SCOTTSBLUFF, Neb. – A $5,000 grant to Friends of the Midwest Theater from the Oregon Trail Community Foundation helped the Midwest Theater develop its capacity to attract top-notch artists to western Nebraska with upgraded stage lighting and up-to-date sound capacity.
The Midwest Theater’s new stage lighting control system enables remote adjustment of lighting, including the ability to change the color of the lighting, which is a feature that high-level performing artists expect. However, the theater’s existing incandescent stage lights were single-color only.
Midwest Theater Executive Director Billy Estes said the lack of color adjustment capabilities created difficulty in meeting the needs of the high-level artists the theater has been booking.

“We’ve had to drive down to Denver to rent colored LED stage lighting for some of our performing artists,” Estes said. “We won’t have to do that anymore. We’ll also be saving on electricity, as the new stage lights are high-efficiency LEDs.”
Additionally, the OTFC grant dollars helped to purchase two sound monitors to replace older monitors that were failing.
“I’m grateful that Oregon Trail Community Foundation was able to help us reach our current level of tech capabilities to meet the needs of modern performing artists within our historic theater building,” Estes said. “It makes me feel good to know that we are able to attract top-notch artists to western Nebraska and give our patrons really amazing experiences.”
The Oregon Trail Community Foundation is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt public charity that offers grants through funds provided by memberships, donations, bequests, trusts and more.  OTCF is also the predominant community foundation in western Nebraska.  For more information about applying for a grant, or starting a fund from Oregon Trail Community Foundation, visit www.otcf.org for more information or call 308-635-3393.