Setting the Stage for What Comes Next
Tambry Kopp helps shape PTP’s next season and keeps productions running smoothly behind the scenes.
Tambry Kopp is happiest in the charged quiet just before the first cue, when the house lights dim, literally or metaphorically, and the entire room seems to hold its breath together. It is a fitting image for someone who has become such a steady presence behind the scenes at Pine Tree Players, helping create the conditions for others to step forward, take risks, and tell a great story.
Tambry first connected with Pine Tree Players in 2019, when she reached out to see how she might get involved. The timing did not quite line up for that year’s production of Young Frankenstein, but the conversation led to the 2020 Canmore Summer Theatre Festival, a pandemic-era festival unlike any other. Productions were pre-recorded, with one unfolding on Zoom and another blending Zoom with live filming outdoors. From that unusual beginning, Tambry kept finding new ways to contribute. Since then, she has auditioned and appeared on stage, but her greatest impact has often been behind the scenes as a production manager, stage manager, assistant producer, stage manager mentor, and member of the Play Recommendation Committee.
Her PTP credits include Much Ado About Nothing, Five Women Wearing the Same Dress, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Twelfth Night, Loose Knit, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and the 2023 Canmore Summer Theatre Festival. This fall, she will once again keep everything running smoothly as stage manager for Ride the Cyclone. For Tambry, the pull of behind-the-scenes work is clear. “I love working to create a safe and creative space for everyone who is involved with Pine Tree Players,” she says. “I love a good spreadsheet, a well-analyzed script, and a great schedule.”
Tambry is now in her second year as Chair of Pine Tree Players’ Play Recommendation Committee and has served on the committee since 2022. With the call for directors and plays for PTP’s 2027 season open until August 15, Tambry is taking the lead on the most exciting part of PTP’s season planning. She describes the process as a kind of puzzle or Tetris game, balancing the needs of artists, audiences, and the wider Pine Tree Players community. “It’s not just about looking at individual submissions and thinking about my opinion on the play,” she says. “You have to look at the bigger picture of how a series of plays work together to tell a season story and what the community needs.”
What she enjoys most is getting an early glimpse of what could be coming and keeping an eye on what the arts community in the Bow Valley wants to see on stage. She looks for patterns in submissions, notices how those patterns shift from year to year, and is energized by new voices emerging. For Tambry, a strong season should invite growth for actors, directors, technicians, and audiences alike. She considers whether a play will challenge artists, welcome new people into the community, and offer audiences something that both pleases and expands their sense of what community theatre can be.
When asked what keeps her coming back to volunteer with PTP, Tambry points to PTP’s generosity toward its community and its commitment to excellence in community theatre. To someone who has never been involved, she describes Pine Tree Players as: “Welcoming/waiting for you with open arms. Come play with us!” Her advice to anyone curious about theatre is just as welcoming. Start wherever it feels right. Volunteer for front of house, make meals for the cast, help with a load-in, shadow a stage manager, attend a workshop, join a committee, or try something entirely new. There are many ways to get involved, and Pine Tree Players is full of people willing to teach, mentor, and share what they know.
Tambry’s work may often happen out of sight, but its impact is felt everywhere: in the rehearsal room, in season planning conversations, in backstage problem-solving, and in that breathless moment before a show begins. Pine Tree Players is grateful for the care, curiosity, and competence she brings to every role, and for the many ways she helps make space for others to create, learn, and shine.
