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The performing arts scene in Ypsilanti goes beyond EMU Theatre. In the heart of the city, just behind Ziggy's, lies the Back Office Studio, a coworking space that also houses the Neighborhood Theatre Group.
Kristin Danko is the executive producer and founder of Neighborhood Theatre Group. In a conversation with The Echo, Danko reflected on the origin of the company, how it has grown over the years and its plans for the future.
Q: How did Neighborhood Theatre Group get its start?
A: It was founded in 2015 by myself and my partner Aaron Dean. We were actors in Chicago, and we moved here in 2013 because I wanted to start a theater company. We came here because of the arts administration master's program at Eastern. ... So, I came here, went to grad school. ... We weren't gonna stay, but we fell in love with Ypsi, so we ended up staying here and our first show was my graduate thesis project.
Q: What was that first show?
A: It's called "Beaver's Long Strange Trip." It's a musical about the 1950s television show, "Leave it to Beaver." We set it two or three years after the show ended, so Beaver went to college, and Wally went off to fight in the Vietnam war.
Q: How have you seen the group grow over the years?
A: It's been insane. When we first started, there was a core group of seven or eight of us. We slowly grew that core group to about 15. ... We were growing really well, and then the pandemic happened. So, it was really rough. The pandemic happened in our fifth season. We were on kind of a growth spurt, but then things got dicey for a while. But then after the pandemic, we came back and kind of restructured ... and the structure we have right now has allowed for more local theater artists to join.
Now we have 60 members. We've also started a film branch called NTG films, and they've done a few music videos and shorts. We also hold artist mixers every other month for multidisciplinary artists to come together and connect. We also teach classes. We're teaching a playwriting class that's running right now, and we're launching a beginning acting class in the winter.
Q: How can somebody who's interested join?
A: You can come and volunteer and see if you dig it. If you want to get involved backstage, you can send me an email and I'll put you in contact with our technical director. If you're interested in acting, come audition! Our next round of auditions will be coming up either at the end of December or January.
Q: Are any of your members students or alumni from Eastern?
A: We have recently gotten a lot more graduates. When we first started there weren't many, but now we have a lot of EMU alum, which is exciting.
Q: What's your next show?
A: Our next one's called "Black Cat Folklore." We have a Halloween show called "Black Cat." It used to be a cabaret production, and now we've evolved it into our Halloween show. This one's based on folk horror, and it's devised, which means it's written from scratch by our ensemble. We basically started this summer. We had no script when we first met in June, and now we have a full script and a full show. It's gonna be more immersive ... think of campfire stories. It's gonna be very Halloweeny and spooky.
Q: What's your favorite show that you've done?
A: There's a show we're doing in December called "A Man for Christmas," which is the third time we're doing the show. It is a parody of Hallmark Christmas movies. Me and Aaron wrote it back in 2019, and it's such a hoot. It's always fun to bring it back; I think a lot of people need laughter, especially during the holidays. We don't redo shows very often, but it's a fan favorite.
Q: What's it like producing a show from scratch?
A: It's not easy, but it is. It's a lot of hard work, but the effort just shows in the work. It's so cool when people come together and make something original that you can only see here.
Q: Is there anything else you'd like to add?
A: Come see a show! It's really fun, it's in a really unique space, and I'd like to get more folks to come. Our space is limited, and we do tend to sell out some of our shows. Also, you can check us out on YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Tiktok. We also have a Patreon if you want to see the behind the scenes and a lot of exclusive content as well.
Black Cat Folklore performances are scheduled for Oct. 17-19 and 23-25, 2025, with shows at 8 p.m. Thursday, Friday and Saturday, and 2 p.m. Sunday. The show will be held at Back Office Studio, 13 N. Washington St. Tickets are $20 at the door, $15 online, and $12 for students. More information about upcoming shows and auditions can be found on the Neighborhood Theatre Group's website.
