Colorado’s only troupe-structured, nonprofit youth theatre, today announced the launch of a $3 million Capital Campaign to establish the Debut Arts Centre — a permanent, state-of-the-art home dedicated to youth performing arts.
This landmark project will transform a generously donated 18,000-square-foot former movie theatre in midtown Fort Collins (2525 Worthington Circle) into a vibrant hub for young artists. The new center will expand access to theatre education, provide year-round rehearsal and performance spaces, and foster creativity and community for students across Northern Colorado.
“Our mission has always been simple yet profound: to prepare young people for adulthood by applying the fundamental dynamics of creativity and problem-solving, responsibility, communication, and teamwork,” said Lee Osterhout-Kaplan, Co-founder and Artistic Director. “This campaign is about more than a building — it’s about creating a permanent home where generations of young people can find their voice, their confidence, and their community.”
For more than three decades, Debut Theatre Company has inspired students to learn through theatre. Without a dedicated home, the troupe has rehearsed in borrowed spaces, stored costumes in private homes, and built sets across multiple locations. Students often don’t step onto an actual stage until days before opening night.
That will soon change. The building’s owner, Les Kaplan, has generously provided the space rent-free in perpetuity — a gift valued at $250,000 annually — and plans to invest over $1 million in structural upgrades. Capital Campaign funds will focus on creating the interior arts center, which will include:
A black box theatre for productions with seating for 120
A 300-seat main theatre with adaptable seating and flexible stage
Classrooms and rehearsal studios for year-round learning
Workshops and a costume shop for set and production design
A welcoming lobby and gathering space for families and audiences
Office space for Debut Theatre Staff
An artist-in-residence studio
Beyond Debut’s own programming, the complex will serve as a regional hub for youth arts, offering affordable rehearsal and performance space to other nonprofits and schools and filling a void to address systemic gaps in access to and support of the arts.
The Capital Campaign will unfold in two acts:
Act One: Raising the Curtain ($1 million, 2025–2026) – Move-in-ready with offices, black box theatre, classrooms, and workshops.
Act Two: Taking Center Stage ($2 million+, through 2028) – Main performance theatre for 300 with versatile stage and flexible seating.
Kicking off the public campaign, Edward M. Warner and Jacalyn D. Erickson have pledged a $250,000 matching grant challenge through December 31, 2025.
“Children’s theatre is a critical tool in the social development of our kids,” shared Dr. Ed and Dame Jackie. “The skills they learn on and behind the stage last a lifetime. We are excited to have the opportunity to invest in a first class venue which will expand the ability of Debut Theatre to teach theatre arts and to reach a larger audience.”
Donations can be made at www.debuttheatre.org.
Recognition opportunities include naming rights for major gifts, inclusion on the facility’s Ovation Wall, and named chairs in the main theatre for donors at the $1,000 level.
Impact Beyond the Stage
For many students, Debut is more than an arts program — it’s a life-changing community.
“Debut was the only place I felt like I belonged,” shared one alumnus. “It was where I learned, made mistakes, and grew as a person.” Parents echo that sentiment: “The education and personal development our son has experienced at Debut is incomparable.”
About Debut Theatre Company
Founded in 1991 by siblings Lee Osterhout-Kaplan and Gregg Osterhout, Debut Theatre Company is Northern Colorado’s only troupe-structured, nonprofit youth theatre. Its unique, progression-based model gives students hands-on experience in every aspect of production — from acting and stage management to design and publicity — cultivating life skills and a love of the arts.
For more information or to donate, visit www.debuttheatre.org.
Contact
Lee Kaplan, Co-Founder and Artistic Director lee@debuttheatre.org
Tracee Carcasson, Director of Community Engagement tracee@debuttheatre.org
(970) 224-5774
(970) 231-5197 (after hours for Tracee Carcasson)