Okoboji Summer Theatre Company
A professional summer stock theatre company in beautiful Spirit Lake, Iowa, OST provides great theatre to loyal patrons and immersive internships to undergraduate theatre students.
Owned and operated by Stephens College, Okoboji Summer Theatre (OST) is the only program of its kind.
At OST, Stephens College performing arts students work alongside professional guest artists from across the country to create nine mainstage productions and four Boji Bantam Children’s Theatre productions in 10 weeks.
For our patrons
In light of the coronavirus pandemic and for the safety of our student actors, staff, guests and patrons, we have made the difficult decision to cancel the 2020 Okoboji Summer Theatre season. It is the first time since 1958 that we have been dark for a season. We will miss you and the generations who grace our seats every year, and will never forget the summer of 2020.
For subscribers
We will hold your subscriber seats until 2021 and we ask that you email us at [email protected] with your current address and phone so we can keep you updated and offer a “sneak peek” at our 2021 plans.
For donors and supporters
Each year ticket sales support annual projects. These projects will continue in 2020 even without productions: installation of new sound equipment; sidewalk improvements; roof, road and infrastructure repairs; and continued maintenance of our beautiful gardens and grounds.
If you would like to make a gift to OST, you may give by mail at OST Fund, 1200 E Broadway, Columbia, MO 65215, or by using the secure web form below.
For our students
Okoboji Summer Theatre Company is a working professional summer stock theatre company. An essential component of Stephens’ Musical Theatre, Acting, Technical Theatre and Costume Design programs, OST helps students improve all aspects of technique.
Students work side-by-side with nationally recognized guest artists, faculty, alumnae mentors and working professionals. Students also learn what it takes to run a company, how all of the components of theatre must come together cohesively, and how to market not only the company’s productions, but one’s own professional self.
The 2020 Season
Okoboji Summer Theatre company has traditionally produced a wide range of productions each summer including musicals, classics, farce, comedy and drama, as well as children’s theatre productions. Here is look at what we'd been planning for the 2020 summer season:
- The Marvelous Wonderettes: Dream On (Musical)
- Clue: On Stage! (Comedy)
- Grease (Musical)
- Ken Ludwig’s A Comedy of Tenors (Comedy)
- Terms of Endearment (Classic)
- Noises Off (Comedy)
- The All Night Strut! (Musical)
- The Outsider (Comedy)
- The Music Man (Musical)
- Sideways Stories from Wayside School (Children’s Theatre)
- The Pied Piper (Children’s Theatre)
- The True Story of the 3 Little Pigs! (Children’s Theatre)
- The Velveteen Rabbit (Children’s Theatre)
Life at Boji
Inviting student cottages surround the volleyball court and new Weaver Commons, bordering the mainstage theatre and rehearsal spaces.
Stephens College students enjoy being the first to live in the village of tiny homes. The first one, known as Thorn Bird, was made possible by a generous patron, Anne Thorne Weaver.
Stephanie Beatriz ’02, joins the cast of “Bye Bye Birdie” as a guest actor at the Okoboji Summer Theatre in 2003.
The beautiful Weaver Commons, named for generous Okoboji Summer Theatre supporter Anne Thorne Weaver, opened in 2019 — a centerpiece of the OST’s transformation into a charming artists’ village.
Founding artistic director and Stephens College professor Bill West with the cast and crew preparing for a production in 1962.
Dedicated to long-time managing director Addison Myers, the lovely gazebo on the OST grounds, sharing “Joy to All Theatrekind.”
Patrons adore the gorgeous flower beds on the Weaver Patio and often come early before each show to relax under our awning and take a few selfies with the flowers.
Weaver Commons features a rehearsal room and a new kitchen and dining area for students, staff and guest artists.
There's plenty of green space across the OST campus, with the red-roofed Boji Bantam Children’s Theatre peeking through in the background.
Okoboji Summer Theatre
Executive Director