Its the moment when a singer hits a note that sends chills down your spine.
Or when an actor says his line with just the right punch or inflection.
Those are the moments that only a live performance can deliver, said Daniel Kays, the new director of the Bowlus Fine Arts Center.
Its a moment that will never exist again, he said. Theres no replay button. You dont get that anywhere but at a live performance.
The story that brought Kays through a career in the performing arts and to the Bowlus is a story about moments in time. Moments that mean everything. Moments that change everything.
KAYS GREW up in Colorado and began performing at a very early age. He played the trumpet in third grade and sang at church.
But, first, he was an athlete. He played soccer and was a competitive swimmer and diver, qualifying for state swimming events.
During his freshman year of high school, he played in the orchestra for the school musical, Once Upon a Mattress. He enjoyed the whole process, playing in the pit and seeing the actors run through their lines. But he was still an athlete.
Everything changed the next year when he broke his arm right before swim season, which happened to coincide with rehearsals for the schools musical, Fame. Since he had the time, he decided to audition and received a small part.
Though he had only one line Whats everything else? he was hooked.
I caught the bug, he said.
After he finished the soccer season that year, his love of sports was replaced by acting. He took part in every production until he graduated from high school, then decided to attend the University of Northern Colorado in Greeley with the goal of becoming a performer.
But the university was a big school. He wouldnt get the chance to act in productions until his junior or senior year, and Kays was impatient.
I wasnt going to get to be in front of an audience. It just wasnt for me, he said.
