We recently connected with Tanner Kelly and have shared our conversation below.

Tanner, appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

I am very lucky to work for a lot of amazing places and am fortunate to say all of my jobs are in the arts. My undergrad was at the Lamont School of Music in Denver and while I was getting my performance degree, I started to dabble on the production side of things, rather than focusing solely on performing. I quickly found that I wanted to be a versatile player in the arts and spend some shows on stage, and then be able to direct, music direct, choreograph or play in the pits for other shows.

Right out of college, we were expecting our first child, so teaching private voice and piano lessons and working on shows wasn’t going to cut it. So, I took my newly acquired music degree and applied for an alternative K-12 music teaching license, which is a program that allows recent graduates to teach full time in a school, while earning their Colorado Teaching License. I always liked teaching students and had worked on many summer camps throughout high school and college, but didn’t think that was going to be my full time career—little did I know!

I spent 10 years in Douglas County School District as a performing arts teacher and administrator, obtained my Masters Degree in Music Education, and now am in my 3rd year as the performing arts coordinator f0r a new 7th-12 grade performing arts school in Mapleton Public Schools. On top of my teaching, I have been the artistic director and conductor of the Aurora Singers since 2018, the musical theatre director at Regis University since 2018 and founded Music@Mainstreet in 2015, a private music lesson store in Downtown Parker, which is still in existence. As a performer, I sing professionally with several local groups, including performances with the Colorado Ballet Chorus, The Colorado Symphony Chorus, The Dallas Symphony Orchestra and The Original Dickens Carolers.

Theatrically, my life has been bountiful. I have received 5 Henry Nominations (2 for outstanding music director, 2 for outstanding production of a musical and one for sound design), won a 2024 OSCA for Outstanding Director of a Musical for Sweeney Todd, and have directed, music directed or played in the pit for over a dozen companies in the Denver Metro Area. I have worked on over 75 productions since graduating college and that wouldn’t be possible without communication and keeping a clear calendar.

My calendar is booked very far in advance and my biggest advice is knowing how to keep an accurate calendar and communicating your conflicts and needs at the front of the process. When considering new offers, I can communicate all my conflicts and availability, as well as assuring what I can provide to the production. I spent many years just saying “yes” to everything, but now I can pick and choose projects that fit into my calendar and fulfill me artistically. It is definitely a juggling act, trying to make sure I am giving my best self to all companies I am working with, while also trying to maintain a personal life, being a Dad to my three kids and keeping up with every day life tasks—but it is possible to live a very full and fulfilling life in the arts and being a well-rounded artist was my step into a full time career.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I was fortunate to grow up near a really interesting and unique dinner theatre in Colorado. The Country Dinner Playhouse was one of the most famous theatres in Colorado and housed some of the best talent the state had to offer. It was a dinner theatre in the round and the outside of the theatre looked like a barn. The most distinguishable aspect of that venue was the stage was on a hydraulic lift. Sometimes you would enter the theatre and the stage would be up and then when the show started, the actors would lower on the stage. It was a really cool effect I haven’t seen anywhere else. CDP also housed some soon to be superstars such as Amy Adams and Annaleigh Ashford.

I truly “caught the theatre bug” when I started performing in CDP’s kids shows, called the Academy of Theatre Arts. Many of the instructors were actors for the theatre and we got to perform on the stage and many of us also played kids when they needed it in the mainstage shows. Even though ATA was only around for about a decade, it provided training to a lot of us that are still working in the arts, most notably, Melissa Benoist from Supergirl and Glee. I was grateful to have that experience with so many talented artists that I am still working with.

Colorado, while having many great theatres across the state, is still a pretty small community, so it’s been really rewarding to get to work professionally with actors I grew up watching.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

We obviously are all working hard to achieve a great final product, but I love the rehearsal experience and collaborating with amazingly talented people on the way.

Right now I’m working on a piece called Absurd Hero, which is a work by a local composer and playwright, April Alsup, that we’re taking to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in Scotland at the end of July. It’s so fun working on an original work, because everyone gets to bring their own original voice and talent and perspective to the table, and the show is almost like a live, breathing document, that is fluid and can be updated and molded to fit everyone involved.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Support the arts. Go see shows. Volunteer backstage. Donate to an arts organization.

Colorado has so much to offer. If you’re looking for professional theatre, amateur theatre, art shows, live music, choral music- we have it all.

Or, if you’re unable to attend but looking to support, there’s also groups like the Denver Actors Fund, where you can support artists in need.