EMMA JANE

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series about allegations made against Venture Theatre co-founder Mace Archer. Part two will be published on Friday.

In mid-2000s Billings, Venture Theatre wasn’t just a stage. It was a magnet for the teens who lived for cast lists, cried in rehearsals, and put lyrics from “Rent” in their MySpace bios. These were the theater kids; emotionally raw, endlessly devoted, and longing to become real artists. At Venture Theatre, many say co-founder and director Mace Archer fed that hunger, teaching them that real actors didn’t perform — they became.

Former Venture actors remember idolizing Archer as teens, craving his approval and dismissing uncomfortable moments as part of what it meant to be directed by a creative visionary. But now, 20

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