Blog | Decatur Underground Theater

Feb 22, 20234 min read

DUT's Community Theatre Secret Sauce

Many "good ideas" don't make it. Ask any entrepreneur about the success rate of new startups. An estimated 90% don't succeed, with most failing within the first 2-4 years.

When Decatur Underground Theater started in 2010, we had our fair share of naysayers. We were different, and we (at least by community theatre standards) were weird. Fair enough. Although we had other mad skills, we openly admitted we knew little about community theater. We weren't totally clueless, though. We knew how to make large productions (like rock concerts) happen and had good organizational skills.

In any case, a lack of knowledge about community theatre turned out to be an advantage for Decatur Underground. It allowed DUT some flexibility and maybe even permission to break the mold (and we did).

Some local detractors openly pointed out that we 'didn't know what we were doing' in 2010 and would quickly fail.

Our response: Watch us.

It was openly predicted that DUT would fail. But we didn't. Why not? Well, it turns out - for DUT - it was never just about the show. We were different in many ways. One way we only do musical theater (the show itself), but that was just part of what we were doing.

We were having fun. But we weren't just having fun. We were on a mission, and that mission was Decatur, Illinois. We had a (different) model we were creating for our community theatre company, and the secret sauce that made the model work factored into the mission.

Community Theatre Secret Sauce

The mission is why we didn't pattern DUT after anyone else. It's why DUT is unique and isn't dependent on anything or anyone else. We're happy to share what the ingredients that make up the secret sauce looked (and still do) like. It's this not-so-secret combination of things:

OPPORTUNITY: Providing opportunities for those who may have never anticipated or gotten the chance to perform on stage in a musical or theatre in general or with no experience or connection with community theatre, in general, was necessary (but having vocal talent would for sure be beneficial for those aspiring to perform onstage)...
OPTIONS: Providing additional opportunities for the community for high-quality, affordable entertainment (not in a bar or club)... at an affordable price...
EXCELLENCE: Expect the best possible results from ourselves and our people - from those performing on-stage to those behind the scenes - always striving for excellence and giving them everything they need to succeed, and they will produce (it works in business, why not in musical theater?)...
LOVE PEOPLE: Operate our company in a way that isn't necessarily "religious," per se, but inherently expresses and demonstrates the love of Christ to everyone involved in our company in ways that recognize each person as a valuable human being, made in the image of God (imago dei), deserving of love and respect. We each may have different perspectives on some things, but respecting each other is paramount...
ETHICAL/MORAL: Function in a way that recognizes the importance of ethical and moral practices and holds people accountable - from the board to performers to backstage and behind-the-scenes volunteers. Ethical standards are non-negotiables...
GIVE BACK: Giving back to the community in unique and tangible ways is essential. That includes the shows we produce but also in other tangible ways beyond the show itself. For example, providing a delicious Nelson's Chicken Dinner to every police officer, firefighter, EMT, and dispatcher in the city on our Nelson's Fundraiser Day (last time that was approximately 80 first responders) or helping get animals in shelters get adopted, or helping kids. We love Decatur and want to give back...
MISSION BELIEVERS: we rely on a core team of dedicated, hard-working, awesome people who freely give their time and talents (and often other resources) to help us all succeed in carrying out our community theater mission with excellence - for the sake of our hometown, Decatur, Illinois.

The other piece of the model not mentioned above focuses on doing well-known Broadway musicals - shows that people will recognize and have proven their desirability, popularity, and staying power (mainly because of their incredible score).

It all works (at least for us).

In 2011, despite the unparalleled success of both Jesus Christ Superstar and Miss Saigon, some in the community still thought DUT was a flash in the pan and would never last. They didn't taste the secret sauce. Decatur's Lincoln Square Theater had not seen packed crowds like that (or crowds of any sort) in more than two decades. In our 13th year, the Decatur Underground Theater (DUT) experiment proved successful. We're still cranking out awesome musical theater and contributing to the Decatur community.

We're not going anywhere. The DUT secret sauce is delicioius.

There are plenty of things to do in Decatur... if you look. But, still, Decatur has both a desire and a need for even more things to do. We're just one part of a lot of great things that are happening in Decatur, Illinois.

We are not alone.

No, that isn't a Close Encounters reference. There are three excellent community theatre companies (DUT, Theatre 7, and Midsummer Moon), not to mention Millikin's Pipe Dreams Theatre and curricular theatre programs, as well as Kirkland. There are plenty of opportunities for each of us to contribute; our community has no shortage of need for what we all can provide. We can all contribute.

The Secret Garden The Musical

The Decatur community has repeatedly responded fabulously to DUT's high-quality musical theatre productions. Get ready - The Secret Garden The Musical is coming. The Decatur community is about to get their socks blown off yet again with DUT's production of The Secret Garden.

DUT's The Secret Garden The Musical production will hit the stage at the Decatur Civic Center Theater on March 24-26 and Mar 31-Apr 2.

So, for people asking, "what is there to do in Decatur?" - coming up the last two weekends in March 2023, check out Decatur Underground's production of The Secret Garden The Musical at the Decatur Civic Center. You will be blown away by the vocal talent that is right here in our community.

Tickets for -The Secret Garden The Musical - are now available HERE.

We're still giving back. I look forward to you at The Secret Garden!

Tim Revis, Co-founder & Trustee - Decatur Underground Theater

DUT is Decatur's Premier Musical Theater Company, bringing Awesome Musical Theater to Decatur, IL.

Tim Revis

Feb 16, 20232 min read

An experience I'll never forget

It all sounded like a good idea... until I got into the room where I had to show off my dance moves.

It had been over 20 years since I had been on stage, and I was worried about teaching myself to sing again when I should have been more worried about dancing. In the audition, our choreographer started stringing dance moves together so fast my brain wasn’t following, and I was sure my 40+ year-old body would struggle even more.

Let’s back up to how I got into this position, I blame my family and peer pressure. My daughters had seen a Decatur Underground post about auditions for one of our favorite shows, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. Both of my kids knew they would try out, but they wanted me to do it with them. I was hesitant to perform again, but they all teamed up and had my wife join in to pressure me into doing it (spoiler alert for the blog, I was so happy I joined the show). I worked on my song a bit, and we were ready to go try out for the musical.

I am in the audition room, laughing at the thought of dancing like I am being shown, but I did my best, and the choreographer, directors, and leaders of the Decatur Underground Theater were all nice and very supportive. This is something that I learned that day and keep learning every rehearsal or DUT event. The cast and crew of DUT welcome anyone that wants to be in their troupe with open arms and makes people nervous about performing feel like they're part of the family.

I did this show to be on stage with my family but also gained a new one in the process.

I would wholeheartedly tell anyone thinking about trying out for a show with Decatur Underground Theater to take the leap and audition.

Sharing the stage with my children was an experience I will not forget and something I hope they remember as they grow up. I also loved that I got out of my comfort zone and performed in a musical after 20 years of just being a spectator. We are in the middle of rehearsals for The Secret Garden The Musical right now, and I am having the time of my life trying to get better at this whole singing and dancing thing.

If you always wanted to be in a show, don’t miss trying out for the next musical, I am sure Bye Bye Birdie will be just as great of a time.

Ryan Rinchiuso, Cast Member: The Secret Garden - Major Holmes

Tim Revis

Feb 14, 20233 min read

Decatur? Seriously???

At first, DUT started with a singular goal - stage well-known Broadway musicals... in Decatur.

Other guiding principles would immediately follow:

give back to the Decatur, Illinois, community...
provide high-quality entertainment (musical theatre, as it were)...
provide opportunities for people who may have never considered getting into community theatre (or had tried to and couldn't), and...
do so at an affordable price.

With Steve and me having decades of experience in staging rock shows, we knew vocal talent when we saw (or heard) it. We also had tons of expertise in music production, staging, promotion, and planning. But we were hanging our proverbial hats on finding singers (what we knew best) - the best we could find.

One the other hand, theatre things like putting casting, blocking, costuming, choreo... in other words, all things community theater - that was a different matter. But we would not be deterred. We'd just wing it. Still, when it comes to community theater, we were smart enough to know that acting is harder than it looks (especially when the actors are good). One can learn acting, blocking, and the things that go along with community theatre. We'd focus on what we knew best - the music part of musicals (i.e.,the vocals).

That left us with a realization and decision that would end up guiding Decatur Underground Theater (DUT) for the years to come.... it would be far easier (and lead to greater success) if we looked for people who could sing (have vocal skills) and teach them the theatre stuff than try (hopefully) to find people with theatre experience who can sing (or (maybe) teach them how to sing).

The pool of people locally who can sing is ten times larger than people with community theatre experience who maybe can sing. Decatur has an incredible community theatre scene with DUT, Theatre 7, Midsummer Moon, Pipe Dreams, and Milikin. But musicals is a specialty within theatre.

Clearly (for DUT) when casting, it would be (and still is)... Singing first - acting second.

It's turned out to be a winning formula for DUT since 2010.

The formula has proven wildly successful and had led to some incredible vocal and stage performances in DUT musicals. We've learned a lot along the way. It didn't seem possible, considering how great the earlier shows were, each show gets better and better musically. People consistently approach us at the end of a show and ask, "Where did you guys find your cast? Are some of them from Chicago?"

Uhmm, nope. The entire DUT cast are all from right here in Decatur.

Their response is commonly an incredulous, " Seriously???!"

Indeed. Seriously.

We are blessed big time with the amount of amazing vocal talent right here in the Decatur area. It's astounding. DUT and local Decatur talent are bringing incredible Broadway-style musical performances (the acting is great too, btw) to Decatur residents... at an affordable price.

Check it out for yourself when Decatur Underground brings The Secret Garden (The Musical) to the Decatur Civic Center on the last two weekends of March 2023. (get tickets here)

The vocal talent in this show is off the chain. It will blow your socks off.

It's already obvious that DUT's production of The Secret Garden The Musical will build on our past success and be a wildly awesome show you won't want to miss - especially if you ever wonder: what is there to do in Decatur, IL? The cast and directors are working hard. The Secret Garden will be the greatest DUT show yet.

Tim Revis, Co-founder & Trustee - Decatur Underground Theater