Arts & Culture
Prima Theatre is finding common ground through the arts
Story by Tessa Balencic, Impact Advancement Director at Prima Theatre
Live performance has a rare power. It asks us to step away from distraction and gather in real time. We laugh together. We remember together. We feel something together. In a world that can feel increasingly fragmented, that kind of shared experience matters.
In my role as Impact Advancement Director, I work closely with donors, sponsors, and community partners who are looking for more authentic ways to engage. The most meaningful partnerships are not transactional. They are rooted in shared values.
When a business partners with Prima, they are creating arts access, investing in Lancaster’s flourishing cultural life, and they’re supporting new works.
That is what excites me most about this moment at Prima.
On June 10, 2026, there will be a sensory-friendly performance of The Motown Club. This special performance is designed to be welcoming and inclusive to all especially for individuals and families impacted by intellectual, developmental, or physical disabilities. It’s part of Prima’s Creative Current initiative, generously sponsored by Sylvia and Benjamin Kauffman.
This summer also brings Prima’s Summer Concerts at Greenfield, creating more opportunities for people to enjoy live music, connection, and joy in a beautiful outdoor setting – at no cost to attendees.
On October 24, Prima will present the Stephen Schwartz Benefit Concert at Rock Lititz, featuring the legendary composer of Wicked, Pippin, and Godspell. The evening will raise funds to support the development of new plays and musicals at Prima, helping Lancaster play a meaningful role in launching fresh theatrical work into the world.
In the spring of 2027, we’ll once again welcome Rob Bell to the stage, this time with The Golden Springs Uprising—perhaps my favorite work from Rob. It’s a hilarious new comedy about an assisted living community where residents are told they can no longer have their favorite dessert. What starts as something funny and small becomes a much bigger story about dignity, friendship, and the need to feel seen at every stage of life. It’s playful and a little outrageous, but underneath all the chaos is something really tender.
These stories matter. The arts are not extra. They are part of the ecosystem that makes a place feel alive.
When the arts expand in Lancaster, the impact reaches far beyond the stage. A thriving creative community strengthens economic development. It helps people choose to move here. It gives people more reasons to stay here. It supports the kind of city where businesses, families, artists, and neighbors can flourish together.
That is the work I am grateful to be part of: inviting people into something beautiful, purposeful, and shared.
Because at its best, theatre does not just fill a room.
It helps people feel they belong.
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