Perham Community Stages Aida, Students and Residents Collaborate
A community production of Aida featuring roughly 45 students and local residents will premiere Nov. 16 at the Perham High School auditorium, with performances running Nov. 16 through Nov. 18. The show showcases extensive community collaboration, tight technical demands from rapid costume and scene changes, and affordable ticket pricing that aims to keep the arts accessible to local families.
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Perham will host a community musical production of Aida that is set to premiere Friday Nov. 16 at the Perham High School auditorium, with additional performances through Sunday Nov. 18. The DL Online preview reports a cast of about 45 participants drawn from both students and community members, reflecting a broad local investment in the production.
Organizers and production staff have described the show as technically demanding, citing numerous costume changes and quick scene work with minimal blackouts. Those production challenges have shaped rehearsal schedules and required careful coordination between cast members, stage crew and costume teams. The rehearsal and preparation process has involved students balancing school responsibilities while community members contribute time and expertise, illustrating a common model for small town arts productions that relies heavily on volunteer labor and intergenerational collaboration.
Ticket pricing has been set to encourage attendance across age groups, with students and seniors admitted for $10 and adult tickets priced at $12. The DL Online preview included contact information and ticket purchase details for residents seeking seats. By keeping prices modest, the production aims to maintain accessibility for families while generating revenue to support local arts programming.
The presence of a large cast drawn from Perham highlights the role school facilities play as civic cultural hubs. Using the high school auditorium for a shared community production creates opportunities for students to gain practical theater experience, and for residents to participate directly in cultural life. It also presents logistical and policy considerations for local leaders, such as ongoing maintenance and scheduling of public school facilities when they serve as venues for community events.
For local businesses and downtown activity, three nights of performances can bring additional visitors and traffic to Perham on a weekend, an indirect economic benefit that often accompanies community arts events. The production also serves as a reminder of the value of sustained support for arts education, from school budgets to volunteer fundraising and municipal event coordination.
Residents interested in attending or learning more are directed to the DL Online preview for the production, which contains the listed contact information and instructions for purchasing tickets. The show represents a concentrated effort by students and community members to present a complex musical on a small town stage, and it will offer audiences a chance to see the results of weeks of rehearsal and collaborative work.
