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Davenport hires new performing-arts supervisor and secures interim home for Junior Theatre
Summary
Davenport Parks and Recreation introduced Zach Meyer as performing arts supervisor and outlined a five-year interim plan to house Davenport Junior Theatre at a school-district-owned Kimberly Center location while staff pursue a permanent performing-arts facility.
Davenport Parks and Recreation introduced Zachary “Zach” Meyer as its new performing arts supervisor and announced an interim relocation plan for Davenport Junior Theatre to a district-owned facility at 1002 W. Kimberly.
The interim site — described in the meeting as the east end of the Kimberly Center building, with the southeast corner occupied by Stepping Stones — will be used for classes and rehearsals while the program retains the main theater for showcases and recitals. Theresa Harmon, senior recreation manager, said Meyer began work Dec. 23 and has been meeting parents and staff at class introductions.
The interim arrangement is planned as a five-year solution while staff and community partners identify and raise funds for a permanent performing-arts center. Harmon said the city has contracted Bray to design the simple modifications needed for classroom and studio space in the interim location; the work will focus on opening adjoining rooms, updating flooring, lighting and paint rather than major construction. Harmon said Saint John’s (a local church) has offered space this summer to run a limited set of camps and classes to test how programming will function when classes are held off-site. Harmon said performances and recitals will continue to use the theater. “He [Meyer] knows a lot of the staff,” Harmon said, and “we need to be flexible” during the move.
Meyer, who described a long history teaching and working backstage at Davenport Junior Theatre and a recent role as technical director at St. Ambrose University, said, “I am super excited to be back with the theater and dance team, especially as we move into this new transitional period.”
Meeting participants raised several operational questions staff will need to resolve, including parking and transporting sets between the interim classrooms and the theater, storage of technical equipment, and how to stage rehearsals when the theater is not available. Harmon said staff and the technical team are developing an equipment kit of about eight modular items that can be moved between sites to reduce the time and labor of repeated set‑up.
Participants also discussed the long-term site search. The mall site remains under consideration among several city- and district-owned parcels staff will evaluate; speakers emphasized the need to avoid land acquisition when possible and to keep the long-term performing-arts center visible as an objective while managing the short-term transition.
Harmon said the city council has committed a portion of ARPA interest funds to the interim renovations, but that the council’s commitment had not yet been finalized by a formal council appropriation at the time of the advisory-board meeting. The board heard that fundraising and planning for a permanent home will continue during the five-year interim.
Next steps: Bray will complete interim design work, staff will finalize construction and scheduling details with the district, and Saint John’s will host select summer programming as a pilot of off-site class logistics.
Votes at a glance: The advisory board approved the Dec. 19, 2024 meeting minutes by motion and voice vote; the board later moved and seconded to adjourn. No roll-call tallies were recorded in the meeting minutes provided to the board.
