The new amphitheater marks a major milestone for the nonprofit theater company, which has spent years fundraising and navigating rising construction costs to bring the project to completion.

“For a few years, before the actual completion of the amphitheater, it was touch and go,” says the company’s new executive director, Celine Taylor. “Every time we would hit a benchmark as far as raising the money to finish it, either labor costs would go up or material costs would go up.”

Celine credited the Branham family with helping make the project possible.

“We’re really grateful to the Branham family for stepping in,” she says. “They’re newer to town. Mr. Branham’s wife and son really love theatre. So they called and asked how much we needed, and it was a number they felt they could do.”

Celine’s own connection to Piknik Theatre began nearly a decade ago through her work with the Steamboat Skating Club, where she collaborated with Piknik founder Stuart Handloff on a “Theatre on Ice” model before eventually joining the theater company’s board. After moving away during the pandemic and later returning to Steamboat, Celine stepped into the executive director role as part of Stuart’s succession plan.

Additionally, a new artistic director, Claylish Coldiron, came to Piknik Theatre from Colorado’s professional theater world. Claylish works with the Colorado Shakespeare Festival as a touring educator and performer, and first connected with Piknik through a casting call last year.

“I was brought out as a cast member last year and as a teacher for the camps,” Claylish says. “I think it just landed really nicely.”

For Claylish, outdoor theater creates a different kind of experience than traditional indoor productions.

“Live performance is so interesting because no matter the show, you’ll never have the same show twice,” Claylish says. “There is something about being outdoors that makes people feel connected – a connection to the land that you’re on, a connection to the people you’re performing with.”

“When you strip down theatre to its core,” Claylish added, “it’s just about connection and storytelling.”

That sense of connection is already visible in Piknik Theatre’s youth programs. Celine recalled a story from last summer involving two boys enrolled in a theater camp who initially seemed disengaged.

“By the end of that day though, they started to get more involved,” Celine says. “By day three they wanted to know if we could put a dance together for them.”

Watching the students embrace performance and character creation, she says, “was magical.”

As the amphitheater begins hosting performances, both leaders say they hope the venue becomes a lasting cultural asset for Steamboat Springs.

“I am excited to bring high-quality accessible art to any community,” Claylish says. “This amphitheater will last if for some reason Piknik doesn’t. At its core, it’s just a space for creation.”

Celine believes spaces like Branham Amphitheatre  may become even more important in an increasingly digital world.

“I think in this day and age with AI, there’s going to be a massive desire and human need for real experiences, especially in the world of art,” she says. “I think people are going to want to see things live, no matter what it is, just to know that that’s a human doing it.”

Romeo and Juliet will play June 5-24 at the amphitheater; the Branham Amphitheatre Summer Gala takes place Sunday, July 19. For more information and tickets, visit https://pikniktheatre.org/.