A new theater company for Clark County — Columbia Theater Arts Foundation — will have a Pay What You Will system, with guests selecting their own price for tickets, and those tickets can be reserved now for The Sound of Music, the foundation’s first full production

Paul Valencia
Clark County Today

The Stage is Yours.

So says a new theater company based in Clark County that is setting out to bring the arts to a larger audience with an unusual business model. 

The Columbia Theater Arts Foundation, which officially opened at the end of 2024, is in rehearsals now for its first full production. The Sound of Music is scheduled for an October opening.

The cost of the ticket? Well, that is up to the ticket buyer. The ticket system is described as Pay What You Will.

“The goal is we never have to turn anybody away because they can’t afford to experience the theater,” said Michael McCormic Jr., executive artistic director and one of the founders of the Columbia Theater Arts Foundation. “You’ve got (a large) family and can’t afford to take them downtown and pay $200 a ticket to Keller (Auditorium) to see Hamilton? Maybe you’ve got $30. Or $50. Bring them all, come see our show. You’ve got nothing? Bring them to see the show.”

While reserving the number of tickets requested, guests will be asked to set their own price. It is the hope of McCormic and team that folks will enjoy their productions and give generously when they can. But all will be welcome at whatever the price.

(The Sound of Music will have five performances over four days — Oct. 16-19 — at the Washburn Performing Arts Center at Washougal High School. For times and to reserve tickets, go to: Tickets | Columbia Theater Arts Foundation) 

McCormic grew up in Clark County and has been involved in theater since an aunt took him to see his first live performance. 

“I got that experience because I had a family member pay my way into it,” McCormic said.

That changed his life.

For years he performed with Journey Theater, and he started his own musical groups. He worked his way through college at Boise State University singing at retirement centers as a Frank Sinatra tribute act.

When he returned to Clark County after graduation, he wanted to remain a part of the theater community while he worked his full-time job as a sales manager at My ADU in Vancouver. 

“I really wish there were more opportunities to perform, to do theater arts for fun, as a hobby, or semi-professional,” McCormic explained. “For people who just love it, are gifted in it, but don’t necessarily want to do it full-time.”

While visiting a friend in Pennsylvania, McCormic went to a theater production of Fiddler on the Roof. It was a Pay What You Will theater. McCormic acknowledged that his expectations for the show were low, but he was blown away by the performance. 

In fact, he said he was “dumbfounded that they were able to do such a great show without asking a single person in the audience to pay for a ticket.”

He wondered if that could work in Clark County.

He found partners and sponsors, and together they launched the Columbia Theater Arts Foundation. Dean Waters is the executive business director and Ellie Tauscher is the operations director. The foundation also has a board of directors.

Three key things to remember about the foundation, McCormic said: 

1. All ages, all the time.
2. Putting on productions that are excellent. “People are going to be impressed.”
3. Pay What You Will tickets

McCormic noted that all nonprofit theater groups raise funds from corporate sponsorships, charitable donations, and ticket sales. The Columbia Theater Arts Foundation is doing all three of those things, but without asking for a specific dollar amount for show tickets.

Nobody on the foundation’s management team is taking any money. They are all volunteers. The money raised by sponsors, donors, and ticket sales will go to the cost of the venue, set design, and stipends for some of the performers.

“There is a chance that this area is not yet ready for what we are trying to do,” McCormic said. 

Yet, he is hopeful. He expects The Sound of Music to be an excellent production, and he hopes audience members will be moved to donate, to support the company.

“Our tagline is ‘The Stage is Yours,’” McCormic said. 

“For audience members, I want them to feel an ownership and I want them to experience this,” he said. “For our performers, I want them to feel they have access to a company where they are welcome, all ages, all the time, and their skills are valued and seen.”

For more information on the Columbia Theater Arts Foundation, go to: Home | Columbia Theater Art