Theatre B’s managing director, Monika Browne-Ecker, says a new generation of audiences is rediscovering the 22-year-old acting company. (Photo/Nancy Hanson.)

Nancy Edmonds Hanson

Monika Browne-Ecker suggests this season is an ideal time to rediscover Theatre B. The subtitle on its season ticket brochure seems to say it all: “Theatre for the Brave and Curious.”
Sitting before a wall of playbills in what Moorhead once knew as Lincoln School, the managing director of the F-M area’s only paid professional acting troupe notes that, in its 22nd season, her organization is ready to welcome a new generation of drama and comedy lovers, as well as their elder swho might not have yet encountered the dramatic gem on the north side of town.
Those who purchase season tickets – available through Nov. 14 – will encounter three very different experiences over the next six months. “Miracle on South Division Street” (Dec. 6-22) explores a family’s heartfelt but hilarious attempt to immortalize their personal Christmas legend. “Birds of North America (Feb. 21-March 9) explores the changing relationship between a dad and daughter as they scan the skies over their back yard. The final production, “Pride and Prejudice” (May 2-18) is described as a “bold, surprising, oisterous and timely” version of the beloved literary classic for a new generation.
“Young adults who are coming along today have never had the chance to discover us,” Monika observes. “That’s even true of many others in our community. This is their time!
“Our audience can expect a sense of rediscovery in each of our productions. They’re guaranteed to find something in each play that relates to their lives or the lives of our nation.”
Theatre B was born in 2002, when Carrie and David Wintersteen teamed up with Lori and Scott Horvik to found a company that would be the “flip side” to mainstream theater – an alternative that would, in Carrie’s words, “challenge its audiences to think differently about the world around them.” After she stepped down as executive director in 2022, Colt Neidhardt took over for one season.
Monika (pronounced mo-NEEK-ah), who first performed with Theatre B in 2012, took on the role of managing director in August. She shares leadership with Jon Micheels Leiseth, who was named artistic director at the same time. The staff also includes technical director Bekah Fornes and operations assistant Whitney McClain.
She grew up in Poland as an “Army brat,” she says, where her soldier father was stationed. After marrying an American man, she came to the U.S. She and her late ex-husband, she notes, wanted their two children – born American citizens – to learn much more about their nation
Monika has been well acquainted with Theatre B for the past dozen years. She was living in Valley City in 2012 when she was first cast in one of its productions, playing several roles in “Reentry.” The show explored soldiers’ and their families’ re-entry into civilian life, a topic close to her heart and her own family. She went on to perform in both Valley City and Fargo.
She met her present husband, Scott Ecker, when both auditioned for a comedy showcase and play at Valley City State University. Scott was already a member of Theatre B’s ensemble, where she continued to audition and perform after her move here in 2015. Three years later, Carrie Wintersteen hired her as the F-M company’s operations director. She says, “I handled everything from the box office and marketing to hiring artists, coordinating volunteers and doing the accounting.” She held that position for the next six years until taking over the company’s management herself in August.
Theatre B, she says, is an intimate venue. “There’s not a bad seat in the house,” she boasts. After the company moved to Moorhead from its original home in downtown Fargo in 2017, ensemble members and volunteers turned what had been the gymnasium of Lincoln Elementary School into a black box theater seating 99. Every member of the audience is able to make eye contact with the cast, encouraging the sense of personal connection that leads to self-discovery.
That sense of connection is part of what motivates the ensemble of 14 actors. “It’s super-fun to make theater, but it takes much more than that,” Monika reflects. “I don’t know a single artist who makes art only for personal satisfaction. You always want to create an experience. When people leave the show, their minds are alive. Their hearts are alive.”
She adds, “Theater is really hard work – enjoyable hard work.”
Street reconstruction and construction of the 11th Street Underpass have complicated access to Theatre B at 215 Second Ave. N., but Monika notes that audiences have figured out alternate routes. A greater impending challenge lies ahead. “Our building went up for sale this summer,” she says. “We do know we’ll here through next July, but after that, it’s up in the air. We hope Theatre B can stay here in the long term. Our artists and volunteers have put in countless hours to turn the gym into a theater. If we can remain here, we can continue to invest in improving the audience’s experience.”
She and co-director Leiseth are currently wrapping up auditions for the last two shows of the season while preparing for December’s “Miracle on South Division Street.” Performances are scheduled from Dec. 6 through Dec. 22, with 7:30 curtain times on Fridays and Saturdays and matinees at 2 p.m. Sundays.
Season tickets, which include a discount from regular prices, are also available until Nov. 14. For more information and to reserve tickets, go to www.theatreb.org/box-office