Small Gift, Big Stage: The Ormes Endowment and the Future of DU Theatre
Since 2012, a focused gift to the University of Denver’s (DU) Department of Theatre in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences (CAHSS) has provided students with something rare in the arts — a steady, reliable source of support at one of the most important moments in their education.
Culminating in a final bequest in 2025, the Vance G. Ormes Endowment for Student Theatre Productions has quietly accomplished something that matters deeply to DU’s Department of Theatre and its students. Year after year, without fail, it provides funding for the Senior Capstone Project. In a discipline where budgets are almost always stretched thin, that consistency is worth more than it might seem.
“Knowing this support is there year after year creates priceless stability and the confidence we can deliver this senior capstone experience to our students,” says Anne Penner, Department of Theatre chair. “That’s very hard to replace.”
The Ormes Endowment
The Vance G. Ormes Endowment for Student Theatre Productions was established in 2012 and later strengthened by a final bequest from Ormes (BA ’74), a DU Theatre alumnus with a lifelong passion for the stage. He created it in memory of Archie Smith, an actor, mentor, and friend. Alongside another similar fund, the Ormes fund supplements the departmental budget by covering performance rights and materials costs, without passing those expenses on to students. It also supports independently produced theatre projects by undergraduates, at the discretion of the department chair.
“You might think that the annual interest from a smaller fund like this isn’t much,” says Penner. “But it gets you a lot. We’ve never had to charge our students a materials fee for the capstone, and that’s a huge plus for them.”
Senior Capstone Project
The capstone is the culminating experience of a DU theatre education. No matter which career path they choose, every theatre major embarks on a multi-quarter process in the spring of their junior year to direct and produce a 10- to 20-minute play. They choose their script, assemble a design team of scenic, lighting, costume, and sound designers, and meet weekly with faculty mentors. Then, in the spring of their senior year, they bring their vision to life in front of a live audience. It is, by any measure, a serious undertaking. And students treat it that way.
“Even as freshmen, they’re already part of the capstone process, working as actors, stage managers, backstage crew, wardrobe staff, and designers,” Penner says. “By the time they reach senior year, it’s something they’ve worked toward and now get to call their own. In fact, during spring quarter 2026, 47 undergraduate students — including theatre majors, minors, and non-majors — worked on ten senior capstone projects.”
The DU Stage is Just the Beginning
At DU, the 4D Experience is about bridging classrooms to careers, and the Department of Theatre delivers on that promise. Students move from coursework to a robust production season to professional internships, with the capstone project bringing it all together.
“There are so many life skills and best practices taught in theatre, in part because it’s so collaborative,” Penner says. “Deadline management, creative leadership, and the kind of cross-disciplinary collaboration that translates to any career. Even knowing how to lead a team and when to step back; these are things that set our students up for success. They carry these life skills with them into their next chapter, whether that’s professional theatre or something else entirely.”
The results speak for themselves. Ninety percent of the class of 2025 completed a professional internship before graduating. Many alumni go on to form their own theatre companies, pursue graduate programs, or build careers in the field. Current students and recent alumni are at work in Colorado and across the country, at more than 20 different professional theater companies, including the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Curious Theatre Company, and New Swan Shakespeare Festival.
Lasting Impact
Vance G. Ormes understood that in theatre, even a modest gift can have an outsized impact. His endowment proves it year after year, guaranteeing DU theatre students have the support they need to do their best work and carry those skills with them long after the curtain comes down.
“DU’s Department of Theatre showcases the true meaning of The Denver Difference, preparing students for whatever comes next through rigorous training, professional experience, and the kind of deep collaboration that translates to any career,” says CAHSS Dean Sahara Byrne. “Gifts like the Ormes endowment help make this possible, ensuring the program can deliver on that promise year after year.”
