Bringing the Arts

to our small Wyoming town

Part of our community since

Since 1947

Art belongs to everyone, even in rural Wyoming. 
Our goal is to include our community AND YOU in pursuing our mission, be it through attendance at our shows, volunteer opportunities, outreach programs, or community building events.

  • Lander Performing Arts, previously known as the Lander Community Concerts Association, has been the pivotal performing arts institution in Lander , WY since 1947.

    In 2007, LPA received the Wyoming Arts Council’s coveted Governor's Arts Award, recognizing excellence in the arts and outstanding service to the arts in Wyoming. 

    Past performers have included the San Diego Ballet, Utah Symphony Orchestra, Rainbow Dance Theatre, and many more!

  • LPA is dedicated to bringing affordable & accessible arts performances to the residents of Fremont County.

    We book shows that are eclectic, intentionally designed, and professionally executed: this includes large productions, multi-day masterclasses, and companies that hail from cities such as New York and San Francisco. We strive to bridge the gap between urban and rural access to performing arts!

  • Our season runs from September to May. Performances are most often held in the Lander Valley High School auditorium.

    Everyone is welcome to attend our shows. We ensure ticket costs stay affordable through the dedicated work of our volunteer board!

Meet the Staff

PROGRAM DIRECTOR

Vikkilyn took on the program director role in July 2024 after several years serving on our board of directors.

Vikki is the owner of Purple Thistle Wellness, specializing in holistic health products and services in Lander. She has a degree in Theatre and Dance, and brings experience in performance art, choreography and dance instruction.

 Vikkilyn Frank 

   Marnie Fusco 

DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR

Marnie joined our group at LPA in July 2024.

Marnie is a local musician and fervent advocate for expanding arts/music programming in the Lander area. She has helped secure grant funding for several non-profit organizations since moving here in 2018, and brings experience from her role as executive director of Art Link Wyoming.

Meet the Board

Rita Neill

Board President

Rita and her husband, Michael Kotrick, moved to Lander in the spring of 2013. They had previously resided in the San Francisco Bay Area.

They received a Season Ticket mailer from Lander Community Concerts Association in the summer of 2013. They were quite surprised that a community the size of Lander provided Live Performances throughout the fall, winter, and spring months and immediately purchased Season Tickets. Rita became actively involved with the Board in October of 2014. During her Board tenure, Rita has been very interested in continuing to provide our community with the opportunity to attend high-quality professional performances. Rita is currently serving as the President of the LPA Board of Directors.

Vacant

Vice President

Melody Nolan

Treasurer

Melody Nolan was invited to a LPA (LCCA back then) performance by a friend shortly after arriving in Lander and soon became a patron, volunteer and board member.  When she isn’t backstage serving the artist’s and staff fresh home cooked meals, you might find her greeting guests, tending to costumes, or assisting with a variety of other duties. 

During the off season, Melody’s days are filled with enjoying God’s amazing creation, gardening, spending time with her dogs and living her life verse: “for we walk by faith, not by sight…”

Robin Levin

Secretary

Robin, Lander resident since 1981, has served on the LPA board for a dozen years and loves the new design for concerts in our community.  Her work as concert manager was passed on to Sam Dahnert in the past year, but will continue backstage.

"It is a measure of a town's merit when the arts and performances are of a high caliber. Lander is a gem in the Rockies, fulfilling 75 years' commitment to bringing world-class shows, and looking forward to a new, vibrant season!"

Robin stays busy in various enterprises as librarian on the Wind River Reservation, hay and horse rancher with her husband Jack Malmberg, proud mom of two adult children, and  advocate for progressive & inclusive social programs.

Sam Dahnert

Concert Manager

After twelve years of enthusiastically supporting the live events industry in Colorado, New York and Ohio, Sam moved to Lander in the first half of 2020; and has been working to bolster Lander's repertoire of accessible, compelling media ever since.

Recent accomplishments include sixteen successful productions with the Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, a handful of collaborations with Communal Pancake and the Lander Art Center, and over a year of programming with Lander Performing Arts.

Jonathan Rummel

Board Member

Mr. Rummel started dancing at the age of 3, danced competitively in high school, and went on to earn a BPA in Dance Performance from Oklahoma City University.

After college, Jonathan performed professionally on Celebrity Cruises traveling to Hawaii, Panama Canal, and South America. He went on to receive his Master of Arts interdisciplinary studies in music, speech, and dance from West Texas A&M University. He currently works for the Fremont County Treasurer’s office in Lander. 

When not working for F.C.T. , he and his wife of 15 years (Deanna) runs JR Performing Arts, take care of the family’s pets including dogs, cats, a cockatoo, chickens and ducks.  They also enjoy spending time in the mountains.

Margaret Proctor

Board Member

“I love music. I’ve always loved music and don’t remember a time when I didn’t. I have a very early memory of watching Perry Como sing Ave Maria with my Italian grandmother Nonni,and she cried while Perry Como sang. The beauty and emotions music brings has had an impact on me ever since. I love Lander because it seems to be full of music and I go to every event I can find.

I have a long time connection to Wyoming because of my husband and his family. I was lucky enough to move to Lander in 2018, and in January 2023 joined the LPA board to help bring music and preforming arts to Lander.

Every concert is the chance for something special and the opportunity to make an amazing memory. You don’t want to miss a thing.”