Meet Samson Perry: NLAA’s New Outreach and Development Coordinator

It begins, as many theater stories do, with resistance. Samson Perry was only a few days into his freshman year of college when a professor informed him he would be auditioning for the fall play. Perry politely declined, offering a dozen reasons why theater was not for him. The professor shook his head and said, “There are infinite reasons not to do something—but sometimes art is about finding the reason to do it anyway.”

A week later Perry found himself in a rehearsal room with twelve strangers, staring down a sprawling three-hour production of A Streetcar Named Desire. That single experience forever altered the direction of his life. Though he studied Theatre Performance, he realized what captivated him most was not the spotlight but the scaffolding: how a production comes together, how choices backstage shape the story out front.

Over the next decade, Perry built a career across the Twin Cities as stage manager, director, playwright, and production manager. “I’ve continued to focus on the reasons to do [projects] anyway,” he reflects. “I’m an immensely curious individual by nature, and it has led me to always wanting to learn more—about a given topic, about my own self, and about the people around me.”

Parenthood sharpened that perspective. “Suddenly, it wasn’t just about creating art in the present—it became about creating an environment where art could thrive for future generations. I started to see the arts not only as a form of expression but as a form of infrastructure—something a healthy, connected community needs.”

This idea, that the arts are infrastructure, sits at the heart of what NLAA describes as a rural arts ecosystem: a living network where professional artists, youth, neighbors, and visitors sustain one another.

When Perry and his wife Whitney chose to move their family north to Ely, it was not on a whim. They came seeking a slower pace, a deeper sense of place, and a community where their children could grow up surrounded by nature and creativity. “Finding a community that we felt was right for our family, and our kids’ future, was the driving force behind our move,” he says.

Joining the Northern Lakes Arts Association felt like a natural extension of that choice. As NLAA’s new Outreach and Development Coordinator, Perry steps into his role during a milestone year: NLAA’s 40th anniversary. “Anniversaries are more than just a celebration of past achievements,” he explains. “They are also a chance to reflect on previous challenges as well as measure the trajectory of an organization.”

For Perry, outreach and development are not just about promotion or fundraising. “True outreach starts with first understanding what the community values, how people want to engage with the arts, and meeting folks where they are. Development then becomes about taking the necessary steps to grow the programs that have value in the local environment.”

That approach mirrors NLAA’s broader vision for the future: cultivating an arts ecosystem in Ely that is both resilient and relational. Programs are sustained not by ticket sales alone, but by trust, curiosity, and a belief that rural communities deserve bold, accessible, artistically brave experiences.

Perry brings to Ely a résumé full of both challenges and triumphs. He points to stage managing The Play That Goes Wrong as a defining lesson. The comedy requires every disaster imaginable to unfold on stage, yet each mishap must be executed with precision. “Having to constantly invent new ways to make it all come crashing (literally) down taught me a lot about avoiding those hazards in future productions.” The experience reinforced a truth that also applies to rural arts: setbacks are not failures, they are material for resilience.

Colleagues describe Perry as both deeply kind and deeply organized, though he admits one comes easier. “Being kind is easier by a mile. I am constantly having to remain adaptable and focused to maintain any semblance of organization… but treating other people with respect and kindness doesn’t really take much effort at all. The more you treat people with kindness and acknowledge their value, the more invested people become in keeping things running smoothly.”

Looking ahead, Perry frames success in terms of connection. Six months from now, he hopes to see stronger ties between NLAA and its patrons. A year from now, he wants the arts more tightly woven into daily life in Ely. That, he says, is the power of small-town arts: “not as a compromise, but as a radical, beautiful choice.”

It’s a choice that echoes across NLAA’s 40th anniversary season. Each program, performance, and partnership becomes a thread in the larger tapestry of Ely’s rural arts ecosystem—a system strong enough to carry artists, audiences, and neighbors together.

And for Samson Perry, it’s a reason not just to stay curious, but to keep building.