Meet Lois Koepke | Executive Director & Theatre Producer/Director

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lois Koepke and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lois, can you talk to us a bit about the social impact of your business?
At first glance, Atlanta Theatre-To-Go is a theatre company that brings theatre to seniors where they live and gather. When you look closer, we are a theatre company that gives Atlanta-based theatre artists a place to perform and bring their talents to a very appreciative audience. Theatre is one of the essential arts and, often, seniors find themselves no longer able to enjoy performances at traditional theaters for several reasons. Older theaters may have steps and aisleways that are difficult to maneuver with wheelchairs, walkers and canes. If wheelchair access seats are in the back of the theater, which they typically are, hearing and seeing may be an issue for some seniors and it lessens their ability to understand and enjoy a play or musical. In addition, the length of a play may just be too long for a senior to sit through and finding a restroom during intermission that doesn’t have a long waiting line is next to impossible. Bringing theatre to seniors eliminates all of those obstacles and allows them to enjoy the actors, the music and the magic of theatre without any concerns. So often when seniors move to assisted living or memory care facilities, the arts become a distant memory. We know our performances and workshops increase social interaction, creativity and sometimes cognitive abilities when discussing the play with their peers.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
From the time I was in fifth grade and played a mouse in an environmental themed play, I knew I wanted to be an actor. I continued acting in middle school and high school and somewhere along the way, I found out I could sing! Dancing was also a part of my training, but voice and acting was my focus. Playing lead roles in both the high school senior play and in local Milwaukee community theatres gave me the confidence and support I needed to go to Broadway – or so I thought. I was not ready to leave town and since Broadway is in New York City, I decided to see what I could do in my hometown. My next career move was to join a band as a singer and rhythm guitar player. I did that for nine years. At some point, I realized that I may not be able to do this for the rest of my life so I decided to go to college in my late twenties. This was a very good decision. I attended “weekend college” with many other working women and at the age of 29 received my BA in communication and business/management. To make ends meet, I worked at a local junior college teaching dance, fitness, communications, modeling and other subjects. While working there, the college and the Milwaukee Bucks discussed a partnership to create a dance team that would be sponsored by the college. I was approached to put together a dance team for this endeavor and became the choreographer and the director for what became the Milwaukee Bucks Energee! Dance Team. The college supported the project for the first year. A new dean came to the college in the second year and did not see the value of this partnership. I decided I would continue with the dance team and it would become a separate business for me. This launched a 22-year career which included a dance team, “Energee!”, a junior dance team, “Juniorgee”, a senior dance team of seniors 60 years old and older, “Seniorgee!” and the opportunity to choreograph full blown halftime shows and feature dance routines that included all of the entertainers including the mascot, drumline, band, break dancing team and all the dancers. It was important for me to develop my teams on and off the court. I think I am most proud of how I coached the teams to rely on each other, respect each other and to be accountable to each other. To this day, there are lifetime friendships that developed between team members. I used to say, “When you’re 80 years old and sitting on the porch in your rocking chair, you’re not going to remember the steps to the choreography, or if your teammate messed up in a routine. You will remember the friendships, and that is the most important thing.” I was fortunate in those 22 years in the NBA to travel to China and to Spain to perform in front of large crowds of fans. I was also fortunate to work with very talented and creative people who encouraged me to think outside of the box and to continue to create new experiences for the fans. During my time with the Milwaukee Bucks, I continued to sing. I became a worship leader in a contemporary Christian band. After leaving the Bucks to move to Florida for my husband’s job, I continued as a worship leader and became the drama team director for a church. While there, I was able to tap into my first love, theatre! I directed major plays for the community and I discovered I was rather good at it! This led to creating shows for events and corporations. Moving to Atlanta, again for my husband’s job, gave me the opportunity to continue in theatre when I saw a job posting for an executive director for a theatre company that performed for seniors. It was the perfect match! Many people applied for the job, but in my gut, I knew I was the one for the job. I just knew it – and I’m so glad the board of directors felt the same way! For the past 3+ years, I have had the pleasure of working with very talented actors/singers, playwrights and directors in bringing theatre to seniors. It has not been easy. Covid19 practically shut us down. I became the skeleton crew who kept the lights on in 2020. So far this year, it looks like we will be able to return to performing on a regular basis. With that in mind, I developed the “Open Air” Theatre-To-Go concept. Senior venues can choose to have us perform indoors or outdoors for their senior residents. Most people know you don’t get rich in the arts world unless you become famous. I never became rich and I never became famous in the traditional sense doing what I love to do. What I did have was an incredibly supportive husband who knew I was worth much more than I was getting paid and still supported my dream of working in a creative arts capacity.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
If my best friend was coming to the Atlanta area, and Covid19 was not an issue, I would take her to the Georgia mountains to experience the beauty of the forest and I would also take her to the wineries where we could talk over a glass of wine while looking at the vineyards with the mountains in the background. I would also take her to some of my favorite restaurants in the Atlanta area including Canoe on the Chattahoochee river, the rooftop bar of Jekyll Brewing Company in Alpharetta, GA and Polaris in the Hyatt which is a restaurant that moves in a circle with fantastic views of Atlanta. I would also take her to Gibbs Gardens which is a fantastic place to visit to see hundreds of thousands of flowers, trees and shrubs. It is a tie of which area I love the most. The replica of Claude Monet’s bridge and water lilies of the Japanese garden. Gibbs Gardens in located about 50 minutes north of Atlanta.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Sondra Ilgenfritz has been the inspiration for Atlanta Theatre-To-Go since its inception. Her vision of bringing theatre to seniors when her mother became ill, and they could no longer enjoy the theatre together, is at the heart of our mission. I am blessed to be carrying on her legacy. In addition, we could not bring quality theater to seniors without the plays/musicals submitted by talented playwrights, without the local directors and actors who have a passion for theatre and a heart for seniors and without the teaching artists who love bringing acting, improvisation and storytelling workshops to seniors. Finally, to the senior communities who have recognized the value of bringing theatre to their seniors, we commend you for your dedication in including professional theatre as part of your programming.

Website: www.AtlantaTheatreToGo.com

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/loiskoepke1/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lois.koepke https://www.facebook.com/atlantatheatretogo

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmsmfkdAiOzmkdq5_lIvzwg

Image Credits
Kristi Taylor, Vincent Samuels, Mary Claire Klooster, Jason Pure, Annie Cook, Lory Cox, Edward Davis, Sherika Oliphant, Lynne Molthen, Joshua Pulver, Michelle Moyer