Climbing for the Arts is what a Broward man is doing to raise money for a local theatre and its programs.
The Florida Children’s Theatre in Broward County will soon be celebrating its 75th year of providing arts and education to the community. But with grant funding and budget cuts impacting their programs, one man is making it his mission to raise money so the show can go on.
“Nobody can do everything, but everybody can do something. And it just rang a bell with me, like this could be my something,” David Optekar told NBC6.
Optekar, 77, is new to the theatre world.
“My wife and my daughter bought me a voice lesson with Melissa and unbeknownst to me, they egged her on to say, ‘Hey, Melissa, would you kind of like, encourage my dad to try out for a part?’ So, I did. I got a part, and now they can’t get rid of me,” he shared.
For two years he’s been a part of the Florida Children’s Theatre family. It’s a Broward County staple that’s been around since 1952.
“The arts provide so many things that I was never aware of until I got involved, and when I saw the difference it makes on the development of our young people, that’s when I realized how indispensable this is,” Optekar said.
The Florida Children’s Theatre puts on six mainstage productions a year, along with other showcases and camps. Roughly 400 students walk through the stage every year–but the programs that teach them are at risk of being cut.
Executive Artistic Director Janet Erlick shares that because of cuts to budgets, grants at the federal, state, and potentially even county level are at risk of being reduced or eliminated.
She said it’s “about $90,000 of state funding that we… don’t know if we’re getting zero or 90 or something in the middle. If it affects county funding, that would be, you know, $200,000 a year. It would be absolutely devastating.”
It’s what made Optekar come up with a grand plan: climbing for the arts in Colorado.
“Our goal right now is $25,930. The reason for that is that represents $1 for each foot up and down the mountain,” he explains.
Optekar used to live in Colorado and had climbed Mount Sopras before.
“I thought I had gotten to the top. I turned around, came down, and [I was] kind of proud of myself… The fact was, I found out years later, I never made it to the peak,” he laughed. “I made it to the first false peak. And so, when I heard that, slightly embarrassed, I said to myself, what a perfect way to settle the score with the mountain and to raise awareness and funding for [the theatre].”
And Optekar, who has pushed his limits both on and off the stage, thought this fundraising effort should be no different.
“I’ve been swimming a half mile, three times a week. I’ve been going to the gym, LA Fitness, three, four times a week. I do stretching to help this elderly body stay loose and limber. And it’s made a difference,” he said.
He plans to hike in mid-September, and hopes his performance of a lifetime will help the place that gave him and others the confidence to dream big a second act.
“I mean, it’s one thing to write a check. It’s another thing to be doing what he’s doing and making it a big splash because he wants people to know. And literally putting his body on the line to make a difference is really just incredibly moving,” Erlick said.