Nestled in the heart of Johnson County, KS, is what Emily Behrmann calls a “hidden gem” and Kansas City’s “best-kept secret.”
Behrmann is the general manager of the Performing Arts Series at Johnson County Community College. Since 1990, the college has presented a variety of shows each year ranging from Broadway to classical and everything in between.
“We provide something for everyone in the community,” Behrmann says. “If you’re a family with small kids, we have things that are appropriate for you. If you are a dance lover, we provide several different genres during the year. If you like theater, comedy, all kinds of music, we make all of that available to the community.”
The Performing Arts Series is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year and has booked a wide array of productions guaranteed to appeal to diverse audiences.
So how did the Performing Arts Series get its start and become the success it is today?
In the early 1980s, the trustees at the college did some strategic planning and identified long-range goals for the campus, one of which was to create a performing arts center that could host public and community events, as well as events for the students of the performing arts program at JCCC.
In 1990, the Cultural Education Center opened, which was the realization of the goal the trustees had nearly a decade earlier. Behrmann calls it “a marriage between the educational mission of the community college and the performing arts.”
In 1998, the Cultural Education Center was renamed the Carlsen Center in honor of the college’s third president, Charles J. Carlsen.
Now, 25 years after the center was built, the college is still acting upon the dreams and visions the trustees had so long ago, bringing performers from around the world to the performance halls at the Carlsen Center.
The center comprises four venues: 1,300-seat Yardley Hall, 420-seat Polsky Theater, a 55-seat recital hall and Bodker Black Box Theater, which is used exclusively by the theater department students.
Behrmann has witnessed a lot of changes over the years, namely the number of performances the college hosts during a season. “We used to do nine or 10 performances a year, and now we do an average of 25 shows a year—and that doesn’t include our school performances and some of the daytime things we do,” she says.
However, the biggest change Behrmann and the performing arts department have seen is in the field of technology. “When this building opened in 1990, we really didn’t use computers regularly. We didn’t have email or digital technology,” she says. “Over the course of 25 years, we’ve seen the way we conduct business—as far as emails, texts, smartphones and laptops—change.”
The technological advances aren’t confined to the offices; they also apply to the equipment in the theater. Behrmann explains, “Everybody who comes in here now has digital soundboards, and they want special lighting instruments that are much more flexible and interesting than the ones we used 25 years ago.”
Many people work diligently behind the scenes to make each performance successful, including a technical director, audio engineer, master electrician, marketing coordinator, box office employees, event managers, arts education director and a team of volunteers. “I do want to say that without our volunteers, we couldn’t do what we do,” Behrmann says. “They make us shine, make us look great and they are such great ambassadors for this institution and for the Performing Arts Series.”
For the 25th season, the college is bringing back artists who have performed there in the past and have been popular with the audiences, such as Arlo Guthrie and Jim Brickman, to pay tribute to past success. At the same time, Behrmann says the Performing Arts Series always strives to expand the kinds of programs they bring to the campus, and an anniversary year is the perfect time to do this.
“By bringing in a group like Blue Man Group, that’s kind of a big deal for us. It’s a big Broadway show, a fun, loud extravaganza that we think will appeal to moms, dads, kids and grandparents,” she says. “It’s a little outside of the box, and we’ll be doing five performances in three days.”
The series is also bringing in more dance performances and classical music than they have in recent years, adding to the diversity of their 25th season.
Behrmann encourages KC Parent readers to come to a show or two. “I guarantee you will find something on our schedule that will appeal to you that may be an old favorite or a brand-new experience. It may be a way to introduce your child to the arts or it may be a way to share a moment with your mom or dad.”
To view the complete list of this season’s shows and to purchase tickets, go to JCCC.edu/performing-arts-series, call 913.469.4445 or visit the Carlsen Center lobby at JCCC (southwest corner of College Boulevard & Quivira Road).
Tisha Foley lives in Belton with her husband and two children.